The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-25
TOO MUCH LAW.
A Plea for Revision and Condensation
by the Legislature.
Indianapolis, Nov. %.

To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal
Our next Indiana Legislature will soon
convene and the law-making machine will
begin to grind out statui es. revising. repeal
ing and adding new one; to voluminous
code and multiplying sections TO the innum-
cradle sections and pages of wise and UNI
wise laws that burden and confuse the pro-
fession and laity of the State of Indiana.
There are S,733 sections of Burns's Revised
Statutes of 1894 about two thousand sec
tions of the Fourth volume, AL pages of the
acts of 1895 and S35 pages Of the acts of 1897,
and from the number of new legislators
that have just been elected who will want
to shine as lawmakers and make their mark
and judging from the hints that have been
thrown out that several solOns are now at
work on bills blind justice only knows how
many more sections and pages are to be
added at the coming session of the Legisa-
ture. We are statute burdened; we have
too much law and too many laws. The
legislative history of states, provinces and
nations tends to show that a municipality,
a community, a state or nation can be
governed much better and with less expense
by a few wholesome. sensible general laws
covering all subjects and interests than by
mass of ineligible and unintellgible spe-
cial statutes covering very conceivable sub
Jcct from pig path to railroad corpora
ton, or from the sacred rights of wild
duck to the more sacred rights of husband
and wife To show what mania there is
for special statute making in this State II
is only necessary to say that under the head
of crimes against public policy there are
on the subject of birds alone about five
pages. There is one section of statute
ering quails, pheasants and wild turkeys;
another section on prairie chickens, another
on wild birds" without defining a wild
bird; one, on quails alone; one on woodcock,
or wild duck; one on wild pigeons; one on
European house sparrow, crows. hawks and
''other birds of prey" Another expansive
section makes it a misdemeanor for any one
to kill or pursue any turtle dove, sparrow,
robin, blue bird, lark, wren, swallow, mar
tin, thrush, mavis and about twenty other
kinds of birds II is not very easy for one
to see the necessity of all these special
statutes when few general statutes cover
ing these different subjects would answer
seems to think that unless he submits bill
he hasn't accomplished anything. Often
times legislators would accomplish more for
their constituency and for the State if they
would prevent the passage of some bills.
Almost one-third of our laws are dead let
ters on the statute books so far as their be-
ing in force and practical operation is con-
cerned. Complaint is made, and justly,
that our State Constitution is bar to much
wholesome, practical and progressive legis-
lation. Perhaps what we need now is not a
tumbling into the legislative hopper of a roll
Of special bills, but revision of our Consti-
tuition and laws, wholesale repeating OF
trite, foolish and obsolete ones, and the
forming and building up of an entirely new
code.
One of the leading political parties in New
York this fall had the following plank in its
PLATFORM
"Eighth-Opposition to unnecessary spe-
cial legislation. A material reduction in
the number of our annual laws, and a re-
turn to the desirable policy of, embodying
needed legislation in general laws as far as
practicable"
Law Notes, in commenting on this. SAYS
"One of the worst evils of this day and gen.
Grafton is the ordinary legislature with its
mania for passing foolish statutes"
Representatives should not go to the
Legislature with the idea that they have
been elected and sent there for the our-
pose of fathering and passing some law
good or bad. Indiana. with all its industrial
and intellectual resources, is not abreast
with many of its sister States in its laws
and legal lore. At the coming session of
the Indiana Legislature, if any special eff
fort is to be made in the way of reform let
it not be by multiplying our statutes, but
rather by subtracting some of them and re-
generating and revising and reinforcing
Others JONATHAN KEITH.
VincenneS Ind. Nov. g.