◆ SpookStack

. tr and we all want tof *~ out—bric, how , en niatiy" OF tis dare? Wo. see Big: Broth- ers steady encroachment because we dant. 1 know we have to give up some, sfveedoih to have some sifety, some or | . i der in society, but T simply cannot tolcr- rr _* ate very much of Big Brother—those who } . * claim to-know whi ws s better for you ‘than ‘yi, you do.. . “I-don't believe” that the. averiige per- on, “informed people included, really ‘realizes. the swiftly increasing degree to; which our country is being run and con- «+ rolled’ by an wnseen -government—not | ‘only; by-the FBI.and the CIA and.the A. MYA. and the A. B. A.—but by Founda- - fot, tions; banks, ad ‘agencics, insurance a re Whe companies,. trust . companies and their ms . er “monolithic ilk. .In. insidious ways, they |: we peed are prescribing our moral codes, limiting Rou Cf freedoms." Their ‘cold-blooded biusi- ; i are bec coming universally, and — ‘passively, ‘acceptem: : - ‘Mhe.A. B. A. is at. war with me—like » “the “A.M, A. and the insurance com; : panies—because Ym’ at war with thase- who abet evil by’ keeping: silent when they see wrongs being perpetrated and . . perpetuated by the greed, malice and , ee ‘” “deception of these self-secking: institu: ‘ tions. I'm = under: attack because 1 be 3 “lieve in: crying ‘out against injustice. | * ‘God’ knows, ‘I’ve endured more than . [i Sry SNM aw & bo a pee ‘oF WN Oun. : a nut,'a charlatan, a publicity seeker, “any egomaniac!” Sure i'm flamboyant. I can afford to be,-because I'm a ckann good lawyer. You've vot to ring the bell to get the people imtoo the tem- ple. But my brand of nonconformism is so offbeat they don't know what to label : it. About the only thing they haven't i tagged mie is “Communist.” It's a wise i thing they don’t; I'd sue. This, mind you, after all I've done for the law. I've ; ‘- tried more cases, I've had more judg- a, . ments affirmed on. appeal, I’ve. made ‘more new Jaw than probably any lawyer, | ’ group or firm in the past 15 or 20 years. CAE AD aD LD a nt we IN OW EN te od ae NPOUWUD INU EWHRrPOUWUA IHU A > ws of ; ; ‘- After I'm gone, they'll “be teaching - 4 . courses about Belli. But the pack is out ) in full cry salivating over me. So be it. Tf 16— I’m going to go down, I’m going to go 47° 1 down fighting. — : 18 . * PlayBoyY: Is your plight as- scrious as all that? 9 4) Bet: You bet ic is. And things have ? -}. been coming to a head since the end of 1 + > $ the Ruby trial. I was absolutely awed by 32 ‘ , the speed and the ruthless efficiency with which Dallas’ miltimillionaires retaliat- ed against me for my uncharitable re, _ marks to the press about their fair city. | You've heard that money tilks? Listen, moncy screams! By the time I got back to San Francisco 1 found that insurance j policies of mine had been canceled with- “out explanation; a book publisher had backed out on publishing lack Dale: , 1 Dallas, the tile J had _plinned ‘for a w ‘ eerie ee ce ee ce ee MA a el dee ree Lee eee ne ce eee le ee lame teen my share of slings and -arrows: .‘Beili’s i. Falta 2 ee oficial dis?“ inwycrs; my credij was fro- 2ON;, sOiie appearances and lectures were canceled: Pino net being paranoid’, when F say uvet those bastards i Pexas were behind the whole thing. Wis, you _ wouldn't believe some of the mail I got ;-postmarked Texas. Imagine opening a letter addressed to you as “Dear Rec. ° ; tum.” Heart-warming! . The best part of it, though, is their cam-* : pitign—with the cooperation of the heads ‘of the A. B. A., who have been waiting for “an excuse—to have me kicked out of-the:* ‘American Bar Association. After the’ | Ruby trial, I was notified that Z’d bé giv.” Len a’ “trial,” investigating my. “conduct: i of the case”—though publicly I'd already ‘been convicted by the A.B. A. “grievance ! committee.’ *I was notified that my trial ‘would ®be held inthe Statler Hotel m Dallas. I replied that I wasn’t about to. “come to Dallas. Out of curiosity I asked” : them if they intended for it to be held. “Yon the-hotel’s top floor.with my seat . next’ to the open window. ; J was next pceremptorily notified that my trial will be held.in San Francisco _ instead. That suited me fine. Then they - announced they had decided to take de- ' positions against me. I asked that the de- * positions be delayed until a date when I i could be present. Denied. I asked by; “i what “rules of evidence” was 1 to be- -,{ tried. No reply. I asked for the privilege “i. of taking depositions on my own bebalf.”- -- Denied. Next came an indefinite post- ponement of my wisal. So IT not only * don’t know how I'll be wied, or for what Vil be wied; I dou't know when Ul be tried either. ; PLAYBOY: Can you continue practicisg if you're. ejected from the A. 8. A.? — Bett: I don't have tawbelong to the : American Bar, Association to practice. J don’t even have to belong to the A. B. AL to take books out of their library. To : practice, I just have to belong to my own state bar. As Bob Considine said, : “Being kicked out of thetAmerican Bar | . Association is like being drummed out. > of the Book-of-the-Month Club.” I'd cry _ all the way to the bank. a, : PLAYBOY: Suppose you were disbarred ‘ “also by the California state, bar. ; - Bett: Well, I've always go. my solid- - gold Honorary Life Membership card in _the Bartenders’ Union. Or maybe I ' could get the Coast Guard to renew my - , able-bodicd-seaman papers I think I i might write, too. Back when I first stare ed, I might as easily have gone into steel- working, or teaching, ar exploring, or doctoring, instead of Inw—and bob. there are a lot of people who wish } tia” Y But you know, it’s hard for me cven 2 think about having any other carcer tha, law. The law is my muse. Sig has in he | wooing been a jealous mis ress, bui wv , courting of her these 30 years has = 2 _ an exhilarating time. . ws ns J soe