There is little one can do to review Albert Jay Nock’s The Book of Journeymen, Foseti says, except to quote his wonderfully quotable work:
The Russians are the best off of almost any people in the world in one respect, which is that their laws are not made for them by lawyers. Hence they have very few laws, and those few are easily intelligible. I was reading the translation of one the other day, and remarked its simplicity and ease. One could not read any clause of it without knowing not only what it meant, but the only thing it could mean….Russia has a healthy tradition towards lawyers, dating from Peter the Great. On a visit to England, he was dumfounded at seeing so many of them about, and said, “Why, there are only two lawyers in my whole kingdom, and I intend to hang one of them the minute I get back.” A proportionate mortality among American lawyers — whether brought about in the same way or not — would be a great benefit to the country; and this mortality should include all lawyers — legislators and lawyer-judges. Then the idea of justice might begin to pervade our courts.
It is quite an education in Americanism to follow our court-reports a while, and notice how seldom any one goes to a court for justice. I think I never heard of one who sought a court save for gain or revenge; and obviously, justice is the last thing considered under our legal system.