The Washington herald., 1917-09-30
d LAW is BLAMED.
Writer Would Have Change Made
In Minor Officials.

To the Congress of the United
States: The present Secretary of the
Navy has been blamed, sometimes,
for things which are the remote re-
suits of bad legislation in time of
peace, and while his own subordinates
have not pointed to him for the
reason that they benefit by the error.
For instance. an influential Iowa Sem
ator, in 1880, wanted to create the Of
fee, for an Iowa constituent, of
Judge Advocate General, and. as the
constituent was a Marine Corps cap
tain, in order to exclude civilian law
yer rivals from competing for the Of
fee. the act of June s, 1850, compelled
the President to select the chief law
adviser of the Navy Department from
Navy or Marine officers only. The
act added that as long as the denizen
of the office could conceal from the
government the subtle evils of having
the navy advised, legally, by a man
not a professional lawyer (even If an
amateur one), he was to be rewarded
for his imposition on the government
with higher pay and rank while he
held that office. As every naval officer
when in law trouble (as for example,
Commodore Schley, before the Santi-
ago Court of Inquiry, prefers civil
ian, expert counsel, why should not
naval officers collectively have the
sort of counsel which judicial records
prove they individually select, as
knowing to be best. Is not the pres
ent law as foolish as law that
should require every grocer to limit
himself to employing a lawyer who
vas a grocer?
Office Is InfsentlaI.
The office of Judge Advocate Gen.
eral is peculiarly influential Some
years ago its "chief clerk" wanted a
bigger title and more pay. and the
result was another delusive office, ex-
pressed in the act of June %, 1906.
thus:
THE Solicitor in the office Of Judge
Advocate General of the navy shall
hereafter receive an annual salary of
1900 during the services of the pres
ent incumbent"
Still later. another patriot, feeling
that no officer could assist" the
navy's law counsel like another anna
teur lawyer, and particularly like
himself, induced Congress to further
exclude, from that agreeable Shore
duty" all staff officers, and so we
read this advance on the Iowa Sena-
tors exclusiveness In the act of
August %. 1916:
Hereafter an officer of the line of
the Navy or Marine Corps may be
detailed as assistant to the Judge Ad-
vocate General"
The Congressional Directory, under
Official Duties" shows that the
Judge advocate generals duties are
those of legal adviser. II a civilian
lawyer, trusted by the Secretary,
were appointed to that position, there
could be detailed to assist him, on
ordinary shore duty" the very men
whose thoughtless, unlearned, bung-
ling, crude or thoughtfully selfish or
dishonest advice" now goes to the
Secretary of the Navy unchecked by
an experienced professional legal ad-
wiser. Courts of equity condemn such
guardianships as those where the
guardian has an adverse interest in
the estate of his ward; the "line Of
ficer' has a property in the navy
which is not that of the stair" Of
ficer, and he will Counsel with an
eye to his OWE private property inter-
ests. A civilian appointee would not
Neither line" nor staff" his only
interest would be to advise rightly.
The War Departments corps OF
judge advocates are all lawyers, and
permanently such. The navy's advo-
cate general loves a temporary Job
and ceases to be patriotic enough to
want to give his law learning to that
office when he rises above its rank
captain in the navy or colonel in the
Marine Corpsl. 1t is then disclosed
that even his long experience as Judge
Advocate General has no value to the
navy. Why, then, should he be
sought as legal adviser when he has
no experience. and can be made the
subordinate or assistant of some law
yer of proved ability. who can pass
on naval law questions as rapidly as
do the auditor for the Navy Depart
ment. the Comptroller of the Treas
ury, the Attorney General, the Court
of Claims and the naval committees
Of Congress?
Will the latter give a hearing on the
subject by the introduction of some
appropriate bill?
Even the fact that the submarine is
unconquered can be traced to the fact
that the navy is uncounselled, leg
ally, In unobserved details, perceptible
to an expert lawyers eye, too mi
a L