The herald., 1894-04-23
CASES THAT NEVER SEE LIGHT
People Who Visit tie District
Attorneys Office.
Tales Of Woe Which Do Not Pan
Out.
vagarIes of Human Nature Observed by
tho Obliging Deputies who Ham
die the Criminal Business.
A Few illustrations,


A Few illustrations,
There is a side OF the business Of the
district attorneys Office of county like
Los Angeles that does not get talked
about much. bat is nevertheless inter-
esting.
1t takes in the cases in which COM
plants are not issued for one reason and
another.
Few people are aware Of the mum be r
OF persons with grievances who explain
them to the district attorney and his
deputies in the hope of getting either
revenge or justice.
Nearly half their time is taken up
With the examination of caess which
never see the light Of day, from some
defect in the evidence or weakness OF
the case itself.
This district attorneys Office is like a
confessional and ia the repository of
many secrets, some grave and many
trivial.
The number of good stories that lie
locked up in the breasts of the obliging
deputies is at once the admiration and
the despair of newspaper men.
Scarcely day pasGes that one or more
OF the young gentlemen in the Office is
not obliged to listen to a tale of woe
from some man or woman. to sift the
details furnished and pass upon the
questions involved.
Experience of this kind makes the
recipients OF these condolences wise in
the vagaries of human nature.
ha hok
shows itself and against which the
prosecuting officers of the county are
mSny times deienseless is that to per-
version Of facts.
Nine-tenths of the people who relate
the details oil any occurrence to the dis
trict attorney color them, either design
edly or unconsciously, to suit their side
OF the case, and it is many times her
culean task to separate the wheat from
the cnaf.
Upon these statements depends the
use OF the power of the Office to set in
motion the machinery of the courts, and
so prevalent is this weakness that the
spectacle is one of the most common in
the courts to see charge falling to the
ground against a defendant because of
the msatatement of facts to the district
attorney.
Good Judgment and penetration are
oftimes set at naught by this singular
idiosyncrasy of human nature to paint its
own side in glowing colors and picture
the other in the darkest shades possi-
BILE.
1t is the experience OF the Office that
men are just as bad as women in the
tendency to depart from the straight
facts of case.
Not long ago fierce looking woman
was turned over to Deputy District At
terney Davis to ascertain if the strong
arm OF the law could not be invoked in
her behalf. After setting herself grimly
in a chair in his room and rendering
Mr.. Davis almost incapable OF coherent
Thought by her strong glare, she said:
sssss Young nUns you- -uuv ora enough
looking to suit me, but you'll do. l
want my old man chucked in Jail. Fix
up your papers right off; 1 don't want
any foolishness.
"What has your husband done, ma
dam ?" mildly asked Mr.. Davis.
ut don't matter about that; you jest
! fix them papers and no more talk" and
she fixed the poor boy with aglance full
of dynamite.
But, madam. you must charge
crime before | can issue complaint"
1t might he murder, but it amt"
snapped the woman, as Der enormous
bosom rose and fell.
We'll, well," said LIE Compte, reaa-
suringy.
Il suppose you call it adultery" she
exploded, and burst into food OF tears
that well nigh drowned the oblging dep
uty.
"What evidence have vou?" auaver-
ingly asked Mr.. DAVIS.
Evidence Evidence 1 tell you it's
true. You jail him, that's all"
But, Mrs. Marjoram. you must tell
me upon what you base your charge"
Must tell you all about it? Well,
my old man has been talking nice aev-
eral times about that Mrs. Bubble. Size
lives next door. | came home suddenly
the other evening and went out through
the kitchen. There was John talking
with her over the back fence, and they
were having big laugh. They stopped
when they seen me, and just set down
and cried. John came in and | told him
he'd broken my heart, aud he called me
d--n fool. No man can do that, and
| tell you | want him to be jailed, and
you say it's adultery and I'll swear to
it,"
''Csn't do it, ma'am." said Mr.. Davis.
And you the deestrict attorney" she
hissed. Fine old office this is; but I'll
get even with that huzzy yet, in spite of
your old Office" and Mrs. Marjorsm
strobe out with disgust covering her
broad, red face like blanket.
Every one of the deputies has had ex-
periences that would I'LL volumes if they
were written out. 1t is not only in
cases where the facts are distorted that
trouble ensues, but many a case con-
tains just enough elements of crime 10
be useless as basis for q legal COM
plant
Not long since a business man told
Mr., Davis about man who had given
him check upon one OF the city banks
for small amount. Upon investigation
it was found that the drawer OF the
check had no funds in the bank. The
business man wanted the man arrested
upon a charge of obtaining money
under false pretenses. 1t happened
that Mr.. Davis knew of certain erratic
doings of the man who had drawn the
check, and that he was regarded as
slightly unbalanced. The facts OF the
l.