Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-03-15
MoNDAY EVENING, MARCH
LEGISLATION.

We complain. and often with good
reason, of complications in our laws,
and OF the dinicua.y that is found IN
harmonixing one decision with anoth-
=, and. we are quite apt to place
the blame for these conditions on our
courts. 1t is true that sometimes
courts seem possessed of a desire to
burden their decisions with words,
and TO split hairs over trifles. But
ii is well to remember that the courts
are not entirely, and perhaps not
chiefly to blame, for it is their task
TO interpret laws which have been
passed with scarcely a thought given
to their ultimate application.
There are men in every legislative
body who are anxious to become
known as the o~riginators of laws,
and their conception seems to be tina.
the more bills they can introduce
the greater is their claim On the graf
itude Of their constituents. Accord
ingly. there is a rush to introduce
bills, and bills are introduced on
about every subject known to man.
In the great majority of cases these
bills are framed without any. care.
full examination of existing statutes
or any adequate study Of the full eff
feet of the measure which is proposed.
Bills are considered in committee
without proDer reference to existing
legislation or to the general effect
Of the bill under consideration. The
result is that we have bills passed
which conflict with each other, and
which sometimes go farther than
was intended, and sometimes do not
go far enough.
We have an illustration of this in
the present complications in connec-
ton with the wonen's vote. Copying
largely after the Illinois law, III leg
stature undertook to confer on wom-
en- the largest voting powers that
could be conferred without consti;u-
tional amendment. The established
principle is that. the legislature may
designate who shall vote on Offices or
laws created by or subject entirely
to the jurisdiction of the legislature.
The legislature. for instance. could
enable women to vote for the mayor
OF a city, because that Office is one
created by the legislature. But with
out constitutional amendment the
legislature cannot provid. h a WON
because that Office .is created by the
constitution. and the constitution it
self ~designates who, shall vote on such
Offices.
The legislature has the right, and
has exercised it, TO say that in the
presidential primary election women
may vote for presidential electors. 1t
sas equally the right to declare that
may vote for convention dele
gates. But it did not exercise that
right. Doubtless if the situation had
been understood when the women's
franchise act was passed, the Office
of delegate would have been includ-
ed. The courts, in interpreting a law,
must assume that the legislature in
tended what it said-and no more.
at cannot speculate on what the leg
islature would have done il it had
happened to think of it. Hence be-
cause the legislature did not do this
particular thing. it is not done.
In any line of human activity other
than the making Of laws, there is
usually some careful checking I'D on
2 new regulation before it is adopted.
In the matter of legislation we pro-
coed cheerfully by guess, and trust to
luck for the result.