Letters, Feb. 23, 1931

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Son Churchill has seasoned his U. S. lecture tour with such assertions as that Prime Minister James Ramsay MacDonald is a "traitor"—ED.

No Ambulancer

Sirs:

In your issue of Feb. 9, an article appeared relative to the proposed appointment of Ernest A. Michel as Federal Judge in Minnesota. This article does a very grave injustice to one of the State's outstanding lawyers (not an ambulance chaser) who is the choice of both U.S. Senators, every one of the ten Minnesota Congressmen, and who has received a more overwhelming indorsement than anyone who has ever aspired to such a position. Not only is your article incorrect; but it is, in my opinion, clearly libelous.

It is true ,that the firm of Davis, Michel, Yaeger & McGinley specializes in appearing for injured railroad workmen. There is a vast difference between the shyster type, who use tricky methods, and the high type of lawyers (and they are too few) who are satisfied to let the lucrative corporation practice go by the boards and fight for justice to the worker.

Your article, and the appellation "Chaser Michel," conveys the idea that Mr. Michel's work has been only that of a solicitor of cases. This is not correct and it does a gross injustice to a man whose entire work has been that of legal research, briefing and trial work. So far as I have been able to learn, Mr. Michel has never personally solicited a case in his life. While he may be responsible for the conduct of anyone in behalf of his firm, nevertheless to convey the impression that he is a mere solicitor instead of one of the outstanding lawyers of the State is highly unfair.

You undoubtedly were not informed that Mr. Michel had appeared in or briefed cases in causes in the Supreme Courts of probably a dozen States, that he has often appeared in and briefed cases for the Federal Courts, including the Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the U. S.

In fact, one of the cases Mr. Michel argued before the Supreme Court of the U. S. was argued with Mr. William D. Mitchell, the present Attorney General, on the other side. Mr. Michel represented the injured man and Mr. Mitchell the Canadian Northern Railroad Co. The case involved purely and only a question of constitutional law. See Canadian Northern vs. Eggen 252 US 554.

The firm of which Mr. Michel is a member has collected millions of dollars from railroads. Clients do not criticize their methods, fairness or honesty. So successful has the firm been that the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen have retained them as Regional Counsel in 14 States. . . .

. . . Here in Minnesota we feel that Attorney General Mitchell is firmly set against Mr. Michel because he has never represented corporations but only workingmen.

Mr. Michel has never been "cited" for ambulance chasing as stated in your article. The Nebraska case you refer to, 197 NW 599, did not personally involve Mr. Michel nor was he ever before the court in that case nor did the court ever claim any jurisdiction over him.