The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-11-16
As to an Attorney General.

The solicitude about mixing up the
Supreme Court with political matters
by referring to that body the appoint
ment of the attorney general, as propos-
ed in the bill which has passed the
Senate, does not appear to be warranted.
If there is an office, next to that of
Judge which should be non-political, it
is that of attorney general. There
should be no politics in prosecuting
law breakers, no more than in trying
their cases. Their honors of the Su-
preme Court ought to be competent
Judges of a proper supervisor of prose.
cutions and legal advisor of State Of
ficers, as well as of law. There is less
danger Of involving the bench 10 politi-
cal complications by making it the APP
pointing power in this matter than in
the method the State has adopted for
choosing the judges themselves, max
ing them dependent upon the Legisla-
ture for reelection biennially.
There are very strong reasons why
the bill creating the Office of attorney
general should become law. Prose-
cutions under the law should be in uni
form accordance with the laws in all
parts of the State. Uuder the existing
status there are fourteen prosecutors,
without head over them, and there
are fourteen different kinds of admins
tration of the same laws. In no kind
of business would there be fourteen de.
partments administering the same in.
terests without having over the heads
of those departments competent gu.
pervisor. In one county, for example
there is one sort of administration--ol
non administration-of the prohibitory
law, and in another county there is al
entirely different administration of the
same law, by the States attorneys
These officers need both regulator
and an advisor, and if any are disposed
to laxity in doing plain duty they
should have a power over them to re
quire them to do efficiently what the
law makes it the business Of the State,
attorney 10 do. The law should not BIZ
made fish in one county and fowl il
another. A competent attorney gen
eral, such as the Supreme Court would
appoint, ought to be able to secure The
full and uniform enforcement of all thu
laws, in their letter and spirit, through
out the State.
The money aspect of the matter o
creating this Office is of entirely sec
ondary consideration. The expense
to the State may or may not be CREATE
than under existing conditions, but thu
main thing is the best attainsble en-
forcement of the laws. But the cos
will not necessarily be materially in
creased, if increased at all. Here il
Washington county, during the pas
two years, occurred two cases, thu
Marsh-Buzzell and the Brewster muir
der cases, in prosecuting which larg'
extra cost accrued to the State by tn,
necessary employment of counsel Il
assist the States attorney. Some larg'
part, if not all, of this expenditure
would have been saved by the partici
patton of an attorney general, if Their
had been such an officer, in the prose
cution. There lie a reasonable pre-
sumption that an officer of this RAM
would save the State in money hereto
fore paid hired counsel, the bulk,
not all the salary paid him, and Their
must inevitably result far better ant
more satisfactory administration of tn
laws.