Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-11-10
WOMAN HANDS
DOWN OPINIONS
IN HIGH OFFICE
Annette Adams Serves With
Credit as Assistant
Attorney General.
DECIDES LAW POINTS

DGOAOGk0 Inv l. OA4t -
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1o.-While women
politicians proclaim the need Of women
in the Cabinet and Congress, Mrs. An
nette Adams is showing what a certain
type of woman may be expected to do
in high office.
AS assistant attorney general, APP
pointed last May, she has to hand down
legal opinions on various subjects 10
the Government. departments. Questions
from the people on income tar, for ex-
smple, are answered by the Income Tax
Bureau. But of the tax experts get stuck
on point of their own law. or IL some
new angle or claim is brought up, the
bureau refers the problem to Mrs. Adams
and she gives her opinion, which stands
as that of the Department Of Justice.
Likewise, she handles disputed points
Of the Volstead act, though the Supreme
Court and Congress have made the terms
of prohibition 50 plain that there are
few doubtful phrases. To Mrs. adams
are also entrusted the legal matters re-
lating to the Federal prisons, the war
risk insurance, pensions, the Adamson
cight-hour law, and other laws such as
the pure food and drugs act and the
safety appliance act.
POSITION DEMANDS
ABILITY IN LAW.
To render intelligent opinions on these
weighty matters demands definite legal
experience and ability. Having to deal
with the income tax labyrinth alone
would stagger the average human being.
Yet Mrs. Adams manages to look cheerful
aud assures you that the income tax
law is in itself not unreascnably com
plicated, though she admits that the cx-
emptions and surtax provisions are a
bit confusing.
She recalls how, before she came from
California tn be a Government lawyer,
she herself had little difficulty with hef
own tax blank. It's mysteries had been
carefully unraveled, except the battling
proposition as to which Liberty bonds
were exempt from taxation. She took
the inquiry TO an income tax expert and
he admitted that ne had been stu,oped
by the same thing, and that he had
finally paid tax on all of them to GET
It of his mind. Now. Mrs. Adams will
not have to bother over the possibility
Of her Interpretation Of the tax Law
being wrong, for II a dispute arises the
matter will be referred to her anyway.
PIONEER WOMAN
IN HIGH OFFICE.
Mrs. Adams does not talk much about
herself, either her past or what she In
tends to do. she has introduced no in
novations into her branch OF the De-
partment OF Justice, and she does not
expect to. As a woman in a high Gov
eminent office she Is a pioneer, and. to
use her own expression, she is making
haste slowly.
She is also a pioneer as a woman law
yer who has achieved a national reputa-
ton. AS a girl she graduated from the
State Normal School in California and
from the University of California, and
taught school while she worked for her
degrees. When she was admitted to
practice in the California courts and in
the Federal courts she gave up teaching
and, with partner, went into business
for herself. She never specialized in di-
vorces or wOmen's cases, though women
who came TO her often stated their pref
erence for q woman counsel in business
matters.
Her chance came one day when she
was pleading a case against the State
prosecution. The district attorney had
practically assured the accused man Of
long jail sentence, but when Mrs
Adams arose and stated her clients de-
Tense in q simple, direct plea, the tadge
gave the prisoner only six months. cha
defeated district attorney sought out the
counsel for the defense and asked her
directly If she would like to be one OF
his associates.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
IN CALIFORNIA.
She became the first woman assistant
district nfforOaE-a pNeff4or
good deal OF tact, probably-for the men
were not used to a woman lawyer In
their midst, Where a man would &C.
easionally take a chance, Mrs. Adams
pored over details and acquired a repu-
taton for making sure. The district at
torney relied on her so extensively to
draw up papers for pleadings that when
he became III she had to take his place,
and eventually she became the district
attorney OF northern California, the first
woman to hold the office in any State.
In her new position at Washington she
has more time to give careful attention
to cases. She thinks that this can be
overdone. however, and that women are
little inclined to work too much with
details, so that by close attention tn
fine points there is danger OF overlook
Ing the main issues, in other words, OF
patience with details.
Mrs. Adams says this with reluctanee
She dislikes to make any cataIogue OF
women versus men to show that the
woman juror or lawyer is less logical or
more emotional than the machine nro-
totype, because she regards the fnividusl
element which makes each person differ
ent from the rest as too uncertain n
factor for such crude classifcations TO he
worth much 4 jury of women, shs
thinks. is not more likely to be swayed
by emotions than a jury Of men of a
similar degree Of mentality.
Mrs. Adams looks at life from an ina
partial, matter of-fact angle-the Jude
ial outlook. With a little smile she save
that she has not the newspaper sense
that she never could reel Off chatty iit-
tie Incidents about her life. "I have no
hobbies" she added, though 1 do like
to cook and take care Of my apart
ment."
There you have one OF the nrst women
executives in the Federal Government
widow Of pleasant middle age tthe for
ties), who is hard worker ard q lawyer
Of recognized ability. This first feminine
Federal attorney believes In keeping the
home fires burning, but she does IL BY
going out into the world and hustlinr
for the fuel