Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-28
REORGAN|zE OFFICE
Of D. C. COUNSEL
Commissioners Complete
Changes-Madigan and
SedgeWick Dropped.

REORGANIZATION of the Office of the
Corporation Counsel. which started
several months ago with the appoint.
ment of William w. Bride. interna.
tionally known lawyer. as successor
to Corporation Counsel Francis Ste
phens, was completed today by the
District Commissioners. The final adj.
justment involves the elimination OF
the numerical standing of the assis.
tant corporation counsels and the
creation Of the office of Principal AS
sistant Corporation Counsel and a
number of assistant corporation coun-
sells.
All of the changes will become eff
fective Friday when Mr.. Bride takes
office and Mr. Stephens is reduced to
assistant corporation counsel.
The changes also caused the drop
ping of two of the present assistant
corporation counsels. Frank Mad1gan,
at the Police Court, and Paul j.
Sedgewick, at the Juvenile Court. Ell
wood II. Seal. formerly associated
with Mr.. Bride. was appointed to sue
coed Madigan. No successor to Sedge'
wick has been named.
Will Receive $500.
Mr.. Bride will receive a compensa-
ton of $500 a year compared with
5000 given Mr.. stephens during his
tenure as corporation counsel. In his
new assignment as one of the assist
ants Mr.. stephens will draw a salary
of 81 900 a year.
The position of principal corpora
ton counsel was given to Ringgold
Hart, who has been an assistant cor
poration counsel for a number of
years. His salary will be $500 a
year.
Besides Mr.. Stephens the other as.
sistants will be Robert l.. Williams,
w. II. Wahly, Z. w. Thomas, Walter
l.. Fowler and Richmond Is. Keech.
Other changes due to the reorgani-
zation provide for the transfer of Miss
Georgia f. Green, secretary to Mr..
Stephens for a number of years, to
the position of senior clerk stenog-
rapher, and the appointment of Ruth
y. DeAtley to take her present posi-
ton.
Transfer to Tax Assessor.
Miss Margaret Dickens, a clerk in
the corporation counsels office, was
transferred to the tax assessors office.
The reorganization of the corpora
ton counsefs office was planned as a
result of attacks on that office and
Mr.. Stephens in person in the last
Congress. Ae1irect outgrowth of the
criticism was the inclusion in the Dis
trict appropriation act for the coming
fiscal year of an item of $500 for
the salary of a corporation counsel,
an increase of 81 500 over the present
compensation of that position. Infer
entially the Commissioners interpreted
the act of Congress to mean that a
new corporation counsel was desired.
Salary Is Reduced.
The demotion of Mr.. stephens will
cost him a reduction in salary of
$4,000 a year. Mr.. Hart by his pro.
motion will receive an increase of
81 900 a year, while Mr.. Williams will
lose as a result of the shake-up $1,000
year, his new position paying him
81, 900 annually compared with the
present salary of 5000.
Mr.. Stephens has been Corporation
Counsel since December 80, 1919 He
entered the District service as law
clerk in the counsel's Office July j,
1908, and has been connected with
that Office ever since. He had served
only one year as law clerk when he
was made fourth assistant corpora.
ton counsel. and his promotions fol-
lowed rapidly.