Evening star., 1926-06-17
WAN CASE LIKELY
!! T0START INQUIRY
Probe of u. S. Criminal Law
I System May Result From
Incarceration.
by FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Sweeping investigation OF the ad-
ministration Of criminal justice IN lne
United States may he the result oi
the liberation Yesterday of the young
Chinese : udent. Ziang sup Wan.
after =. Years Imprisonment on an
, improved murder charge. tfienus
Of Wan are already moving in that
direction. Their hope as 10 induce the
National Crime Commission. which
has been endowed hy F.. Trubec Davi-
son. son of he late Henry y. DAWSON
Of New York. to interest itself in the
case.
No remedial action oi redress is
sough- on VANS behalf. What Is
desired is 70 make his amaZin: for
tunes the peg on which can ne nuns
an investigation of what's wrong with
American criminal procedure. wan
friends will also knock at the door
of the American Bar Association
which meets at Denver in July. There
is TO be an important discussion OF
criminal procedure there. in which
DIR. William Draper Lewis, president
Of the American Law Institute. and
Charles c. Butler. president OF the
Denver Bar Association. will partici-
pate. The Law Institute has an en-
dowment for the purpose OF evolving
n criminal code to serve az @ model Tor
legislation throughout the United
States.
Contains Much Material.
The Wan case contains a wealth
cf material suitable for laboratory
study" by lawyers and iurists. CHIEF
Justice Taft ionC has been interested
in methods for speeding up the admin
istration Of justice in or country.
He made a special trim TO England
two or three Years ago to acqualnt
himself at first hand with the system
by which the British contrive TO keep
The wheels of justice moving with
a speed utterly unknown in this land
of alleged hustle"
Already some Of the outstanding
legal names in the country have been
associated with the Wan case, and un-
doubtedly they would be lent To any
movement designed 10 make the young
Chinese fate the basis for reform in
procedure. At one time and another
since Wan first was Jailed in 1919. his
cause has been eSpoused in and out of
court by men like Mr.. Justice Louis
D. Brandeis of the United States Su.
rreme Court. John w. Davis. former
Democratic candidate for President;
former United States Senator A. Ows-
ley Stanley of Kentucky. Wilton J.
LAMBERT, w Imam I. Dennis, Formerly
Of the State Department and one time
legal adviser TO the Chinese severn
ment. and Frederic ID. Mckenney.
American representative on several
important international arbitrations.
These will be asked to Join. now that
Wan is at liberty, in Il comprehensive
movement to exploit the injustice done
him as means of preventing others
from suffering a similar fate.
Case May Become Classic.
Vans friends believe his case is
destined to become 4 classic in the an
nails of American criminal iurispru-
dence. They contend that it exer,pli-
ties every evil in criminal procedure
from thirddegree' methods, search
without warrant, abuse Of circumstan.
tial evidence, suppression. distortion,
destruction and Withholding of evi-
6encet tending to exonerate the &C
cused}. manipulation of witnesses. in.
defensible delays. and the destructive
methods of penal administration.
s' Copyright, 1890