Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-07-13
LAWYERS To HEAR
LEGAL QUESTIONS
Of PEACE COUNCIL
Secretary Lansing to Be 0neI
Of Principal Speakers att
Convention in Baltimore
Next September,

BaltlulOIe, MuI july lZ,--Nlln the
announcement that one of the princi-
pal addresses viii! be delivered by.
Secretary of State Robert Lansing,
plans for the next annual meeting of
the American Bar association are be-
ing rapidly completed. The meeting.
which will be one of the most i'm
portant in the history of the organi-
cation, will be held at Boston, Mass,
on September 3, and 5, and will be
attended by prominent members of
the legal profession from every part
of the country.
1t had been intended to hold the
meeting at New London, Conn, but
arrangements were made last week to
go to Boston instead. in order to as
sure the members of adequate hotel
accommodations.
The association has Just been adj
vised of Secretary Lansing's accept
ance of the invitation to speak His
subject will be Some Legal Questions
of the Peace Conference" Because of
his membership on the American com
mission to the peace conference Mr..
Lansing's address will doubtless prove
of nationwide interest
DR.. David Jayne Hill of New York,
former United States ambassador to
Germany, will also deliver one of the
addresses at the meeting. Others on
the program are Hon, Robert Lynn
Bats of Texas, circuit court Judge of
the Fifth judicial circuit ana Albert
G. Richie, attorney genera. of Mary
land and former general counsel to
the war industries board. Mr.. RitChies
address will be ON the Power of Con-
gress to Tax Securities Under the Six
teenth Amendment" The address
will be followed by a general discus
sion of the subject by the members of
the association.
The first session of the meeting will
be addressed by Hon. Calvin Coolidge,
governor of Massachusetts,, and by the
president of the association, Hon.
recently appointed federal circuit
judge in the Seventh circuit, en-
bracing the states of Indiana, Illinois
and Wisconsin.
one of the main features of the
meeting will be the general debate on
the law of courts martial to be held
during the fourth session on Thurs
day, September 4. The debate will
include a discussion of the report OF
the special committee on courts-mar-
tial appointed by President Page to
investigate the charges that sentences
imposed by the military authorities
during the war We're unfair and UNI
necessarily severe. This committee,
which comprises S. S, Gregory, Chi
cago, ILL.,, chairman William p. By
mum, Greensboro, n. c.; Martin Con-
boy, New York city; Andrew A. Bruce,
Minneapolis, Mimi; and John Hink-
ley, Baltimore. Md, has been at work
several months making an exhaustive
study of the subject.
OF special interest to the public is
the recent report of the special COM
mittee for war service made by its
chairman, John Lowell. This COM
mittee began work in January, 1918,
in cooperation with the department
of labor. Practically every govern
ment department.. bureau and COM
mission used the services of the COM
mittee in obtaining lawyers FOR work
connected with the prosecution of the
war. Lawyers were supplied for work
in Washington, in every part of the
country and also for duty overseas.
Tho committee was largely instru-
mental in bringing about the creation
of a personnel section in the war de-
partment, in order that the committee
should be able to supply, as far as
possible, the need for lawyers. The
part played by the committee in
bringing an end to the practice of
handling war risk insurance claims at
eXorbitant rates is described in the re-
port as follows;
Soon after the committee entered
upon its work in Washington it learn
ed that claims agents and pension at
torneys were inducing beneficiaries of
war risk insurance to place in then
hands claims against the government
on a percentage basis and at eXorbi-
tant rates. In most instances 1t was
entirely unnecessary to employ law
yers, and many times the claims were
obtained through misrepresentation
The committee also learned that con-
gress, knowing of this situation, was
proposing to restrict the fees of
agents and attorneys and that Con-
gresham Treadway of Massachusetts
was working on a bill to effect this
purpose. We discovered that the bu-
reau of war risk insurance was una
ware both of the practices of these
claim agents and attorneys and also
of the proposed bill
The committee arranged for con-
ference between Congressman Tread
way and the law department of the
bureau of war risk insurance and
assisted in the drafting of the bill
which afterwards became law. 1t
was evident that in order to render
effectual the purpose of the bill we
must obtain the gratuitous assistance
of the lawyers of the country. To ac-
accomplish this purpose we worked
with the secretary of the treasury and
of NIT nd
thereby obtained the voluntary serv-
ices of a large proportion of the bar
of the country, who, in addition to the
work they had done for about 9,000,-
600 registrants in working out their
missionaries, and also helped the
enlisted men in various ways with the
aid of the home sections of the Red
Cross and the committees of the state
councils of defense. The result of this
work will be to get for the soldiers and
sailors substantially the full amount
of the money due them on their war
risk Insurance
The committee also, being intrusted
by the war department with the han
ding of correspondence from soldiers,
sailors and their dependents where
their rights were attacked in violation
of the soldiers and sailors relief act,
was enabled to select lawyers to give.
protection and advice in such cases.
The committee reported that in every
instance was legal service given free.
A number of other problems dealing
with interned alien enemies and with
the work of the department of labor
were handled with the assistance of
the committee. The secretary recently
has been helping the department of
labor in formulating the plans for a