Evening star., 1901-03-06


the District law was a museum of antiqui-
ties. Representative Grosvenor at an Ar
ington meeting of the board afterward
dangled in our faces some statutory ante
diluvian monstrosity at that date still liv-
ing and fiourshng in the District, and
pledged himself, at the proper time, to as
sist vigorously in relieving the District of
these fossil statutes.
THE first distinct step toward securing a
consistent system of local, law was taken
when by authority of Congress a compila-
ton of, the existing statutes was made.
This compilation co-operates with the
labOrS of successive reViSerS or WOuld-be
codifiers of statutes from the time of
Cranch in exposing to our legislature the
defects, absurdities and barbarities of our
statutes.
Surely now Is the accepted time to act
The fate which has overtaken previous at
tempts at coditication, the legislative mac
ton which has often wasted the results
of years of intelligent labor, make me espe-
cfally solicitous that through no fault of
our own shall similar misfortune befall the
present effort. Let US stand together in a
campaign for the speedy passage ofsthis
code If, in order to do so. any, of us tenn
porarly surrender individual opinion con-
cerning some debatable point of legislation,
the sacrifice should be cheerfully made in
the general interest, and, reward will be
found through participation in the advan-
tages enjoyed by the entire community
through the code a whole. =
THE first measure taken up this winter
by the board for public, meeting should,
| suggest, be the code, and hope that the
coming session of Congress- may suffice to
win for the District the blessings to flow
from the adoption of the code and to re-
lieve the capital from the thIottling burden
of ancient laws now fastened upon its neck
like the old man of the sea ,op the shoul-
ders of Sinbad. rE-setH =
''f- success meets the movement, Judge
Cox, in whom the whole community fees
confidence, will have crowned a long life
of public usefulness by monumental labor
which will bring untold benefit to the COM
munity, high and deServ ed honor TO he
coditier, and transform conditiens-surround-
ing District concerns into modern shape,
conducive to the progress and prosperity of
the nations city"
Progress in 1890.
President Noyes' annual report for 1899
described the ground covered during the
year in these words:
'Snce the date of my last years annual
report, in which was noted the completion
of Judge Cox's task of codifying the laws of
the District, and in which was discussed at
length the Importance and value Of this
work, substantial progress has been made
toward the goal of the enactment of the
code into law. First the code, as framed
by Judge Cox, was printed by the Board of
Trade and the Bar Association in conjunc-
ton, and copies were distributed for careful
and thorough consideration. The legal COM
mittee of the Board Of Trade and an exceed
ingly able committee from the Bar Asso-
citation undertook the study of the details
of the proposed law. The Bar Association
committee appointed numerous subcommit-
tees Of members Of the association, each of
which considered and reported upon par
ticular section or chapter of the code. So
great was the interest felt by every one in
this public-spirited task that the courts of
the District took recess for several weeks
in order that uninterrupted consideration
har to
code. Finally the amended code as ap-
proved by the Bar Association committee
was submitted as Senate bill shortly be-
fore adjournment for the session in order
that it might be printed for convenience of
consideration. This bulky bill is now to re-
ce1Ve its hnal touches, and. the formal an
proval OIL the bar Association and the Board
or Trade. 1T Will then be in condition to be
pushed from the very opening of Congress-
energetically and Systematically everybody
cooperating, until it becomes a law
The Work of 1900.
President Edison, in his annual report
submitted in November last, thus descrb-
ed the ground covered by the code cam
paigners during 1900:
The special committee on the codfica-
tion of the laws of the District Of Columbia
reports material progress and good pros
poets of securing the final enactment of
code at the next session of Congress- -t.-.
The efforts made by the Bar Associa-
ton and the Board of Trade prior to last
winter to secure a code are well known.
In February last, before again presenting
to Congress the bill prepared by Justice
Walter 5. Cox, and as final precaution,
joint committee, consisting of Justices A.
c. Bradley, c. c. Cole and Job Barnard Of
the Supreme Court of the District of Co
lumbia. and the legislative committee of
the Bar Association consisting of A. 8.
Worthington chairman: r. Ross Perry, w.
F. Mattingly, Leon Tobriner, j. j. Darling
ton. w. G. Johnson, A Birney, Ma
thaniel Wilson and George e. Hamilton,
held sessions from day to day, from 1890 to
$50 O'Clock, for over four weeks, going
over the bill and considering carefully and
critically not only all of it's provisions, but