The Washington herald., 1907-01-19
DIVERSITY OF
STATE La WS
BY FREDERIC J.. HASKIN.

II the signs Of the times fail not the
American people viii soon devote much
thought to considering the differences be-
tween the laws Of the several States and
of the Federal government This sub
ject has already formed the text for
message from the American President
and "a notable speech by the American
Premier. Our complex system of State
laws includes within its range the chick
en-steaIing felony Of Kentucky, the blue
laws of New England. which all but pro-
vide punishment for frivolous thinking on
Sunday. the divorce-made-easy mill Of
South Dakota, and the trusts-built-while-
you-wait factory of New Jersey.
With all the talk OF Capitalization"
and of ''wiping out State laws" there is,
Of course, no intention upon anybody's
part OF interfering with what the sover-
eign State of New York shall say to her
BARRIERS about the plans and specifica-
tions of the powder pufTs which it shall
be lawful for them to use upon the faces
of the sovereign citizens of that State
But whether some one State. for its own
reasons. shall by the enactment and en-
forcement Of bad laws. or the neglect and
nOnenforcemeRt Of good laws, be per-
mitted TO do things which work to the
injury of other States or the country at
large, is another question. Leaving it's
settlement to the members of Congress
and the dry-gOOds-bOX statesmen Of the
various communities, It Is interesting 10
look for a moment at the difference in
our State laws, important ones and Pc
culiar ones as well.
A Missouri legislator. Riley Self OF the
Ozark region, once walked down a street
in Jefferson City into a Tear-end collision
with a honey-bee. Riley was so exas-
perated at the audacity Of the little bee
in attacking his person without reason
or provccation. that he rushed to the
legislative hall and added a special chap
ter to the State law which made il a
misdemeanor TO keep honey-bees within
200 yards of a public highway. The stat
ute is still in effect.
one may break into house in many
States asd get of with a year in prison.
but in South Carolina one may be hanged
for the same offense. In most Of the
States there IS sum Of money fixed as a
limit between petit larceny and grand
larceny. usually about So; but in Ken
tucky if one steals even an old, debili-
tated dominecker rooster, long since past
his day of usefulness and not worth i
cents. it Is a penitentiary offense. While
kentuckians are not especially strong for
the tariff. they insist upon protection for
their henroosts
The diversity in the quarantine laws in
the States which fear the yellow fever
plague was so great that for few days
recently actual war existed between
louisiana and Mississippi. The result was
a conference of governors Of the Southern
States at Chattanooga. where IL was re-
solved 20 turn over the quarantine work
10 the Federal government Congress has
since passed law TO make the agree
ment effective
Once in a while, on a dun day. some en-
terpTising justice Of the peace digs into
forgotten laws and makes things happen.
Recently, when the governor Of Kentucky
attempted TO put the lid on in Louis
vile, magistrate found an old law that
made working for profit on Sunday a
misdemeanOr. and which incidentally pro-
vided for n good fee for the magistrate
who brought the offender to justice This
vigilant uphOlder Of the majesty Of the
law swore in some extra cOnstables and
arrested cooks. choir singers. hack
drivers, street car motOrmen-in fact.
everybody he found working on the Sab
bath-and hailed them into court. Before
public opinion forced him to shut down a
few weeks later he had collected enough
fees to pay his house rent for a year
California makes the "Heathen Chinee'
pay such a high license for the exquisite
privilege of working In gold mines that
the Celestial cannot compete at all with
white labor in this kind Of work. There
are many patient husbands in New York
City who would be glad TO see the Empire
State follow the example Of Tennessee
and put such a heavy tax on trading
stamps as to drive them out Of business.
Tennessee prohibits flirting with girls at
tending boarding schools by a statute
called the Johnny law" but the enact
ment is silent about all other types and
forms Of Irritation. In Indiana one may
be arrested and fined for the crime Of
having In his possession a cigarette or the
'makins thereof
To paraphrase Holy Writ, "Of making
many laws there is no end" Each session
OF the legislature of forty-five States.
some of which meet every year, some
every two years. and few only once in
four years. adds hundreds of freak and
cvaofa1 sta f.
civil law there is great diversity. The
statute of limitation and the legal rate
of interest are new matters whenever q
State lire is crossed. The common law
Of England is the groundwork Of the
Jurisprudence Of all the States except
louisiana. That State. true TO her old
French history, relies upon the civil code
perfected by Napoleon, although the lat
ter has been greatly amended by statute
These dlveTsities Aavc long been the
cause Of much worry and dispute The
only reasonably successful effort to secure
uniform legislation by the States was the
work or the American Bar Association
which resulted In the passage Of a nearly
uniform law on the subject Of negotiable
Instruments by the legislatures Of all the
States but four. The divorce-law o1es-
tion has been most agitated. The state
laws on divorce vary all the way from
strict South Carolina. which makes no
provision at all for dissOlving the mar
riage tie. 10 lax South Dakota. where to
secure a divorce means only a matter of
paying few months board in the State
Great congresses and conventions have
implored tho States to take uniform action
10 CORRECT the evils of the dirnrco In.