Evening star., 1924-03-02
Would Have Justice Department
Taken Wholly Out of Politics

the administration. That was the view
during the Wilson and Harding ad-
ministrations and It seems to be even
more widespread than ever at this
particular time. The feeling that the
Office Is political and not legal, un-
happily. lis growing.
| x II y *
President Coolidge has gone far to
quiet the fears of the American peo-
pie over the naval oil reserves of the
United States. He has gone to the ex-
tent of employing two learned law
yers of unimpeached integrity to in
vestigate and bring such civil and
criminal prosecutions as the facts in
the cases may warrant. He probably
was driven to this course by the repu-
tation among the people of the Attor-
ney Generals Office, by the universal
, belief that the office was political and
not legal 1t does no good to COM
nor what the people say. One is COM
pelled to live the life Of freeman In
q free land. and to live 1t not only In
accordance with facts but in accord
| ance With opinions and prejudices Of
This: Is a lamentable condition Of
public affairs. The off1ce OF Attorney
General OF the. United States ought
not to be thus judged. 1t is too high
and important an Office to be subject
OF the people Is undermined in the
courts and in the officials of the
courts we have travelled far from or
derly government.
Not having in mind the present
+ situation, but contemplating general
conditions. II seems to me that some
thing should be done to take the great
Office OF Attorney General out of par
tisan politics in government. Part OF
its important duties Is that of repre-
sentihg the government in all of its
litigation before the Supreme Court
of the United States. It's officials are
constantly being called into the nisi
prius courts Of the general govern
ment to represent the interests of the
people. The Office was not intended
tn be partisan. I doubt whether it
growth of suspicion has made it ap-
pear so. It would be to the interest
of good government to get rid of the
! odor OF partisanship about the office.
My view is that the Office ought to
| be taken out Of the cabinet of the
President in order that 1t may be as
far removed from any suspicion of
partisanship as the Supreme Court
hitherto has been in the minds of
right-thinking Americans. 1t must be
purely legal in its chara cter and un-
affected by the mutations of politics
il II is properly to conduct its good
work of representing all the people in
the litigation which affects their
rights. privileges and interests. APP
pointment to il and all officials under
| II should be made without any regard
| whatever TO political affiliations. Le-
gal ability. integrity. character and
reputation alone should govern.
Changes of administration should
have nothing to do with the office.
In other words, I would make the
office part of the legal machinery of
the general government. in which
tenure OF office had no relation to the
frequent recurrence Of the right OF a
party to rule. / am not much in favor
of life tenures, but I am wholly In
favor of some method whereby the
only reason for the removal from le-
gal office would be incompetency or
dishonesty. The legal department of
the government should. ] believe, be
permanently attached to the Supreme
Court of the United States.
Downright. 1874. by Twenty FIRST Century
Press.)