Evening star., 1933-02-24
JUSTICE BUILDING
CORNER STONE LAID
Hoover and Mitchell Speak
at Ceremonies at New
U. S. Structure.

In laying the corner stone of the
new Department of Justice Build
ing yesterday afternoon, both President
Hoover and Attorney General Mitchell,
took occasion to offer simpler defini-
tions of Justice"
The Chief Executive said that in the
design of the building there should be
substituted for the ancient maxim,
Let justice prevail though the heavens
fall" the more modern conception of
democracy, Justice shall prevail be-
cause that Is the peoples will"
Attorney General Mitchell referred to
the Latin motto on the seal of the De-
partment without even quoting it, but
added instead, I'VE have a homely one
handed down to us by one of the great
Solicitors General of the past, which
runs like this: In any case, whether the
judgment is for or against the Govern
ment, the United States wins if justice
Is done to one of its citizens
Hoover Heavily Guarded.
A feature of the occasion was the
heavy guard thrown about the Presi-
dent, apparently to prevent any kind of
attack such as President-elect Roose-
velt was subjected to in Miami. In ad-
dition to the Secret Service, which al
ways protects the President, there was
a large detail of police not only scat
tered around the grounds, but located
In the upper stories of the new De-
partment of Justice Building and in
windows of buildings across the street,
where they could survey the entire
crowd. Plain clothes men of the Bu-
reau of Investigation also were added to
the Gordon thrown about the President.
There were no untoward incidents,
however
President Hoover, declaring that "a
chief glory of our Nation Is our system
of laws" said that Justice rests upon
the conscience and reason of the
people"
Democracy" the President declared,
"can hope to endure only to the degree
that it can find the means of enforce
ment of its own laws, even against the
most powerfully entrenched of its own
citizens"
Attorney General Mitchell explained
the growth of the Department of JUS
tice from the early Attorneys General,
Offices in their hats, visiting the seat of
Government only when their presence
was demanded"
Model of Economy.
''Of this building it is enough to say
that 1t will be a model of economy in
construction, of convenience in ar
rangementS, and of beauty of design"
explained the Attorney General. 1T is
among the first of the large department
buildings planned to accommodate
equipment for reconditioning and COOL
ing air Provision has been made for
a reasonable expansion in the needs of
the department and there are reasons
why we should earnestly hope that this
building may never prove inadequate.
All increase in the size and annual cost
of the Department of Justice Is sure
index of the extent to which the func-
tionS and activities of the Federal Gov
ernment are increased. The Depart
ment of Justice has the closest relations
with each of the other executive de-
partments. All of its civil and much of
its criminal business arises in them,
and the volume of it keeps pace with
the increased activities of the executive
branch"
Tracing the growth Of the depart
ment from the time when it was very
small and Walt Whitman was an ''in-
ferior clerk" down to the present, the
Attorney General said that in January
of this year the department had 1,026