Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-01-25
Communicated
Law Makers and Wagon Makers.


Reading the explanation of the
dog law by Attorney Clementson
has fully convinced me of what |
long since believed, viz that our
laws and the manner of making
them are fast becoming disgrace to
the State to say nothing of the vast
expense required in making and ex-
ecutlng them. 1t seems that it ie
but nine years since the first dog
law was enacted, but instead Of let
ting the law stand, or repeating it
altogether, they must try the amend
atory process once year and have
got the law into such shape that
no one knows what it is. A lawyer
might, perhaps, with the aid Of all
the sessions laws, be enabled to figure
it out to his own satisfaction but.then
another lawyer, tor satisfactory
fee, would figure it out exactly the
opposite. Now why are these things
SO? Why can't the people have
laws that they themselves can read
and understand? | answer, because
the lawyers make the laws aud
should they make them so that the
people could understand them, there
would no more grist come to their
mill. But by yearly amendments
and liberal sprinkling oil foreign
words (which are all Greek To the
common reader, they get all the
grist they can grind, and they grind
some oft very fine Said one poor
fellow to his lawyer after coming
out OF the mill 81 thought you
told me | was sure to gain my suit"
"And so | did," said the lawyer, "but
you see when it come TO trial il was
quarum cIdusem freget." "Ah the
d. it was no wonder | lost il il
it was as bad as that y
But laws are indispensable in
civilized community and so are
good wagons and carriages. We
could not do without either without
retrogradipg in the scale of civiliza-
ton. Permit me then to run par
allel between the two: We send
men to Madison every year to make
laws, and one of the first things at
tended to has been 10 get twenty-five
dollars worth Of stamps into the
pocket Of each member; this no
doubt makes bim feel stronger and
better able to legislate for the dear
people, and it relieves him for q time
from the necessity Of spending his
0tCn money, and thereby enables him
to throw his whole soul into the one
thing of repeating, destroying,
amending and confusing what was
done by his predecessors and he is
generally successful in getting
things into such a confused state
that be who would know what tie
law is, IN the simplest case, must
bring "grist to his mill" to pay him
for digging the information out of
dozen or more large volumes, each
contradicting the other. Here then
| leave the law in the hands of It's
makers.
Now, suppose we select two or
three men from each county, suppos-
ed to be skillful in carriage and wag-
on making; we pay them and give
them power to decide in every par
ticular how carriages shall be made
or amended. Suppose they are in
session A member proposes that
all wagons having wheels 4 feet in
diameter shall he cut down to feet,
6 inches; another member objects
a compromise is effected and the
near hind wheel is required to be SO
cut down, the others may run as
they are. Another member propos-
es that, whereas, many accidents
have happened in consequence of Vi
cious horses kicking in the dash
boards Of carriages, thereby endan-
gering valuable lives, therefore, be it
enacted that all wagon tongues shall
hereafter be made thirteen feel nine
and one half inches in length. After
eloquent speeches on both sides
is effected, and eleven
feet six inches is established as the
lawful length of wagon tongues
Another member proposes that,
whereas hickory spokos are some
times worm-eaten and thereby be-
come liable to break, therefore, be Il
enacted that all persons owning wag-
ons with hickory spokos shall have
the same replaced by white oak
within six months from the passage
Of this act. This passed unanimous
ly, as all could sec that it would
bling much grist to their mills. or
work to their shops.
Patch Grove, Jan, s, 1870. LUTHER BROWN