The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1878-06-01
RANDOM THOUGHTS on LIVING SUB.
JECTS.

The next meeting of the Legislature
of Kansas viii be one of more than
usual Importance to the State. One Of its
first acts will be the reception and adop-
ton of the report of the commission ap-
pointed to revise the statutes.
1t is one of the unavoidable evils of
legislation in new state, that vast
amount of worse than useless laws en-
cumber our statute books. Worse than
useless, because the trainers themselves
are ignorant of what are the proper duties
of government; Worse than useless, be-
cause they are often unintelligible to
those who are to be governed by them,
and whose duty is to know what the law
is; and worse than useless. because they
do not accomplish even the little good
that their fond fathers anticipated from
them.
Our law-making assemblies often work
with a seeming ignorance Of some of the
most common and we'll understood facts.
They insist, that although water has
always been accustomed to run down.
hill, it shall cease that old fashioned
way, and be governed, in the future, by
more modern and progressive laws.
twill be the duty of our next legis-
lature to weed out and reject such laws
as seem to be useless and imperative. In
this important matter, if the work is
gone at in earnest, we may be left with
only pamphlet, but with better code
of laws.
There are many subjects that are gov
erned by natural laws. Legislation on
such subjects usually hinders the accom-
plishment of what was intended. Ihave
in mind two subjects of this latter class,
which seem to require special attention:
The regulation by law of the rate of in
terest that may be contracted and paid
and the exemption of the property of a
debtor from execution.
These are not of the class of laws that
are harmless, because of their being in
operative. They are terribly effective
after the manner of the boomerang-in|
just what was not in
tended. The title to all laws on these
two subjects should be: Gan act for the |
and protection of ras-
calls in the State of Kansas" This title
would have the merit of expressing
clearly the principal effect of the act
There is so intimate connection be.
tween these two subjects that we will
them together.
The trainers of these laws had high
and honorable motive. They desired to
protect the poor debtor from oppression
by his enemy ~, the man who was not
IS poor as himself. 1t was desired that
4 man should not be compelled to pay
more for the use of money than he could
earn with it. The only wrong intent in
this was in presuming that the members
IF the legislature were more capable of
mans private business
han he was himself One man might
make it profitable to borrow money and
pay twenty per cent. per annum for it,
while another in the same business might
be ruined if he paid one per cent.
But notwithstanding the good inten-
ions. the result Of exemption laws is
hat the property of a rogue only is pro-
ected from use in the payment of an
lonest debt, while usury laws increase
he price If money. The price of loan
.ble money is regulated by laws that
xisted before Kansas Legislature had
he impudence to consider the subject: ,
he supply. the demand and the security
or the fulfillment of obligations. II
The laws of Kansas say that not more