The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-08-26
UNIFORMITY OF LAWS.

4
uniform laws among the States Of the
Union. These commissioners are &C.
| tive in the work Of securing uni
formity Of laws ON various subjects.
Their labors have extended over a
period Of twenty-five years. During
that time there has resulted, as
claimed from their efforts, uniform
acts covering negotiable instruments,
warehouse receipts, sales, stock trans
fers, bills Of lading, divorce pro"
cednre, foreign wills. family desertion,
marriage, and child labor It is true
that there has not been complete
uniformity Of legislation among the
States upon all of these subjects, but
much progress has been made, and it
is to be hoped that further progress
may be made in the future. Indeed,
we could see, with a great deal of
satisfaction, complete uniformity among
the States upon commercial legislation,
criminal law, and other legislation OF
Importance. If we could have uniform
laws among the States throughout the
Union, the decisions Of the Supreme
Courts of the various States would
presently come into perfect accord, and
from the dreadful tumble in which
legislation now is aud the multi
plicity Of precedents, many of them
conflicting, upon various matters OF
based upon varying legislation and
more or less diverse Interpretation
by the judges, we would have a COM
pact, complete, uniform system Of laws
for all the States. with the courts ad
ministering those laws all in perfect
unison. 1t is o consummation devout"
ly to be wished, and although the
prospect for getting it seems to be
rather remote at this time, we may at
least indulge in the hope of better
ment, and if in the whirligig Of time
there should come an opportune mo-
ment when all Of the States would ap~
point official commissioners on uni
form legislation, every subject to
come under the review of the body
comprising all of them in session, and
formulate a single code for adoption in
every State. and every State would
adopt it, then we would have as
near perfection as could be obtained
in the legislation of the various States
within this great Nation.
There remains, however, one subject |
of legislation which can never be COM
pletely covered by the States, and that
is the subject Of marriage and divorce.
In the legislation already partly unified |
there is mention of the dealing with !
foreign wills. This brings forward in
direct form the marriage and divorce
question as a National proposition, for
as ii is now, the United States as a
nation has nothing whatever to do
With marriage OF divorce. But it ought
10 have control of these if for no other
reason than because Of international
relations. Foreign wills, foreign heir
ships, and foreign claims to estates and
property by marital relations and the
ssue therefrom, bring every year more
and more prominently before the public
he necessity of National dealing with
his question.
1t is quite true that so far as our
domestic relations are concerned We
night waive the need of having Ma
ional supervision over marriage and d.
5orce, although in view of social re-
ations in this region and Of the sur
yival of polygamy and its results for
.ome time to come in all this mountain
section, it is clearly desirable to have
he National authority control that
question. But the permanent need or
laving National control over marriage
md divorce is in the matter Of inter
marriages. with their compli-
cations of heirship, of wills, of
heritage, and Of marital rights.
The great need of the time in this
Union is undoubtedly the uniformity
If laws, But until the States take
lold officially and authorize a general
commission on the codi6cation of laws
or all of the States, each State to be
represented thereon, and this commits
lion to meet officially and present its
VI COutb W LHc NdTlouS IJa |
or adoption, and the States adopt
hem. but little advance can be ex-
,ected, and what little advance we
rave is slow. The germ of a. great
hought and harmonious activity is con
aimed in the organization and work
II the commissioners on uniformity OF
avs The next step is TO make
|
hese commissioners official representa-
ives Of their States, with authority to
IGN for their States and to report for !
more or less obligatory enactment The
odes prepared by the commissioners
epresenting the different States on al {
he important matters of civil and ?
riminal euactmeuts, That is clearly the
lext step, and that is what the commits.
toner's already doing such earnest
work ought to urge upon the various
ommonwealths of the United States