them the standards of conduct must be expressed in law, and penalties must be provided for their violation.

Thus it is customary to pay back what one borrows; for if you do not pay back you soon cannot borrow. But to keep industry moving, money, for instance, must frequently be loaned to strangers. Unless such debts could be collected by force of law, modern industry could not be carried on. Hence the laws provide that the government may seize and sell the property of the debtor to repay the creditor if the debtor refuses to pay his debts.

Character and good repute are the greatest assets individuals can have. We scorn the malicious gossip and we taboo the person who tells untruths about others. But something more is needed. For there are those who will not be controlled by such methods. We therefore pass libel laws by which the courts may compel the person committing libel to pay a sum of money in damages to the person whose good repute he has defamed. Law encourages people to be socially dependable.

An Illustration. Let us illustrate just how the demand for laws grows. Many people in a given city die from typhoid fever. Health officials trace the epidemic to milk. They find that a person with a light case of typhoid is milking cows, and from him the typhoid germs are getting into the milk.

The doctors point out that pasteurization of milk will prevent the spread through milk, not only of typhoid, but of other milk-borne diseases, such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, and septic sore throat. We have already learned in Chapter III that milk is pasteurized by heating it to 145° F. and holding this temperature for thirty minutes. To prevent future outbreaks of typhoid a proposal is made that the city pass an ordinance or law that all milk sold shall be pasteurized. Public discussion follows in the newspapers, on the streets, and in the homes.

One person objects to pasteurization because it "destroys"

cream. This is refuted at once by those who are informed, for of course the temperature required for pasteurization, far below boiling, cannot destroy cream. If milk is heated to 150° F. or above, not so much cream will rise to the surface. But the cream is still there. And it is not necessary to heat milk to a temperature quite as high as 150° in order to kill the germs of the milk-borne diseases. When milk is properly pasteurized the cream line is not affected.

Next comes the "small" milk dealer who claims that

Modern dairies take the precaution of treating all milk by this process to prevent the spread of disease.

pasteurization is a scheme of the "large" milk dealer to drive him out of business and thus place the public at the mercy of a "milk trust." Investigation proves that the cost of pasteurizing milk is not prohibitive to the small dealer. The cost of handling milk per quart decreases as the volume handled increases. This rule applies to bottling and to retailing as well as to pasteurization. The added cost of pasteurization, however, is not sufficient alone to cause concentration in milk distribution.

The next objection, that pasteurization will add to the

cost of milk, is met with the fact that the cost of pasteurizing is but a fraction of a cent a quart, and that this cost is not large when compared with the first cost alone, or the expense of the sickness that will be prevented by pasteurization.

A final objection is now offered, that pasteurization of milk causes scurvy. To this the nutrition experts reply that a little orange juice in the baby's diet will correct any tendency of pasteurized milk to cause scurvy.

These objections met, and the general opinion being favorable, a bill is drawn and presented to the proper legislative body. After committee hearings the bill is enacted into law. This story of the safeguarding of health through the pasteurization of milk is fairly typical of the fight that has to be waged over each attempt to safeguard life and health and the general welfare.

A Fair Chance to Make a Living. We learned in Chapter VIII about the changes in the means of making a living that have come in the past century. The introduction of machinery makes it possible to have large factories. Such large establishments have great power to determine working conditions and wages. To assure fair treatment to workers many laws are demanded and passed.

Again, large businesses may unite to control prices or to control the supply of raw materials. Such a combination we call a monopoly. Other men in the same business do not like such monopolies. Consumers, too, object to them when they extort unfair prices. So we have a demand for laws preventing monopolies. The law on this subject passed by the national government we have already referred to as the Sherman Law. Every state also has laws on this subject.

These are examples of conditions which demand laws as remedies or preventives.

Public Opinion and Law. Laws that declare public policies are the creation of public opinion. Public opinion is the social judgment reached by the public, after rational

and free discussion, on a question of public importance. Not all such judgments find expression in law; but many do. Often these public judgments require a new or a better standard of public policy.

Not all laws go through the clarifying process of public discussion. To be sure, it is not necessary that all should. In some matters, such as commercial law, it may be

PRESIDENT WILSON ADDRESSING CONGRESS

A joint session of the Senate and House on the historic occasion when Woodrow Wilson urged that the United States recognize that a state of war existed with Germany, April 2, 1917.

important only that a rule be declared for the guidance of business men. Just what that rule is may not be important. Groups of one kind or another, however, may contrive to have laws passed by the legislature that are opposed to public interest and that could never have gone through had there been opportunity for public discussion. The privileges thus secured are often referred to as "special privilege."

The judgments we make through our laws characterize us

as a city, a state, or a nation. These decisions, therefore, should be wholesome and far-sighted. The best guarantee of this is public discussion, both during the enactment of laws and while they are being enforced.

TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION

1. Give some illustrations of:

(a) Customs in your community;

(b) Traditions.

2. Go over the rules of your school and explain the reason for each rule.

3. Name some rules that you think would make your school better and tell why.

4. What laws are being discussed in the newspapers of the day? Does this discussion have any bearing on the kind of laws passed? 5. Name three important laws that are enforced in your community. Try to answer the following questions as to each of these: (a) Why was the law passed?

(b) What has the law accomplished?

(c) Do any people desire the repeal of the law? Why?
(d) Is the law enforced? Why?

SUGGESTED READINGS FOR COMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Starr's First Steps in Human Progress: Chapter XXVI, Custom and Law.

2. Call for a report based on Williamson's discussion of Public Opinion in Chapter XXXVIII of his Readings in American Democracy.

Make these reports the basis for a class discussion as to the part played by custom and public opinion in the demand for laws.

3. Van Loon's Story of Mankind explains Medieval Self-Government.

4. Ely and Wicker's Elementary Principles of Economics discusses economic legislation and the sentiment for it.

These reports will enable the class to discuss intelligently the demand for laws because of existing economic and social conditions, and the part played by public opinion in the voicing of these demands. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

1. Kipling's Second Jungle Book: The Law of the Jungle.

2. McVenn's Good Manners and Right Conduct: The Wonders of the Jungle.