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ago and, li expiring, presumably March 2. ‘That no one has challenged Mr. Fahringer's thesis is an amazement to me and further renudiation in my mind of his belicf that no charges Should be exposed to the light of pub- ie scrutiny until “the law” bas pur- sved its course: ‘The issue fs 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 yel devised by man, it is far from perfect, being “of the people” who, though possibly created in God's image, 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 10 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 __. eonsign the fate of our country solely to the jurists. oe .p-- - * OUR GOVE ‘checks and balances. In addition to the three branches of government first conceived by the founding fa- thers, we have a fourth, the {ree press, to protect us from the other three. We necd input from all each in itself and by itself, fect. To teny the m events as they occur impair the system of checks and bal- jon ef he anges which make us a tt freest people on this earth. of atever was bel gation will not ult ‘the public's dis:dvs ately redound to tage except inso- far that [exer have been implicated than would otherwise have been the case, Even with television tapes in hand showing subjects in fli Gclicto, those individuals will i Vikelihood merely find themselves clover Iawyors, ery entrapment, and et off with little more than ¢ From their enlioacues, nat meres for their their stupid phisticated in thei i Without the occasion: short-lived interest of the media, the public. would have na basis pon which to consider the possibbs dere Hions of their “servants when deter mining who is to represent, come them courts her than too few Wn WE ARIE in nu * ney ENT is one of consciousness several weeks ntly for a few days before By DELPHINE HLACHOWICZ Abscam flashed into our national a giant nova, radiated bri into the inter-galactic cold of the due process which Herald Price Fabringer commended to us in his op-ed article on i-served by the superficiality of the media, we are even more ill-served by those for whom the law is their livelihood. The law in this country is presently so far divorced {rom 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 enough to find sufficient prece- dents hinting at infringements upon his legal rights would escape due process and the public would never know of those 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 seek 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- ous, sometimes erroneous, sometimes Director Federal Bureau of Investigation Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. : Washington, D.C. Sunday, April 13, 1980 ~ + ,,100th Centennial Edition L ( G 4 { Vicar Mr. William H. Webster PENA A TEENA) OY Usa [eon Sou : QUTSIDE SOURCE i-conceived reporting of current events by the media. But the press, despite its many shortcomings, remains our ultimate recourse, in port because the legal system is nol serving us well enough. Tagree that the revelation of Ab- scam “has a destructive potential ten times that of Watergate.” Why then do we hear littie more of it? Might it bbe berause the majority of legislators, are themselves lawyers well skilied in finessing thelr own, kind? : . op ak NUE AND CRY has ‘arisen, especially in incestuous Washington, against the FBT 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 Cover-vp was Nixon's game, Legality: eo Ibscany Pi . law and those who merely seck to manipulate it for their own ends. ‘a, game which almost destroy country. Granted ‘the system am " but would it have do so withoyt 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 tempsatinrenieiney 7677, /— DELPHINE BLACHOWICZ, a na- tive of North Tonawanda, is @ iree- Jance writer. & ——— B MAY 5 1882 a aeons Qe: a |