Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-13
THE FREDERICKS-PATTER.
SON SCANDAL

II ISTRICT ATTORNEY FREDER-
ICKS makes the explanation of
A. the nepotism in his office that
was expected. 1t was his brother who
drew money from the county treasury
on two orders (and perhaps on many
others; only a probe will reveal thaD,
but the reasons therefor are so funny
that Captain Fredericks must think he
is explaining to children. They show
such a lack of appreciation of the grav-
ity of the thing that he is revealed as
morally unfit to hold an. office of trust
! In substance they are as follows:
My brother, an eminent physician"
! from the east, was out here with no
source of income, so it occurred to me
to make use of him in behalf of the
county. did so, using a false name as
the spy on some gamblers at Venice
and 1 asked him to help me "in this
and some other cases." l signed his
vouchers for pay under a false name,
! because as a matter of pride he didn't
want to appear in the cases.
Captain Fredericks ignores the fact
that MORALLY the USE OF A FALSE
! NAME in a transaction of this kind IS
AS BAD AS FORGERY, and warrants
the worst suspicious of graver transac-
tions. If he admits the payment of $500
of the county funds to his brother, he
must pardon the public for wondering
whether an official who could put his
relative on the pay roll under a false
name and now defend the action as
proper, has not been taking care" of
this brother and other relatives and
| friends to much greater extent.
The explanation that David Patter-
son" is his brothers true name is
too serious as a revelation of moral
standards to be funny as it otherwise
would be. But in this he is not even
consistent, for note that he excuses the
pseudonym on the ground that the ex-
igencies of detective work require Sc
crecy! That is, secrecy being necessary,
he uses "David Patterson" which is
his true name" Could any attempt
to justify this fragrant nepotism be
more ridiculous and f1shy?
Supposing it be conceded, for the
sake of argument that it was proper
for District Attorney Frederlcks to find
a source of easy money for his brother,
DR.. David Patterson Fredericks,
through his official position, and that
it was necessary and proper for the
latter to work under an assumed name,
it is still not satisfactorily explained
why it was necessary for the doctor to
draw pay under a false name and
through another party. 1t is still un-
! explained why it was proper for the
district attorney to sign the warrant
certifying that a false name was
! true one.
! The whole thing is rank with Tam
manyized politics, on par with the
| district attorneys kindness in putting
the discredited Percy Harmon on the
county pay roll and making the ma
| chine politician, H. S. G. Mccartney,
his deputy, when Mccartney was feed
ing at two other public cribs at the
same time. These latter alliances sweep
aside, in the minds of clean and candid
! men, lll6 dDSuIu anu COilillCliilg eA-
PLANTATION Of the district attorney in
the case of his brother as entirely un
worthy of serious attention.
It is probable that the payments to
the false David Patterson would not
hold water legally, and that any tax
payer could by suing compel him to
disgorge. 1t is also plain that Captain
Fredericks should be defeated at the
coming primaries. But the matter
ought not to stop there. The new dis
trict attorney should at once institute
an investigation and probe to the bot
tom the conditions revealed by this
scandal.