Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-10

reporting violence in the
Streets"
How much longer are the
law makers going to- turn a
deaf ear to the perils Of walk
ing on the streets of our Ma
tons Capital after dark?
Immediate action Is re-
quired to show these thugs
they will be punished for
muggings, etc. and repeaters
will be more than simply rep
rimanded.
I visited Europe in June,
1856, and 'agree with others
that it was possible to walk
the streets without fear
even the tiny narrow passages
on the Isle Of Capri.
Let's make Washington a
safe place to live.
Disguised.
Attorney Myron G. Ehr-
lich'S speech before the Bur-
leith Citizens Association and
the letter Of seven organiza-
tons to the House Judiciary
Subcommittee about the
Mallory case appalled, this
citizen.
Mr.. Enrich says the ruiz
ing is based on the Bill of
Rights and all Supreme
Court decisions that have
gone before and that THE
only new aspect of the rul-
ing is that it has never been
enforced before" The seven
organizations say the Su-
preme Court merely applied
the Is year -old McNabb
rule"
The main argument of
these defenders Of the public
enemy seems to be that the
Supreme Court made no legal
error in its decision when it
enforced a ruling never en-
forced before or applied a
15-year-old rule.
This argument is entirely
beside the point. Granted
that the Supreme Court had
impeccable legal precedent
for its protection of our
hardly harassed criminals,
all the more reason why our
legislators should act quickly
to give the courts a law
which will enable them to
make rulings which will re-
suit in criminals being
brought to justice.
According to United States
Attorney Gasch. 46 States
and England allow more lee
way in the interrogation Of
prisoners than allowed in the
District under the Mallory
decision. Surely at a time
when our citizens are daily
being assaulted, manned,
raped and murdered. the
police should be given at
least as much leeway in their
handling of prisoners as OBJ
tainS in other Jurisdictions.
Surely those jurisdictions are
as devoted to the Constitu-
ton and the common law as
we. And surely, this is an
emergency calling for quick
action.
But apart from all this.
the statements Of Enrich
and the seven organizations
sound a familiar false note.
These people know that the
Supreme Court need not
follow precedent. They know
that the broad general terms
of the Bill Of Rights can be
construed in many ways.
They know that the Supreme
Court has often made rul-
ings based on a modern in
depreciation Of the Consti-
tuition to At modern condi-
tions. rulings which have been
contradictory to past deci-
sions. They know that the
Bill Of Rights was written
into the Constitution by
a people who had just been
freed from royal persecution
and were rightly anxious to
protect themselves against
despotism.
Now. 1856 years later, we
have no government des-
potism. The police are not
hated agents Of a dictator.
They are harassed protectors
Of the ordinary peaceful
citizen. Instead we have a
new despotism. Our lives and
property are endangered by
criminals who have adj
vanced weapons. who breathe
the air Of moral decadence
and violence, who are rep
resented by lawyers whose
code Of ethics demands that
even the most vicious con-
fessed murderer be given the
benefit Of the trickiest legal
loopholes that the most
astute counsel can befuddle