Evening star., 1922-02-18
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, February 1S.-Federal
Judge Kenesaw NJ. Landis today an
nounced that he had resigned from
the bench and would devote his en-
tire time to his position Of base ball
commissioner.
The resignation is effective March l.
Announcement Of it was made form
ally by the Judge today as he took his
place in court.
There was not enough hours In the
day for all Of my activities" said the
judge. Therefore, have forwarded
my resignation as federal judge to
Washington, effective March l."
The judge then called the first case
on his docket and refused to discuss
the matter until court recess.
Judge for Seventeen Years.
Judge Landis will have virtually
completed seventeen years as Judge
for the northern district Of Illinois
when his resignation becomes ef-
fective.
Rumors Of the resignation have
been current for months and intimate
friends have known for some time that
the action was imminent
1t has been generally understood
that Judge Landis would have re-
signed some time ago but for the at
tacks made on him by Senator Dial
of South Carolina and the notoriety
brought through his handling of the
case of Willie Dalton, seventeen-year-
old bank robber. On the verge Of re-
the judge changed his plans. inform
ing friends that he would never re-
sign under fire."
Senator Dial had attacked the Judge
because of the 1atter's statement that
bank officials sometimes were partly
responsible for robberIeS by boys be-
cause they did not pay adequate SAL
aries. Senator Dial and Representa-
tive Welty of Ohio later proposed i'm
peachment proceedings against the
judge, the representative basing his
case on the holding of two positions
by the judge. Both cases were drop
ped.
Heads Organized Base Ball.
The judge became head of organ
lied base ball shortly after the grand
jury investigation into the 1919 world
series scandal. He was offered $780,
900 a year to take the position and
after several refusals,. finally agreed
under condition that he remain on
the bench. He insisted that his sal
ary be only s42,5uo, explaining that
his judicial income would bring the
total to $50.0O0.
Although ntty-six years old, Judge
Lands has always been known as a
boy al heart, and lover of all forms
of sport. The base ball magnates
urged him to reorganIze base ball
for the sake of the American boy"
and it was this plea which finally won
over the juriSt.
The resignation of Judge Lands
takes from the federal bench one of
The most feared and at the same time
the most respected judges in the
country. His unique conduct in court,
where he frequently took the cases
out Of the lawyers hands and took
over the examination Of witnesses
all lawbreakers. At the same time
his reputation Of administering JUS
tice, regardless of the technicalities
of the law, brought him universal
respect.
Denounces Un-Americanism.
He was vigorous in his attitude
His son, Reed Lands, was serving with
the British air service, and the judge
several times tried to obtain war work
which would send him across, but
failed. In every war case brought be-
fore him where the defendant was
found guilty. the judge imposed drastic
sentences and scathingly denounced
any one who seemed un-Amefican.
This was particularly true in the trials
of I. w. VS., socialists and pacifists.
In one speech during the war he ad-
vocated that the German kaiser and
his six sons be executed by allied firing
squads, "out of justice to humanity
Judge Lands was one of the thirty
persons to whom bombs were mailed
on May day, in 1919, and during the
1911 Blackhand trials here, he received
many death threats. Against the
wishes of his friends, he insisted on
sitting through the trials.
Judge Lands first became nation
ally famous when he fined the Standard
Continued on Page q Column II