European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 01, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse What makes the attorney general tick by Joseph e. Mohbat a staff writer in a City that likes to have it luminaries neatly Analysed labelled and catalogued the 65th attorney Gen eral of the United states has the Cabinet watchers buffaloes. He has been running the department of Justice nearly a year now and still the question is heard what make Young Ramsey Clark tick does he have what it takes or is Hea fellow texan and family Friend elevated by the president to the top la enforcement Job in the nation is he a prosecutor or a social re former is he a deep think intellectual or plodding woolly thinker and at the heart of it All the question that May be heard increasingly As re publicans turn their 1968 Campaign Gunson crime and rioting is he Tough or soft to Ramsey Clark who shies Way from the easy answers and labels Many of his critics seem to demand such questions Only distract from the important issues facing him the depart ment the administration and Law enforcement generally. To his admirers Clark is a painfully quiet likable but Remote lawyer whose overriding concern in life is the dignity and Worth of the individual. He will always they will Tell you place ethical principles first and never Compromise on those principles. Some members of Congress however would like to know More. They seem baffled by the 39-year-old attorney Gen eral by what they consider his Remote Ness his rambling analytical approach to questions his insistence on placing those High principles and moral right Sand wrongs above Quick responses and above All by his distinctly Liberal popu list views that contrast so vividly with the conservative Bent of Ramsey Clark father retired supreme court Justice Tom c. Clark. The inability of the politicians to Geta handle on him As one put it is be ginning to spawn annoyance and criticism which is Likely to increase rather than diminish As crime and lawlessness become More partisan political issues. 4 Lark s unswerving opposition to wire tapping and electronic snooping a weapons against crime has alienated not a few lawmakers not to mention the Federal Bureau of investigation Nomi Nally an Agency of the Justice depart ment. While he undoubtedly gained support ers he lost some too when he voluntarily combed through the department past convictions and went to court with the admission that wiretaps and bugs had been used. In the face of congressional urgings that he lock up Blac Power advocate Stokely Carmichael the attorney general explained with patience and firmness the delicate Legal safeguards built around free speech. Clark came under heavy fire in a gust As the House of representatives by a wide margin virtually wrote him out of the administration s crime control Bill. Minnesota s rep. Clark Mac Gregor a Liberal Republican who often has supported the administration Drew gop applause when he expressed the Hope that a better attorney Genera than we have today would be in office to Wield the feeble Justice department muscle remaining in the Bill. Other House members excoriate Dclark for coddling the Carmichaels and being under the thumb of the White the House criticism was the firs major outburst against Clark who had enjoyed something of a honeymoon Dur Page 14 ing his first five months in office. His Senate confirmation hearing was perfunctory and Clark was upset by the fusillade it did t show. Hardly anything Ever does though. If he has a flair it s for the Undra matk. He is a Gary Cooper Typ of attorney general silent unemotional icy Calm at All times. He does t say yep but he often says it s fairly easy to see the motivation behind criticism of him he re marked to a visitor to his comfortable fifth floor office in the department wit hits huge windows admitting an impressive View of the monuments to Washington and Lincoln. What they really want is for you total just one Side of a problem to make great speeches about How horrible things Are without mentioning the Root causes he went on slowly his foot propped on an open desk drawer often Clearing his Throat noisily to gain think ing time. It would t take a lot of skill to be come quite a popular figure he Wenton if you wanted to play the Circum stance s for that. As far As the presses concerned and the Congress the tougher you talked the harder you talked the better off you d be the bet Ter you d look to everybody. But i m not sure that sort of behaviour would address itself to the real problems Clark allowed himself to worry aloud for a moment. There s a lot of fear in the country Dpi above the attorney general 39, frustrates politicians who can t get a handle on the stars and stripes Tom c. Clark retired from the supreme court to avoid conflict with son. Sunday october 1, 1967
