Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-14
FACT AND GOSSIP
IN MONEY NARTS
Why Is It There Are More
Lawyers in Congress Than
Other Professions?
BY 3. c. FORBES.


NEW YORK. Aug. 4-AmevIra is
'awyer-ridden The be-all and end-an the
Alpha and Omega of government is not
to grind out laws by the thousands hut
To foster the happiness and welfare Of
the governed. 1t is an old and accepted
maxim that that country is best governed
which is least governed. In republic
m demOcracN-laws should he as few
and simple as possible, not as many and
as intricate as legal ingenuity can con-
trive.
Think of 85.OOo.tiriy-fve thousand
laws being passed during one session!
have looked up the records, and
find thai lawyers have constituted from
~ to 20 per cent of our congressman dur
ing quite a number Of years. Take the
Fiftieth congress 1t was composed Of 263
lawyers. So business men, u agricultural
people and ~ others. In other words. Of
every 100 members, 60 were legal gentle
men. - men Of business. Z agriculturists
and II followers of various other tasks or
professions. In the Fifty-sixth session
no fewer than 299 members were lawyers
IS out of every lOO-while agriculture
could claim only and business 20.
The business of government should he
placed lttle-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 he 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 game to be
played. rot honestly. honurably 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-alSo unfortunate
N-men Of big business were by no means
hlameless, for not jnfreQuentY they were
parties to bribery to underhandednes
to crooked dealings They used puliti-
clans as pawns. They sought favors and
were willing to pay for them. yellow
dogs abounded in the subcelars of leg
islatures-fed from high sources often
times. (See the Standard oil letters
printed month by month in Hearsts Mag
aGineD
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
s.1lg,,
Dogs. it has been demonstra ted. are apt
to be pulled from the darkness of their
subterranean kennels and placed in the
lmeIight.
Politics is becoming more respectable.
This being SO, may we not hope that
hereafter business, agriculture, education
and other lines of activity will contribute
a larger quota of legislators?
Lawyers have not proved a success at
making laws. The laws of the United
States form the most iumbled- up. compli-
Gated. contradictory, impraCuCabie, 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 Il
generation. Some Of our statutes are not
even meant to be enforced Others are
intended to please q passing within and
cussed American law today is the SheU-
man ant-tru act. For some two decades
IT was left in peaceful repose it's pro-
visions utterly neglected and everywhere
violated with impunity, Then it was re-
discovered brought from it's pigeonhoIe
and made to do duty, although just wha t
duties il ought to do could not be deter
mined by the courts, the final interpre-
tation being hopelessly divided one.
II the next two or three sessions OF
congress. Federal and state, were devoted,
not TO making more laws. but to making
houfires of most Of the old ones, and con-
solidating, classifying and remodeIing the
sensible and necessary ones. the country
would be much better off. It is criminal
10 pass statutes that can not possibly be
enforced, for thereby the innocent are
made lawhrcakers
Instead Of % lawyers in every 100 leg
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