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One index of how hard Clark's men are working against crime: they will have spent more days making field investigations this year than during any year of Bobby Kennedy's tenure. To root out urban crime, Clark has also sent "strike forces," combining agents from various federal agencies, into several cities where they pool their data on local criminals and help police to round them up. One such concerted investigation has already resulted in five convictions against leaders of the Cosa Nostra family of Stefano Magaddino in Buffalo. Other strike forces have produced 42 indictments against mobsters in Detroit and 35 in Brooklyn.
Challenge of Rebuilding. Another source of Clark's troubles is his own set of priorities. He has less desire to be the nation's chief prosecutor than to exercise a broad mandate to see that the Constitution and federal laws assuring voting rights, fair housing and school desegregation are obeyed in all the states. Under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Clark has brought a total of 31 suits against companies and unions to prevent job discrimination against Negroes. The nation, Clark said in April, "must maintain order these next few years while we meet the challenge of rebuilding the cities and ourselves."
Clark continues to stir up his critics by publicly taking positions that they consider extreme for a law enforcer. He has, for example, unequivocally condemned the shooting of looters and "police violence in excess of authority." He has also come out in favor of abolishing the federal death penalty. His determination, under the circumstances, is admirable. Still, 1968 is the year of Law and Order, and Clark manages to seem out of step. Whatever happens in November, the Attorney General is likely to be looking for a job. For Hubert Humphrey would probably find it nearly as hard as Richard Nixon to keep Clark in the Cabinet.