The Republican journal., 1912-11-14
Half-Baked Laws.
Need of Legal Reference Bureau to Sift
Proposed LEGISLATION.

Need Of Legal Reference Bureau to Sift
Proposed Legislation.
There is crying need for less legisla-
1ion, for better considered legislation
and for uniform legislation. 1t would be
rare public service if the lawyers, who
are often in majority and who fire.
quently control our legislative assem-
lies, should gently but firmly repress
newly f1edged legislators burning with
desire to write their half-baked ideas on
the statute books of the State.
In speaking of legislation of this class,
Congressman James Frarcis Burke re-
Gently said:
Zone of our State Legislatures actually
attempted the passage of a law making
ground hog day legal holiday. A new
member of another, in his desire to ac-
commodate constituent, Endorsed and
introduced, apparently without even
reading, bill to improve the allmentary
canal.
among bills now pending is one to
compel a man to take out license be-
fore buying drink, just as he has to
hunt. Another makes it penal otfense
for doctor to perform an operation for
appendicitis if it afterward appears that
it was not absolutely necessary.
Another makes it a penal offense for
man to put his feet on his desk while
debating to a young lady stenographer.
Another taxes bachelors between the
ages of 25 and As. Another compels
single men to give up the title of mister
and wear one equivalent to the title of
miss, to prevent single women from tiirt-
ing with married men, supposing them to
be single.
There is another to punish with i'm
prisonment profanity over the telephone.
Another compels hotels to furnish bed
sheets not less than nine feet long. An
other Furnishes railway ticket agents who
fail to answer any questions put to them
by curious travellers.
"Bills have recently found their way
into Congress to regulate the washing
and ironing of shirts and collars, for the
regulation of women's hatpins, making
it penal offense for man to exhibit a
clock in front of his place of business
which is either fast or SLOW A bill re-
Gently forwarded to prominent member
of Congress authorized its promoter to
run lottery on condition that from the
conduct Of it he agreed to pay off the
National debt. !"
Better considered legislation will be
had when all our lawmaking bodies, Fed
eral, State and municipal, maintain legal
reference bureaus. These are new neither
in practice nor in theory. In all some Ia
States have established bureaus of this
kind in one form or another, viz: Ala
bama, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massa-
chusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, North
Oak tia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Texas and Wis
consin.
Reference bureaus have already been
successfully established in Baltimore,
Milwaukee and Newark, N. j., and de-
partments of statistics have for some
years existed in New York, Chicago and
Boston. Los Angeles has a privately
maintained bureau. Foreign cities years
ago recognized the necessity of similar
departments, to which might be assigned
such duties as the following:
To have the custody of all documents,
reports, records, etc, belonging to the
city and not in actual use by the depart
ments.
To collect laws, ordinances. reports
and records from other cities.
To collect and make available for the
various departments information relat-
ing to the practical operation of laws
and ordinances in other cities.
To prepare or advise in the prepare
ton of bills, ordinances and resolutions
primarily as to their contents, not as
to their legal form. Case and Comments