Evening star., 1925-01-02
VAN RIPPER OUSTED.
SCORED BY STONE
Attorney General Removes
New Jersey Assistant, Who
Refused to Resign.

Walter D. Van Ripper. the New Jer-
sey assistant United States attorney.
who refused to resign at the demand
of Attorney General Stone. was re-
moved from office today.
Mr. Van Riper's separation from the
service is effective Immediately and
was ordered by Mr.. Stone within a
few hours after he had received a
letter from the outgoing assistant
district attorney refusing to resign
and attacking officials of the Depart
ment of Justice.
Without comment, Mr.. Stone made
public the letter he had written to
van Ripper, demanding his resignation.
which demand was refused. The as
Sertlon was made that the Attorney
General considered the activities Of
van Riper as "a gross disregard of
the Governments interests in the
handling of the duties" of his office
IelIlng the assistant district attor-
ney to discontinue participation in
the work of the Office, he informed
MIN that "the particular counts
against you are grave, indeed"
Text of Letter.
Van Ripper follows:
Since our conference at this de-
partment, l have again gone over the
entire situation of your handling Of
the duties of assistant United States
attorney. The report OF my examiners
sets forth what I regard as a very
serious condition.
The particular counts against YOU
are grave, indeed. and amount to what
l consider a gross disregard of the
Governments interests in the ham
~ hA
explanations of these delinQuencies do
not, in my opinion, place your case
In any more favorable light. For that
reason, feel that you should at once
discontinue all participation in the
work OF the office of the United States
attorney in New Jersey. II you will
f1le your resignation at once, effective
as of January Is, you may be given
leave of absence until that date
Il have tried to be both painstaktng
and patient in this matter and have
given consideration to all of your ex-
plantations and statements in our vari-
Gus conferences and in the letters you
exhibited to me. In view, however, of
my official duty l can take no other
step than the above"
Mr.. Stones letter was made public
without comment. 1t was assumed
however, that he had decided to give
publication to the communication as
result of the publication by Mr.. Van
Riper of his reply to the department
in which he denounced Mrs Mabel
Walker Willebrandt, Assistant Attor-
ney General, and informed the Attor-
ney General that he would not resign
Mr.. Van Riper's letter arrived at
the Department of Justice early to-
day.
Edge Backs Van Ripper.
Announcement Of the Attorney
Generals action was followed by a
renewal of the dispute between him
and Senator Edge, Republican. New
Jersey, over the incident, Senator
Edge declaring in statement that
no self-respecting man could do
other than Van Ripper has done"
Senator Edge referred in his state
ment to the telegram sent to New
Jersey by Mrs. Mabel Walker WILLIE
brandt. assistant Attorney General
directing that Van Ripper should not
handle the rum cases. The Senator
added:
I'm my judgment, he goes out OF
Office much stronger than he went in.
A compliance under the circum stances
with the demand to resign would have
been a virtual admission of guilt
after the remarkable Willebrandt
telegram, expressing lack of conf
dence, he owed 1t to himself to de-
mand the just!1ca ton for this public
assault on his professional honor and
integrity"
The department made no comment
on the incident beyond making pub
lie the correspondence.
An outgrowth of the Weekawken
rum scandal, the removal of Mr. Van
Ripper. parallels in some measure a
similar action taken recently in the
case of United States Attorney Harris
at Boston. In that instance, too,
questions arising out OF 1;quor-law
prosecutions played a leading part in
the chain of circumstances leading TO
removal from Office