The record-union., 1891-07-17
WOMAN'S PECULIAR NOTIONS.
The "OId Crank" Gets Into a Dis
cussion With Tryphena.
Uncle Sam's Methods of Law Making
AS Seen from Practical Woman's
ndpoint-Tryphena's Logic.

Tryphena looked up at me in a mild,
plying way to attract my attention, and
commenced to talk in this homiletic
style:
Il have told you, before now, that you
men are a terribly inconsistent set of
creatures, and the more 1 observe your
manner of doing many things the more I
am impressed with the truth of the re-
mark. Now, look at the way you make
laws. In this magnificent growing coun-
try of ours, now composed of over forty
States, you commence with a Constitu-
ton for each State, and then each State
goes on every year-or two, or three, or
four, at the outside-making and piling
up tones of statutes and amendments to
statutes until, in a few years, you have
SO many laws that if man lived to be
twice as old as Methusaleh he wouldn't
have time to read half the laws of his own
State.
''If it wasn't for having your law books
scientifically indeXed, and good many
men educated-almoSt from the cradles
in the indexes, 1T would be almost i'm
possible to pick out the applicable laws
IN any case which comes up; and to make
matters worse you are so governed by
precedent that these educated men must
search through large libraries Of court de-
cisions to find if any similar case was
ever decided before, and il so, how; and
If any record can be found OF any case
which resembles the one in question
which was decided at any time i'll the
past, you take such decision as a regular
settler, and everything must be made 10
conform to it.
sTNnu n mo tbic oil opnoory iiI-o
feet nonsense. In the Iirst place there
should be only one Constitution for every
State, and It's terms should be the form
of government, it's officers and their fi.nc-
tons, and manner of election, which
should be in conformity with the ConSti-
tuition Of the United States. Then, as all
laws are founded on the inherent sense of
right and wrong, which God has i'm
planted III the human heart, which sense
is sufficiently uniform among all civil
lied peoples to make a code possible, there
should be a criminal code and Il civil
code, which should be as short rs desira
BILE. According to the Bible God did not
dictate 100000 volumes Of laws for man
He simply issued ten commandments,
and CHRIST said, on two of these, Hang
all the law and the prophets Certainly
all of the profits don't hang on these
! two in our modern times.)
ut is a well-knoWn principle in me-
chanics that the simpler a machine can De
constructed the more etfectual its work
| ings. These codes should l5e pat into the
schools, and every boy in the land should
be taught the laws ofhis country. In adj
dition TO these codes the courts should
| have power TO decide any differences
which might arise between any citizens,
according to the merits Of the case, with
out any reference to precedent.
II will venture the assertion that there
! would h1 less law hraa L ciOcr tbar1
! everyone might plead ignorance Of the
law, and more efficient justice admins
| tered than is possible where everything
! hangs on technical law and precedent as
! it seems to now"
But Tryphena," says l, "thero is one
| thing you don't take into cons liberation.
! II you upset things in this way what are
! you going to do with the thousands OF
! talented, educated men we call LAWYERS?
! You cannot relegate them to the ranks
| of producers of life's necessaries, as they
are wholly unfit for such business, and
besides, we have too many producers OF
| that kind already
We'll" says she, ''I didn't think OF
that, but it seems to me that there ought
10 be some occupation for them which
! would prove more beneficial to the
world than what they are now doing"
L saw that | had made an impression
upon Tryphena, and SO l waXed eloquent.
l says:
"Tryphena, this world was not organ
lied upon a little insignificant plan,
| through which man can foresee the
eventual. Many things appear to us as
| ills but who is the man presumptuous
enough to predict the final result? Sick
ness appears to us as calamity, but
| count the thousands of doctors and medi-
/ cine venders who obtain their livelihood
! because of it. Drinking spirituous and
malt liquors seems a heinous fault. but
see the vast numbers whose subsistence
| depends upon the manufacture and sale
! of spirituous liquors. Tobacco chewing
and smoking are nasty habits, but how
many live by the production, manipula-
ton and commerce of, and in, tobacco.
'Sectarianism seems undesirable TO
! those who believe that the love mani
| tested by the great heart Of Christ should
! throb in all little human hearts, but look
at the many whose occupation is to preach
| 1t. j might go on, but these classes are
enough for examples. Now, among law
| yers, there may be few Shysters; among
doctors few quacks; among LIQUOR deal
ers few disreputable persons who would
! get man drunk and rob him; among to-
bacconists few cheats; and among
preachers few hypocrites; but the great
majority of all are good-hearted, law
| abiding citizens, intent on procuring for
] themselves and families, first, the neces-
| Sdh lEs> VI lliS, anu IleNl, us IuNurleS.
Now if you break up any one of these
occupations what are you going to do
with those thrown out Of employment?
Apparently there is not branch of in
dustry in these United States which is
not already overstocked with producers.
| both oflife's necessaries and its luxuries.
and the general cry is too low wages. The
law of supply and demand will control
the price OF labor just as surely as grayi-
| tation Will make water seek its level.
What the producers want is more con-
sumers, not more producers, to compete
| with. Many things which we call evil
| have been eradicated from the world, but
often at fearful cost and upheaval of So
ciety. Take, for a sample, slavery in the
| United States, and note how little effect
mems intentions had upon the result
| how surely men were but instruments OF
a higher power. So, also, l hope for
more reforms, and believe it is right to ex-
| ercise the sense of right and wrong which
God has given us, and strive at all times
! for the BETTER but we may not be able to
dictate how and when the reform shall
| come"
| saw that Tryphena was meditating.
so l folded my text, like the Arab, and
silently stole away" OLD CRANK.
YOLO FARMERS.
They Want the Ea1.T.is Ieyea Rrealr