The herald., 1898-01-31
LOS ANGELES HERALD. MONDAY MORNING JANUARY 1898

/ 1t to the notice of any other membe
of the board. He claims, in his evidence
that he demanded Axtells resignation
because he thought his actions wer
wrong; but he does not appear eve
to have taken any other member o
the board into his confidence with ref
erence to what he confessedly consid
cred wrong action of one of it's mos
important employees. 1t is true that de
fendant testified that he afterward dis
in this action of Axtell's, and de.
stroyed Axtelrs resigna ton, claim
ing that it was done in Axtell,s
presence. This Axtell. positively de
nies. and considering the fact that thu
evidence shows that Axtell thereafter
acted in most abject subserviency t
the defendant. it seems improbable
that the resignation had been de.
stroyed, or if it had, that Axtell knew
it. This occurred between the middle
and the last of April; all knowledge OF
it. as said before. was carefully shut
out from any other member of the
board, even from McInerny, against
whom it would appear that defendant
also might have been seeking to obtain
information which would give him a
hold upon him. Within six weeks, OF
less, of the time that AXtelfS resigna-
tion came into the defendants hands
and defendant had secured this addi-
tional hold upon Axtell, his most inti-
mate business associate among the en-
ployes of the board, Axtell appears by
his own testimony and that of Adams,
as well as that of numerous teachers
and janitors. who were held up or at
tempted to be held up, to have en-
barked upon his career of bribe solic-
itor, demanding considerations from
teachers. janitors and contractors. as
he testifies, by the orders of Adams
and Webb. Upon two of these mat
ters the defendant was put on trial,
viz, the receiving of $50 paid by jan
itor Cooper, for retaining his position
as janitor and $500 paid by Janitor
Morris. in connection with his position
as ianitor of the High School building.
HIS INSTRUCTIONS
Axtell testified that Adams first men,
toned to him the matter of principals
having for their places, but that the
first positive instructions which he re-
ceived as to attempting to hold up any
one came from the defendant and re-
lated to a list of principals which the
defendant put into his hands, instruct
ing him to demand compensation for
the retention of their positions. 1t may
be noted here that AXtelfs testimony
in this respect is to some extent sup
ported by a list of these principals
which he shows entered upon a little
daily memorandum book in which he
was in the habit of making memo
randa as to school and other matters,
and which he claims was taken down
from defendants dictation. This, 1t
appears by the testimony of Axtell, oc-
Cured after the defendant had secured
Axtelrs resignation and his signed
statement with reference to the Nc
Inerny transaction. 1t has been shown
by the testimony of Bonebrake, Phil
lips and Keppel. that Axtell endeav-
ored. without success, to carry out the
instructions which he claims to have
received with reference to the prin-
cipals. by suggesting to each one of
them the propriety of paying some
thing to retain his position. In this
connection it will also be noted that
Axtell testifes that he refused to see
some parties who were named to him
by the defendant, and only agreed to
see those of the list in whom he felt a
personal interest and whom he thought
he might serve by being able to sug-
gest to them means of saving
their positions. The testimony cer-
tainly shows that he only spoke
to those of the list with whom
he had a degree of friendship and more
or less intimate association. Ana II IS
a somewhat remarkable fact that each
of these men appeared when they testi-
fed to believe that Axtell was not seek
ing any personal profit for himself by
thus approaching them, and that ne
was not himself to be benefited by any
thing that they might have paid him. AS
to the payment of the money by JAM
tor Cooper, Axtell testifies that the first
person who mentioned that to him was
Adams. the defendants contender OF
the Supply Committee, and also mem
ber of the Committee on Janitors; that
when the money was collected from
Cooper through the medium of Dr. Pit
man to whom Cooper paid it and who
paid it to AXtell. he (AXtelD went at
once to defendant and paid it to him;
the defendant remarking when he re-
ceived it that it belonged to Adams
HIS NEED
AXtell's testimony. as to the payment
of the money to him, Is sustained by
Cooper, and his testimony as to the re-
ceiving of the money by defendant is
sustained by Adams. who admits that
he expected to receive at least portion
of the money, but testifies that defend
ant, when he told him (Adams) that
on the ground that The was in great
on the grounds that "eh was in great
need of money to pay his expenses to
the National Teachers Association, as
he had not been able to get the $500
warrant cashed that the school board
drew for the expenses of his trip, and
$50 to help pay his expenses" AS some
corroboration of this, it may be noted
that that condition of affairs, as to the
warrant, existed at that time, the de-
fendant having before him a trip in
volving more or less expense, which he
took shortly afterward, and not having
received upon the warrant the money
designed by the school board to defray
the expenses of that trip. In addition
to. and probably more important than
the corroboration of Axtelrs testimony
by that Of Adams, is the corroboration
which it receives from numerous Incl
dents surrounding the transaction. and
from matters which transpired there
after. In the first place, there can be
no question that before AXtell under
took to receive this money from Cooper,
and before, according to his testimony,
he paid it to the defendant, the defend
ant had acquired strong influence
over him. through the McInerny matter
and the possession of his resignation,
an influence which defendant appears
to have studiously kept from the
knowledge of his fellow members of
the board. Axtell states further that
when it was ascertained that the grand
jury was investigating these matters,
he sent an urgent message to the de-
fendant to leave his place of business
and come down to AXtells office, in the
Spring school building; that the
defendant did so, and that after
excluding every one else from the
ROOM himself and defendant had GER
tain conversations respecting these
matters, in which they were Jointly
guilty. This, of course, the defend
ant denies, but AxtelPs testimony, as
to the message having been sent at the