Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-20
FEWER AND BETTER
LAWS, T|LSON'SA|M
Majority Floor Leader Of
House Due to Oppose
Many Pet Projects.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Fewer and better laws-that is the
slogan of the House leadership.
I'm my judgment, the one tendency
now visible in our American govern
mental life that is most dangerous to
the stability and perpetuity of our in
situations is the mania for laws and
,nore laws" said Representative John
q, Tilson, Republican, of Connecticut
The ma jority floor leader in the House
s This is the philosophy which is guild
ing him in his present position of re
sponsibility for putting through tbs
partys legislative program, Mr. Tilso'
said. and expressed the hope tina
when the present Congress expires
March it may be said with nue.
ruth that the most important worl
/ have done has been in the direction
of preventing the passage of bad or
unnecessary laws"
IF ever what we call liberty fails"
Mr. Tilson continued, and any form
Of despotiSm, either of the many o
the few, comes to the people of thi
country, it will be more on account
the tendency for multiplying law
than any other. Judge-made law
necessarily increasing as the numbe
and complexity of human relation
increase, but the worst offenders IL
this direction are legislative bodies.
Tendency Called Universal.
II recall the story of a young man
in Tennessee many years ago who
was ambitious to be admitted to the
bar and confided his ambitions to an
old practitioner. What do you know
about the law inquired the old law
yer. 4 know pretty nearly all of it,
Il he Do
vised Statutes through three times
The old lawyer laughed. Yes he
said, and when the Legislature meets
in January it will probably repea!
most of what you know
THE tendency toward a multiplicity
Of statute laws is universal and nc
legislative body is free from it. So
far as the Federal law is concerned, i
is largely due to the extension of Fed
eral activities into new fields. such as
income taxes, estate taxes, prohibition
and the regulation of business in
number Of different ways. Govern
ment bureaus are given power to
make regulations which are often
more voluminous and complex than
the law itself, and in general the de-
mand is the cure Of all human ills by
legislative enactment. A halt in this
direction should be called, at any rate.
long enough to give lawyers time to
catch up with at least reading, If not
tligesting, the legislative output
Il have referred to the fact that
bumper crops of new laws during
nearly score of years have come
under my immediate observation, bur
do not understand that this orgy of
legislation has proceeded with my un-
qualified approval. The record will
bear me out in saying that / have
done my bit to limit the congressional
output.
Too Many Laws Now.
81 like to think of the old farmer
who was elected to his State Legis-
1ature, and on the first day of the
session arose in his place and moved
that We do now ADJOURN for good
His friends rushed over to reason
with him. What de-you mean they
demonstrated, by moving to adjourn
now? Why, We've only just met The
old fellow grinned. I know we've just
met he said, and that's why / want
to adjourn. think we have too dern
many laws already The old farmer
states a lamentable fact, and at the
same time expresses my own legisla-
tive views.
'"The mania for new laws, which is
costing the people enormous sums and
accomplishing so little good, to con-
siderable extent grows out of a desire
of active minority groups of our PEG.
pie to regulate everything and every
body. They wish to hasten the mil
lennium and reform the world by law.
They are our best people and do not
deny it. Many of the most insistent
for laws and more laws are the loudest
in their profession of Christianity,
but they seem to have given up hope
or bringing peace on earth, good will
TO men by moral suasion and look
10 the policeman to make people good
Dy force and the Jail to keep them so.
If / understand human nature
Alright, such a plan will never work.
Law and force have no place in the
domain Of conscience and religion. To
those who believe that 1t can be- done
in this way l can do no better in
answering than to quote these sound
and memorable words of ST. Paul: If
righteousness shall come by law, then
Christ is dead in VAIN"
Thousands of pet legislative promo.
Sitions that are being pushed by yari.
Gus individual members or groups of
members, it thus seems, are not likeIv
to meet with much encoura cement
from the majority floor leader of the
House.