Evening star., 1936-08-30

NSOAIIliluCd oeSt
were brought in separately. They
could then spend all their zeal trying
to convince the officials concerned
rather than each other. Looking at
the matter judicially, that's the way
Seal thinks corporation counsels must
look at things, he believes a change
in routine of this character would be
for the better all around.
To talk to Seal about his Job Is to
discover that he is a public offlcial
sadly deficient in the pomposity which
one might associate with public Of
flee. In an Office which looks rather
like the directors room of a success
full automobile manufacturing COM
pany, he manages to look singularly
human and approachable.
Surveying the distant walls. he
makes it plain that he has not inten-
ton to hide behind them.
Every man in public Office" he
says, tells the press that his door
always is open. Mine is no exception
and intend to keep it that way"
But there Is one respect in which
Seal does intend to hide himself from
the public. That is in the role Of
public speaker. He dislikes public
| speaking, insists he is no good at it,
and says he will speak only when it
is impossible to get out Of 1t.
He will speak to jury at the drop
of a hat, or whatever the signal may
be for speaking to jury, but lunch
con club and other audiences will
hear him on only those rare occasions
when it is imperative. Seal hopes
that will not be often; is pretty sure
it won't be.
One gets an idea of the new corpo-
ration counsel's straight thinking in
his answer to the question: Do you
anticipate that your friends will ask
a lot of favors now that you are in
spot to get a lot Of requests like
that?
ANY one who asks me to grant
| favors of the kind I think you mean
isn't real friend" Seal says.
1t Is his idea that friends do not
ask public officials to forgive their
breaches of the law. He intends to be
guided by it. If any one asks him to
do otherwise, he will be sorry, but
THE new corporation counsel, a ma
tive of Lexington, Va, came to
| Washington in 1915. Before coming
here, he had had two years OF academic
work at Washington and Lee Uni
versity, courses looking toward q de-
gree in law from Georgetown Uni
versity.
In addition to his ambition to be-
come lawyer, he had another at the
time of his arrival in washington.
His second hope was that he never
again would have to work in a gro
Gerry store. 1t was vain yearnlng,
however, for after several weeks OF
searching for other work, his landlady
gave him a letter to a relative who,
she said, might give him job. Seal
was SO excited at the prospect, ne
neglected to ask what the relatives
business was. Just as you would ex-
pect, the man turned out to be a gro
Ger. Seal took the job, times and his
purse being what they were in 1915.
From groceries, he stepped into
roofing as the sales representative OF
| Bird & Son, then Americas No. !
roofing and smokestack company. The
Washington representative Of Bird &
Son was Louis Thompson, the one
whose daughter, Virginia, is now Mrs.
Seal.
Selling roofs and smokestacks and
courting the boss daughter were large
and happy moments In the life OF the
new corporation counsel, but his yen
for the law finally drove him to quit
ting that job. He got one with more
favorable hours with the United States
Public Health Service, enrolled at
Georgetown and settled down to the
| pursuit of legal knowledge until the
war came along.
Seal Joined the Navy, and, as re-
suit, one day found himself guilty OF q
faux pas which, he feared, would see
him shot as a spy. .
At the time, few weeks after be.
coming q yeoman, Seal was doing his
daily patriotic chores In . tiny room In
what-fegardless Of what its technical