The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-12-01
District Attorney DOnnell Will
Make a Test
TO SUE DR.. G. w. CAMPBELL
Will Wait Until the Court Declares His
Charges Arc Illegal
rhs Careless Manner In Which Improper
Claims Are Approved by the Distriet
Attorneys Office

Major J. A. Donnell. the district a tor
new Of Los Angeles county, states that g
will commence suit aga inst Or. ueofge
W. Campbell to recover from him all
nonsvs that he has illegally taken from
the county treasury in the shape of ices
for alleged services performed as ooron er
OF this county.
Major DonnelI adds, however, that he
is going to wait until it is determined by
a court of law that the charges that DE-.
Campbell has made for the sixty-tnree
"ipouests'' the doctor has hello without
juries are not inquests.
The major says that there is DOUBT IN
his mind as to whether or not an inquest
can be held without a jury. he denies
that be ever expressly stated to Dr.
Campbei that the charge he was making
for holding inqucsts that were not in
quests was legal demand upon the
county and should therefore be paid.
The truth of the matter IS simply TINS:
Every illegal bill presented to the county
BY Dr.. Campbell, either on his own ac-
count or by his stenographer, have been
marked this way:
APPROVED BY THE DISTRICT AT
TORNEI
have examined the within claim and
find the sum of s ~ to be a legal charge
'' ]. A.. DoNNELL.
District Attorney.
BY g. NJ. Holton, Deputy.
Now. the district attorneys Office can
not dodge the responsibility attaching TO
the presentation and collection of these
Illegal demands. Ma jor Donnell states
that they have been allowed i'll years
yone by. That may all be true, but it is
IL inv
hell or his chief deputy should at this
hay sign and approve demand that is
illegal and then defend themselves with
The plea that it was done before.
Major Donnell states That nowhere In
the statutes is there clause which auth
orizes the coroner to charge lee OF 70 Tor
any service lie performs. That is exactly
what Dr.. Campbell has done. Therefore
his charge is palpaby an illegal one.
Yet it has been approved on Major DON
nell's name by G. M. Holton. his chief
deputy.
hold he has charged $40. For these al
legged inquests ne has charged So. The
law allows a $40 Zee for inquests. The
fact that be only charged s. for these
sixty-three Investigations, or alleged in
quests, is prima facie evidence that
neither he ncr che approving deputy
district attorney considered that they
were inquests. If the coroner had consid.
cred them as such he would have put in
. $40 fee.
Major Donnel says that he will recover
every dollar that either DR.. Campbell or
any one else has illegally taken from the
public treasury. Now, all the Herald
wants is for Major Donnell to make that
assertion good.
AND THERE ARE OTHERS.
Major DonneIl, while he is about it,
i~h the that
has been Illegally taken out of tho treas
nry BY DR.. Campbell's stenographer. The
law limits the Office to $3.50 per month.
Yet in January S249. so was drawn out. In
March $170.l5 was the rake-off. In May
It reached $177.S0. In July it was Sl64.s0
In August II was S246.50. In October a
bill for Slso.10 was put in. A II these bills
were approved by Deputy District Attor-
ney Holton and by DR.. Campbell. Every
dollar over $50 per month was illegally
drawn. The auditor at last called the
stenographer down, and the October bill
was cut to $3.50. That is what the cor
oner's stenogra pher Is getting now. 1t
is an outrageously high charge, but 1t Is
legal.
THE PRINCIPLE INVOLVED.
Attention is directed to these illegal
charges, which have been approved by
the supervisors, the district attorneys
office and every public Official whose con-
sent was necessary TO get the taxpayers
money out OF the public treasury for this
purpose: it illustrates the system ny
which the peoples business is transacted
when it comes to dealing out the public
money. Anything goes. In these cases
the amounts taken are small, but the
principle ~ the same. If the money can
ha rannyora1 in the 0f DIR ( "a m n
bell, then one thing is certain: There is
no hope OF compelling restoration in
other cases. Thousands of dollars have
been illegally taken out OF the treasury
With ease and dispatch. But to get d few
hundred dollars of that money restored
IS going to call for battle royal. The
coroner's case will be criterion and a
test.
TIE Herald has no desire to be unneces-
saiiIy severe on DR.. Cam obell. Yester-
day afternoon a representative OF the
paper called upon the doctor and asked
him this question:
DR.. CAMPBELL SILENT.
doctor, if the courts deciue that you
have illegally distracted moneys from
the public treasury, do you stand pre-
pared to restore the amount it is deter
mined you have received which does not
belong to your
~ have nothing to say through The
Herald. When make a statement to the
public 1t will be over my own signature.
All endeavor TO persuade DR.. Campbell
to make an explanation OF his conduct
in making his heavy demands ON the
public treasury failed. He had abso-
Iutely nothing to say in Justification OF
his course, one way or the other.
The allegation is made by some that
DR.. Campbell was becoming too big fig
uTe in the local Republican political
arena. He has always been known as
very clever manipulation, d man of many
friendships and of pleasant personality.
There are those who state that the doctor
was rapidly developing into a greater
factor than some of the ring bosses de-
aired to have him become, and that, there
fore, he was singled out 10 be the saor-
ice OF the present grand Jury.
Be that as il may, DR.. Cam bell should
convey back into the public treasury ev-