Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1895-12-06
"BE 1T ENACTED"


There are a great many people in
this world who think that the final
remedy for all ills is for the law max
ing power to say ''be it enacted" that
SO and SO shall be SO and SO. They be-
lieve that all evils may be abolished
and all wrongs be eradicated bya sim
pie enactment. If there are irregular
tiles of whatever nature found to exist
in the realms of society the first thing
they do is to clamor for a law to pro-
hibit it.
They believe that because some men
swear or use bad words, that the legis-
lature should say "be it enacted that
he who swears shall be whipped or
hanged" and in their minds this will
stop the swearing.
There are others who petition the
law making assembly to declare that it
be enacted that insomuch as people do
drink beer the said drinking is hereby
prohibited and he who tastes the swine
as it glitters in the cup" is criminal.
There are still others who find fault
with people because they do not 60 to
church often enough. The remedy
they seek to apply is "be it enacted
that all men should go to church, and
listen to the sermon"
Then we have those among us who
believe that those who smoke or chew
tobacco should be fined, and made to
desist from their undesirable ways, or
punished if they fail to so desist.
A horde indeed of people there are in
this country of ours who want every
evil that is prevalent among men to be
regulated and prohibited by law. All
remedies, say they, are in laws against
the particular thing, and their energies
are bent upon securing the passage of a
law or set of laws to suit their now Pc
culiar whim or fancy. Congress and
the legislature are daily petitioned for
the passage of law to control some
small thing which can just as well be
regulated by the individual and which
does not come under the perview of
legislation.
1t will only be a few weeks until the
legislature of Iowa will meet. There
will be few members who will be
found introducing bills of a foolish
nature to please eccentric constituent
cies. There will be other members
who as the days roll on will be spring.
ing up in either of the two houses to
attempt to take up the time of the as
sembly with the introduction of bills
of little or no consequence for the mere
purpose of their own glorification, and
to get their names before the reading
public.
What wisdom is there in such pro-
ceedings? 1t is agreed by all sensible
men that the least number of statutes
we have the better it is for the people
and that no law should be passed un-
less it is absolutely necessary. The
fact is simply this: 1t has been the
policy of this nation ever since it's
foundation that Congress should pass
no law for the government of the peo-
pie of the state which the people of the
state itself can properly pass for the
government of its own people; that the
state should assume no control over
the citizens which may with propriety
be entrusted to the people of the county;
that the county should assume no jur-
isdiction over the inhabitants of the
township which the township may
rightly exercise over its own people,
and that the township should not un-
dertake to restrain the individual by
restrictions which properly are the
functions of the individual himself.
And when people clamOr for laws to
govern the little affairs of men which
he himself is the proper tribunal to
regulate, they ask for something
which is contrary to the spirit of our
institutions and offensive to the theory
of our government.
It would seem that it is the para
mount duty of our Legislators, while
recognizing the glorious right of petit
ton and appeal to the law making
power, to pay little or no attention to
those nonsensical "be it enacted" peO-
pie who flood the body with unneces-
sary bills, and that it is only proper
that the great percentage of them
should be consigned to the waste
basket.
A Republican Mayor.
On November Goth, 1895, for the first
time in thirty years, republican, may
or was inaugurated in Baltimore, Nd,
in the OersOn of Alcaeus HOODer. In