Imperial Valley press., 1933-02-20
SCHOOL
UNDERF|RE Of
SENATE PROBE
Juvenile Worker Charges Insti-
tuition Used To Provide Jobs
For Governors Friends.
MADE VICTIM OF SPYING
Rolph Quoted As Believing In
System OF Andrew jackson To
Reward Political Aides.

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20. U.P)-
While he was conducting an inves-
tigation into management of the
Whittier state school for boys, Ell
mer r. Murphey, leader in juven-
lie delinquency work, was the OBJ
ject of prrported death plot, the
Inman state senate investigating
committee was told today.
Alfred Urpack, former assistant
placement officer at the school, de-
clared that Owen R. Owen, chief
placement officer, told him late in
1881 that he wanted to get rid of
Murphey and his investigating.
We've got it in for Murphey,
and we've got to bump him off,"
the witness asserted Owen told
him.
Urpack declared the asserted re-
mark was made to him after he
returned from Imperial Valley
where Owen had sent him to in
vestigate an accident involving
Murphey because Owen had heard
"Murphey was intoxicated at the
time.
I'm disappointed in you. You
must do better the next time I
sent you OUT Urpack said Owen
told him when he returned without
any such evidence of intoxication.
Urpack said he had asked owen
what he meant by the remark
We've got to bump him off,
We've got a big truck and we'll
run him off the road and NOW
him down." the witness quoted
Owen as having replied.
His activities in behalf of the
school resulted in personal per-
secution," Murphey charged.
Detectives were sent to shadow
his home, he said, and an attempt
was made to connect him with a
traffic accident in Brawley with
| which he was not connected ex-
cept incidentally.
An aged man slipped and fell on
! the street in front of the automo-
bile Murphey was driving, he tes-
titled, and suffered injuries that
resulted in his death. The Murphey
car din not touch the man, he said,
but charged he was later told that
certain Whittier school officials"
had tried to take advantage of the
incident to manufacture evidence
against him.
Committee members said today
an effort would be made to close
the hearing by Wednesday night,
to enable the senator's to get back
to Sacramento in time for the
opening of the second session OF
the legislature
Highlights of the "spoils system"
charges by Murphey were:
l. That Governor Rolph told a
committee headed by Murphey
and DR.. Walter F.. Dexter, president
of Whittier college, that he couldn't
re-engage Scudder without firing
DR.. Toner then turned to specta-
tors and said: II believe in the
words of Andrew Jackson, who
said: If there isn't Jackson man
for the job, abolish the job"
2 That Joe Toner told Murphey:
"Scudder has been disloyal to the
greatest governor of California. The
department of institutions has a
list of 700 loyal friends. Scudder
wouldn't appoint men unless they
were equipped for the job.
3. That Claude Smith, eX-Texas
sheriff, named to succeed Scudder,
ran Rolph's campaign somewhere
here" and that he admitted no
previous training in boys work.
4. That Dr. George C. Sabachi,
present school superintendent, was
a Bakersfield physician who
claimed to have carried Kern
county for Governor Rolph" and
that his administration of Whittier
state school was a constant and
tragic failure