Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-09
COURTS ADVOCATED.
. FOR SPECIAL SUITS.
Speaker at Institute of Pub
lie Affairs Favors Rights
to Sue Government.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


Reed of the University of Michigan told
the Institute of Public Affairs here
today.
Political scientists, he said now are
almost unanimously in favor of re-
versing the American system in favor
of that which holds in Continental Eu-
rope and it is only matter of time
until legislation catches I'D with them.
Under the American system. he ex-
planned, citizen cannot sue the Fed
eral, State or municipal government ex-
cept in matters of contract without its
consent. which is almost never given.
The only recourse of a person dubbed
without reason by policeman or hit
by a fire truck is to sue the policeman
or truck driver. This he said, generally
is a useless procedure since the man
has no property and cannot pay a
judgment.
1t is derived directly he said, from
the British theory that the king can
do no wrong" A generation ago, he
said. political scientists strongly defend
ed this theory on the ground that it
was safeguard of liberty. BY throw
ing the responsibility on an individual
servant of the government he was made
more careful. Thus policeman might
net be so careless about clubbing citi-
zens If he knew he personally might
nave 10 pay lot IL.
Actually Makes No Difference.
Actually it makes no difference. DR..
Reed said, because if the policeman
happens to own property, he puts it in
the name of his wife and he seldom
is wealthy enough anyway to pay a
judgment.
On the continent. he said, the in
dividual officer is not responsible. but
there are administrative tribunals in
which any citizen may enter case
against the government itself. The
very liability of the state to heavy
damages, he pointed out, makes 1t care
full what sort of officers 1t selects and
the officer himself is afraid of losing
his job if he gets the state into trouble.
Thus there is really much stronger
curb upon him than If he were theo-
retically responsible in person.
Injuries to individuals, he said, are
inevitable in the administration of gov
eminent and until the present system
is changed great injustices are bound
to occur.
The helplessness of American citi-
Zens 20 override judicial decisions
which run counter to well defined pub
lie sentiment is probably unique in the
world, said Julius T. Muench, city coun-
selor of st. Louis.
Campaigns Necessary.
Almost invariably, he said, the courts
find difficulty in adjusting themselves
to the new order of things and it usu-
ally requires a campaign of education
to gain their cooperation. This has
been practically obvious, he pointed out,
in court decisions on coming laws which
have almost consistently denied the
municipality the right to regulate the
appearance of property.
He blamed court decisions for much
of the difficulties of the municipalities
with public utility corporations. due
largely to valuation systems. The cor
porations. he said. have been put in
the enviable position of becoming pub
lie or private enterprises according to
circumstances.
while the operators emphasize" he
said, 1.-The public character of the bust
ness when they are in a difficult posi-
ton and need help. the business be-
comes a private one as soon as they
become prosperous. When represent
atives of the public seek information
to determine the propriety of a re-
duction in rates they are met with
various technical objections
IF the utilities are allowed to per-
slst in these practices then cur utility
situation will soon have all the faults
OF both private and public ownership,
without the benefits CT either. Thee
is no incentive to efficient operation
becauSe the commissions and the courts
can always be called on for help when
things 60 wrong. On the ether hand,
when things look up all profits are the
private property of the utility. as they
we're in the days before regulation, or
of a holding company.
Ultra Conservatism Hampers.
"A strange characteristic of the pub
lie corporations engaged in transporta-
ticn which distinguishes them from cor
porations engaged in private enterprises
is their ra-conservatism, which for
years has kept them from adjusting
themselves to new conditions and from
meeting the competition of other means
of transportation. If they had i'm
mediately adopted the new facilities
and embodied them in a co-crdinated
service. which they are now being
balance would not have been SO often
on the wrong side OF the ledger and
there would not have been so many
receiverships."
Women still are a long way from
equal rights in the United States, Mrs.
Burnita Shelton Mathews, Washington
attorney. told the institute.
Our laws" she said. have for their
framework the common law of Eng
land under which the husband had
almost absolute control over. the per-
son of his wife. Despite the steady
advance to free women from the
shackles of The common law, the
statutes and decisions of the United
States reflect her inferior position.
For example, in the city of Washing
ton a l7-year-old boy was killed and
his destitute mother sought to recover
damages she sustained by his death.
The court pointed out that any
damages recovered would be only for
the next of kin and that, as between
father and mother. the father is the
only next-of kin and the only one en-
titled to damages for the child's death.
AS the father died three months after
the boy, the court held that the re-
covery. if any, would be limited to the
fathers loss during that interval.
Marriage Is Disability.
1.-The courts in some States seem 10
regard marriage on the part of
woman as indicating lack of judg-
ment. They place her under dis
ability as soon as she marries. An
example is the case of Mrs. FergusoS.
former Governor of Texas. She petl
H. Ill