Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-20
The Haskin Letter = ' ; @ssa
BIGGEST LAW OFFICE IN THE WORLD.

Washington. ID. c., Dec. 17.-What
IS probably the largest law office in
the world-a survival of the warts
located in this city. Practically all OF
the biggest things in Washington be-
long to Uncle Sam, and the record
breaking law practice is no exception.
Ihe 3OO lawyers of whom we write
work Tor the government in the legal
DIVISION of the veterans bureau. They
handle questions of real estate, domes-
TIC relations, criminal law, contracts;
Ia TACT. all varieties Of legal problems
ehat arise In the cours of administer
ing the insurance compensation and
rehabilitation affairs of 100000 war
veterans.
II y lawyers are needed is
enough to show the immensely of the
task, and it is not likely that the legal
force will be cut down to any extent
Tor the next -four or five years.
There are still a great many in
surance cases that require legal de-
cisions. There are cases in which a
soldier dies and two or more people
claim TO be the rightful beneficiary
OF his insurance. In thousands Of cases
soldiers have made their insurance
payable to their estates, and in thou
sands of others the beneficiary named
has died. As the men involved in the
cases have scattered to all parts of
the country. and ever to Europe, Asia,
and the South Sea islands, the bureau
lawyers have to ascertain and apply
the laws of every jurisdiction in the
world.
One of the most unusual features
OF the law work of the bureau relates
to contracts for training Of veterans.
Ihe average student who is placed in
a school pays as he goes. The veterans
bureau has 10000 men in vocational
training with 5000 institutions and in
structors, and the only way to keep
track of the different arrangements
agreed to by so many schools and in
dlyiduals is to draw up legal CON
tracts.
The real estate and contract section.
which now has probably the most work
OF any section in the legal division,
also handles all the contracts for hos
nltals being built under. the two Lang
ley bills. The first of these bills calls
for an expenditure of 5000. 900 and
the second IL 1000, 0O0,~ all for hos
pitfalls.
Law VioIators Prosecuted
Another section prepares for prose
cutlon eases where the law is violated.
An official of the bureau says that
considering the immense number of
cases the bureau has to handle there
are not so many cases of fraud and
false claims as might be supposed. He
says that Of the cases actually prose-
cuted by the department Of justice,
however, the proportion of acquittals is
almost negligible, Indicating that the
courts are not inclined to be lenient
with persons who defraud the ex-'
service man and the government.
Special attention has been given by
this section to cases involving excessive
fees of attorneys. The original war
risk insurance act allowed claim agents
and attorneys TO charge not more than
10 per cent of the sum awarded a
client. INSCRIPTIONS claim agents saw
in this provision a great opportunity
for business n they pestered every
person haYing a semblance of a claim
against the war risk bureau. The ron
dition became so objectionable that
congress amended the act in 1913 max
ing it unlawful to charge more than
three dollars for assistance rendered
as agent or attorney in any one case
and imposing q penalty of fine and i'm
~prisonment at hard labor for violation
Of this provision. Even this did not
put a stop to extortionate fees.
An official says: fragrant viola
tons still occur. In a recent outstand-
ing case a fee of 81, 900 was charged