Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-14
FACT AND GOSSIP
IN MONEY MARTS
why Is 1t There Are More
Lawyers in Congress Than
Other Professions?
BY 8. c. FORBES.

NEW YORK. Aug. l4-America is
lawyer-ridden. The be-an and end-au. the
Aipha and Omega of government is not
TO grind out laws by the thousands. but
10 roster the happiness and welfare of
tne governed. 1t is an old and accepted
maxim mat that country is best governed
which is least governed In a republic
IN democracy-laws should be as few
and simple as possible, not as many and
as intricate as legal ingenuity can con-
trive.
Think of 35,OOO-thirty- thousand.
laws being passed during one session!
have looked up the records. and
md that lawyers have constituted from
DO to 20 per cent of our congressman dur
ing quite number of years Take the
Flftieth congress. 1t was composed of 26s
lawyers So business men, 81 agricultural
people and AZ others. In other words of
every 100 members, 65 were legal gentle
men, II men of business agriculturists
and II followers of various other tasks or
professions. In the Fifty sixth session
no fewer than 299 members were lawyers
-68 out of every 1O0-while agriculture
could claim only and business 90
The business of government should be
placed litte-a great deal-more in the
hands of business men. men of practical
experience in the actual affairs rather
than the theories of life. We are a bust
ness nation, a people of achievement in
the workshop in the field in the factory.
in the counting house, in the laboratory.
why not entrust our government to grad
yates of these stern schools rather than
to students of legal tones?
Let us be honest, however Let us adj
NIT that business men are partly, if not
chiefly TO blame for their sparse repre-
sentation in the halls of our solons Men
of large affairs have too often in the
past looked down upon politics. They
have regarded politics as a game to be
played, not honestly honorably and
above board, but by stealth by subter-
fuge, by corruption. Unfortunately, too
many politicians did play dishonesty. did
pay more attention to their own purses
than TO principles, and did drag law MAX
ing into the mire. But-aso unfortunate
lN-men of big business were by no means
blameless, for not infrequenuy they were
parties TO bribery. to observation-disclosures
TO crooked dealings They used polti-
clans as pawns. They sought favors and
were willing to pay for them. yellow
dogs abounded in the subcellars of leg
islatures-fed from high sources often
times. CSee the Standard Oil letters
printed month by month in Hearsts Mag
szine)
Happily. the kennels have been thinned
to some extent. 1t is no longer considered
proper to feed Yellow Dogs The rail
roads for the most part have stopped it.
standard Oil having been dissolved
may not find occasion to spend so much
for legal-or llegal---services. Yellow
Dogs, it has been demonstrated, are apt
to be pulled from the darkness OF their
subterranean kennels and placed in the
lmelight
Politics is becoming more respectful bic,
This being so, may we not hope that
hereafter business, agriculture education
and other lines of activity will contribute
larger quota of legislators?
Lawyers have not proved a success al
making laws. The laws of the United
States form the most jumbed-up. compli-
Gated, contradictory, impracticable, sense
less mess to be found in any nation on
earth. We pass more silly acts in one
year than any other country passes in a
generation Some of our statutes are not
even meant TO be enforced. Others are
are promptly forgotten. The most dis
cussed American law today is the Sher-
man antitrust act. For some two decades
II was left in peaceful repose, its pro-
visions utterly neglected and everywhere
violated with impunity. Then it was re-
discovered brought from its pigeonhole
and made to do duty, although Just wha t
duties 1T ought to do could not be deter
mined by the courts, the final interpre-
tation being hopelessly divided one
If the next two or three sessions of
congress. Federal and state, were devoted,
not TO making more laws. but to making
bOnires of most Of the old ones and con-
soldating, classifying and remodeling the
sensible and necessary ones, the country
would be much better off II is criminal
10 pass statutes that can not possibly be
enforced, for thereby the innocent are
made ldwbreakers
Instead of 20 lawyers in every 100 leg
-