Los Angeles herald., 1890-05-16
What a Letter to a Partner
Has Led To.
The U. s. Grand Jury I'm.
paneled Yesterday.
Professor Wheeler Has to Account
for Threatening Letter.
1t Is All About Commission for Selling
Land Amounting to $2,7oO or
Thereabouts.

for sending threatening letter to G.. d.
Ambrose with the view of extorting
money from him. The defendant is a
dignified old gentleman of decidedly
venerable appearance, and is pretty we'll
known in this section. He was for a
long time known as Professor Wheeler,
from the fact that he presided over the
destinies Of the agricultural college at
Ontario, which is a department of the
great University of Southern California.
During the great boom he forsook the
classic shades of the bucolic school to
become a real estate dealer in Pomona,
becoming member of the firm of Am
brose, Brown & Wheeler. 1t is in relation
to some business done while the firm was
in existence that the letter was written,
an event that took place after the dis
solution of the partnership.
Mr.. Wheeler's story about the letter
is this. When he entered the firm he
had deal in real estate partly negoti-
ated by which l.. L. Bradbury, the
millionaire, was to purchase a tract of
land belonging to Colonel |. r. Dunkel-
between the members of the firm was
that each was to have the whole benefit
of all such partially consummated deals.
Professor Wheeler consummated the
deal in question and got a net commits
sion of about $2,700. Later Ambrose
sued him and gotta Judgment for his
share of this commission. Ambrose of
course denies the existence of the under
standing mentioned above. When
Ambrose became a prominent can
didate for the Office of receiver
of the United States land office
in this city, Prof. Wheeler wrote let
ter to Ambrose threatening to defeat
him for the place unless the Judgment
attained should be cancelled. Here
there is the ground work for the suit
now on trial.
The first thing done was the securing
of jury, which did not take long. It
is as follows: j. A. Cline, William
Smith. G. w. Robinson, j. II. Gwinn,
j. b. Beebe, j. w. Robinson, G.. H. Bell,
}. w. White, j. Baldwin, III. T. Brig
ham, Robert Curler, and G. w. Strong.
After reading the complaint and going
through the other preliminaries, the let
ter was read. 1t runs thus:
GLEN ALPINE, CAL, February 6, 1889.
Mr.. c. ID. AmbrOse:
SIR The enclosed letter explains
itself. After writing it long ago l exer-
cised christian forbearance by not send
ing it, trusting to future events. l con-
cluded so long as you were a private
citizen l would simply ignore you. |
understand that you are trying to OBJ
tain public office-and that a United
States office. My duty as grand army
soldier and as a recipient of home
stead compels me to say to you that
knowing as well as l do from personal
experience l shall do all in my power to
prevent you from obtaining that office,
or any other. A public officer needs
more of character than you possess, in
my humble opinion, to fill his office with
integrity and honor. As you have
treated me so you will treat the United
States government. My influence in
Pomona is small--thanks to you--but
you will find that outside of Pomona it
will be greater.
There is only one thing that you can
do and that is to cancel that Judgment so
unjustly obtained and pay me the $500
and more that you have dishonorablv
got rid OF paying by Matching up this
bogus claim for Dunkelberger commits
sion. L don't expect you to do this; |
do not ask it. Ii you did it would
show you had some sense of honor LETT,
and justifies me in letting the matter in
question rest just where it is, each one
reserving his opinion of the matter and
of each other.
| believe | can convict you of perjury.
| have one respectable party to rely on,
and when | find two more | shall feel
justified in taking action. Nothing but
poverty will prevent.
There is no time to lose, for my letter
will be sent before the week closes.
Your conduct towards me has done
more to lose faith in man than anything
that ever happened to me, for l know
that l have never in any way done YOU
any harm, directly or indirectly.
Yours respectfully, W.T.. WHEELER.
Circulars were distributed widely
over the country about Pomona, the
contents OF which were nearly the same
as those in the letter. 1t was neatly
headed with the familiar and significant
Latin phrase, ''Pro bono patblico." There
are some minor differences between the
letter and the circular, and counsel for
the defense attempted to make point
on this, from the discrepancies between
the indictment and the letter, but that
will probably not cut much figure in the
case.
Ambrose was put on the stand, and
told how he received the letter, and
other matters connected with the part
nership which may have some weight
with the jury.
H. G. Tinsley, editor of the Pomona
Progress, was called and told about Prof
Wheeler coming to his office to get him
to publish the letter. Mr.. Tinsley de-
clined to earn the professors coin be-
cause he felt afraid of libel suit He
referred him to a printer in Ontario as
the man who might be induced to take
chances on the law for consideration.
Mr.. Trinsley recommended that the mat
ter be set in plain ''body" type, such as
BREWER, which all offices use, and to
eschew all fancy "faces," which would
aid in determining where the work was
done.
Then others were put on to show that
they had received through the mails
printed copies of the circular with the
pretty Latin phrase at its head.
The case goes on this morning.
Nineteen grand jurymen were i'm
paneled in the United States district
court this morning. Their names are: :
b. w. Jones, foreman; d. Burbank,
II IN