Evening star., 1952-05-25
Appointing McGronery
Condemned as Hoax
NewAttorney General Criticized
For Alleged lncompetency
BY Fronk R. Kent

by fronk X. Kent
The Senate confirmation of Mr.. Tru-
mans nomination for Attorney General
Judge James p. McGranery-is q de-
pressing act. For. If the charges against
him.are only partly true. he is az unit
a man for this vital position as any
President has appointed in years. The
minority report filed against him de.
clared that testimony taken by the com.
mittee showed that the integrity. abil-
ity and veracity Of the nominee are
most questionable"
The McGranery appointment would
have been poor one under ordinary
conditions. But, under existing condi-
tionS, with the Justice Department itself
under charges of corruption and in
competency. it seemed almost incredible
to select man to clean up the depart
ment against whom similar charges
were publicly made. It appears par
ticularly unpleasant hoax on the Ameri-
can people and makes Mr.. Truman's
breast-beating speeches about what
wonderful things he and his party have
done for the country seem the height
Of effrontery.
Perhaps the new Attorney General.
by fortnight and vigorous action. such
as he promises. will demonstrate the
falsity Of these charges and that an
injustice has been done him. But it
must be admitted that the allegations
against him were serious in their ma.
ture and the answers to them some
what inadequate. For example, q dis
tinguished and respected member of the
Philadelphia bar-Thomas Mcbride
6Eoc1o IN fhn fhof T,,L-
McGranery Is illegal ignoramus," and,
as evidence. presented record of the
extraordinary number Of reversals of
Judge McGranery's decisions by the Fed
eral Circuit Court. In addition. he cited
some McGranery rulings in criminal
cases which, even to q layman. seem
indefenSible.
4 More startling was the statement of
Richardson Dilworth, district attorney
Of Philadelphia. Mr.. Dilworth is q
Democrat and o man of the highest
standing. With Mayor Joseph Clark, he
defeated the corrupt Philadelphia Re-
publican machine a year ago and is
recognized as one of the States Demo-
cratic leaders. When the McGranery
appointment was first announced, he
declared, If confirmed, 1t meant regime
OF utter incompetency and ward poll
tics at its worst. He followed this up
before the committee by presenting a :
number Of rather devastating facts. One
concerned case in which the court
ordered MIR. McGranery, then a Judge,
to return $1,000 given him eight years
before to provide bail bond for an ac-
cuSed man, afterward released. Mr..
Dilworth described Judge McGranery's
conduct in that case as "a shabby at
tempt at misappropriation."
One reason the testimony Of the
Messrs. Dilworth and Mcbride got SO
little attention is because Senator Pat
McCarran of Nevada. chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee and chief
defender of Judge McGranery, arranged
to have them testify in closed session.
The result was that the testimony was
only released a few days before the
Senate vote and then on demand of the
minority committee members. Naturally.
it got slight publicity. AS to why more
Senators did not vote against Mr.. Nc
Granery and why there was not more
Indignation and protest from the public,
particularly from lawyers. there are a
number of reasons.
One is the powerful nature Of the
forces behind Mr.. McGranery. The chief
Of these. of course, was the administra.
ton. Real White House pressure was
exerted in his behalf. Another was the
strength of Senator McCarran as chair
man Of the Judiciary Committee. An
other was the absence Of O number of
Senators who should have been there for
the vote, and the indifference Of others
who either did not know the facts or
assumed fight against the committee
majority and the administration leaders
could not succeed.
It is entirely accurate, as the Alsop
brothers did in recent column, to de-
scribe the McGranery selections as a
"crony" appointment. When Mr.. and
Mrs. Truman first came to Washington,
Mr.. McGranery was member of Com
gress and the two families became good
neighbors and fast friends. That, how
ever, is not good reason for selecting
an Attorney General and many persons
who know the facts are aghast at the
prospect. Mr.. McGranery may turn out to
be marvellous Cleanup" man but If he
does the surprise will be unanimous.
Tr~.,A1:~~ .. R~l