Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-03-25


be Enthusiastically unprofessional, be-
lieve he i'll not suited to sit as Judge.
II think he has, because of these ex-
pressions of his convictions, impaired
his own usefulness and suffered his
Office to lose its prestige. | say this
reluctantly, for | have no grievance
against Judge Moncure. He has
faithfully remained At his post of
duty. He has always been available
and willing to serve both the litigant
and lawyer. There is nothing in the
record before US to question his hon
esty and integrity. No witness has
questioned them, and | do not question
them. But to my mind those traits Of
thought and habits of practice which
should distinguish the judicial cEarac-
ter are elemental, and do not permit Of
difference of opinion. believe that
the man belongs to the Office. and not
the office to the man, and that, there
fore. the practitioner, when elevated
to the Bench. should subordinate his
private convictions to that c!rcum-
| spection Of dignity and d@mcanor ex-
acted of mis- office by the public con-
| science, and ideals, or else torego the
honor.
In view Of this opinion, and in the
light Of the disclosures At this hear
ing, | could not, as : have previously
done, join in a recommendation OF
Judge Moncure's qualifications Tor
the Office he now holds. Therefore, IN
view of our report, / recommend that
the Bar consider its previous endorse
ment, and that Judge Moncure deter
mine the ACCESSIBILITY of his remain
ing as judge in the light and terms
of what the Bars reconsideration Of
that endorsement may or may not be.
In my opinion not only has the court
! been OH trial, but the whole Bar as
we'll. Many people have lost faith
in our profession. Two causes have
contributed to this situation---a ma
licious newspaper publicity, and the
unnecessary exchange of spitcful per
Sonalties at our hearings. do not
begrudge to the Washington Times
nor to. Frank Stuart, any credit III
having bl ought this situation to the
public notice. Alexandria. however,
has known of conditions before this,
Lust as censurable, and public spirited
citizens have eEdeavoreG 10 arouse
public opinion in correcting aGch evils.
But Alexandria has never needed its
own prophets and if we can have .
house-cleaning only by being awak-
IcncG by outside agencies, we iau$t not
fail in cur duty because Of this fact.
But both the Times and Stuart nave
gone far beyond the record, and
neither has hesit't to Slur upon The
motives Of consc ntious citizens in L
campaign that has miSlcd the pubic.
IN their malicious thfusts at one man
whom they hate, they have struck ont
wildly and bcsrnirched the name Of
our city, the Bench, the Bar, the
Ministry, and even private citizens.
Such attacks were unfair untrue and
IunWarranted. There is no Geed for
any false sentimcntality about this
conditions; it involves but lev. The
grist for the sn-called divorce mill
came from beyond our borders and has
returned from whence it came. We
need not censure ourselves in the
thought That homes have been broken
Iup, or the innocent made TO suffer
For the most part they were adven-
turcrs-pcGple without homes who
driftcd TO our jurisdiction because our
jurisdiction made it easy for them TO
get the results or relief they sought
In nearly every case, the complainant
and defendant were willing parties to
the suit. The harm has been in per-
hitting these people 10 qualify even
for a momnt as Virginians, and the
shame is that they have been paraded
to the world as Tirginians.
In this hearing, evidence has been
introduced, which, if true, reflects
upon Frank Stuart, and tends to dis
credit him as 4 member OF our Bar.
IN both fairness to him and to our
Bar recommend that the Grand Jury
which shall investigate the divorce
situation shall also investigate the
fact whether Frank Stuart violated
the election laws os the State Of Viz
g!nia. Personally, | believe that If
our election laws are violated, the M
tegrity Of our government IS just as
| dangerously aSSalled as IN the lhaLter
Of illegal divorces, and it is only fair
to the Bar and the city that this stu
alton should be cleared up as well rs
the other.
Our investigation has been two-fold
to expose the situation. and second,
to remedy it if possible. We have done
both. In this connection, | desire to
GALL to the public attention the rule OF
court adopted by this committee and
which, upon our recommendation. was
adopted willingly by the court. Since
this rule was put into effect about
February Is, 1922. there have been
only two new divorce suits filed in the
CORPORATION Court. | think this
shows conclusively that this commit
tee was sincere in its efforts to put a
stop to this evil, for the record shows
! that the evil has been abatcd, and we
only need to be on guard to sec that
this situation Of abatement continues.
Respectfully submitted
]. RANDALL CATION. JR.