Evening star., 1924-05-04

NEW extra governmental
~ agency, pledged to aid in main
~ tanning clean government, has
been set up recently in Wash
ington-the citizens federal research
bureau. Its founders are convinced
that with such an agency-free from
political or partisan considerations-at
work it will be a means of preventing IN
the future conditions which have been
brought to light through the sensational
senatorial Investigations in Washington
in the last few months. Frank A. Van
derlip, former New York financier, has
been the prime mover in the organiza-
ton of the bureau, which has estab-
1ished offices in Washington.
OF particular interest il the selection
of ]. Weston Allen. former attorney
general of Massachusetts. as general
! counsel and head of the legal depart
ment of the bureau. While attorney
general of the Bay state, Mr.. Allen
cleaned up a desperately corrupt situa-
tion in that state and convicted several
corrupt district attorneys He is a
graduate OF Yale in the class of 1898.
He is known as a man of the highest
integrity, and his reputation as an in
vestigator and prosecutor is that once
he sets his teeth in a problem he never
lets go until solution is found.
Agency Is a Novelty.
The establishment of an agency to In
vestigate the federal government by a
group of private citizens is a novelty.
Not unnaturalIy the question arises,
Will this agency conflict with the gov
ernment itself as constituted by law?
Mr.. Allen. who is now in Washing
ton and has entered upon his new
duties, is authority for the statement
that the bureau will be an aid to
the government, and not in conflict
with it. There is no purpose on the
part of the bureau to take the law
into its own hands. 1t cannot be lik-
ened to a group of vigiIanti. 1t will in
vestigate alleged corruption or in
efficiency in the government but 1t
will not undertake to punish them
itself. The bureau will submit it's
findings to the proper government es-
Establishments so that the government
agencies may themselves correct any
evils that may be found. Only in
case the government itself shall de-
cline to take steps to correct evils
that may be laid before it will the
bureau undertake to act. Then it will
strive by publicity to force correc-
tion of such evils.
Has staff OF Forty.
While the permanent organization
of the bureau is not yet complete,
1t already has Il staff of some forty
workers, including experts in or
ganization, writers, lawyers, inveJti-
gators, clerks and other employees
Originally financed by Mr.. Vanderbilt
the bureau is now receiving financial
aid from other voluntary contributors
1.-The citizens federal research bu-
reau," said Mr.. Allen yesterday, "al-
though only recently organized and
not widely Known, is winning an in
creasing measure of public approval
as its purpo:e and the need of such
an organiza+to comes to be under
stood
Just as Swo generations ago the
National Ci~il Service Reform League
was a spoB<aneous movement on the
part of the citizens, which grew di-
recuy out OF an aroused public
opinion aga.Qst the spoils system,
now again the awakening of the pub
lie to the me0ace of organized graft
on a larger scale than ever before
in this count<y is the occasion for
a citizens movement to safeguard
1 the federal service from such corrupt
practices in the future.
The increasing interest in the
work of the bureau is evidenced by
q heavy mail from all sections of The
country, which is uniformlv corn