Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-15

example of the evils of diversified laws
which in time must be overcome either
by voluntary cooperation among tne
states or through interference by the
national government.
Where a divorce will not be granted
because of lack of sufficient grounds
the parties concerned may go across
the line into another state and secure
the desired decree. Some states have
such absurdly lax divorce laws that
the sanctity- of the marriage relation
is becoming almost a hollow farce.
Some states seem by their laws to bid
for the divorce business from other
states. Statistics show that the num-
Der of divorces is increasing more rap
idly than the proportional increase in
the growth of population, this ten
dency being particularly marked IN
the United States. due largely 10 lack
of uniformity in divorce laws.
TRANSPORTATION from one state to an
other has freed the people from the
necessity of obeying the laws of the
state in which they live. They can Sc
lect the laws which best answer their
purpose and can find laws to answer
nearly every purpose. They are citi-
zens of a nation rather than of a state
and vet they are governed. or misgov-
erned by state laws as in the early
days when people lived and died In the
same county and state IN which they
were born.
A still more ridiculous spectacle is
presented by the odd collection of state
laws by which the various common
wealths attempt to control corpora
tions. No matter in which state or
states a corporation expects to operate
1t will incorporate under the laws OF
the state which can offer the best in
ducements, which Is most lenient to-
ward corporations and correspondlngly
careless of the rights of the people.
What does 1t matter to any particular
state what rights 1t gives TO corpora
lions so long as the corporations are
going to do business in another state
If one state attempts to make the
corporations come to time, tries to
make them capitalize at something like
their real valuation, tries to protect
in a slight measure the pubic ana
prospective investors, it will soon find
that the business of Incorporating COM
panies will go to some other state and
its treasury will be robbed of the cor
responding fees. In New Jersey and
several other states there are COM
panies whose sole business Is to In
corporate corporations from other
states. The whole business of incor-
porating may be done by telegraph.
The necessity for some slight uniform
ity in corporation laws among the
states is becoming daily more essential.
What good does it do for a few
states to pass child labor laws II the
rest do not follow suit? Parents with
children to market can move into an
other state and put their children to
work in the mills and sweat shops. or
il the authorities in one state persist
in enforcing the child labor law the
mills or factories can move to an
other state, where special inducements
in the way of permission to employ
cheap child labor is held out. ,Presi-
dent Roosevelt demands that child la
Dor be regulated by the federal govern
ment even if a constitutional amend
ment has to be passed. How much
better it would be, argue the state
rights people, to leave the constitution
alone and have the states co-operat'
ing voluntarily, adopt a uniform law
prohibiting child labor.