Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 18.pdf/258

 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT principal defect of many of the modern law books falling within this class is they do not regard the subject from this point of view, are incomplete, and consequently do not pos sess the same authority as the older books in their day. With the rapid increase of decisions, recent writers, with a few exceptions, despair ing of attaining similar completeness, have contented themselves with presenting, as they supposed, the more important principles fortified with some references, without much or any thought of the question how the prin ciples were regarded in different jurisdictions. The comparative method has not been observed, and so the worth of their produc tions, measured by those of earlier authors, has steadily declined in usefulness and author ity. Their books are often but little more than a digest of a particular subject, with a better arrangement of the principles, but without the merit even of the completeness •of a digest." "Many of our modern books abound in these imperfections. Consequently there is danger in using them as authorities for new rules in states where none exist. There is no certainty that the rule found in one of them is the last rule, or is maintained by the larger number of states, for the author does not usually profess to have used the exhaust ive, comparative method, but only pro fesses that the principles stated are sustained by his citations. "Does any one doubt the successful em ployment of the comparative method? Per fection is not expected, but with the excellent digests, both state and national, now existing, it is practicable to collect and compare all the cases dealing with the same matter and the different rules embedded in them." "To those who are thus in quest of knowl edge a law writer who is properly qualified for his task should be a welcome helper. He ought to know more about his subject, which he has especially studied, than any judge or lawyer, and therefore can rightfully and modestly claim to be the teacher of all others. And if he has not thus mastered it, and ac quired a much better understanding of it than others, he ought not to add another book of the old-fashioned kind to the over burdened literature now existing." He also

suggests that the author should present statutes as well as common law rules. "Of late, another kind of book is appear ing, in which completeness of citation is the author's goal. Such works are supposed to be especially valuable to the brief-maker as a quarry, to which he can go and find ore. Many of the citations massed bear indirectly on the principle, yet by the method are right fully included. Doubtless these works have a real use, but are still wanting in the com parative idea, the sifting of cases, putting them under their proper classifications and evolving from them the better rules. They may serve as authorities for the rules stated; they are still lacking in the higher critical elements." CARRIERS. Joseph H. Beale, Jr., con tributes to the March Yale Law Journal (V. xv, p. 270) an analysis of the cases re lating to " The Beginning of Liability of a Carrier of Goods." "A carrier of goods is a bailee of the goods for the purpose of carriage; and his responsi bility as carrier cannot begin until he has be come a bailee. And since possession of the bailee is the gist of the bailment, the carrier's responsibility does not begin until the moment when he assumes possession." "The simplest form of such assumption of possession is the actual taking of goods into the hands of an authorized agent of the' carrier for carriage. Where this happens, the car rier's responsibility begins from the moment the carrier's agent takes the goods." ' ' One who delivers goods to a person purport ing to act for a carrier must see to it that the person is actually authorized by the carrier to accept goods on his behalf; the shipper takes the risk of the authority of the person with whom he chooses to deal." "It is, however, sufficient 'to deliver the goods to a servant of the carrier who is usually employed in receiving and forwarding goods for the carrier; a shipper has a right to as sume that such a person has ample authority to deal with him in this matter." "It sometimes becomes important to de termine at what moment goods delivered to the carrier by tackling or other mechanical device pass into the possession of the carrier." "The determining fact in such a case is the control of the machinery."