to better legislation through work of this kind—that the best way is to help directly the man who makes the laws. Everything which will help him to grasp and understand the great economic problems of the day in their fullest significance, the legislative remedies which can be applied and the legislative limitations which exist is brought to his attention. The legislator is a busy man; he has no time to read. His work is new to him; he is beset with routine; he is obliged to hold conferences with his friends upon political matters; he is besieged by office-seekers and lobbyists and he has no time for study. If he does not investigate for himself, he often is deceived by those who are seeking the accomplishment of their own selfish ends. Therefore, we can be of the greatest service to him, if we index, digest and make as clear as possible all kinds of information.
A large library is likely to fail in this because it is of too general a nature and too cumbersome. Everything in such a department should be directly to the point. It should be a depository for all sorts of documents relating to any phase of legislation from all the states, the federal government and particularly from foreign countries like England, Australia, France, Germany and Canada. Here one would be able to obtain a law upon any subject or a case upon any law very quickly. Therefore, it is very convenient to have this room near a good law library. Books are generally behind the times, so
