The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-07

He WHOie ttutn HUOut tns view 1oTh
Coroners." said a man yesterday who has
been In touch with the investigation OF
the Office, will never be known. Six
months work by the Commissioner of Ac-
counts has brought to light dozens OF
cases the handling OF which points to
everything from carelessness to down
right concealment OF crime Behind these
cases there is every indication OF dozens
more which have not been CHANGED upon.
Yet enough has been uncovered to con-
Wet the system OF Coroners of complete
rottenness and probably TO insure it's
speedy abolition when the Legislature
meets at Albany the first OF the year
An immediate result OF the investiga-
ton by Commissioner Wallsteln IL the
resignation. effective ten DAYS hence. OF
Louis J. Schwartz as private clerk To
Coroner Hclenstein. Schwartz. who Is a
practising lawyer at $50 Broadway, says
in n letter TO the Coroner:
I'm view OF the Investigation pending,
you wish me tn give up my law business
and devote eight consecutive hours each
day to the Coroners' Office. This request
I am unable to comply with because my
law business requires certain amount
OF time each day"
Coroner Helenstein accepted the res'g-
nation with regret" saying that II is
essential that his clerk work eight hours
day Commissioner Wallstein would
not comment yesterday on Schwartzs
quitting.
Asked About AMdavit.
The lawyer clerk was questioned sew
eral days ago about an affidavit which
Detective william J. Enright SAYS he
signed in blank at Schwartz's request
Enrght afterward repudiated the con-
tents OF the affidavit. which whitewashed
the Coroners handling OF suspicious
death Schwartz called Enright either "a
fool or a liar" Told that the records sup
ported Enright. he sneered: ITS easy
to doctor records" Asked IL he had ever
doctored any. he said feebly that he had
not.
Commissioner Wallstein. who expects
TO conclude the public hearings this week
and to have his report in the hands OF
Mayor Mitchell about New Years day.
has been digging into the Coroners' office
since last June. For months he took
testimony privately. This testimony
made 1000 typewriter pages-a i've
volume record-and only occas onal bits
of II have been disclosed az the public
hearings. which began on November .
and are now drawing TO close
These stray bits have furnished the
startling moments OF the public hearings.
OF which the most startling perhaps was
the revelation Of charges that Coroner's
Physician Albert T. Weston had taken
800 as a present in the death OF a
Christian Scientist
Dr. Weston denies this entirely
As a matter of fact. the private hear
ings before Commissioner Wallsten were
filled with accusations Of the most dis
graceful sort against the Coroners and ali
their works. The Commissioner went
through this great mass of testimony
and sifted 1t until he had excluded eveN-
thing that he as a lawyer knew would
not be deemed competent evidence in
court This eliminated about three out OF
every five cases brought 10 his attention
The remaining two IN I'VE cases he re-
served for his public hearings that the
Coroners might make what public de-
fence they could to these definite accu-
sations.