The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-04-30
THE ACQUITAE OF WHEELER.

Senator Wheeler has had fair trial in the
courts appointed for that purpose, and has
been found not guilty, of the charge for which
he was indicted He is therefore, so far as
we are concerned not guilty of having unlaw-
fully accepted fee for appearing before a
government department. Measured by any
safe standards of evidence we think the charge
was noe proved. We think the officials of the
department Of justice who would bring Unit
ed States Senator to trial on such evidence,
are very poor lawyers. We think such men
are not good men to be trusted with. the I'M
portant questions involving their judgment,
which official connection with the department
OF justice must often impose upon them. When
they found that the crux Of the case rested
upon the testimony of stranger to Montana
whose evidence could not be corroborated,
against which they must have known would be
pitted the categorical denial of senator of the
state in which the trial would be held, if they
did not have sense enough to frankly state to
theseour6 that they did not have sufficient evil
dence to proceed, and ask the exoneration of
the senator by the withdrawal of the prosecu-
ton, they are not fit to have the responsible
ty that rests. upon them. They not only bum
gled the proceedings, they gave Senator Wheel
er a large amount Of political material to which
he is not fairly entitled 1t is not enough to
say that this is an aftermath of another admin
istration of the department of justice. If At
torney General Sargent is not in position to
take responsibility for the conduct of pending
cases in his department, he should ask for con-
tinuancess of them until he has time and OPP
portunity to obtain sufficient information upon
which to base directions for which he is re-
sponsible. a95sss@
OF course as a matter of ethics, the Wheel
er defense is in some respects more discredit-
able to him than would have been conviction
on the legal technicalties which constituted
his resistance to the criminal charges. The
criminal charge was technical. In order to be
guilty of that it was necessary for him, per-
sonalIy to take fee for personally appearing
before department Of the government in be-
half of a client That is so crude that we have
never thought it very likely Wheeler had done
that. Senators do not do it that way. They
belong to law firms which have the clients,
take the fees, and do the appearing before de-
partmentS. There are several senators who
do it that way 1t does not violate the law, is
profitable for the senators, and is quite as eff
fective for the clients. telegram signed by
the secretary of a senator without the actual
direction of the senator does not violate the
law, but the department official pays just as
much attention to it as if the senator had
signed it. fWheelers whole defense, though
technically sufficient to clear him from any
criminal charge, is a shameful exposition Of
the way in which the legal connection of Unit
ed States Senators with law firms of which
they are members, increases their income
through clients who have matters pending
with the government. The result of the trial
at Great Falls confirms us in the opinion we
have had that Mr. Wheeler has been careful
not to violate the laW7-but his own defense
does not increase in any measure whatever the
very minus opinion we have entertained for
sometime of his personal notion of plain, COM
mon ethics. -
If the government has no better case against
Wheeler in the Washington Indictment, we
sincerely hope somebody in the Department
of Justice will discover it in time to prevent
adding to the glow of the halo of martyrdom
with which his underserving brow has appar-
entity been decorated at Great Falls.