Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 17.pdf/91

 THE GREEN BAG

THE NEED OF LEGISLATIVE EXPERTS BY TRAVIS H. WHITNEY IN a monograph on "Our State Legisla tures" in the December Atlantic, Mr. Samuel P. Orth comes to the conclusion, after a minute statistical classification of our laws and legislators, that "we are law mad." The average annual output of statutes in all the states, over fourteen thousand, seems to bear this out. The wide spread belief that law is a cure-all; special or private legislation; the failure to differ entiate properly between legislation and administration; and, the influence of corpo rations over Legislatures, are considered by Mr. Orth as the causes of our law craze. He decides that the remedy lies in the alertness of the people and not in decennial or quad rennial legislative sessions or other constitu tional limitations. The purpose of this article is to point out how the alertness of civic organizations aris ing from bitter experience is working in New York towards preserving the statute books from needless and harmful legislation. The result may not be altogether the affirmative scientific legislation Mr. Orth pleads for but it is a long step in that direction. The New York Constitution provides (a) that no special or private bills on certain enumerated subjects shall be passed by the Legislature; (6) that such matters must be dealt with by general laws; (c) that city authorities shall have a limited power of veto of measures relating to their cities. The City of New York has been given a charter constructed theoretically "upon the principle that it is expedient to give the city all the powers necessary to conduct its own affairs." Yet general laws may be modified and charters amended. The charter was given by the Legislature and it may be changed or taken away by the Legislature. The city may grant franchises, under its charter, for limited periods, but the Legis

lature can grant franchises freed from re strictions both as to time and compensation. Advantage has been, and is, taken of all these possibilities by interested publicservice corporations and corrupt legislators. In 1799 Aaron Burr obtained from the New York Legislature an act creating the Man hattan Company to supply water, then much needed in the city, but hidden away in the charter was a provision giving bank ing powers to the company, a privilege theretofore denied to Burr by his political enemies. The company established its bank, which still exists on Wall Street, with a tank maintained to comply with technical re quirements of its charter. In 1904 the Niagara, Lockport & Ontario Power Company tried unsuccessfully to have enacted into law a bill which in its title was merely "to extend its time to commence work and otherwise," yet hidden from all but the careful observer were provisions grant ing this company the unprecedented right of eminent domain in every part of the State, a franchise in every street and thor oughfare of every political unit of the State without compensation and in perpetuity, and unlimited use of the waters of Niagara. In the time between these two "sneak" bills came a long line of vicious bills, whose enumeration would be superfluous here. The resulting scandals have given rise to the creation of committees on Legislation of certain organizations in New York City for the purpose of fighting such measures. The general method of procedure is as follows: Every bill is carefully studied as soon as in troduced and every reprint is examined. Men, skilled in legislative matters, are main tained, both in New York City and in Al bany, to devote their whole time to pre ventive Legislative work. A brief descrip tion of some of these organizations may