The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-05-20
Kansas Statutes for 1911 Will
Be Issued Monday.
Secretary Sessions Has Made
Volume More Practical.
HAS A REAL INDEX
Lawyers Will Be Able to Find
What They Want.
Will Also Show What Amend
ments We're Made.


The Kansas statutes. containing all
the laws passed by the 1911 session of
the legislature, will be authenticated
and issued next Monday. All of the
laws not published in the official state
paper will become effective at that
time May % will be the earliest date
the session laws were ever issued
Secretary of State Charles Sessions
has added several new features to the
book, which he believes will be APP
preciated by the lawyers especially. In
the first place, the laws, as printed,
contain the punctuation made by the
legislature. In the pas it has been
the rule for most anybody to punctu-
ate the laws for the law book This
was carried so far that the courts were
forced to disregard punctuation almost
entirely. Frequently the interpreta-
ton of law would hinge upon the
punctuation and in such cases the su-
preme court would always ask. rs that
the punctuation of the Legislature the
secretary of state or the stat. printer? %
The original enrolled bills would then
have to be hauled into court to de-
termine that question. The courts will
not be put to that trouble when a law
in the new book is under considera-
ton. They will know that the pune
rolled bill.
An effort has been made to improve
the general index. The old books con-
tain from 25 to 80 pages of single
column index The new bool- will con-
tain over 40 pages of double column
index. The idea of a double column
index was not only to save space, but
also to prevent lawyers from wearing
out their index finger tracing the dot
ted line clear across the page.
The chapter index in the old books con-
tanned simply the title of the laws. Quite
often these titles meant nothing. In or
der to make the chapter index practical
the substance of the law and not the title
is dealt with. 1t will be possible to read
the chapter index now and know what
each law relates to.
An index of the laws by the senate and
house numbers in numerical order is an
other feature. Frequently lawyer
knows the law by its house or senate
number and this particular index will en-
able him to find it more easily.
On each of the long general laws sum-
mary OF the law is run at the head of the
chapter to enable a lawyer to easily find
a particular provision of the law.
special feature of the general index is
that all existing laws amended or re-
pealed or changed in, any way by the 1911
session are listed under the title, Amend
ing and Repeating of Statutes'' In the
past when a client submitted his case to
his lawyer the lawyer would frequently
say, Il know what the law in the general
statute on that subject is, but | don't
know what the last legislature did to that
law. Then he would have to go through
out. Now all he viii have to do is to
look at the general index and scan the
list of the laws changed.
The secretary of state will supply the
state officers and supreme court and dis
trlct Judges first with the new books
Next he will send copies to the clerks of
the district courts After that the books
VIII be shipped out to the various counties
in alphabetical order.