The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-04-04
Who should Make Our Lnws?-A PecuI.
IarSuggestion from the Knnawha.

InfbuSSeattOn from the hnnnWha.
The STATE, GreenbaCk paper published
at Charleston, Kanawha county, has col.
umn Of editorial comment on the late
Legislature. 1t looks upon the late session
as having been, generally speaking. simply
alink in an endless chain of superAuops
and useless legislation. One legislature
goes and another comes, and yet the laws
arc never fixed. The succeeding Legisla.
ture will meet to go over afresh the same
ground, in whole or part, already gone
over, and will proceed to rip mp and undo
what its predecessors have done. And
thus the eudless chain goes round and
round, and very little Of real practical
good is accomplished for the people. The
laws are always TO be fixed with some sort
Of permanence, but never arc. New men
come on the scene OF action who IRE full
Of projects, full Of personal schemes, de-
termined to do something to attract atten-
ton, and from ono motive and another
the laws are always being tinkered and
changed. This is done ut great expense to
the people, and it is not done at last to
please them, nor in their best interests.
Therefore Chauge-something better-is
needed. What shall it be? The State
indmates that there is way. open to the
people, and here is one OF its suggestions:
"The people themselves are to blame.
The legislature is u body they have created;
they have made it in their own image and
likeness. II it does not do what they want
done, why don't they stop il? II the nine
men who make their bread by the sweat Of
their face don't want the tenth man, who
does not work, to make their laws why do
they delegate him for the purpose? II the
farmers, mechanics, artizans, miners and
laborers don't want lawyers, bankers, doc
tors, railroad menAnd other monopoliSts to
make laws, let them send somebody else;
let them send their own class OF men, to
tinker with the laws, and, il they turn out
no better then apply the only practical
remedy.
Aremedy can beapplied- the law
thinkers altogether, and make and unmake
laws by popular vote. Then this eyerlast-
ing making and unmakiug, changing and
muddting OF statutes will cease and the
enormous expenditure OF the peoples
money will DO stopped. There are thous.
and reasons why It should be done and
not one why 1t should not be.
This is a rather peculiar and somewhat
radical suggestion. II we arc not mis-
taken, the majority OF the West Virginia
Legislature has been at times made up Of
farmers. Certainly there is always a |
large minority who are not proies-
sional men. OF course there is always a |
number Of lawyers. How could it be
otherwise? These. lawyers generally take
the lead. How also could that be other
wiser They ares law.mongors by profess
sion. They have examined and studied
the laws. They know the strong and the
weak points OF the laws better than any
one else. They can talk more intelligcntly
and hence more inhuentially about them
than other people, The farmers who come
tothe Legislature have as class little to |
say. They content themselves with yot-
ing. They see at once that they cannot
cope with experienced speakers who are
much better posted in the history Of each
law than themselves, aud they wisely re-
train from debate, This must always be
the case in a legislative body. A Legtsla-
turc made up as the State suggests would
beapt to make fearful mistakes II it did
much business in the way Of law making.
The fact is that We can not get rid Of law.
yers in legislative bodies. They are by all |
odds tho best qualified men we have, when
properly chosen, for legislative duties. They
are trained for that sort of work. We do |
not mean that they should largely propon.
derate in a legislature. We do not mean
that the farmers Of the State should not be
well represented, We do not mean that
the industries Of the State should not be
well Represented. Fur from it. There
should be a mixture. There generally Is
mixture, But the mixture is less important
than the men who compose 1t. Among
the 50 men who composed the West vir-
gtnia Legislature, there were lawyers, doc.
tors, farmers, tradesmen aud mechanics.
The most influential members were, how
ever, thelawyers. They ran the Legislature.
The trouble was that many Of them were
politicians. Most lawyers are politCianf, i