Evening star., 1924-12-07
HE legal profession of the
country and civic leaders par
particularly interested in

1>HE legal profession of the
country and civic leaders par
particularly interested in
IL clean-cut administration OF
justice ara now urging upon
Congress the completion of "A job that
has not been done for so years and
which has been hanging fire in Con-
gress six years.
| The Federal statutes, the laws of
the United States, are now scattered
| in more than so volumes, making a
difficult task for all lawyers and
judges, attended by great uncertainty
in the final decision. 1t is the aim of
the legal profession to have all of
| these laws assembled in one volume.
SO that 1t can be readily seen Just
what the law is today on any partIc-
ular question, with an enlightening
view OF the history of that legisla-
! ton.
| Awaits Senate Action.
| The House has acted several times
| favorably, and after long and most
pafnstaking labor has prepared and
| approved such a compilation. which
is now ready for printing and binding
but the Senate committee has not
acted.
Ihe progressive action in the House,
and the compilation which is ready
Tor publication the moment the Sen
ate gives its Endorsement, is a monu-
ment to the tremendous earnestness
| and untiring industry of the late Col.
EDWARD G. Little, who was chairman
| OF the House committee on revision
or the laws. His colleagues on the
committee and IN the House hone to
get this legislation passed, first be-
cause or its great Importance in
proper administration of Justice. and
then as tribute to Representative
Little, because he put his whole heart
into completion of the project.
Through the death of Representa-
! tive Little the chairmanship of the
House committee passes under the
seniority rule to Representative Roy
u. fitzgerald of Ohio, who is as de-
voted as was Representative Little
to giving the legal profession and
judiciary of the land an authorita-
tive, up-to-date compilation of the
| laws Of this country. Chairman
fitzgerald will have the same staunch
support in the work from Represent-
ative r. Walton Moore of Virginia
the ranking Democrat on the com
mfttee, that was given to Chairman
Little.
Last Compilation in 1874.
| The last general compilation of the
Federal statutes into a single volume
was when the bill containing the Re
| vised Statutes was passed in 1874. Up
! to that time there had been no gath
| ering of all the Federal statutes,
| which have rapidly multiplied and
! have not been brought together, al
! though there has been a great de-
! mand, based upon the fact that to
! do so would facilitate the work of
! Government officials and of the
! courts and place within the reach of
[ the public, at a price much lower
| than is now charged by private pub
| fishers for their compilations, the
general laws of the United States.
! In the Sixty-sixth Congress the
! House committee on revision of the
/ laws, with Col. Little as chairman,
/ undertook the work of compiling and
| codifying the statutes, without MAX
! ing any amendment whatever The
! desire was to reach the result above
I stated. The committee was enabled
to employ competent trained men,
/ who had had large experience in the
| work, and what they did was under
| the supervision of the committee,
with Col. Little devoting practically