The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-29
TOO MUCH Law.
Continued from Page y

vast geologic periods-but in many Of
/ its aspects is very similar to that which
/ in the intellectual and spiritual world,
( has brought forth art, and learning, and
temples and homes, and the beauty of
/ that temperate self-command upon
which the larger structure of political
government must rest.
Aaeterlinck. in his little classic.
1.-The Life of the Bee" has this pro-
found observation. He says
in proportion as a society organ
/ ICES itself and rises in the scale, so does
a shrinkage enter the private life of
/ each one of its mem bers- Where there
/ Is progress, it is the result, only, of a
more and more complete sacrifice of
the individual TO the general interest
Uses of Government.
1t is not possible to nicely balance,
/ or put into an equation, the individual
shrinkage upon one side and the en-
/ largement OF the general we'll being on
4 the other. which result from the or
/ ganiza ton of society into governments;
but is il not true, and de we not all
| feel it to be true, that for what we sur
render, we receive full compensatory
value. and more? Any government,
! however imperfect, is better than no
government-which is anarchy. If
YOU go to the bottom of the doctrine of
abstract individual right, it will per-
haps appear that every man may just
! ly assert every conceivable right. But,
{
! the prime factor of the problem-the
/ existence of other men. In this coun-
/ try it is certain that the ''shrinkage" is
I increasing every day, that the tndivid-
ual, under the legislative policy of our
state and federal governments, is CIV
/ ing up more and more, but is he or is
/ he not, receiving more and more? If
we have too much governments
many of us believes it possible in
I the present state of human wisdom, to
i have just enough restraint. and just
enough personal freedom? An excess
4 of the one no doubt means a dininu
/ ton of the other. but what human in
! telligence can TX a perfect equilfb-
rum It is, of course, plain enough
I that nothing short of infinite wisdom
and infinite power can make every
/ thing right in any system of govern
ment. There is. however, in the Htera-
ture of the subject much uninteiligible
! defamation which does not tend to
/ enlighten searchers after truth. In the
i first place. the subject Is too large for
4 the grasp of the average mind, or of
/ the mind above the average; and, sec
1 ondly the points of view are 50
mum erOuS and so variant that the most
laborious inquiry leads to no accepta-
/ BILE and final conclusion. The dilettante
4 thinker is always ready, with a knowl-
edge that puts an end to rational dis
/ cussiOn. Where Austin and Bentham
could only grope, the village paper and
I the magazine contributor, exhaust the
subject in single article. Let US
frankly acknowledge to ourselves that
we are only seekers, trying to help
! along in the march toward the best
that is attainable, but not SuppOsing
/ for moment that We can declare the
ultimate truth. which, after all, is be-
ycnd human ken.
The province of government, the Just
J limits of legislation, the authority Of
4 the state. speaking for all, by the voice
/ of something more or less than half
that Is, by a majority or plurality-are
I not so easy to determine by thought
full men. as they seem to be to those
who make the platforms of political
I convert tons. At this moment forty
i five state legislatures potentially exist.
to say nothing of the territories. and of
( cities exercising legislative functions
nation, is even now. briefly slumber-
ing. to renew its wakeful vigilance
j December list. And so, gentlemen, we
I have the safeguards of gOvernme emit
/ ways. If anything happens by which
/ the ship goes wrong. it will not be
from a lack of pilots. or of charts, or
of admonitions and warnings.
Most Nearly Perfect.
The most complicated system of gov
eminent of high-class government in
/ the world, is our American system, but
! it is, in my opinion, the most nearly
/ perfect. And yet we cannot escape the
| persistent inquiry-does it pay? What
return? Let the inquiry be enlarged so
| as to cover not simply our relations 10
our own governments. state and nation
al but to government Itself, an T.
stitution of civilization. We are, Of
| course, primarily concerned with the r.
/ lation We bear to the United States
and the particular states of which we
are citizens; but underlying that must
| always be the question, how stands the
1 individual, everywhere, throughout the
world. in his relation to the social or
political organization in which he finds
himself? Dndeniably, he gives up much.
He gives up the right to be a brute; to
be law unto himself: to make war
upon mankind; to take what can be
reached by the arm and grasped by
the strong hand; to hold by force and
not by contract of convention in other
words, he surrenders the simplicity #
barbarism for the complicated. artificial
idea of civilization. And what does he
get in return? Does he get all that the
spirit Of the agreement contenplatss ?
Probably he does not. The unsatisfied
aspirations, the eager desire for better
conditions, the constant pressure, up
ward and outward, shows that. reason
ably or unreasona bly,, there is every
where d profound feeling that since SO
much has been given, something more
ought to have been received. Every
IMPROVEMENT in human conditions has
been accomplished by dissatisfaction
a reasonable or unreasonable with the
conditions then existing. This feeling
is at the bottom of nearly all proposed
acts Of constructive legislation. and in
some form or other has attended every
step of human advancement from tile
birth of the race to the present mo-
ment That we are far better off than
we should be without the authority and
protection of institutional government.
all must admit. But that is not the
| ouestiOn-certainly not the entire cues
4 ton Are we as well off as we ought
to be? This is only making the fool
ish inquiry, are men perfect? Until they
are. self government at its best VIII
/ only be an approximation. If we follow
the line of thought suggested by Mae
terlinck, let US ask. what has been the
''shrinkage" in the Individual life. since
men began to perceive their inter-rela-
tionship2 It has been something; nay.