New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-07-30
Ing the responsibility Of supervising
and directing the development work.
All Laws in One Book.

iiE ~ itsPOiisiDiltV VI oulNA ga
and directing the development work.
All Laws in One Book.
The largest single law book ever
printed is now In process of prep
aration under the direction of Con-
gresham Little of Kansas. 1t will
contain all the laws ever enacted by
congress from the first signed by
George Washington down to the last
signed by Woodrow Wilson. 1t will
not be complete until some time In
1921.
When all the laws have been assem-
Died within one volume. Mr.. Little will
present them to the senate and house
of representatives for re-enaetment-
a proceeding entirely pe~rfunctory. and
likely not to excite more than passing
mention.
At present. II one wishes to ascer-
tain what the federal law is on a given
question. an examination must be
made Of 80 great volumes in order TO
he strictly accurate. Much of the law
Is hidden In appropriation acts. and II
is as difficult to find as the %proverbial
needle In the haystack. As the laws
are now compiled. lawyers comp lain
that 1t sometimes Is hard to determine
whether a certain statute Is still In
existence. whether 1t has been repealed
or amended. and the only solution Is
iaborious research through the differ
ent volumes OF compiled statutes and
the statutes at large.
With congress %enactIng about 500
new laws a year, these difficulties are
ever increasing, and with the new vol
n 1t is planned that even a layman
can find out. what Is the law. Judges
and lawyers. in urging the new c0di-
fcation, declare that the new volume,
If properly prepared. will save lii
giants thousands Of dollars, relieve
Judges OF much worry and anxiety In
cident to decision OF cases, and be q
handy reference for all practicing law
yers,
Only Once Before.
Only once before In the history OF
the United States has official effor,
been made toward the codification OF
the federal laws, and that was more
than forty years. ago. Since that first
cOdiiicatiOn, laws Of each congress
have been published n separate vol,
umes, designated. as statutes at large.
The first cOdificstiOn was begun In
1874, a second edition of the volume
appearing In 1878. A start at cOdiina.
tion also was made 20 Years ago., but
never completed.
Since then more new laws have been
enacted by congress than IN all OF the
preceding century, and the new volume
will use the old codlfcatiOn as a basis.
Congressional clerks are now laborIng
over the ley volume, with judges and
lawyers generally assisting them,
while the house committee on revision
of the laws is sitting as "a final court
Of approval of the work. go
The effort Of the committee, and It's
assistants. is mo- TO Improve" the law,
not to change the law. but simply ia
reproduce IL as II now Is. and was
made by the congress OF the United
States. The great code. when com
pleted, will consist OF more than 10000
sections and constitute the culminat.
ing assembly Of n code that began
when Washington signed the first acl
passed by congress 1871 years ago.
Although bringing no new wrinkles
into the law. the new code will extend
beyond a mere compilation and ear
rangement. the plan being that IT shall
proceed to the extent Of harmonizlng
apparent contradictions, emitting repe
t~itiOns; In short, a revision Of things
substantive as well as those which con
ccrn only arrangement and form.
The task is regarded as huge by
judges and lawyers, but they have
been urging the beginning of the work
for years. declaring that sooner OF
later II must be done. The revision OF
1878 Is, of course. very old. incomplete
and, In some respects, a~ntiquated. BY
reason Of amendments from time Il
time of many OF It's sections the olf
code does moi now present a safe reli
ancc for. those called upon TO make
use OF II.