Abstract

The Record of J. Howard McGrath

J. Howard McGrath, U.S. Attorney General, for about a year served as Solicitor General. The United States has had some very able and some very incompetent Solicitors General, but it has seldom had a worse one than McGrath. After a succession of sorry performances before the court some observers were of the opinion that it might be suggested to the Attorney General on behalf of the court that the Solicitor General should be better prepared when he acted as the government's advocate. Since 1894 there has been no extended period in which there was not a Catholic on the Supreme Court. It was widely rumored that McGrath would get the Catholic appointment, but for reasons best known to the U.S. President the appointment went to Attorney General Tom Clark, and McGrath got Clark's job.