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 The Commission on Uniform State Laws codiﬁers to blame them for refraining from attempting reforms that might have aroused a spirit of controversy and have jeopardized their whole work; neither

luxury for the rich or

295 the insolvent.

But many of our most distinguished lawyers and jurists, whether from rea sons of sentiment or from solid conviction

must they be blamed if some expecta it is difficult to ascertain, prefer, it tions are disappointed and proceedings would seem, to practice as their fathers are still technical, slow and expensive. did one hundred years ago, ignoring The distinctive feature of Federal Pro what has been accomplished by Lord cedure, the complete separation of law Eldon's successors in the chancellor from equity, is archaic; and chancery ship, through the Judicature Act of practice, with its expensive references, a 1873.”

The Commission on Uniform State Laws HE Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is appar ently disposed to yield to the demand that it take up the subjects of model Child Labor and Workmen’s Compen sation acts. Of this action Col. Nathan

in legislation. Obviously it should seek to promote its own effectiveness by every means in its power. The attitude which conceives the Con

W. MacChesney says: — ‘

ference as holding aloof from every

“There was an attack made on the floor of the Conference at the last meet

would soon lose all its vitality as a powerful agency at work for uniformity

project which involves reform of the

ing against the consideration of either

law is really a false one, inasmuch as the law is a progressive science, and uniform

of these topics, on the ground that it represented a departure of the Confer

statutes cannot possibly answer to the

ence from the ﬁeld of uniformity of state laws to that of reform, and that if

a favorable chance of being generally

they were taken up the Conference would lose sight of its real object, the correct ing of the differences between laws which have already been passed and tried in the various jurisdictions. How ever, the pressure is so strong for the

consideration of these topics that I doubt if such a protest will have any weight.” If the only function of the Conference were to pare away the differences be tween state laws and to secure unity by conﬁning its attention to topics the doc trines of which are widely settled, it lUniform State Laws. A paper read before the Law Club of Chicago, and at the College of Law. University of Illinois. By Nathan William Mac Chesney. 5 Illinois Law Review 521 (Apr.).

requirements of model laws, or have adopted, if they are drawn upon a theory of the stability of law and society.

The Conference should not be viewed simply as a body which may be called upon to thresh out new schemes of legis lation. It is in no sense equipped for propagandic work. When, however, it becomes unmistakably evident that there is to be a large amount of state legislation on some new subject, such as

workmen's compensation, for instance, the Conference should be ready to place its ability at the service of the com

munity, and to aid states only too will ing to agree to some sound uniform program, before they have enacted legis

lation which may prove permanently injurious to the cause of uniformity.