People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-01-03

said claim under said Chapter so. The
said treasurer claiming said Chapter
50 to be unconstitutional and void,
to the district court, where
said Chapter so, laws of 1898, was de-
clared unconstitutional and void and
an appeal was taken to the supreme
court, where it was decided that said
act took effect at two different times
and was therefore unconstitutional
and void. Mr.. Justice johnson, who
delivered the opinion Of the court,
uses this language:
"The constitutional limitation re-
ferred to provides that the 'leglsla-
ture shall prescribe the time when It's
acts shall be in force This prOviS-
ion plainly requires that the legiSla-
ture shall fix a single, definite time,
when its act as an entirety, shall be-
come law. According to the prac-
tice and legislative course 10 this
StaCe, the last section of every act
fixes definite time when the act, as
a whole, shall 60 into effect. 1t is
sometimes by publication in a news
paper, in the statute book, or at some
fixed time after a publication has
been made. 1t was not intended
that one section or provision Of an
act should become law, while other
sections or provisions OF the same act
were in an inchUate and embryonic
stage. A legislative act, whether
general or special, is passed as an en-
tirety, and the generally accepted in
depreciation of the constitutional
is, that it must become a
law as an entirety. This was the
view taken iE Commissioners VS..
Chew, A Kan. 1852, "A Pac. 62, where
it was held that an act should go into
effect at fixed time, aud not by
piecemeal.'
1t was decided in that case that a
part of said act became a law on Oc-
tOber 10, 1893, while other portions
of the act became law on January s,
1894, and for that reason it was declar--
ed unconstitutional and void. In the
case of Board of County Commission
erS against Crew, A Kan. 162, Chap
ter l59 of the laws of 1887, being an
act regulating the fees and salaries of
the county officers of Cherokee coun-
ty, Came before the supreme court for
construction. Section s of that act
provided that This act shall take
effect and be in force from and after
its publication in the statute book
and after the present term of the Off
GERS herein named shall have expired" :"
In that case Mr.. Commissioner
Strang, speaking for the court, con-
strued said section s to read as If the
word sail" were inserted before the
word 'OtfiCers," so that it should read
the terms of all the officers, and by
adopting this construction and hold
ing said act to take effect after the
term of the last officer affected by the
act had expired, that the act took
effect as whole and at certain,
definite and fixed time and was there
fore not repugnant to the cOnstitu-
tiOn.
At the last session Of the legislature
an act was passed fixing the salaries
of certain officers of Crawford county,
being chapter 95 of the laws of 1893,
The sheriff of Crawford county, J. T.
Deets, was arrested for charging and
collecting illegal fees and mileage.
The case came on for trial before ],
S. West, judge of the sixth district,
and the question in that case was the
construction of said chapter 95, laws
of 1898. Section 13 Of said chapter
% reads as follows: "ThiS act shall
not affect the salaries of county officers
in Cherokee and Crawford county
now holding Offices" Section 10 Oi
said act reads: "This act shall take
effect and be in force from and after
its publication in the statute book. y
Judge West in constituting said sec
tiOns held, that the fair and reason
able construction of the language
used in said sections 13 and l5 made
said act take effect and 60 into opera
tion at two different times, 'to-wit, on
its publication in the statute book
and at the expiration of the terms Of
the then present officers of Crawford
county, and was therefore unconsti
tutional and void. Judge West in de
Gliding that case uses this language
ITO hold the act to be in force in sec
tion Is" when it should be published
in the statute book land in abeyanct
under section l3, would be equivalent
to holding it in force and not in fore,
at the same time. This is a reduc
tiO ad abSurdum and is as void il
law as IN in geometry. 1t is only by
a literal construction for the purpOSD
of uphOlding the law that the act il
other respects with almost its dua
title and vague repeating clause cal