Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-04-19
Suing the Government
BY Frederic ]. Haskin.

the United States bought the land irnme- |
diatcly adjoining his, and built coast |
defense fortilication equipped with ord |
nance of the largest ealiber. These great |
guns were regularly used for target prae- |
tloe. Every time one of them went OF,
the vibration would shake the hotel and |
shiver n few Of its windows. No one |
would stay there. The owner was ruined. |
He sued the government under clause |
Of the Judicial Code by which the govern |
meut makes itself responsible for property
taken by its agents. He contended that |
to all intents and purposes the govern
nent had taken his hotel away from
him. Both the Court Of Claims and
the Supreme Court disagreed with him.
He got nothing. The great guns sti
boom, and his windowless deserted hotel
stands as n monument TO the irresponsi-
biity OF governments.
LAW NOT JUSTICE.
This case is an excellent example Of the
difference between law and justice. Ac-
cording to the highest courts ~ the land,
this man got all that was coming 20 him
under the law, but he certainly got no
Justice whatever. This is not fair
example, however, of n suit against the
government. Most persons who have a
claim for property or money against the
government can find IN the law some
| clause tipon which to base their claims,
| and they have about as good a chance IN
| the courts against the government as
| they would have against any other de-
| fendant But the extent TO which the
| government can be sued ia strictly limited.
| According to Harvey Jacobs, a lawyer OF
| the Department of Justice who is con-
| cerned with the defense of claims against
/ Al. a5s
yers understand Just how and on what
grounds the government can be sued
/ IL seems worth while, therefore, 10
explain briefly tho legal status Of the
! government.
| II Is a basic principle of common law
that no government can be sued without
| ita parfniseion The courts and tho law
arc creatures Of the government and y
cannot be subject TO its own creatures
rSrept insofar as it Wills But tho governs
has to make contrhets and 80 do business
lust like common citizen, and 1t IT. held
| Itself wholly above the law no ono would
| want to make contracts or do business
| with IT, Therefore the government mas
chosen 10 make itself usabe ~ certain
eases. The general grounds upon which
IL may be sued are set forth ~ Section
! tdh of the Judicial Code. and there are ~
# / =
ing out of special events or conditions
WHEN GOVERNMENT Is IHHEspovsrRtE.
Before explaining wherein the govern
ment holds itself responsible for lts acts
il il well to understand the caseE IN which
IL is most completely irresponsible. he
government is not responsive tor inc negil-
pancn nf rs servants. This from the
viewpoint If tho citizen. IS the CREST
weakness IN tie legal position. nc govern
rnent i responsible for whatever Is done
deliberately in its name hv one Of its
servants but not for the stupid or care
less acts Of those same servants. Thus 1t
trnop of cavalry camps by your farm
and tho commanding officer approprlates
vour haystack to feed the horses. Sou
ran stla for the value of the hay and have
some chance tn get IT, But II that same
officer builds his campfire by your hay
stack and burns ID up, Il Is useless Tor you
even 10 seek fnancial redress. again, the
streets of Washington are filled with
great government trucks belonging To
various departments. These arc often
driven at hreakncck speed by careless
BOYS. But II ono Of them strikes you anu
injuries you, YOU have no financial redress
. You may sic the driver as an indlVldaal
hut "A he has no money, TINS does you NJ
good During the war long professions OF
: the-e trucks went tearing about the
country and ordinary citizens frequently
| had 10 take the ditch 10 escape them,
. They were supreme and irresponsible
The divine right Of kings has lts modern
reerudescenee in the divine right ol
! government truck drivers.
According 10 the lawyers, the theory
Is that the government cannot be re-
sponsible for all of the thousands OF u:
servants. Nearly al governments hold
I themselves thus exempt. But the theory
: seems chlldishly unsuund. If the govern
tnent y not responsible for them, who -
This remuneration Of legal responsibility
on the part Of the government amounts
c 10 the creation of thousands OF partl3
= irresponsible persons But the whoi'
: ! purpose Of law Is to fix responsibility 10
= everything somewhere. This legal theori
| is therefore a negatl0n OF the main purpos'
of law Corporations having thousand
: of employees are held responsible tor tn
e slightest negligence on the part OF thes
> employees. Why should a government
: truck be able TO run over yOu with I'm
punitv. 50 far as payment of damages ]
concerned, while If street car hits YOU
the company IS held responsible an
: almost always made to pay
=
: II is agreed by some lawyers that tn
: government position is weak, and that
: should be made responsible for the care
: less acts Of its employees Until fe'
: years ago workman injured IN govern
: ment service could not recover damages
: This was remedied a few years az
: by the creation of the Employees Com
+ pensation Commission. The tendenc.
: is always to make the government NOR
: and more responsible for its acts, bu
: that responsibility is still far from CON
: plete.
: Section l45 Of the Judicial Code set
! forth the general grounds upon which tn
! government allows itself 10 be sUed j
: general il may be sued for any caus
: arising lout OF n law of Congress or
: contract express or implied made by IN
! government The general effect Of thu
= section is to make the government legal
: responsible in it's business dealings, muc
: as n private individual or corporation
I responsible Like a corporation it has
: large corps OF lawyers TO defend It, an
I they. like all lawyers, diligently hun
= loophoes In the law by which their ellen
: NAV escape his responsibility. The plaiI
= tiff against the government sometime
Lt gets Justice and sometimes he merel
i eetselaw But that is true Of plaintl
s against any powerful organization d
t Tended by able lawyers.
~ SAMPLE CASES