Evening star., 1927-05-29
BY NATHAN b. WILLIAMS,

FORMER Judge Advocate OF -ndryiaHu.
When statutes, rules and regnla-
tions are too voluminous they tend
to become as valueless as German
marks after printing press debauch.
This condition explains much of the
present so-called lawless attitude OF
our people It is not the desire to be
a law breaker, but the recognition OF
the impossibility Of obeying the multi
tude of laws that tends to destroy
respect for all law and to produce
the habit Of mind to take chance"
and ofttimes to regard arrest as a
badge of merit.
That we possess plant facilities for
the quantity production Of laws is
apparent and that the dust from the
operation of the plant almost sur
locates the citizens is obvious.
We have a Congress of more than
500 members. We have State legls-
lative bodies in 48 States, consisting
in the aggregate of more than 7,Ooo
members, and aldermen, supervisors,
trustees and selectmen in more than
16 900 incorporated cities and towns
and 5000 counties, all more or less
actively engaged in making laws.
Exceed All Other Nations.
While law-making is neither an
infant industry, a profession, nor a
trade, with characteristic American
abandon we exceed in the production
of statutes the combined output OF
all the other countries of the world.
DIR. Dicey Of oxford observes that
| the Congress and American State
| Legislatures annually enact more
legislation than is even proposed for
| the collective consideration of the
Parliaments of Great Britain, Ger
many, France, Austria and Italy.
Competent authority assures us
that we now live in Federal and local
government under the daily operation
of more than 100000 statutes. The
laws of the 48 States in 1929" said
the former Solicitor General Of the
United States, filled 5,567 volumes of
1892 900 pages"
| Laws, and yet again laws, on every
| conceivable subject, until no man
| knoweth them, nor can any man be
sure that he has by careful search
found them out.
| More than $4,000 bills were offered
for consideration in the State Legls
| lat,1res of 1923. While this grand to-
tai showed some diminution in 1925
state Legislatures, the result in 3e
| States was more than 10000 laws.
These figures relate to the activities
of State Legislatures, but it must be
| remembered there is also a Federal
Congress, many members of which
are exceedingly industrious in max
ing laws.
1,422 Passed During 1927.
During the Sixty-ninth Congress
which expired on March 4, 1927, there
were passed a total of 1.422 laws, OF
which S07 were public laws, including
several acts relating to bridges over
navigable waters; 537 private bills. II
public resolutions and private reso'
lutions.
In the House OF Representatives
were introduced 17,415 bills, 379 House
joint resolutions, 457 House resolu'
tions and 81 House concurrent reso'
lutions, making a total of 1892 In
troduced, altogether. In the, Senate
there were introduced 5,S35 Senate
bills, 3S1 Senate resolutions, 172 Sen
ate joint resolutins and 30 Senate con
current resolutions, making a total OF
CALI. Two thousand, three hundred
and four reports of House committees
and LII reports of Senate commit
ties were filed. Seven. thousand, five
hundred and eighty-two petitions from
various parts of the country came to
the House of Representatives. .. =.
A. large number OF these measures
had to do with pensions. CLAIMS and