Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-09
JUSTICES GET MONEY
LONG DENIED THEN
SELPH AND SUNNI MERFIELD DRAW
BACK PAY
Review of Mandate Case Refused by
Supreme Court and Auditor Is
Compelled to Pay
Salaries

With their faces wreathed in smiles
Justices Selph and Summerfeld went arm
in arm to Auditor Dow's office yesterday
and drew three months salary which hao
been withheld pending the decision of the
supreme court in the mandamus proceed
ings brought by them to compel the audi
tor to pay the salaries.
Tuesday a telegram was received from
the clerk of the supreme, court to the
effect that a review of the case as decided
by the court of appeals was denied, which
meant that the decision of the appellate
court and the validity of the law were
upheld.
When the law passed by the recent leg
islature replacing the old fee system of
compensation of township Justices with a
monthly salary of $3.50 was about to go
into effect last spring Attorney H. H.
Appel wrote to Courty Auditor Dow,
stating as a privatea citizen and a tax
payer he had looked into the new law
and was convinced that 1t was uncon-
stitutional.
Takes Attorneys Hint
After defining the point involved the
writer suggested that before any salary
vouchers were indorsed the auditor
ought to get an authoritative legal opin-
ion. Dow took the hint, and when the
of any of the justices.
Then Justices Summerfield and Selph
combined in an application for a writ of
mandamus compelling the auditor to give
his official sanction to the payment of the
salaries. The proceedings were opposed
by Justices Pierce and Stephens, through
Attorneys Anderson & Anderson and H.
H. Appel. Both the superior and appellate
courts ordered the writ of mandate to
issue, and the contestants carried ne case
to the supreme court.
Pending the decision of the suit, Justice
Stephens has placed his fees in escrow
with the county treasurer, while Justice
Pierce continued to pocket the proceeds of
his office, as in the palmy days of yore.
Justice Stephens is out of town on his
vacation and could not be reached yester-
day.
Justice Pierce refused to talk for publi-
cation, remarking that the matter had
been sufficiently exploited in the newspa
pers
He recently brought suit in Justice
Stephens court against the county for
$256, alleging that the supervisors had re-
fused to pay the rent for his office on
New High street, which he claimed was
fair and reasonable.
The supervisors rejected the claim be-
cause it called for more than $50 per
month.
Coincident with the supreme court decis-
ion in the salary law test case is a re-
markable increase of business ir Justice
Stephens court. On August 6 and thir-
ty-one new suits were filed, involving
damages aggregating $2,6199O.
'"This is a little more than we usually
have irr whole week." said Clerk Sidney
Reeves yesterday, land while the decis-
ion probably had nothing to do with it,
the fact remains that new suits began to
pile up here the same day tho decision
was made public, and continued to the
evening"
The suits were brought for every imag-
Unable cause, including personal damages,
service rendered and debts In the alb
sence of Justice Stephens Justice Selph
is hearing the cases tried in that court.