Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 24.pdf/499

 458

The Green Bag

our financial situation will steadily im prove. Commenting upon the Treasurer's re port for the year 1911, an editor notes that

devoted to an exposition of the history and accomplishments of this Confer ence.6 I think it may be apposite to quote from the comments of the edi tors. One says: —

Last year six states paid the expenses of a Commission which is drafting the laws of fortyseven states who have representation on the Commission. These states are New York, $500; Connecticut, $300; Pennsylvania, $:«X); Massa chusetts, $100; Utah, S100; Rhode Island, $100. This, together with special contributions from the American, Illinois and New York Bar Asso ciation represent an income of little over $2,000.

The evils of diversity in state laws are obvious. It is particularly to be desired that the commer cial laws of the country be uniform, to obviate confusion, and the hope that this end will be realized finds its encouragement in those power ful tendencies which make for uniformity of com mercial usage, not only in this country but throughout the world. Uniformity of commercial law is more than a theory, it is actual conquest of the citadel of law by the forces of commercial usage. All that legal conservatism which resists the progress of this movement is foredoomed to defeat, and its triumph is so certain that it stands not so much in need of champions as of hench men. The work which is in the hands of the Committee on Commercial Law of the Uniform State Laws Conference is thus one which does not call for an active propaganda, but rather for intelligent co-operation of existing active agencies in the labors which this body has under way. . . • In other fields than that of commercial law, the forces which make for uniformity are less powerful. In some subjects, indeed, unifor mity may be unattainable because of funda mental differences between the institutions of various sections. The Conference. . . wisely keeps within bounds in advocating only that uniformity which seems consistent with due recog nition of local exigencies. Scarcely any subject more imperatively demands uniform legislation than that of divorce, not that differences in the way this subject is regarded in different states may be reconciled, but chiefly that confusing questions of jurisdiction may be resolved, and that the decrees of one state may be enforcible in another. This subject, like that of the taxation of property outside a state, and that of the probate of foreign wills, is of concern not to one state alone but to the entire community of states. . . . In another group of subjects, falling possibly within the classification of social legislation, e.g., child labor and workmen's compensation, the necessity for uniformity may be less clearly evi dent, but the advantages of model umform acts drawn with the best legal skill obtainable, such

As Mr. Terry justly says: — The time and energies which many of the Commissioners have been giving to this work are beyond price. There remains, however, this consideration: That there are many things which this Conference must have and which it must pay for. There are expenses connected with the administration of this body. Those ex penses, if we are to maintain our independence and individuality, must come from the states which have appointed us as their representatives. From time to time suggestions have been made of ways and means for procuring action on the part of the respective states along these lines, and from time to time such action has been had.

Mr. Terry then calls attention to the good work done by one of our Commis sioners from Illinois,4 who Finding that the legislature of Illinois was not in a mood to make its contribution, in such form as to enable the Commission to avail itself of it, he went to his State Bar Association and stated the purposes of the Commission and the work it was doing, and it contributed to the fund for the general work of this Conference. If we are to maintain our independence and our disinterested action we must have a continuance of that kind of work and we must have ample funds.6

It is gratifying to find that the legal journals and magazines are not oblivious of the importance of our purposes. Two of them have issued special numbers 4 Commissioner MacChcsncy. 5 Central Law Journal, p. 10.

'Green Bag, vol. 23, no. 12; Central Law Journal. vol. 74, no. 1.