Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-06
THE DISTRICT CODE
Views of Mr.. Andrew B. Duvall,
Attorney for the District,
LAWS RELATING TO MUNICIPALITY
Suggestion Of Matters Which the
Codification Should Embrace.
OMISSIONS EN- MER A e D

The code of law for the District of Co
lumbia. enacted March last, relates ex-
Clusively to general law and procedure in
the local courts. Part of the code, as
prepared by Justice Cox. related to the
municipal government, and, as stated by
him in his preface to the code, was CON
fined almost entirely to the mere COM
pfIatiOn of existing laws" Mr.. Andrew b
Duvall. attorney for the District of Co
lumbia, upon being requested by Star
reporter TO give his views on the desira-
blity and necessity Of enacting munich
pal code for the District, made the follow
ing statement:
The concluding chapter of the code,
part /. exempts from repeal all acts and
all laws relating to the organization of
the District of Columbia, or to its obiiga-
tons or the powers or duties of the Com
rafssioners or their subordinates or EN-
ployes- or TO police regulations. and gem
orally all acts or parts of facts relating
To municipal affairs only, and all acts or
parts of acts relating to medicine, phar-
macy. committing of the insane to the
Government Hospital for the Insane, abate-
ment of nuisanCes and to the public health,
and nothing in the repeating clause con-
tanned in the code is to affect any munich
pal ordinance or regulation, except so far
as the same may be inconsistent or re-
placed by some provision of the code.
Part one treats of the duties of only
one municipal officer, so far as now re-
call. namely. the surveyor. 1t, however.
provides that the attorney for the District
shall hereafter be known by the more eu-
phOnious title of city solicitor
Respecting Municipal Matters.
Part two of the code. as prepared by
Justice Cox, embraces only the acts of Con-
gress respecting municipal matters and the
acts Of the late legislative assembly. 1t
does not cover the ordinances of the late
corporation of the city of Washington
These ordinances are contained in Webb's
Digest, a volume Of six hundred and fifty
pages: and while many of them have been
repealed substantially modified. very
many of them Yet remain in full force and
effect.
The object to be attained in the enact
nlent of a code is a concise, comprehensive,
systematic re-enactment of the 1aw-pre-
senting not q mere compilation of all ex-
listing statute law. but such law as modi-
fed By the adjudication of the courts and
as experience indicates it should be fur
Their modified.
IN my Judgment the municipal code
should at least embrace all of the laws
and ordinances in force in the District of
Columbia. This. in conjunction with the
volume containing the police. health and
other regulations made by the Commits
siOuers under authority Of Congress, would
present the entire body Of our municipal
law. so that the citizen would be able to
govern himself and his affairs intellgibly.
LAS it is now. ii is a most difficult mat
ter. in the first place, to find these laws.
They are in the Revised Statutes OF the
United States relating to the District OF
Columbia. and scattered through the pom
derous volumes Of the Revised Statutes of
the United States at large, now number
ing thirty-one: Webb's Digest; the Acts of
the Late Legislative Assembly and Aberts
Compilation. and when they are at last
found the question is continually arising
whether they have not been repealed or
modified. So that in addition to the need
less expense Of labOrioUs investigation there
is added the uncertainty consequent upon
construction
Compilations in Other Cities.
'.As far as l know every city OF any
considerable size has a municipal code. or
at least a compilation Of municipal laws.
community where the law is not known
Is in no better situation than one where
there Is no law. Indeed, it has passed into
a maxim that 1t is miserable slavery
where the law is vague or uncertain
I'm point of fact the municipal code is
greater desideratum for the business com
munity than the code Of general law and
court procedure, because the matters en-
braced in such a code relate to the every
day affairs of business men,
1T Is apparent that the work Of codifica
tiOn is as yet but half done. and the same
Intelligent and energetic effort which has
obtained part one of the code can secure
the completion of this great undertaking,
which will be a public boon.
Our boast is that We live under a gov
eminent of laws and not Of men. and We
ought to be able to readily and with GER
tainty inspect the laws which govern US"