Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-28
HE DECLINED.
The Offer Made by Sharon to
Judge Fitzgerald.
An Attempt to Pit Him Against
Terry.
His Reported Statement Regarding
the Matter.
The Judge Was offered q Fifty Thou
sand Dollar Fee and Refused
It-Some Interesting
Details.
The Fresno Republican contains the

The Fresno Republican contains the
following:
A. E. Wagstaff, author of a biography
of d. S. Terry, arrived in Fresno yester-
day morning and was interviewed by q
Republican reporter regarding the letter
recently found in Judge Terry's house
in this city, purporting to have been
written by an ex-California sheriff in
Dubuque, Iowa, and stating that the
writer had been offered $4,000 and I'M
munity from punis ishment if he would
kill Judge Terry.
A STARTLING REVELATION.
Mr.. Wagstaff said: "Since arriving in
Fresno this morning find that the good
people have been considerably exercised
over certain disclosures made in
handling the effects of their late eminent
fellow-citizen, ex.Chief Justice David S.
Terry, and particularly concerning a
certain letter purporting to have been
written by an eX-sheriff. who had been
offered $25, 900 to kill him. There is no
doubt that the story is true, as he is not
the only one who was approached on
that subject.
sin gathering material, the author of
the biography was startled at the evil
dence which accumulated going to prove
beyond doubt that, from the day Judge
Terry was retained as counselor and pro-
tector of the plaintiff in the celebrated
Sharon VS.. Sharon divorce suit until the
bullet from the pistol in the hands of
Fields armor bearer at Lathrop closed
his distinguished career, his life was in
danger and the assassin was on his
track.
SIT does not appear conclusively who
the promoters of the scheme were, but
the statement of a Los Angeles attorney,
now holding an honorable position on
the judicial bench in the state, as well
as other incidents which occurred, and
all OF which will appear in the book,
soon to be issued, are conclusive that
there was vast amount of money as
we'll as vindictiveness behind the scheme.
sit is not known just what Nagle re-
ceived as the successful assassin, but
that he was handsomely rewarded there
Is no doubt. The details of the scheme
may not have been known by the author
tiles at Washington, nor the object in
volved, but that the person was to be
protected at the expense of justice. in
view OF the notoriety that had attached
to the reputation of Judge Terry as
fearless and indomitable man, the let
ters OF the United States attorney-gen-
eral, the voice of the press and the ac
tion of the circuit court in refusing an
investigation and setting the prisoner
free, all fully testify that there was a
we'll arranged programme.
'The history of the case as presented
in the biography, attested by document
ary evidence, will create sensation,
particularly as the author has been
thoroughly independent and forcible in
presenting both facts and conclusions"
DOLLAR OFFER.
Mr.. Wagstaf, on being pressed to give
the name of the Los Angeles lawyer,
said that he was Judge W. F. Fitzgerald,
now one of the supreme court commits
eioners of this state.
"Some time after the murder of Judge
Terry" continued Mr.. Wagstaff, Judge
Fitzgerald told me that shortly after
Judge Terry had been retained as the
legal advisor and protector of Sarah
Althea Sharon, he (Fitzgerald) was
offered $4,000 for his services in the
case. At that time conspiracy was on
foot to abduct and make away with
Sarah Althea, and Judge Terry, because
OF his incorruptibility and his fearless
ch racter, was selected as her protector.
PLAIN LANGUAGE.
''Judge Fitzgerald said to the parties
who had made the offer: Gentlemen,
you are mistaken in your man. 1t is
true that in the course of my life 1 may
have killed man or two, but 1 had to
do it in self defense. The issue was
forced upon me. l know Judge Terry
well, and respect and esteem him for
his manly and upright character, and
will therefore take no part in the case.'"
REEL B. TERRY's STATEMENT.
City Attorney Reel B. Terry, a nephew
of Judge Terry, was asked by the re-
anything of the Fitzgerald episode, and
he made the following statement
Shortly after the death of Judge
Terry l was in the Palace hotel with
Judge Fitzgerald, now one of the COM
missioners OF the supreme court of this
state. There were several other gentle
men in the party and we were drinking
wine and conversing on different topics.
When the conversation turned upon the
tragedy at Lathrop Judge Fitzgerald
said that he had been offered good fee
to take part in the Sharon case against
Sarah Althea and he had declined it.
When asked for his reason for declining,
Judge Fitzgerald said that he had sus-
picion that he had not been offered the
large fee for his legal services alone, and
he therefore refused to accept it,"
The foregoing amounts practically to
a corroboration of Mr.. Wagstaff's state
ment.
Thus link by link the great chain of
evidence is being forged. Whose arms
will it bind when the truth is at last re-
vealed?
o, What q Cough.
hood tl,o MI uiIx