Report of the attorney general for the year ending ..

Massachusetts. Attorney General'S Office

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Public Document No. 12
Cbe Commontoealtb ot egassactiusetts
REPORT
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Year ending November CiO, 1942Public Document No. 12
Ci)e Commonbiealtii of Q^assacbusetts
REPORT
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Year ending November 194230,'
€:bt Commontoealtf) of ^a$mtbmtm
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
State House.
Attorney General,
ROBERT T. BUSHNELL.
Assistants.
James E. Farley. Albert Z. LeMoine,
^Frank G. Volpe. Neavton a. Levine.
Roger Clapp. Milton A. Westgate.
^ 'Jacob Lewiton. H. Wells Kilbourne.
'J. Burke Sullivan. Joseph F. Rezendes.
Joseph F. Bacigalupo. Harris J. Booras.
^WiLLLiM F. Hayes. Sarkis M. Zartarian.
William L. Macintosh. G. Bruce Robinson.
Frank H. Wright. Samuel M. Kalemian.
^James F. Meagher. Philip L. Smith.
^ *Sherman W. Saltmarsh. Sidney A. Aisner.
^Harold E. Magnuson.
Assistants on Special Work assigned to Other State Departments.
Joseph K. Collins (Boston Elevated Railway), Department of Public Utilities.
Eunice P. Simm (Boston Railway), of Public
Harry J. Greenblatt, Division of Employment Security.
Thomas E. Key, Division of Employment Security.
Fernand R. Ducharme, Division of Security.
Frank F. Walters, Milk Control Board.
Arthur E. Whittemore, New York, New Haven & Hartford reorganization.
' Now serving in the armed forcee of the United States.
2 Died April 1942.19,
» Resigned August 1942.3,Director Divisionof of Collections.
W. Forbes Robertson.
Clerk to the Attorney General.Chief
Harold J. Welch.
List Clerk to the Attorney General.
James J. Kelleher.STATEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES.
For the Fiscal Year.
General appropriation for 1942 . . . . $149,625 00
64Balance brought forward from 1941 appropriation 12,497
Appropriation for small claims . . . . 5,000 00 under G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 12, 3B . 11,750 00§
$178,872 64Total
Expenditures
$8,000 00For salary of Attorney General .
130,082 68For salaries of assistants and others
11,000 00Incidentals
1,114 08For small claims
L. (Ter. Ed.) 3B 10,505 58For claims under G. ) c. 12, §
5,983 86Bank deposits litigations
351 90Office renovation
expenditures $167,038 10Total
54Balance $11,834
Financial statement verified as to principal items
iWALTER S. MORGAN,
Comptroller.
James F. Roche.By
January 1943.8,: :
Cf)e Commontoealtf) of Q^assacljusiettiBi
Department the Attorney General,of
Boston, January 20, 1943.
the Honorable Senate and House Representatives.To of
Pursuant to the provisions of section 11 of chapter 12 of the General Laws (Ter-
centenary Edition), as amended, I herewith submit my report.
Tlie cases requiring the attention of this Department during year end-the fiscal
ing November 1942, totaling are tabulated as follows:30, 10,866,
Corporate franchise tax cases .... 737
Extradition interstate renditionand 77
Court petitions .....Land 80
Land-damage cases arising from the taking of land
Department of Public Works 160
Department of Conservation 2
Metropolitan District Commission 28 Water Supply Commission 84
Miscellaneous cases...... 738
Petitions for instructions under inheritance tax laws 9
Public charitable trusts ..... 607
Settlement cases for support of persons in state hospitals 15
Pardons
Investigations and recommendations in accordance with G. L. (Ter. Ed.)
c. 127, § 152, as amended ........ 148
Workmen's compensation cases, first reports ...... 2,894
Cases in behalf of Milk Control Board ....... 226
in of Division of Unemployment Compensation, now Division of
Emplojinent Security ......... 1,785
All other cases not enumerated above, which include suits to require the fiMng
of returns by corporations and individuals and the collection of money
due the Commonwealth 3,276
I omit a heading entitled "Details of Capital Cases," which has been included in
the reports of Attorneys General up to the present time. I assume that this sec-
tion, consuming several pages in the report of the Attorney General, is a relic of
the former custom under which the Attorney General participated in trialthe of
all capital cases. For more than twenty years, this custom has non-at least, been
existent. In modern times the great bulk of criminal cases, including crimes,capital
are tried and disposed of by the district attorneys. Inclusion of cases requiring the
attention of the Department of the Attorney General, therefore, of "indictments
for murder, capital cases," and a separate section of the report entitled "Details of
Capital Cases" appears to me to be misleading and to serve no useful purpose.
For all but a week of the period covered by this report the United States has been
engaged in total war, upon success in which the existence of democratic government
depends. State governments have been called upon to meet conditions without,
6 P.D. 12.
precedent in their history. Since the declaration of war in December, a sus-1941,
tained effort has been made to organize the Department of the Attorney General in
such a manner that, despite losses of trained personnel, the work of the Department
could be carried on with as high a degree of efficiency and continuity as possible.
Work believed to be of importance to the war effort in any of the many ways by
which the government of the Commonwealth can contribute to the sum total of the
united effort of the American people in this direction has taken precedence over all
routine matters.
The extent to which the Department of the Attorney General has met the
extraordinary demands made upon it as a result of the war, and at the same
time efficiently conducted might termed the normal ofwhat be legal business
the Commonwealth, has been due to the and devotion interestsloyalty to the
of the Commonwealth of the members staff, including those whoof the have
continuously remained with serving the armedthe Department, those in forces
of the United States, and those who have acted as replacements, often on short
notice. Because of the complexities of particular cases which had been in their
charge prior to entry into the service, it has not infrequently been necessary
to call upon men in the service enable their successors as quickly as possible toto
be in a position to protect the interests of the Commonwealth. This assistance has
been rendered cheerfully and readily under difficult and arduous circumstances
and often at long distances. I wish particularly to record appreciation in this con-
nection to Assistant Attorney General J. Burke Sullivan, now captain in the United
StatesArmy Air Corps, and Assistant Attorneys General Jacob Leuiton and Harold
E. Magnuson, now lieutenants in the United States Navy. Prior to their entry
into active service, these men occupied key positions in the department. Even
while engaged in arduous courses of training beyond the borders of the Common-
wealth, they have retained their interest in the legal affairs of the Commonwealth,
and have, at the sacrifice of hours set aside for rest and recreation from new and
strenuous labors, assisted their successors in familiarizing themselves with unfinished
work.
Following is a discussion of various aspects of the work of the Department which
I believe may be of interest to the General Court at this time.
Wartime Emergency Powers of Executive Department.
In October, 1941, toward the close of its last regular session, the General Court
enacted chapter 719 of the Acts of 1941, entitled "An Act to provide for the safety
Commonwealth time military emergency." The treacherous attackof the in of at
Harbor occurred on December a few weeks after the adjournment ofPearl 7, 1941,
session. On December His Excellency the Governor, with the advicethat 29, 1941,
consent of the Council, proclaimed the existence of a state of emergency underand
the provisions of chapter 719 of the Acts of 1941.
Prior to the convening of the special session of the General Court on January 26,
1942, this Department had engaged in a survey of the legal machinery of the Com-
monwealth with reference to its adaptability to meet a sudden emergency which
might confront it in the event of total war. Heads of various departments, divi-
with referencesions, boards and commissions of the Commonwealth were consulted
their particular problems and many proposals for legislation were received andto
considered. The willing co-operation and the manner in which all officers of the