Too Much Legislation

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 11, 1897

Too Much Legislation

ONE of the prevalent evils of the present day is too much legislation. There is a quite common impression among men that whatever is deemed to be a good idea ought to be made law. Again, in the multitude of legislators throughout the country, nearly every one has the ambition to be the originator of some law. This mania is so prevalent that hardly one-tenth of the measures introduced in Congress or in the various State Legislatures ever find place in the statute books. The Oakland Enquirer touched the point in referring to a bill requiring certain precautions in operating mines, when it said: “The Assembly has passed a bill which shows to what extent legislation is coming to be relied on to supply people with common sense and ordinary prudence, such as ought to be everybody’s birthright by nature.” Another item which shows to what a fine point legislation is tending, is a bill to regulate the width of wagon tires. All this tendency to parentalism in government is fast sapping away the independence of the people, and preparing them for that condition of supposed imbecility wherein it will be deemed necessary to prescribe their education and their religion by law.