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ue Tha , /} Iss Whatever was behind the prema- d ¥ pire wil) not ultimately redound to . 4, Lis £3 i 2.0 Moraliy ox wt By DELOMINE RLACHOWICZ Abscam flashed into our national consciousness govera}) weeks ago and, like a giant nova, expiring, which Herald Price Fahringcr commended March 2. That no one has challenged Mr. Fshringer’s thesis is an amazement to me and further repudiation in my mind of his belief that no charges should be exposed to the light of pub- lic scrutiny until “the law" has pur- sued its course: “The issue is not legalisms. The issue is the morality of those whom we choose to represent us. While we live under the best system of govern- ment yet devised by man, it is far from perfcet, being “of the people” who, though possibly created in God's {mage, are not yet god-like in their actions. . This includes the cadre of lawyers who already wield far too much sway over our activities. That some of them are estimable gentlemen is not _to be denied. Unfortunately, however, the converse is also true of a goodly number who are devoted not to jus- tice and equality but to legalisms. Legalisms such as “entrapment” which argue less for morality than for - circumvention of the intent of the law - and the ultimate good of the public as a whole. Thus, we cannot afford to - consign the fate of our country solely “to the jurists. se... - ” is one of OUR GOVERNMENT ~““ehecks and balances. In addition to the three branches of government first conceived by the founding fa- thers, we have a fourth, the free press, to protect us from the other three. We necd input from all, as each. in itself and by itself, is imper- fect. To deny the media access 10 events as they occur is {0 seriously - impair the system of checks and bal- ances which make us a nation ef the freest people on this earth. ture revelation of the Abscam investi- the public's disadvantage execpt inso- far that fewer have been impiicated _ than would otherwise have been the case, Even with television tapes in _ hand showing subjects in flagrante — @elicto, those individuals will in-all likelihood merely find themselves clover lawyers, ery entrapment, and ret off with little more than eensure from their colieacues, nat necessavily for their actions per se but rather Cor their stupidity in not being more so- phisticated in their rascality. Without the oecasional, albeit short-lived interest of the media, the public would have no basis upon | which to consider the possible derefic- tions of their “servants” when deter. mining whe is to represent, them come the next election day The courts may rule bat the people speak. Retler that they da.so wil many rather than too fow facts. J a a WIR WE ARE. in may radiated brilliantly for a fow presumably into the inter-galactic cold of the duc process ous, sometimes days before to us in his op-ed article on ill-served by the superficiality of the media, we are even more ill-served by those for whom the law is their livetihoad. The law in this country is presently so far divorced {ram justice and equality that were we to await the results of secret legal process virtually every individual with enough funds to ‘buy’ legal talent clever cnough to find sufficient prece- dents hinting at infringements upon his legal rights would escape due process and the public would never know of thase instances in which jus- tice was sacrificed upon the altar of technicalities. Our nation would be even more in thrall to the machinations of attor- neys whose dedication is too infre- quently to what is right, preferring rather clever loophoits with which to seck exoneration for those of their clients capable of paying substantial fees. : Were this an ideal world in which those tutored in the law were dedicat- ed first and foremost to the public weal, I would grant that those sus- pected of misconduct should be shel- tered from the sometimes overzeal- erroneous, sometimes pat rhe ae poe ies Director Federal Bureau of Investigation Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. ey hls Pi webs ter a QUTSIDE fibs CAH meee ill-conceived reporting of current events by the media. But the press, despite its many shortcomings, remains our ultimate recourse, in part because the legal system is not, serving us well enough. 1 agree that the revelation of Ab scam “has a destructive potential ten times that of Watergate.” Why then do we hear Jittie more of it? Might it be because the majority of legislators are themselves lawyers well skilled in finessing their own kind? A HUE AND CRY has ‘arisen, especially in incestuous Washington, against the FBI when for once that agency should have our gratitude for truly acting to preserve us against the double standards which exist for those who honor the old-fashioned morality which is the bedrock of the law and those who merely scck to manipulate it for their own ends. Cover-up was Nixon's game,” a game which almost destroyed ou / : country. Granted the system W rked, but would it have do so without the : prodding of the press? Those Who choose to live in the limelight should not seek the shadow of lezalisms to protect any betrayal of public trust, .- be it in the form of temptation prof- . ; fered or tempjation njoine: 5 mes senses" 95 / DELPHINE BLACHOWICZ, a na- live of North Tonawanda, is a irec- Jance writer. -- . : ve : _.SPHE Burrato News - Lb“ of \ a t Soreae / i wee Sunday, April 13, 1980 * .», 100th Centennial Edition