Not a Pretty Story

Chief Justice White died in 1921. President Harding appointed ex-President Taft to fill the vacancy. Then Justice Clarke of Ohio retired. George Sutherland of Utah replaced him. Justice Day of Ohio retired soon after that. The Catholic Church, left without a member on the bench since Chief Justice White's death, clamored for a Catholic. The Eastern hierarchy wanted young Martin Manton of New York. But Taft and old George W. Wickersham plugged for another Catholic (who also was a Democrat, most Catholics being Democrats), one from the Northwest. So, Pierce Butler of Minnesota was appointed instead of Martin Manton, who stayed on the bench of the mighty second Circuit Court of Appeals, became its irascible, domineering senior judge. He never reached the Supreme Court.

What Judge Martin Thomas Manton, now 58, did between 1922 and last winter, when he hurriedly resigned under fire, was told last week by witnesses testifying at his trial in Manhattan for conspiring to corrupt the administration of justice and allegedly accepting bribes of $186,146.* Tops among last week's three slush trials (see p. 18), it did not make a pretty story:

> Alfred F. Reilly, a cigaret lighter manufacturer, who had lost two patent case decisions in District Court, said he paid a total of $39,850 to the Judge's friend, William J. Fallen, who had already pleaded guilty to being Manton's "bag-man." During the payments Judge Manton reversed the unfavorable District Court decisions.

> Bald, melon-headed John L. Lotsch, former Brooklyn banker and thriving patent lawyer until sentenced to prison on a bribery conviction of his own, testified that he procured $50,000 in loans for Judge Manton (later repaid) and paid $5.000 more to Bag-Man Fallon. Lotsch always got favorable decisions from Judge Manton. In addition, Lotsch's bank received deposits from receivers Judge Manton had appointed--one of whom, Milton C. Weisman, is law partner of Democratic Congressman Emmanuel Celler.

> Judge Manton, testimony indicated, sometimes acted as bagman himself. When John Lotsch got into trouble for accepting an earlier $200 bribe, he went to see Judge Manton. Lotsch said Judgi Manton fixed it up with District Judg3 Edwin Thomast all right--for $10,000. Judge Thomas acquitted John Lotsch.

> Judge Manton has owned or controlled twelve corporations. One of these was called National Cellulose Corp. Into National Cellulose went $47,000, put there by George M. Spector, confidential adviser to the late Speculator Archie M. Andrews. To George M. Spector, Archie Andrews gave $27,500. Archie Andrews' Dictograph Products Co. was appealing a patent case before Judge Manton at the time.

> In 1932 Judge Manton appointed Thomas E. Murray Jr. receiver for New York City's biggest subway, Interborough Rapid Transit--a procedure normally performed by inferior District Court judges. For this the U. S. Supreme Court criticized Circuit Court Judge Martin Manton and he withdrew from the I. R. T. case though Receiver Murray remained. Last week a U. S. Attorney revealed that Thomas E. Murray Jr. owned about 16% of the stock of Forest Hills Terrace Corp., another Manton enterprise.

* Judge Manton is not to be confused with County Judge George W. Martin, on trial in New York City last week for allegedly accepting a $1,000 bribe to quash an abortion indictment.

/- Who also resigned hurriedly last April, is now in a sanatorium (TIME, Feb. 6, et seq.).

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.