The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-23
Much of That in Use Antiquat-
ed and Out of Date.
DROP TECHNICALITY.
Have Cases Decided Purely OH
Their Merits.
Also Does Away With Petitions
i'm Error.

1 L
afternoon by Robert Stone of Shawnee
county. on behalf of the Kansas State
Bar association.
The bill provides for a complete re
vision of what lawyers call 1.-The code Of
civil procedure" Expressed in plain
United States, this means that the
| Kansas Bar association, through
committee of expert lawyers, will try
eliminate lot of the red tape and legal
| deadfalls which have infested the prac-
! tice of law ever since the old English
| law courts laid the foundations for
| court procedure.
The committee which was appointed
| by the State Bar association to revise
/ the code is composed of S. H. Allen,
| former justice of the supreme court;
T. F. Carver. w. H. Rossington, ]. d.
Mcfarland and Senator A. w. Benson.
! The central idea of this committee in
making its revision has been to do
away with technical objections to rul-
| ings of the courts, and require all
| courts to decide cases on the ground of
! justice and equity. regardless of tech
nical errors. which do not in the slight
est degree touch the issues or merits of
the controversy. This will continue td
be the case until the whole system of
civil procedure is reconstructed, and
this is what the State Bar association
is trying to bring about. 1t is a move
ment for the Americanization of the old
English adaptation of court procedure
which now prevails.
The bill which has been introduced
does away entirely with exceptions. 1t
does away, too. with petitions in err
ror'' in the supreme court 1t provides
for appeal to the supreme court by
filing notice with the clerk of the dis
trict court. The clerk of the district
court then transmits a copy of the
Judgment to the supreme court, and the
RI fn subsequently,
transcripts of such portions of the evil
dence as they desire to present to the
court, and file it with the supreme
court ~
The bill also provides for the correc-
ton of certain errors in the pleadinss by
motion, instead of by demurrer, as at
present.
The entire law will be of interest to
lawyers, but the above changes indi- |
cate in a general way the radical revis- |
ion which the committee of the bar as |
sociation has given to the CODE The
bill is very bulky. and will probably |
make a printed bill of several hundred !
pages.
a spirited fight recommend for passage /
the Rhodes bill providing for a license i
on peddlers of patent medicines The |
license must be paid in each county |
in which the medicine wagon operates, !
and the money received goes into the |
county funds. 1t is expected that the |
law Will bring in a revenue or several /
thousand dollars a year in some coun-
ties AS amended the bill will not en-
tirely drive the patent medicine agents
out of the state. but it will make them
contribute heavily out of their earnings.
The measure in its present form re-
quires license of $50 from each timer
ant vendor for each county through
which he travels during the year. Be
fore it was amended the license was
$780, The bill was opposed today by
Representatives Hendricks. of Rawlins,
@H Nk,EN.7 sI,eaxv u An1
ed that they had seen letters sent out
by the president of the Kansas Phar-
maceutical association asking, for sup
gists were behind IT.
The house voted down a resolution
offered by J. w. Creech instructing the
sergeant-at-arms to purchase a big sup /
ply of certain brand of binders for
house bills.
a secret meeting Tuesday night for the
discussion of the 2 cent fare and anti
pass bills. The members of the COM
mittee refuse to discuss the nature Of
the deliberations.
The house acted favorably on the
bill intended to strengthen the old
soldier preference law, in the session
afternoon. Some speeches
We're made against the law but when
the vote was taken, there was no op-
position. The bill follows:
In grateful recognition of the ser
vices, sacrifices and suffering of per-
sons who served in the army and navy
of the United States in the war of the
and have been honorably
discharged therefrom, they shall be
preferred for appointments and en-
ployed to fill positions in every public
and upon all public works
of the state of Kansas, and of the
counties. cities and towns of this state
if competent to perform such services:
and the person thus preferred shall
not be disqualified from holding any
position in said service on account of
his age, or by reason of any physical
provided such age or disabil-
ity does not render him Incompetent
to perform the duties OF the position
applied for and when any such ex-
soldier or sailor shall apply for ap-
poinIment to any such position place
or employment. the officer, board or
person whose duty it is or may be to
appoint a person to fill such place
shall, if he be a man of good reputa-
ton and can perform the duties of the
position applied for by him. appoint
ton, place or employment"
Senator G. L. Chapman of Great
Bend entertained a party of newspa-
per men at the Elks club Tuesday
evening Dinner was served to the
guests at Z o'clock. after which the {
party spent the evening in the club
were the owners and editors OF news
papers In the Thirty-fifth senatorial
district. who were here attending the
Editorial association convention
Those present were: Grant Lippen-