The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-05-29

NA "a board of review" to determine Y suits, according to the probability of
 MT. Thomas. the Attorney General said, will sit with him on this tri- buna1. together with such other special counsel as have been or may be employed In the different cases as they come up for consideration, so that there will be at all times a complete and thorough centraliza- ton of departmetal knowledge with respect to every step that is taken or is contemplated n the p-epara- ton of these war contract cases"
 The former senator will begin his duties June l.
 MT. Hoover will be associated with United States Attorney Peyton Gor- don. Of the District of Columbia, and in effect will be second district attorney 'on ccount of the double work in the District of Columbia re- quiring an additional grand jury and additional court service, end two court attorneys.s Mir. Hoover and M Gordon, the announcement sAid, will work on the fraud cases with equal authority.
 Mir. Thomas will bring to the de- partment of justic, MT. Daugherty said, 'an unusual and exact experi- ence in precisely those matters which will now me before him in his new capacity, some of the most important phases of his work while in the Senate having dealt with these matters in some of their aspects"
 District Attorney Gordon and Mir Hoover will co-ordinate ther actiyi- ties in laying before the special war frauds grand jury cases which fall within the venue of the District of Columbia, Mir. Daugherty said.
 There are criminal cases growing out of some of these war contracts, while others have only the civil phase" MT. Daugherty's statement said
 Gordon fin Charge
 In connection with cases having both civil and criminal phases, Mir Gordon will have charge Of the crim- inal side and will assist in the civil cases, where they interlock. In this connection, Assistant Attorney Gen eral John W. H. Grim, whose reputa- ton has long been established In criminal cases and who has charge of the criminal branch as assistant at- torney general of the Uniter States, will also participate. He has done much work for several months past in connection with several of the more important cases. He will also assist in the presentation of vari- ous cases before the grand juries in the District of Columbia and in sofne important cases elsewhere"
 Concerning the creation of the de- partments board of review, MT. Daugherty said:
 'In reaching decisions as to pro- ceeding with cases or abandoning the claims, the government will proceed only in those cases in which it has reasonable expectation of winning, in order that no excessive cost of lit iga tion may be incurred. It Is the intention of the department to reduce litigation as much as possible, to pre- pare all the cases as thoroughly as possible. and to expedite the busi- ness. The preparation of the cases will, of course, be exceedingly im- portant. as the department naturally realizes that the government will have arrayed against it some of the greatest lawyers in the United States 1 All of the criminal cases will be most carefully prepared and discussed be- fore this board from the point of view of the probability of conviction.
 Assistants Will Help
 "A1l of the assistant attorneys general now in the department have 1 from time to time been more or less l connected with some phases of the | work upon which the department is now engaged. They will work with | the Attorney General and Senator l Thomas in connection with those 1 cases with which they have beea closely identified.
 In addition to being a construc- | tive statesman and lawyer of wide ly recognized ability, Senator Thomas 1 possesses an intimate Knowledge of some of the most important phases of l the war contracts cases. A a mem ber of the military affairs committee i of the Senate, he was chair 1, man of a subcommittee which con ducted a separate investigation of aircraft production. beginning on May 29, 1918, in which work he was | associated with Senator Reed of Mis- i souri, Senator Hoke Smith of Geor ! gia. Senator New of Indiana, and | Senator Frelinghuysen of New Jer- l sey.
 MT. Hoover has had most exten- | sive and successful career in both l civil and criminal cases. not only in 1 all of the couI<s of this Jurisdiction, but also in the supreme court of the l United tSates and in the courts of the l state of Maryland. In the early years | of his practice he figured as counsel i for the defense in 12 homicide cases, l all of which resulted in the acquittal 1 of the defendants"