The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-07-25
By d. c. FORBES.

America and Americans have a ma
mia for law-making.
Ponder these facts and figures :
Congress and State legislatures pass
| annually five times as many laws as
all the other legislatures in the world
| combined.
In one year the laws enacted in this
country filled 43.400 pages. Over 100000
points were dealt with.
In five years over $500 laws were
passed here and during the same
period fully $1,000 decisions having
the force of statutory law were rem
dered by courts of last resort.
We have 1000 national and State
lawmakers.
Furthermore there has been of late
years a craze for appointing COM
missions" Investigating committees"
special Investigators" etc. etc. of
every conceivable character and scope
national, State. municipal.
Regulatory bodies" too. have
sprung up like mushrooms
Politics Works FUN Time.
The only American industry work
ing on full time all through recent
years has been that Of politics.
The output of laws has increased
ten-fold faster than the output of
any staple commodity.
The quality of the output?
Well. that is another question. With
out being severe, it can at least be
said that too many legal cooks have
spoiled the legal broth supplied the
nation.
The increase of the number of peo
pie feeding from the public trough
during the last decade has been truly
alarming.
As a consequence of all this. taxes
have gone up frightfully-railroad
taxes. for example. increased two
thirds in nine years.
Governments exist for the benefit OF
the governed. Have the public re-
ceived value for the multiplied mil
lions taken from their pockets by our
army of lawmakers and their appoin-
tees?
Or have the politicians overshot the
mark?
IL Change in StoreF
Is a great change coming over the
attitude of the people toward profess
sional politicians?
Is the country weary for a rest
from political ferment and political
harassment?
Are the public willing to let in
dustry. their bread and butter. have
a period of political calm in which to
recuperate?
Is there not a widespread feeling
that regulation of this. that and
the next line Of business has not
yielded the results promised?
The politicians and their appointees
have worked overtime to demonstrate
to business men how to run their
business.
Yet, what is the worst managed
business in the whole United States?
The government, without doubt or
shadow OF doubt.
Treasury B0okkeeping.
Levy Mayer. of the Chicago bar.
points out. in an address from which
the figures here used are taken, that
report made to Congress in 1912
showed there were eighteen different
systems of bookkeeping in the Treas
ury Department, that the Secretary
of the Treasury could not tell within
$50, 100000 to S10o.ooo.oo0 the govern
ment's current obligations. that rec
ords of payments were from three to
eighteen months behind. and that
three hundred and seven hundred mil
lions Of unaudited payments and items
were not on the books at all.
Will the Federal Trade Commission.
which has undertaken to show every
corner grocer how to keep his books |
30 that he can borrow more money
from the banks. begin by putting |
Uncle Sans own Bookkeeping In o.. |
der?
The United States is the only en-
lightsned nation that fails to pre-
sent budget.
II any corporation were run in such |
lines It would 90 bankrupt.
why not turn the "regulAtors"
loose at the seat Of government?
politician heal thyself," were good |
advice.
How, for instance. have the poll
eicians succeeded In their running or
the navyf
orr Arny anA navy.
Il our navy the perfsction Of sf-
Has Il nssa Antit y, VITA fas-