Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-08-27
TOO MUCH LEGISLATION

Vermont In common with other
states suffers from too many laws.
| owing to our deplorable system Of
| limiting the experience of our law
makers to a single session as a rule
members Of both branches OF the Leg
islaturo. act on the supposition
| that they will not be counted success
| full lawmakers unless they succeed in
| attaching their names to one or more
laws and Introduce all sorts OF useless
| bills They have had no more expert
enco than their neighbors in the for
| mutation Of laws. and as result
| every session sees measures spread
| on our statutes, which should not be
| enacted and which would fail utterly
| to secure favorable consideration but
| for our system of depending almost
wholly upon raw and untried legisla-
tors.
| Speaker Wadsworth of New Yorks
Assembly spoke the other day of the
manner In which tho Empire State is
"crowding It's statute books every
year with mass OF onactments. many
of them unnecessary and some of them
vicious. ana yet every one of them
apparently demanded by some portion
of the people" The Brooklyn Eagle
In commentiIg on this utterance says:
Years ago. whom Edward ]. Phelps.
| afterward minister to England was
| II lonesome democrat in Vermont
John w. Stewart, now senator from
that state TO I'll tho uncxpired term
Of Redhcld Proctor. was electd to Con-
grcss. Phelps and Stewart were
cronics and Phelps gave the congress-
man some advice before his departure
| for Washington. You'll be great
legislator John" ne said, III you vote
against every bin that is introduced
no matter what II is for, or where It
| comes from. Tho laws are at least
fifty years ahead OF public sentiment
There Is always law enough to last
through the next generation IL Con-
gress and Legislatures could be blot
tea out"
|
| roborated tho views OF Minister
Phelps and Speaker Wadsworth
There was n great deal OF talk, for
instance, about curb!ng the railroads
| by new laws ana the Hepburn law
was passed under the Inspiration Of
the White House buRle. calling the
reformers to battle. But such prose-
BUTTONS OF railroads as there have
been were under the Sherman law,
which had lain a dead letter on the
| statute books for years. 1t was an
eloquent example of Phelps's laws
which were fifty years ahead Of pub
lie sentiment.
Far moro than we need new laws
we need to obey the laws we have.
We need great revival OF obedience
' TO and respect for law. and that feel
Ing is not encouraged by cnacting 50
| many statutes that even lawyers no
| longer pretend to know the law until
they look 1t up.
If New York Is suffering from too
many laws in spite OF its system of
retaining the services CT efficient law
makers for a number OF terms, what
can Vermont expect to accomplish
with the crude and law multiplying
ono term system? II we had less law
makers who are inclined TO send their
trunks to the State House and more
legislators of two or more terms of
experience in one branch of the Lcg!s-
!ature or the other. Vermont would
have less reason to> complain of crude.
unnecessary and damaging laws.
Vermont's lawmakers can we'll take
the Injunction OF the late Minister
Phelps TO themselves and allow their
wish to shine as lawmakers to be
taken for the deed.