The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1896-12-18
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!, Eatsrsd at the post once 81 Psahia4 . soe-
ond lass mall. mAtta1s ..S s.l # ~
NEW LAW MAKERS.
" For hundreds Of years the sages,
philosophers and statesmen Of the
civilized world have been busy In pre-.
pairing and trying rules for the best
government Of mankind and to-day
our statute books contain the digest
/. of the wisdom and experience Of CEN
turtles.
Now that's quite q pretty sentence
and sentiment, and we hate to mar it,
beauty, and II that were all that is on
our statute books We could view the
sentiment with complaisance; but,
unfortunately, while 1t may be true
as q general proposition, the whole
truth reveals q vast amount of stun
called legislation to which the fore
going can In no way apply.
Z. The fact is, that In the making of
statutes the same rule applies as In
journalism, that it takes more sense
to know what to keep out than what
to put in.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
accumulated wisdom of thousands Of
years is in the laws, besides large
amount OF other matter not so wise,
vet .allnost every newborn legislator
thinks he can see somewhere a big
hole or several of them, that his
thousands Of predecessors strangely
forgot to patch up, and stralghtway he
prepares so bill;" which bill will not
only fill the vacancy in law, but will
also send his own name reverberating
down to posteritY, etc, etc.
No greater absurditv can be COM
Smitted by q newly-elected member Of
the legislature than to load himself
down with some bill of little import
ance, and yet that is just what the
average country legislator does.
His little bill simply puts a handle
on him, with which the older and
shrewder members lift him to any DO
tssition dAsiyed by them. If the; new
4 member hrs 8 bali, of course he wants
Sb,it passed. q little nstterlng 40 70 Its
importance, q little threatening as to
n its fate, and then q little trade Of
votes. "You vote for nv bill and l
will vote for yours" and the thing is
done; that is, so far as the position
and support Of the new man is con-
cerned, though the other part of the
bargain sometimes gets lost in the
hurry of the closing hours Of the legis-
lature.
During the last campaign in this
county there appeared quite person
al controversy as to the record of q
certain member of the legislature,
which was based entirely on the ques-
tion Of what and how many bills had
been introduced and passed of which
he was the author. The same criticism
was made in reference to one Of the
candidates for governor. We believe
that In both cases the application OF
)such criterion was wrong aud un-
just. The hardest and best work of
the legislator is that which is never
seen and rarely heard Of in public. It
is the work In the committee rooms,
and the private study of proposed
laws In the legislators own apart
ments; that is the best labor Of the
legislator. The proudest boast of the
legislator to 1is constituents should
be, that his vote has always been Civ
en- according to his best judgment,
after a thorough study of the merits
of the bills which have been brought
up.
Any member of the legislature can
find an ample field for all the talent
and time he has, in looking after the
legislation proposed by others, and he
will occupy far more inde-
pendent position If he refrains from
introducing some pet measure of his
own, which is only good for "bun-
combe" and fails even in that.
We are cursed In these days with
too much legislation and too little
law, and we have tried to point out
one prolific SO urce Of the dispropor-
tion between law making and, the
making of law; between methods and