Page:The Wisconsin idea (IA cu31924032449252).pdf/274

 The mass of data represented by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the judge uses in the interpretation of law. The mass of data represented by 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, the legislator uses in the making of law. He must not only use what the judge uses but he must also obtain the facts, sociological and critical.

The legislation throughout the world, the model laws, the cases which interpret them, the opinions of administrative officers, the investigation of economists and the statistics of the actual working of laws—a collection of this data is absolutely necessary and especially so to-day, when economic conditions are so constantly shifting and changing.

Of course the above diagram does not tell the whole story. A law is made not by the courts or by the legislature or still less by administrative bodies. It is made by all of these forces. It is good in such proportion as these bodies are efficient and as their procedure is just and rapid.

However strong a statute may be, if its enforcement is subject to tedious delay caused by outworn procedure the law is not so efficient. If a statute fails of enforcement because of the inefficiency of corrupt administrators, then again so much is taken from our law.

It is plain to any one who has read thus far that in Wisconsin we have begun some sort of a systematic study for the improvement of the general conditions affecting