Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-06-01
The Futility of Legislation.


to regulate the ordinary affairs of
human life by legislative enactment,
The newspapers yesterday contained
a forcible illustration of the stupidity
of legislation. In one column was
a circular from the Interstate Com
mission asking the labor organiza-
tons throughout the country what
their judgment was concerning the
wisdom of putting under the control
of the Government the regulations
for safety appliances along all of the
lines of 10000 miles of railroad.
Side by side with that was a state
ment from Tennessee to the effect
that suit would be brought against
the Treasurer of Tennessee by the
policy-holders in wildcat insurance
companies, who wished to hold the
Treasurer responsible for their losses.
Tennessee some time ago passed a
law Regulating" insurance COM
panies, promising, in fact, a protec-
ton to the policy-holders, which it is
impossible for the Government to
give. Under this law the Treasurer
issued, after certain statements had
been made to him, licences to various
companies, and these licensed COM
panies in many instances defrauded
the policy-holders. Thus we have
on the one hand an example of the
folly of attempting to regulate in
surance, and on the other hand an
attempt upon the part of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission to
justify their own existence by a still
further enlargement of their powers.
The State can not do for man what
he can do, and is expected to do, for
himself it promises, but it does not
perform. 1t organizes Health
Boards and Railroad Commissions,
Insurance Commissions and a
thousand other useless Offices under
the pretext of protecting man
against his own folly, and yet the
effects of that folly are manifested
from day to day, and the only result
legof islation is to give the citizen a
false assurance of safety.
This is the character of one-half of
the legislation of the day. We have
a thousand schemes for securing pure
food, pure medicine, wise doctors,
able lawyers, honest weights and
measurements, safety from infection,
protection from unjust railroad and
telegraph charges, equity and justice
along all other lines, every one of
which is an absolute failure, which is
worse than failure, because it lulls
into security men who would other
wise be on the alert to protect them
selves.
Nearly forty years ago, in one of
his most lucid and comprehensive
essays, Herbert Spencer called the
attention of the English public to
the. evils of overlegislation in that
country. The list Of illustrations
was wonderful, but experience since
that time has added to it ten-fold.
Still man is given over to believe a
lie, still he clings to the hope that
legislation will protect him against
his own ignorance, against his own
stupidity, his own acts. 1t will do
nothing of the kind; it can do moth
ing of the kind. All that it can do is
to give him an opportunity for JUS
tice by an appeal to the courts.
1t fails to do even this. What
comes clearly within the province Of
the State, or of some branch of the
Government, is neglected in order
that experimentalists, empiricists,
theorists and dreamers may practic.
ally demonstrate the folly of their
own ideas. The State neglects tC
perfect the jury system; it fails tc
elevate the Bench ; it fails to make
punishment swift and certain fol
crime its monument of cruelty and
injustice are found in every peniten'
tiary, in every house of reform.
There has never been such neces
sity as now for public supervision o.
legislation, and for a demand thai
the Government confine itselfstrictly
within its own narrow limits; that
it do better what it can do, and that
it stop interfering with affairs beyond
its proper control. When the Govern
ment is strictly limited to its own
province it will perform its own
duties better and leave the citizen
freer to protect himself. With less
governmental interference we will
have fewer complaints of fraud and