THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

The Department of Justice, in Washington, D. C., is devoted to the enforcement of the laws of the Federal Government. About ten million dollars a year are appropriated by Congress for purposes within the jurisdiction of this Department, which includes the salaries of all United States Judges, Attorneys, and Marshals.

By the Constitution of the United States certain supreme powers are conferred upon the Federal Government, anything in the constitution and laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

The power and duty to execute these laws is vested in the President; the judicial power devolves upon the Supreme Court and inferior courts, as Congress may establish.

The duties of the Attorney-General are to prosecute and conduct in the Supreme Court suits in which the United States may be concerned; to direct the Solicitor-General or any officer of the Department of Justice to do so; and to give his advice on questions of law when required by the President or by the heads of the executive departments of the Government, the opinions given on these questions being binding as rules of action until a con

trary decision shall be rendered by the courts.

In 1870 Congress authorized the appointment of a Solicitor-General to assist the Attorney-General, and to him has been assigned the argument of all cases before the Supreme Court except those that may be entrusted to other assistants. The Attorney-General took personal charge of the two antitrust suits,—one against the Standard Oil Combination and the other against the Tobacco Combination.

Congress has provided for the appointment of Assistant Attorneys-General to perform duties assigned to them by the Attorney-General. For example, several assistants entrusted with the prosecutions of the antitrust cases; one assistant in charge of violations of the customs laws; one in charge of the defense of claims against the United States, and another in charge of Indian Depredation Claims. An Assistant Attorney-General has charge of the division of Public Lands, and other assistants are assigned to perform various other legal duties.

Still others, subordinates of the Department of Justice, are the Solicitor of the State Department, Solicitor of the Treasury, Assistant Attorney-General for the Post-Office Department and Department of the Interior, and Solicitor of the Department of Commerce and Labor. Under the control of the Attorney-General at Washington there is a corps of about sixty lawyers and 275 qualified employees of the Department of Justice.

The work of the Department is advisory, administrative, and judicial.

The Attorney-General, being a member of the President's Cabinet,-which is composed of the heads of the nine great Executive Departments,renders opinions on legal questions to the Chief Executive and to the heads of the other departments, and is in touch with the policy of the Administration.

Matters pertaining to the appointment of United States Judges, District Attorneys, and Marshals, and officials subject to the control of the AttorneyGeneral, are referred to his Department, and the qualifications of candidates are reported upon to the President, before the selection is made of any one, after which his name is sent to the Senate for confirmation. All commissions are registered under the seal of the Department of Justice, signed by the President, and countersigned by the Attorney-General.

Bills repealing any of the Revised or General Statutes of the United States are generally referred to the Department of Justice, with a request for any facts in its possession bearing upon the enactment of the bills into law.

The Constitution vests the President with the power to pardon persons convicted of crimes against the Government. All applications for pardon go to an Attorney in Charge of Pardons, who refers them to the United States District Attorney by whom the petitioner was prosecuted and the

Judge by whom he was convicted. If neither shall advise the exercise of Executive clemency, the matter rests, unless reopened by special order of the President. If reports be favorable to the prisoner, the Attorney in Charge of Pardons examines all documents and prepares a brief of the facts, with a recommendation to the AttorneyGeneral, who reports the case to the President, recommending what action may be taken. If a pardon be granted, or the sentence commuted, the pardon papers are prepared in the Department of Justice, are signed by the President and the Attorney-General, and are forwarded to the petitioner, who is then released.

Under the laws of some States, a conviction for crime deprives the criminal of his citizenship, and only a pardon granted by the President can restore the person to full rights, and that only when there is no probability of his again violating the law,— a fact that is ascertained by the Department of Justice.

The administrative duties of the officials of the Department of Justice are constantly increasing, and include the supervision of the offices of the District-Attorneys, United States Marshals, and clerks of the United States Courts. These courts are periodically inspected by special agents or examiners of the Department.

The Department also supervises the penitentiaries of Atlanta, Ga.; Leavenworth, Kan.; the National Training School for Boys, and the Girls'

Reform School,-both located at Washington;McNeil Island, Washington, and the Federal prisoners confined in State institutions.

The real work for which the Department of Justice exists is the detection and prosecution of crimes against the United States Government. All other duties are secondary to this end.

A small but effective body of Special Agents was organized in 1909 into a Bureau of Investigation,—with division headquarters in the principal cities of the United States,-under which the work of investigation and detection of alleged violations of the Federal law is carried on. The Special Agents of the Department are charged with the duty of investigating violations of the laws of the United States and collecting evidence in cases in which the United States is or may be a party in interest.

The Bureau of Investigation has looked into thousands of cases of all kinds; those cases concerning violations of the Sherman law and the National Banking Act alone averaging more than fifty a month. Its functions are very broad, and are generally ably performed. This Bureau should be absolutely non-partizan.

Offenses against the United States statutes involve acts in different parts of the country, and the investigation must be conducted and the prosecution had at the direction of the Attorney-General and frequently independently of the United States District Attorneys, until it becomes necessary to