The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-07-01
BRUMMITT IS
Still SHIPPING
Campaign Against Present
State Administration
Continues
b. J. c. Baskerville
The Times News bureau
Sir Wultrr IIntal

Sir Walter Hotel
RALEIGH, July 1.-The ruling
by Attorney General Dennis G.
Brummitt to the effect that none
of the state department heads
may employ any legal assistance
without the consent and approval
of the attorney general, thus as
SiStanCc that he and he alone has
the right to employ any lawyers
for any state departments, is re-
garded by quite a number here
as the first salvo in barragc
which the attorney general in
tends to let loose upon the ad-
ministration of Governor JOB.
Ehringhaus, according to current
reports. Attorney General Brum-
NIT has long been the self ap-
pointed defender of the 'long
ballot" form Of government and
bitter foe of the "short ballot"
form, under which fost of the
major state officials are appoint
ed by the governor instead of
elected by the people. As such
he has stubbornly fought the
giving of any power not express
ly granted in the constitution to
any appointive officials and has
jealousy defended the rights Of
the elected state officials to run
their respective departments as
they saw fit.
This latest opinion by Attorney
General Brummitt was given in a
letter written June II to Com
missioner Of Banking Quincy p.
Hood, an appointive state Off
cial, and holds that he has no
right to empty any attorneys
without the approval of the At
torney General. Yet Chapter
405, Public Laws, of 1881, gives
the commissioner Of banks auth
ority to employ competent local
attorneys" in connection with
the liquidation Of banks, while
Chapter 243, Public Laws, of
1881, give the governor author
ity to employ counsel in connec-
ton with the investigation Of de-
funct banks. But Brummitt holds
that under the state constitu-
ton, he must be consulted and
his approval obtained before any
attorneys can be employed I'M
der these acts. This means in
effect that any attorneys to be
cligablc to get any banking de-
partment work or any work from
any other state departments,
must "stand in" with the attor-
ney general. This would make
the attorney general the patron
age arbiter in the distribution
of the states legal work to the
attorneys Of the state and might
make ie possible for him to build
up a strong political organiza-
ton among these attorneys. For
no attorney that in any way
should happen to incur the i'll
will of the attorney general could
ever hope to be approved by him
to do any legal work for the
state.
On the other hand, those at
torncys that arc able to remain
in the good graccs Of the attor-
ney general. should be in a posi-
ton to benefit greatly. An eX-
ample Of this may he found in
the fees paid the various attOr-
the state park commission the
neys that have done work for
last few years, all Of whom were
approved by the attorney gen
eral, and who were paid fees
amounting to thousands of dol
lars. In one year. attorneys ap-
proved by the attorney general
for the park commission receiv-
ed some 100000 in fees while
the commission that same year
expended only some $4,000 buy
ing land for the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park. The
1888 general assembly objected
so strongly to this arrangement
that it passed a special act TAX
ing the power to approve the en-
ployment Of these attorneys out
of the hands of the attorney
general and gave this power to
the governor instead. Some be-
lieve this is one reason Attorney
General Brummitt has apparently