lity which led her to greatness and in light of this unmistakeable truth he admonished the then generation of Americans as well as generations to come that "If America ever ceases to be good-it will cease to be great." Well, America had its Civil War and America fell from greatness. But America recovered and upon recognizing the mistakes that were made the people of that generation picked up their working tools and eventually restored the greatness once enjoyed. But let it be remembered that a restoration to greatness did not occur until there had been built foundations of morality and goodness. Each year we observe Independence Day in the marked reverence. On the last occasion my thoughts turned to a recent visit to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and eleven years later, after four months of debate, deliberation, study and prayer, our Constitution was drafted. There were vast differences of opinions and a great contrariety of views permeating these extensive sessions of the Constitution, yet in the end dissents were largely resolved by an understanding approach to opposing views of the participants and the acceptance of sincereness and good faith on the part of all. The eventual result was a monumental document that has stood the test of time and has enabled us daily to enjoy the freedoms and the individual rights it guarantees. To remind me-almost to haunt me-{;ame the recollections of immortal words they penned-"that all men are created equal"-"Iife, liberty and pursuit of happiness"-and finally, the pledge to each other of "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Then I paused to wonderare these just empty phrases to many of us today-or are they still as radiant, as inspirational, and as binding in our pursuits as they were to these great founders of freedom and seekers of justice? I could not stop with these musings. What tortured my thinking was the undivided and unquestioned integrity and probity of these patriots-their trustworthiness and gUilelessness-as contrasted with the shams and deceits and corruptions perpetrated by some of their successors of modern times. Still fresh on my mind is the sadness of seeing one of the great
tragedies of modern history-men who once had fame in their hands sinking to infamy-all because eventually their goals were of the wrong dreams and aspirations. The teaching of right and wrong had been forgotten and little evils were permitted to grow into great evils-small sins to escalate into big sins. How did Alexander Pope put it? "Unblemished, let me live or die unknown. Give me an honest fame or give me none." The polls sadly show an alarming loss of public confidence in leadership in various levels of government, in private business and in most of the professions. The polls disclose, as U.S. News & World Report puts it" ... surveys tell of voter disenchantment with political parties and individual candidates, as well as such venerated institutions as the Presidency and the Congress." A commission appointed by President Ford had a task force study the subject of "public conduct." It reported late in 1976. The charge given the Task Force bluntly stated: "One of the critical challenges before our country today is the restoration of the public's fatih in equality and integrity of government." It further stated that "The maintenance of this confidence depends primarily on the quality of the men and women attracted to the public service and the public's trust in the processes of government." Under the heading "Philosophy of the Report" the Task Force said: "The polls show clearly that public respect for government officials has declined sharply in recent years." It further stated: "We regard the problem as serious." And it added: "Yet despite frequent reports of corruption, the Task Force believes that the present loss of confidence goes much further than the facts warrant." It was Disraeli who pointedly said that the "youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity." The voter disenchantment in these situations as disclosed by the polls is alarming enough but even more disquieting are the efforts of some writers and some speakers to paint a picture of alarm and distrust far beyond the true facts-the propensity of which is to unduly disturb the minds of the young. The surest way to have a high degree of morality in government is for all sectors of American life-business, labor, the professions and the
educational processes as well as others-to practice the principles of integrity. Parenthetically let me add that I will not address myself to the legal profession because it seems that the President of the United States has preempted this field. I was in the middle of "Koreagate"-as the news-media terms it-for a year. And I think that I can safely represent to you that I know every aspect of the investigation. I accepted the responsibility of Special Counsel with great reluctance, finally agreeing when I was assured the type of independence I had insisted on having before I accepted the Watergate assignment. From purely a personal standpoint it was clear to me that it was an undesirable and unattractive involvement-but there was more to consider.
****** It is my conviction that there should be-and I think there is-a better method of conducting inquiries into alleged wrongful conduct of high officials in our three branches of government than to resort to self-investigation. Differently stated, is the ferreting out of wrongdoing by alleged offenders in a branch of our government to be the responsibility of their fellow-members? I submit that this should not be the case in instances involving the executive and legislative branches, and I have grave doubts that it should be the procedure in situations involving the third branch-the jUdiciary.
My predominant objection to the present method emanates from the conviction that regardless of how objective, how thorough and how unbiased the investigation may be, if the task involves an inquiry into the wrongful conduct of members of the investigators' own official family, public skepticism and cynicism is certain to arise in some quarters questioning the integrity of the undertaking. It is a virtuai certainty that some members of the political party not then in control of that particular branch of government will fan the flames of a "coverup" charge-an effort usually aided and abetted by some politically-oriented columnists and editorial writers. This, we know, affects the image of the institution involved and damages the faith of the American people in the body. April 1979/Arkansas Lawyer/59