interpreting these, and with the legislation and experience of other states and nations. Springing from this is the movement for more efficient bill drafting through the employment of experts and "revisers of statutes," whose duty it is to keep a careful oversight over the statutes of the state and to be able to draft necessary statutes in a thoroughly scientific manner.1 The need for this expert service is plainly obvious since it is claimed that almost one-half of the (civil) litigation of the country involves the construction of statutes and constitutions and that the greater part of this could be avoided if only statutes were skillfully drawn. 1 Many states have expert service in bill drafting through their reference bureaus or libraries, but special officials or agencies are employed in New York, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Colorado, Vermont. CHAPTER XVIII CONSTITUTIONAL REGULATION OF IMPORTANT It is said that Americans are prone to assert dogmatically their opinions on all subjects of which they are ignorant, and to be diffident in matters with which they are fully conversant. The point of this saying can be appreciated by one who seeks to ascertain how conventions regulate important interests. Most of these interests are in process of rapid development, for, through the multiplication of machinery and wider scientific knowledge, the conditions of life change with wonderful suddenness, as compared with the slow changes of earlier centuries. Yet conventions dogmatically fix in the fundamental law provisions that must be largely superseded in a very few years. The articles on corporations for instance, placed in the constitutions of Virginia and Oklahoma, both of which can be amended only with great difficulty, and Louisiana's lengthy and detailed articles on its judicial organization, no matter how excellent these may all be, yet will surely need frequent amendment. For such reasons the work of conventions in respect to the regulation of social and economic interests is the least satisfactory of all their labors. There are few specialists, if any, who would with alacrity undertake to write out for a state constitution a detailed system of taxation, of finance, or education; of regulation for corporations, common carriers, or banks; or to define a policy toward labor, or state ownership of monopolies, or control over mining interests. All such matters must of course receive most careful attention from conventions, but the question is rather whether such attention should not confine itself chiefly to the formulation of general principles, to a tentative outline for a system of regulation, leaving details to the legislature, and then to pay much more attention to methods whereby a higher grade of officials and legislators may be secured. If, for illustration, the quality of membership in the legislatures could be raised; if the numerous departments, commissions, and boards were consolidated and unified, the salaries of heads trebled and civil service rules adopted; real economy would result, and efficiency be greatly increased. Conventions should recognize that much of their work is at the best transitory, and that if they persist in preparing lengthy and detailed constitutions, the method of amendment should be proportionately simple. An unchangeable constitution in these days is a haven of safety for spoilsmen, a handicap to progress, and an insult to the spirit of a progressive democracy. The question now arises, what important interests seem on the whole to have been emphasized in the existing constitutions? The following paragraphs will present these in order. LOCAL BODIES POLITIC1 It seems plain from the constitutions that the town system of New England is dying. It is not imitated outside of that section, and within that section is in a condition of inefficiency and decrepitude. The real unit in the 1 For careful study of local areas in states, see, Reed's Territorial Basis, in Bibliography. United States is the county, which in thinly settled states is cut up into administrative districts, and these gradually become townships as population multiplies. These townships may become integral parts of the county and have a large share of local autonomy though under the general supervision of the county. The urban center has two distinct organizations, the village and the large city. There is first the village, borough, town or petty city, organized under general law in almost all the states, and having a small compact population under a simple form of government. Lastly comes the incorporated city of large size, either organized by special charter, or in classes by general law, or authorized by constitution to form their own charters, subject to the constitution and general statutes of the states. When Mr. Bryce in his "American Commonwealth" charged the municipalities of the United States with corruption and inefficiency,' there were even then many signs of change. Since that time no field of political activity in the states has received so much attention. Conventions fortunately have not yet ventured to insert in state constitutions drafts of city charters, though California's constitution comes dangerously near to it with a seven thousand word article on Counties, Cities and Towns, but there has been a steady movement looking to the insertion in the constitution of provisions securing to local bodies politic a large amount of local autonomy.2 Relatively, state constitutions with occasional exceptions, do not devote much space to local government. In some, 1In Vol. I. chap. LI, ed. 1888. 2 The best studies of recent changes can be made from the constitution of California, Article XI, as amended, 1914; Michigan, Article VIII, and Ohio, amendments forty and thirty-seven, 1912. the county is not even mentioned, its existence being assumed; Oklahoma by contrast names and bounds in the constitution each county. Between these two extremes there are naturally wide variations. It is common to set a minimum area and population; to regulate changes in county seats and boundaries; to provide for the filling by election of certain designated offices, chiefly administrative and judicial; and to place limitations on taxation and indebtedness. Counties are often given the option of dividing their areas into townships. It is generally provided that counties, townships and villages be organized under general laws and legislatures forbidden to pass special legislation in such matters. California by amendment, 1911, permits each county on petition to elect a board of freeholders authorized to form a charter for the county, which will go into effect on approval of the citizens, and of the next legislature approving as a whole, without alteration. Four states provide that on vote a municipality may become a county, or else that county and city organizations and areas be combined. Villages if incorporated are regularly incorporated under general law, but the recent changes in Michigan and Ohio2 permit villages also to form their own charters on petition. In the case of villages and cities there are regularly regulations in respect to taxation, indebtedness, sinking funds and franchises, the newer amendments securing to municipalities a proper control over their franchises and public utilities. This is part of the larger movement aiming to secure to cities a reasonable amount of home rule or local autonomy. This is accomplished by inserting in the constitutions provisions aiming (1) to secure a proper 1 California, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri. |