Arizona republican., 1911-02-01
L.uislatur.. and Waste of Time.

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 Legislatures and Waste of Time.
 The legislatures of New York
 Tennessee, South Carolina, Iowa,
 and Montana. have been in dead
 lock for weeks in their several
 efforts to elect United States sen ators Legislative deadlocks as to
 senatorial elections are biennial hap
 penings in some of the states. and
 this year there are heard the usual
 comments upon the waste of time" of which legislatures are guilty in
 their attempts to elect senators.
 Whether the time consumed in these
 deadlocl;s is altogether wasted. de-
 pends upon the point of view. Judg- ing by results, one would be justified
 in saying that some legislatures have failed 10 take enough time in their senatorial elections. Indeed. in such cases as that of Lorfner of Illinois, it would have been better for the legis lature to waste" the whole session rather than reach the conclusion it did.
 Besides, it is mistake to assume that a legislature cannot be better employed than in a steady grinding out of new laws. Again judging by results-the useless, petty and silly laws enacted-it is not wide of the mark to say that many legislatures would employ their time to better ad- vantage by adjourning from day to day until the regular appropriations are provided. and then going home. Hundreds upon hundreds of laws are enacted for which there is no need. States to the number of forty and odd receive from their legislatures every two years or oftener great cargoes of new laws, while bulky volumes of statutes containing laws that the pub lie has forgotten continue to accumu- late dust It would be a good thing for the country if there could be a general realization of the fact that there is entirely too much law making, and that there ought to be a little more attention to the laws we already have It would be still better thing for the country if there could be a better understanding of the fact that neither individuals nor the people in the mass can acquire wealth honestly merely through the enactment of laws.
 No extent of law making will dis place the necessity of personal en- deavor There is getting to be too prevalent a belief that law making will relieve us from work Reformers. both fake and genuine, are now telling us that we don't get enough laws ] from the legislatures, and that we ought to start a supplemental law | factory in the form Of the initiative" laws call in many cases for | repeal CT amendment-the direct and | logical result of the wholesale enact | iucht Cl ID I needed Is greater deliberation and care in making new statutes. And | the law is by no means responsible for misfortune, as a general thing. If. under an existing law. Smith prospers and Brown fails, both ,f them having the same opportunities lnder the law. the sensible deduction s that Browns failure IS due to some of his own It is seldom that he situation demands new laws for he promotion of Browns welfare. and nore seldom still that the new laws when enacted help Brown in the lightest.
 A party with single plank in its platform: More work and fewer aws," would not comamnd an enthu iastic following. but it could point o a platform exceptionally sane.