Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 17.pdf/624

 The Green Bag PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT $4.00 PER ANNUM. SINGLE NUMBERS 50 CENTS. Communications in regard to the contents of the Magazine should be addressed to the Editor, S. R. WRIGHTINGTON, 31 State Street, Boston, Mass. The Editor will be glad to receive contributions of articles of moderate length upon subjects of in terest to the profession; also anything in the way of legal antiquities or curiosities, facetios, anecdotes, etc.

The problems arising from the multi plication of judicial precedents are among the most pressing that confront not only the reformers of our jurisprudence, but the practitioners who endeavor to prepare their cases with the accuracy they deserve. As it is an increasing difficulty, discussion of the many phases of the subject is natural and desirable, for as the time of reform is forced upon us it is important that lawyers have a clear understanding of the problem and of the suggestions which the history of the jurisprudence of other nations may afford. It is worthy of notice that discussions of this sort are of increasing frequency in the meet ings of our Bar Associations and in the pages of our magazines. Chief among these is the controversy be tween the advocates and opponents of codi fication as a remedy. Many articles upon this subject have been reviewed in our recent issues. The chief argument of the oppo nents is that good codification is impossible, and, therefore, will only increase the diffi culty. They add to this the historic evidence that a written code 'is soon interpreted by judicial decisions until the judge-made law surpasses the written in volume and impor tance. The reply to this is usually that the code, at least, will give us a fresh start. Dr. Taylor's address before the Virginia State Bar Association, which we publish in this number, throws fresh light on the his toric evidence that permanent adherence to written law is impossible for an advanced civilization. The analogies afforded by the history of Rome and England have been the subject of recent discussions by specialists in ancient law, but, although the facts re garding the interpretation of our Constitu

tion are even more familiar, his bold concep tion of these decisions as an adaptation rather than an interpretation, pointing the way to like developments in future when the real or fancied dangers from changes in industrial conditions demand a different relation be tween corporations and the state, is a new presentation which deserves the attention the reputation of its author is sure to com mand. Dr. Taylor's long residence abroad and his devotion at that time to the historical rather than the practical side of constitutional law and jurisprudence have not only won him a wider recognition in England than at home; but have caused us, perhaps, to think of him more as a student of institutions than as a lawyer, but his work of recent years in prac tice in Washington, as evidenced by the recent publication of his new book on " Jurisdiction and Procedure in the Supreme Court of the United States," remind us that his ability and experience are not confined to the subjects in which he made his early reputation. The beginning of the beautification of Amer ican life as evidenced in our modern public buildings very properly finds an opportunity in the court-rooms. Decorations of some of the New York courts have been frequently described in current magazines and we have thought that the profession would be interested in the account we publish in this issue of the paintings that will lend dignity to the Supreme Court-room at St. Paul. We were fortunate in securing the services of so able a critic as Miss Nabersberg to prepare our description. We wish also to acknowledge the kindness of Mr. La Farge in loaning us the photographs we reproduce. To show that the question of the rights of carriers to grant exclusive privileges on their premises to others who deal with the public is still a live one, we need only to note the story of the recent New Hampshire cases referred to in Mr. Wyman's article in this issue. An earlier case had held that the rail