Evening star., 1936-03-07
By Virginia Price.

MIDST the stream of admins
n trative legislation which has
~ been constantly pouring forth
4 \ during the past several years,
much confusion has arisen as to just
where and how those interested might
be assured that they were in possess
sion of all proclamations, executive
orders, rules and regulations bearing
upon their particular problems.
Up to this time there has been no
one publication or compilation pre-
pared for the purpose Of making avail
able all the administrative law in
force and effect, nor has there been
any central Office to which bewil-
dered individual might turn for i'm
mediate and complete information.
The answer is expected to be found
IN the new Federal Register, about to
be issued by the division of the Fed
eral Register of the National Archives.
Provision for the publication of the
Federal Register was made by act of
Congress III. r. 6323) under date of
July 26, 1885. Publication has been
delayed because appropriation for its
printing and distribution was carried
in the third deficiency bill (H. r.
e215), the passage of which was pre-
vented during the last session of Con-
gress by the late Senator .Huey Longs
filibuster in the closing days.
The need for such publication was
brought forcibly to the attention of
ofE nio1c hx,f I,n
tee on Administrative Law of the
American Bar Association in It's report
submitted August 80, 1884. This re-
port stressed the imperative necessity
for making the rules, regulations and
other exercises of legislative power by
Federal administrative agencies" avail
able at some central Office, and at the
same time declared that such orders
should be subjected to reasonable re-
quirements by way of registration and
publication as prerequisite to their
going into effect. In elaboration the
Special Committee said:
THE public generally, and most law
yers, do not realize how great is
which is daily poured forth by Federal
agencies, particularly since March 4,
1888. No one. so far as the committee
knows, has attempted to collect these
enactments or even to list them or
to calculate their volume until the
committee itself undertook the task.
Practically every agency to which leg
islative power has been delegated (or
subdelegatedD has exercised it and has
in the form of official printed PAM
phIets, bound or looseleaf; sometimes
in mimeograph form, sometimes in
privately owned publications and
sometimes in press releases. Some
times they exist only In sort of an
unwritten law. Rules and regulations,
upon compliance with which important
privileges and freedom from heavy
penalties may depend, are amended
and interpreted as formally or in
formally as they were originally
adopted.
The demand for such a publication
as the prospective Federal Register
was further emphasized when during
the hot oil" case Chief Justice Charles
E. Hughes sent out for copy of an
executive order and, finding it un-
available, remarked that it would be
good idea for the executive depart
ment to make compilation of its ac-
tivities.
1t Is believed that the report of the
Special Committee on Administrative
Law of the American Bar Association,
together with the remark of the Chief
Justice. was directly responsible for
legislation providing for the custody
and distribution of all such orders.
The Committee on Judiciary of the
House of Representatives. in reporting
on the bill introduced by Represent
ative Celler of New York;, and ap-
parently using the report of the Special
Committee on Administrative Law as
q basis for its information, pointed
out that in the first Is months after
March 4, 1888, the President alone
issued 674 executive orders, aggre-
eating approximately 1,400 pages;
that in the first yea of the life of
the National Recovery Administration
1893 administrative orders were issued,
as well as many regulations, the loca-
tion Of which could be found only
after a search through some 5,99l
press releases the N. r. A. issued
during the same period. The COM