Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1908-08-25
DISCUSSES VICES
OF LEGISLATION
President American
Bar Association
Outlines Them
HOW TO CORRECT EVILS
Declares a Uniform System
of Laws, Both STATE and
Federal, is Necessary.

Seattle. Wash, Aug. 25.-The Amer
lcan Bar association convened in an
nual session here today. Hundred,
o! lawyers representing every state
ana territory in the Union are in at
tendance. the meeting being the larg
est III point of attendance of any ever
held The feature Of today's session
was the address of President + n
Dickinson of Chicago. President
Dichiilsoh after few introduc
tory remarks entered upon a
discussion of the legislative situation
SO far as it relates TO the enactment
OF new laws, in the various states OF
the Union. He said.
The vices of legislation engage the
attention and were the principal theme
OF many of my predecessors. The
trouble is inherent in the nature OF
our institutions. With the conditions
as they exist the evil is incurable
While youth, ineXperience and ignor
ance constitute no legal bar to poll
tical preferment. while manhood suf
| frase is the source of all government
al power while so many of those most
capable Of ruling prefer selfishly theil
personal pleasures and private inter
ests TO the general welfare so lone
will we suffer the maximum of bur
dens that come from unwise and un
skilled legislation. The best that we
can hope to accomplish is to bring
about, as we have been doing with
marked success, the enactment of uni
form legislation in the several states
Our work will in the main be con
structive. We can accomplish prac
tically nothing in the way of restraint
! From the least governed people
in the world We are rapidly becoming
the most governed people in the
world Our increasing commissions
for almost every department of pub
lie affairs are making our government
state and national, the most com
prehensive system Of beaurocracy ev
er known. The complex conditions OF
our times in each of their diversified
forms are given special treatment and
administration. This is a prolific
source of Legislation, much of it il
fragrant disregard of the best sane
| md vet nt<I 4t,,s,,
The Chief Duty Of the Courts.
| THE administration of Justice
should be by the courts alone. 1t il
subversive of every idea of Anglican
civil liberty for the Judge to commi
himself in any way to an opinion unit
the cause shall have been presented
according to law. This is the distin
gushing feature between the accusa
torial and the inquisitorial trial, il
which the judge inquiries, becomes thu
prosecutor, and at the same time /.
theoretically the protector of the ar
raigned.
Much recent legislation of doubt
full constitutionality, congressional
and state, has been practically en-
forced by provisions for minatory
heavy and cumulative fines and i'm
prisonment, devised in some cases ey
pressly for the purpose of preventin,
a resort to the courts for relief. Whel
the highest courts of the land, no
exceptionally, but with frequenc,
that almost makes it normal, divid,
On constitutional questions, often de
termining the result by bare majori
ty, a lawyer will rarely, especially
when the question is new, advise
client to pursue a course, which, b,
subjecting him to the possibility 0
paying cumulative daily fines, and t,
Imprisonment, may destroy him
Though strongly persuaded, If not en-
tirely convinced, that the acts if con
tested would be unconstitutional, h
may counsel submission to what h
regards as taking of property with
tout due process OF law and an i'm
position of all oppressive and confis
catory burden rather than incur tn
hazard of financial ruin. No govern
ment can with ir!punity continue t
exercise such oppression. 1t Is a hold
UP by the government itself, unde
the forms of law. If pursued it woul
pervert all sense of justice and accus
tom the minds of the people to tn
sanction of wrong as practice Q
government. The vice thus implante
would take on new forms of legalize
plunder and surely destroy the intes
rity of our institutions.
A Vicious Statute.
"A recent state statute establishin
the compensation to be charged b
railroads for the transportation 9
passengers fixed the penalties at sue
an amount for each overcharge that,
the railroad companies contested tn
validity of the rates and failed to es