The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-02-27
SUPERFLUOUs LEGISLATION
Paper Read by w. A. Funk Before the Social
Science Club.


The following is the paper read before
the Social Science club by Attorney W.
A. Funk on "Superfiuous legislation
1t contains many excellent hints:
For the purpose of this paper, have
found it necessary to go a little beyond
the technical scope of the topic assigned
me. Or, rather, may have given the
meaning than is justifiable. In any event.
have concluded in the treatment of the
topic all legislation productive of laws
which are useless, unnecessarily prolix
or voluminous. l also stretch the mean
ing OF the topic to include court decisions
and commentaries and other legal works,
based upon the legislation of the land.
AS the topic should have been, (and was
S SO contemplated? "superfiuous Legis-
In writing this paper, 1 proposed first,
20 give an epitome of many laws of the
character above designated; but l soon
found that few examples would fill my
paper, and consume all the time allowed
me. ! therefore found it necessary to
re-caSt my paper, and deal largely in
generalties, however undesirable such a
course may be.
There are three kinds of civic laws
which are recognized as Rules of ac-
ton, in the government of the people:
First:-The common law, based upon
common usage and practice and, of
which branch, this paper will not deal at
all.
Second Statutory law, being the re-
suit of legislation, national and state
only the latter Cor State) division of
which l shall notice.
Third:-Decisions of courts of last re-
sort, constituting and modifying the COM
mon and statutory law, as applied to the
business and temporal affairs of men; and
not unfrequently crushing the life out of
statutory laws, by finding them unconsti-
tutional.
l do not purpose to go into the more
technical division of law, such as consti-
tutional, International criminal law,
merchant, substantive, adjective, etc. as
such division would serve no good pur-
pose in this discussion.
The statutory law, while in force, is of
course, the most absolute and decisive.
The decisions of courts, governed in part
by the circumstances of each case, be-
ing more elastic and apparently change
In addition to the common law, statutory
law, and the law establishing by the
rules and decisions of courts, there is
still another branch, consisting of almost
iseS, commentaries, compilations and le-
gal encyclopedias, all usually designated
as law. Many of these are so accurate
in the statement of legal principles and
SO wise in legal exposition as to be of
great benefit alike to bar and bench.
Many of them so unreliable, so Anticipated
or so erroneous as to be a detriment to
the practitioner. Many others while not
erroneous are written with such volume
an abundance of words, that life is too
short to peruse them. 1t is like digging
From this abundant field, l could Gull
mass of Superfluity which would fill a
patient audience in the world. But we
are not obliged to buy or read such vol
umes nor to be governed by their de-
Suetions. only ~ SO far as they may state
fore l shall spend but little time upon
them,
AS have stated statutory law is the
most absolute and important. AS it de-
nnes our rights and privileges on the one
hand, and prescribes our duties and
metes out our punishments on the other,
be familiar with the essential enactments
OF the legislature of his own state, at
For this reason, if for no other, the
statute laws of each state should be as
plain, as brief and as few as possible. In
stead Of this being the case, however,
books Of each state are loaded down
with laws Astounding in ambiguity, and
yerboslty, many OF them without mean
ing, and still without merit. Let us look
the laws governing the levying and col
lection of taxes, for instance. Turn to
the general statutes of 1894. and we find
subject of taxation. Also, in the general
statutes of 80, we find some 800 scatter
ing o t. same anne s subject Of tax
earned of the breakawa. Is kinds of tax
heyr.too stood feE. ss5o9e something To-
tax laws ST 10 ate. In the asi Session ion
laws of 1856 We fissd twenty-nine chapt-
ers devoted to this subject In session
ers; in 1899 seventeen chapters
in 1901, twenty three chapters. In
session laws of the extra session of 1902,
are but six chapters, but they fill about
whereas other
chapters referred to, are very short So,
when you want to find out some partic-
ular thing about the tax laws of the
state, you first read about 122 pages, well
condensed, and then search for 800 scat
tering sections, to see if they throw any
light on the subject then take the session
laws Cother than those of 1902, which I
have included in the above number of
pages), and pore over about ninety-four
chapters, scattered at random through
four volumes, and you will know some
thing about the tax laws of Minnesota.
And the thing you will know best, is the
fact that the whole mass of fragmentary
pieces of So-called laws, constitutes one
of the greatest and most unintelligible
jumbles in the English language.
A few years ago an effort was made to
bring order out of chaos in the matter of
our tax laws, and commission was APP
pointed to revise, curtail and cut and
trim in more attractive shape the tax
ed faithfully, two or three years, and
brought the result of their labors before
the legislature for adoption. The pro-
feated. One Of the principal ' excuses s Civ
en- by members for voting against it,
was the fact that they did not understand
it well enough to vote approval of it. I
deal of merit in this excuse. For while
the proposed code was an improvement
upon the present fragments of law, it
was still altogether too voluminouS, am
biguouS and hazy to be very acceptable.
Let us take another branch, that of in
surance. The general statutes of a.
contains fifty eight pages, well rounded
up and brought together and some scat
tering sections. The laws of '95, has
fifty-four pages; laws of '97, seven pages;
pages and laws of 1902, three pages.
total of 137 pages, scattered through sew
en- volumes.
Take banks and banking We find up
on this subject, twenty EIGHT pages in the
general statutes, in one body, and about
ten pages scattering. Laws of '95, eight
1901, seven pages, total of sixty seven
pages. All this aside from all govern
mental or national laws on the subject. !.
Let us glance at the election laws Of
Minnesota. Corralled in the first part
of the first volume of the general stat
utes, we find fifty four pages: devoted
to the general elections of the state.
Scattered all through the two volumes
of the general statutes, we find some
thirty five additional pages, supposed to
govern elections in special instances.
The laws of IS contain twenty pages:
'97, ten pages; '99. five pages; 1901, ten
pages, a total of 134 pages. All this aside
from the provisions. of the primary cleo
ton laws. In the face of all this, every
once in awhile, some fellow will rush into
JTM 'pueq VI lgu qlIM pure 'eoyJo .Gm
demand to know what the election law
of this state is" Usually such persons
want to know atjust for information"
Unless it be some special friend, whose