Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-17
THE A S

eral, it does believe that an honest
newspaper is in duty bound to re-
sent and resist unjust and cruel
defamine of honest and capable
public men.
1.-THE attack by certain demo
cratic senator's on Attorney General
Daugherty is based on the allega-
ton that Mr.. Daugherty, while
practicing law in his private capa-
city, acted as one of the attorneys
in securing a pardon for Charles
w. Morse, who had been sent to
prison for violation of federal
statutes.
mo person whose mind is free
from the faint of partisan insanity
can sincerely distort such a charge
into anything criminal or I'M
ethical.
1.-THE laws of the United States
and of every state recognize the
right of any person convicted of an
%offense to apply for a pardon.
Further, the law sets up special
machinery for the granting of par
dons by creating pardon boards and
designating certain officials who
have the right to grant pardons.
1.-THE law also provides that ap-
plicants for pardon may be repre-
scented by counsel learned in the
law, so that the interests of the ap-
plicant may be lawfully safe
guarded.
Every lawyer considers such
employment legitimate. Every law
yer knows that there is positively
no violation of ethics in accepting
a fee from an applicant for pardon
and faithfully representing such an
applicant.
Some of the most respected and
most highly esteemed lawyers of
this state and nation have acted as
counsel in such cases. There have
been instances where convicted
murderers have had their pleas for
leniency presented by attorneys of
the highest standing."-Great Falls
Leader.
We have reprinted the above de-
Tense of President Harding's attor-
ney general by the local republican
o because it is such a perfect
example of attempted deception by
stating half truths and s~uppressing
facts. The Leader states that it
holds mo brief" for the defense
of Attorney General Daugherty.
neither do we hold any brief for
his prosecution. If the Leader had
candidly set forth the facts in its
premises, We would agree with its
conclusion. There is no reason
why a lawyer should not accept
a case for a client who desires to
make an application for pardon.
If that were all there was to the
charges against Daugherty, repub-
lican newspapers would not be call
ing for his resignation and demo-
cratic newspapers and democratic
congressman would not be denounc-
ing him.
But the charges against this re-
publican cabinet officer involve
a great deal more than is stated
by the Leader. They involve other
charges than those that relate to
the Morse case. But even limiting
the case to that incident alone, the
Leader suppressed the main fea-
lures Of the case that call for crit
icism. 1t builds a mar of straw
and knocks him down. Morse was
a Wall Street swindler, who ruined
thousands of trusting Investors and
got a long term in Jail. Then he
employed a well-known firm of
criminal lawyers to get him out of
Jail, if they could. There was no
legal loophole to get him clear Of
the law. They tried it, and failed.
Then they devised a scheme to get
him pardoned by playing on the
sympathy of President Taft. Daugh-
erty wa a political boss in Ohio.
as well as a lawyer. He was a
friend of President Taft and had
his confidence. The New York
firm of criminal lawyers employed
Mr.. Daugherty to 60 to the presi-
dent and tell him that Morse was
dying of tuberculosis and could not
live more than a few weeks at most,
and plead with President Taft for
his pardon. They paid Daugherty
a fee of $4,000 to do this. 1t is
charged that he tried to collect
$4,000 more after he succeeded
with Taft. Daugherty denies that
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