Evening star., 1934-08-28
bar ASKED TO AID
| IN TREASURY CODE
Jackson Says Regulation Is
Needed to Prevent Fraud
and Waste.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
MILWAUKEE, Wis, August %
Coincident with the announcement
by Secretary Morgenthau of his ap-
! pointment of a new Committee on
Enrolment and Disbarment of the
Treasury Bar, Robert H. Jackson, as
| sistant general counsel of the United
States Treasury Department, today
| invited members Of the American Bar
! Association to draft code governing
| the Treasury bar.
Regulation of the Treasury bar,
consisting of accountants and agents
as well as lawyers, should center
around these three purposes, Jackson
explained: ITO protect the revenues
of the United States against fraud
and waste: to protect taxpayers
against dishonest or tricky advisers
who lead them into trouble and con-
troversy; to protect honorable law
yers who gave faithful advice to
their clients against the unfair COM
petition of slickers whose stock in
trade is fraudulent practice or false
claims of influence"
Clearing House Needed.
Asserting tax practice presents
many problems, Jackson cited need
for clearing house for the exchange
of views, and a voice to speak for
the tax bar"
Describing how each of the Federal
departments regulates those appearing
before it in its individual method
without an established channel for
the exchange of information between
all departments, Jackson predicted
congressional action probably would
bring about consolidation of the va
rious departments activities toward
enrolment of attorneys.
Jackson recommended an enroll
ment of not longer than five years for
tax attorneys.
Discussing regulation for the law
yer attempting to use political influ-
ence or former official position with
| the department to promote his buSi-
ness, jackson said the country at
large does not understand a former
Office holder is held in the same es-
teem in Washington as yesterday S
newspaper"
"Unfair" Lawyers.
He added that. however ineffective
this influence may be in obtaining de-
ciSions of the Government, it is un-
questionably persuasive in obtaining
business.
THE influence lawyer presents a
problem of unfair competition which
the bar should aid in suppressing,
Jackson asserted.
He suggested that the bar itself
knows best who are unethical lawyers
and should aid the Committee on En-
rollment and Disbarment in the sub
ject of discipline.
He suggested no extensive use
of disbarment proceedings or other
processes of the legal codc to remove
from the ranks of the profession those
guilty of besmirching its name. Rather,
he- askel the bar itself, through its
thousands of members, ITO make ths
choice. between leaders or mouth
Code Lost Credit.
1T is hard to escape the conclusion
that If the bar has lost its ancient
prestige" jackson said, lit has not
been lost by scoundrels and ounces
who never had any part~of it to lose,
but by lawyers of substance, who lost
it not because they failed to observe
the lawyers code, but because the
code itself had lost credit"
Activities of lawyers in criminal law
have done much to lower the profes-
sion, he said. "One reason Is that,
while we are strongly opposed to crime
in the abstract, we will never give
organized support to any specific pro-
posal to suppress it."