Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-23
HEWITT SKATERS
FREDERICKS' CASE
Thomas Lee WoolWine Receives
Letter from Former Los An
geIeS City Attorney
FACTS BEHIND RESIGNATION
REIMBURSEMENT of Place Is De-
cIared to Have Been Vol
untary in All Respects
FACTS BEHIND RESIGNATION

Thomas Lee Woolwine received an
other strong Endorsement yesterday
and a vindication which skaters an
attempted argument of his opponent
for district attorney ]. d. Fredericks.
1t came in the following letter from
Leslie r. Hewitt, former city attorney,
in which Mr. Hewitt said:
LETTER OF LESLIE HEWITT
Los Angeles, Oct. %, 1910.
"Mr Thomas Lee Woolwine, City.
Dear Sir: My attention has been
called to the fact that Mr.. Fredercks,
in his speech delivered at Long Beach
last evening, referring to your connec-
ton with the office of city attorney,
and your subsequent resignation there
from, is reported to have made the
following statement:
" He chat is, Mr.. Woolwine) oc-
cupied a minor position in the city
attorneys office for about a year.
Next he occupied the position of prose-
cutor, and was requested by the head
of that office to resign, and compelled
to do so by reason of his inefficiency.
"The facts with reference to this
matter are the following:
TN the early part of October, 1908,
l, being city attorney at the time, left
Los Angeles to attend to legal busi-
ness for the city at Washington. You
were then city prosecutor, under ap-
pointment by me, and also a deputy
district attorney, under appointment
by Mr.. F'redericks. The controversy
over the situation In this city as to
law enforcement and vice protection,
was then at it's height, and a grand
jury was investigating the matter.
PERIL IN REMOVAL ACT
about two weeks after my depar-
ture, and while I was still in the city
of Washington, received word from
the assistant city attorney to the effect
that Mr. Fredericks had removed you.
as deputy district attorney, and had
thereby deprived you of authority to
conduct prosecutions for violating state
misdemeanor laws, and that you were
refusing to permit your assistants in
the city prosecutors office, who were
also deputy district attorneys, to con-
duct prosecutions, on the ground that
for them to prosecute for such misde-
meanors, and for you, the head of
the department, not to have power to
so do, would place you In an untena-
BILE and anomalous position.
upon the receipt of these advices
I at once telegraphed to you that in
my judgment, in view Of the supreme
Importance of seeing to it that the
public interest and business should not
suffer, even though an unfair advan-
tage was being taken of the situation
by others, that your assistants should
continue to prosecute for offenses
against the state law, even though
Mr.. F'redericks had deprived you per-
sonally of that authority.
RESIGNATION WAS VOLUNTARY
upon my return to Los Angeles,
about the 10th of November, 1 found
your resignation upon my desk, dated
Oct 29, 1908, in which you stated that
you took this step with full realiza-
tion that conditions had so shaped
themselves that it would be unpatri-
otic and unwise for you to continue in
office.
'"The foregoing is statement of the
circumstances attending your resigna-
tion. You were neither compelled nor
requested to resign, but your resigna-
tion was your voluntary act, forced
upon you, no doubt, by the impossible
situation in which you were placed by
being deprived Of your power as
deputy district attorney. AS to your
efficiency and work while you were in
the employ of the city as my deputy,
I consider that you proved yourself
vigilant and competent official and
your work met with my commentator.
VERY truly yours
LESLIE R. HEWITT"