procedure and trial than have the courts of this country. Some Western
States have crudely tried to meet the difficulty, as by providing that
all judges must render an opinion within sixty days, or other brief
period, after a case is argued before them, or even by limiting the
number of witnesses to be called! But it may be feared that so long
as public sentiment rather demands every possibility of evasion of
execution than that a guilty person should be promptly and summarily
punished, little can be hoped for from the legislatures. Such progress
as has been made in this direction has universally been under the
urgent instance of the lawyers themselves, acting through the State
or Federal bar associations. But the judges themselves must venture a
stricter control of irrelevant testimony.

XV

OTHER LEGISLATION AFFECTING INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

Legislation concerning freedom of speech and its limitations, the
law of slander and libel, hardly exists in America, except only
the efforts of newspapers to be free of the consequences of libels
published by them, provided they publish a retractation; and the
efforts of the people to protect their reputation and right to
privacy, as by laws like that of the State of Pennsylvania prohibiting
ridiculous or defamatory cartoons, even of persons in public life; and
the legislation already attempted in some States to prohibit the use
of a person's likeness for advertising purposes, or to protect them
from the kodak fiend, or even to establish a general right to privacy
as to their doings, engagements, social entertainments, etc., when
they are of no legitimate interest to the public. Legislation in these
directions has, however, only made a beginning.

The newspaper-libel laws usually provide that the retractation shall
be a defence to a libel suit, at least if published in as large a type
and in as conspicuous a manner as the original article complained of;
sometimes they only provide that in such cases the newspaper shall be
relieved of all but actual damages. The wisdom of such legislation is
questionable, as the old adage runs: "A lie will travel around the
world while the truth is putting on its boots"; moreover, it is
questionable whether they are not class legislation in extending to a
certain form of business or a certain trade a protection which is not
extended to others. There has been much legislation preventing
the advertising of patent medicines, immoral remedies,