Evening star., 1952-08-18
0fficeho|ders'
Code Written
In Arlington
Proposals Outline
Measures Against
Public Corruption

A proposed code of public ethics
vas unveiled in Arlington County
oday, accompanied by long list
# recommendations to promote
deal behavior at all levels Of
county government. s
The code and recommendations
we're prepared by the Citizens
Commission on Ethics in Govern
nent, which the County Board
appointed in June, 1851.
Instead of setting forth legally
regulations against Of
+icial misconduct, the code speaks
n general terms Of good and bad
ethics.
The accompanying Is recon-
range from specific
suggestions for legislative action
to broad hints of guiding public
:.
Recommendations Listed.
Some of the major legislative
recommendations are: strengthen
State legislation against corrupt
election practices; require candi-
dates to report the origin Of all
campaign funds; consider legal
restraint of political defamation.
or sharpen the teeth of political
libel laws; outlaw anonymous
political literature; authority for
the governing body to conduct
certain inquiries; new legislation
separating public Office from pri-
vate gain, and compilation OF all
existing laws pertaining to ethics.
The Commission also suggests
that the grand jury deserves re-
newed attention. "even though at
best it is a relatively cumbersome
mechanism" It states that full
scale re-evaluation Of Virginia's
grand jury system could make q
significant contribution to in
creasing the grand jury's effec-
tiveness in promoting public
ethics.
The broader recommendations
are those commended for action
by local authorities. These include
possible continuation Of an adj
visory ethics commission to con-
slider particular cases of "ethically
dubious conduct; regular reviews
of governmental practices by small
committees of administrative Of
flcials; periodic review of auditing
procedure; repeated evaluation Of
procurement practices; a sample
investigation of real estate trans
actions for the past 10 years to
see what public officials-past and
present-might have prof1ted: and
ethics instruction in all in-service
training programs for county en-
iployes.
Purpose Outlined.
Purpose of the code is set forth
in the introduction as follows:
This code is meant to help
officials and citizens alike to come
to a better judgment about what
lis right and what Is wrong ethi-
ically in the exercise Of public
functions, including the conduct
of political campaigns. This code
sets forth general guidelines as a
means of reaching ethically sound
decisions, but does not presume to
lay down the last word for each
decision to be reached"
Robert w. Cox, County Board
chairman who sponsored creation
of the five member commission.
hailed the code as a wonderful
ljob-"the best that has ever been
done anywhere on this most i'm
lportant and very difficult subject"
He said the code might well be-
come a model for other levels Of
Government. It probably will be
discussed at the County Board
meeting Saturday.
The idea for an ethics commis-
sion originated in Arlington after
two County Board members, DAN
iel A. Dugan and F. Freeland
Chew, were tried and acquitted on
charges of malfeasance in office.
The charges implied that they ac-
lcepted gifts in return for official
favors.
Need for Attention.
"In the course Of the proceed
ings, the charges collapsed" re-
called the commission. But some
of the testimony created q wide
spread feeling that more atten-
tion should be paid by county off,
cials to the ethics Of public Office"
Commission Members.
Members of the Commission
are: Fritz Morstein Marx, chair
man. a staff assistant in the Di-
rector's Office of the Bureau Of
the Budget. and adjunct professor
of political science at American
University; Frank L. Ball, ST..
Arlington attorney and former
State Senator; John j. Corson.
head Of the Washington Office of
McKinsey and Co., management
consultants: Chan Gurney. mem
ber of the Civil Aeronautics Board
and former Republican Senator
from South Dakota: the Rev. Paul
r. Hunter, pastor Of the Rock
Spring Congregational Church.