Newspaper Page Text
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— Griffin Daily News Wednesday, August 22, 1973
In the wake of Watergate
Jurist sees constitution ’s future in doubt
By Ralph Novak
CHICAGO - <NEA) - The
Watergate investigation has
reached that level of perman
ence Americans usually at
tach only to such subjects as
offensive football tactics, hor
ror movies and civics It is
going to be the subject of a
college course
Philip B Kurland, a Univer
sity of Chicago law school
professor, editor of the "Su
preme Court Review" and one
of the nation's best-known
Constitutional authorities, is
going to move into the univer
sity's undergraduate school to
teach "Constitutional Aspects
of Watergate" this fall.
One reason, he says, is that
he wants "to teach these stu
dents what the law is really
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about, to dispel any notions of
idealism they might have
about it."
Another reason is Kurland's
concern with distinguishing
the Watergate crisis as it af
fects the country from the
crisis as it affects the individ
ual government officials in
volved.
The Watergate affair and
everything associated with it
mark a watershed and we
don't know yet in what direc
tion we re going to move,” he
says. "It wouldn't make a hel
luva difference to our future if
all these guys never are
brought to trial as individuals.
But we have to learn never to
let power accumulate in one
place as it has in the White
House since the New Deal
began.
"There are a lot of interre
lated Constitutional questions
involved: separation of pow
ers, executive privilege,
search and seizure, the func
tion and scope of legislative
inquiry, the president s power
to set up his own investigative
unit, among others.
■ But the main question is
whether the Constitution al
lows such centralization of
authority."
Kurland believes the answer
to that question is "no " and
his sympathies clearly lie
with ihe Senate Select Com
mittee investigating the Wat
ergate burglary and its geo
metrically expanding ramifi
cations He is a consultant to
both the committee's chair
man. Sen. Sam Ervin. D-N.C..
and the Judiciary subcom-
mittee on separation of pow
ers and a friend of the Water
gate panel's chief counsel.
Sam Dash.
But he is nevertheless high
ly critical of the committee s
performance during the first
round of public testimony in
defining the relevant constitu
tional issues isolating them
and collecting useful informa
tion about them.
’ This is essentially a fox
hunt and nobody likes a fox
because he's a varmint. Kur
land says. "That doesn't mean
you have to like the fox hunt
ers.
"The way the hearings were
conducted, there was a danger
that the American public
would see them as a summer
replacement for the soap op
eras and take them just as
seriously.
"The committee overall has
not shown itself to be excep
tionally capable or bright.
"There is no questioning
Ervin s honesty or dedication.
But Dash, while he is bril
liant. doesn't really have the
killer instinct for that job.
And the others all have axes
to grind — presidential aspira
tions. personal glory cam
paigns or political positions to
protect
"So you didn't see any of
the questioning that skillful
prosecutors use to elicit infor
mation. where question B is
carefully built on question A.
C is built on B and so on until
vou get to Z and have really
learned something Here by
the time they got to D. the
gavel was being rapped to
turn the questioning over to
someone else. Or just when
somebody had a witness going
and you thought he was right
in the middle of an especially
penetrating line of question
ing, he would say. That's all
I have. Mr Chairman.
Kurland says he advised
Ervin to limit the committee
to three members and also to
put a much shorter time limit
on the first phase of public
hearings so that the informa
tion gathered could be more *
sharply focused.
Now he is hopeful that
President Nixon will appear
before a joint session of Con
gress to discuss the Watergate
crisis. And while he does not
expect his University of Chi
cago class to come up with
any revelations, he says the
study of Constitutional history
i fliiiiiimi
“THE COMMITTEE overall
has not shown itself to be
exceptionally capable or
bright.” Nameplates of the
Senate investigators go into
storage for the hearings re
cess.
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A LANDING PAD for 3-day-old turkeys is provided in
Bradford, Pa., by Jim Randolph’s baseball cap. Right
here they weigh two to four ounces each.
cahtol KwMI
Wfßw STORY' VMI
by Bernice McCußat
If the Queen Visits Georgia
in 1974 to attend the
Dogwood Festival, we hope
Elizabeth II will come over to
Capitol Hill. We would like her
her to see our Archives
portraits of two of her
grandfathers, George II and
George 111, which flank over
early copy of Georgia’s
charter.
Dreamer - Just call me a
dreamer, but I’d like to see
school students offered 3
prizes: (1) for the best one
page report of “What
interested Me Most at the
Capitol.” Some 6th grader said
“the elevator”! (2) the most
unusual snapshot or
photograph, and (3) the most
original drawing or painting.
(We’re working on it.)
Lee in Georgia - Capitol
portrait of Robert E. Lee
reminds historians that Lee’s
first assignment after
graduating as an engineer from
West Point was at Cockspur
Island, Savannah. He was back
in Georgia six months before
he died, with his daughter.
They put flowers on the grave
of his father, Col. “Lighthorse
Harry” Lee, who helped drive
the British from Georgia, died
on Cumberland Island, and lay
buried there 90 years. Now
father and son nest in the
chapel of Washington and Lee
College in Lexington, Va.
Outside, on the campus, is
buried Lee’s horse. Traveler.
Russell Monument
Suggestion made that the
SIOO,OOO statue of Senator
Richard B. Russell (once the
youngest governor in the
nation) be placed in the
Capitol’s Plaza Park instead of
on Capitol Square.
Words I Like: I would like
i
should lead his students to *
better understanding of th c
essence of the problem. r
"Eor democracy to work
the people have to have fait:
in their government but her
now cynicism is the rule •
Kurland says. "You assuni=
that every act by a govern
ment official is a malevoler
one and you find two sides ii
the political argument justify
ing their behavior by the b<
havior of the other side. Th
radicals say they have to b
disruptive because the admir
istration acts the way it doej
the administration says it act
the way it does because th
radicals are so disruptive.
"We just can t have an
more of this ends-justifying
the-means business. We hav
to measure the means agains
some standards of moralit
and ethics.
"The Constitution and ou
laws are not just sets of writ
ten directions for specifi
occasions. They also concer
the patterns of behavior cor
doned by society and in tha
sense Watergate is not strict!
a legal matter at all.
What we really have to d
is find out exactly what th
rules are."
tNI WSPAPF.ft FNTrftPftlSr ASSN »
to put forever on Capitol wall
where hang the portraits d
our vanished heroes, L. J
Cheney’s wonderful words
“We are what we are becaus
of the past. We are part of
long story.”
Ghost: Only Capita
character of the past said t
have a ghost is Butto
Gwinnett. He has two: one o
stormy nights at the helm d
his boat, “Beggar’s Benison’
and the other, galloping on
ghost horse, the last mile fron
Philadelphia, where he haJ
signed the Declaration d
Independence.
Teas With Mrs. Oglethorpe
The State Chamber o
Commerce’s Mozelle Christian]
and Georgia’s Star Studen
had tea at the old Oglethorpl
home in England. Hostess wa|
Mrs. James KennetH
Oglethorpe, whose husband
was a descendant of oul
Founder’s uncle.
CITY SETTLES SUIT
LOS ANGELES (UPI) - TH
city settled a damage suit □
folk singer Jimmy Rodger!
who was severely injured in
freeway dispute with an on
duty policeman, for $200,0d
Tuesday. Rodgers had sued fa
$10.2 million.
The City Council approve!
the settlement after the citj
attorney’s office warned then
was “substantial risk” tha
Rodgers would get a large
sum from a jury.
An off duty police officer wH
stopped Rodgers in Decembel
1967, saying the singer wa
driving erratically, said Rods
ers slipped and fell, striking hi
head. Rodgers, however, sail
he was beaten by the office!
and left in his car.