Embezzlement Charges Target Candidate for Supreme Bench
A political scandal erupts as accusations of financial impropriety in Arizona shadow a candidate's judicial run in Washington.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There is a great deal being said regarding the integrity of T. L. Stiles, who was nominated by the Republicans for one of the judges of the supreme bench. The accusations charge him with having received at sundry times while residing in Arizona large sums of money belonging to the estates of James H. Toole and Hudson & Co., and that he converted the same to his own use and now has the sum of $10,000 or more in his possession. Judge Barnes, of Arizona, in a suit tried before him in which Stiles was defendant, found and adjudged that Stiles had received and misapplied over $6,000 belonging to the James H. Toole estate and ordered him to repay the money, but Stiles failed to comply with the orders of the court and quietly left Arizona and came to Washington Territory where he now lives in ease.
“If there is any department of the state government which, above another, needs to be kept clean and pure, it is the Judiciary.”
This reflects a recurring struggle in American politics: the tension between party loyalty and the ethical character of judicial candidates. The article serves as a reminder that debates over the integrity of the bench and the 'baggage' of political appointees are foundational to the state's early legal history.
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