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8 A.B.A. J. 470 (1922)
Attitude of the Law Toward Beauty

handle is hein.journals/abaj8 and id is 490 raw text is: THE ATTITUDE OF THE LAW TOWARD BEAUTY Evidence That Courts Are Giving Aesthetic Values More and More Consideration and That the Police Power Is Gradually Being Developed in Reference to Them By HENRY P. C-ANDLER Of the Chicago, Illinois, Bar IN recent years the 'courts have had occasion more and more frequently to pass upon so-called aesthetic considerations affecting municipal ordi- nances. The attitude of the courts is so important, particularly in connection with movements now gen- eral in this country, to promote the amenities of com- munity life by city planning and zoning that it is pertinent to inquire into it. What is the judicial atti- tude toward beauty? I. On first impression no two terms would seem to be mord incongruous than beauty and the law. Beauty is an expression of the aspiration of the individual in- stinct with fancy and originality. Law is a rule of the work-a-day world, an expression of the settled opinion. of the mass, which plods well behind the gifted spirits who give us beauty. Beauty is like science and religion in emphasizing the individual. For the scientist there is no law except the truth as he sees it, and the dicta of multitudes of men are of noforce except as they conform with this standard. When Galileo was convinced that the earth moved around the sun, the traditional opinion, though centuries old and supported by the fiat of the church, could not establish for him the contrary. For the genu- ine follower of religion his own conscience is the real monitor. Likewise for the devotee of beauty, the dominant motive is to realize the conception of har- mony and rhythm that is in him as a being unique, dis- tinctive. But law is not made by the individual. Law is the sum of rules imposed upon the individual to which hd must conform whether he likes it or not. Law is the limit beyond which self-expression of the individual is not permitted. Hence it has been assumed down to recent times that beauty and the law are merely separate concerns of life which exist independently and have nothing to do with each other. To a large extent this is still the case. There is evident today, however, a tendency to- ward what we may- call the socialization of beauty which brings into question the previous attitude of the law. Even the stoutest individualist realizes the trend toward common provision for -many of the needs of life which onde every man supplied for himself. The water system and light company have taken the place of the private well and candle or lamp. Whether the title to the utility be in the public or privately owned is immaterial for the present purpose. Even if pri- vately owned, the utility is subject to public regulation and it constitutes a public agency for meeting a need which was once regarded as wholly private. The dif- ficulty of individual action in the face of increasing congestion of population, and the large capital invest- ment necessary to take advantage of modern inven- tions, both tend toward the same end. When popula- tion was sparse, it was comparatively easy for each householder to dig a well in which the water would be pure. When neighbors came closer the old-fash- ioned well liecame unsanitary and a source of danger, and community sewer and water systems were the solution. Likewise a man can provide a kerosene lamp for himself, but if he wants electric light he must generally, as a practical matter, combine with his neighbors. Something of the same need has become evident in the effort of the individual to attain beauty in his environment. In 1880 less than one-third of the people of the United States- were classed by the census bureau as urban (meaning by that living in communities of more than 2,500 inhabitants). In 1920 the proportion of the population which was urban had increased to more than half, 51.9 per cent to be exact. This means that the land available for the ordinary individual in con- nection with his home has become very much less than formerly. In cities the price of land is too high to permit use generally for lawns, trees or flowers. In the less settled areas the appropriation of woods and streams for industry has made inroads upon sites of natural beauty. The water power of Niagara has been harnessed and it is with increasing difficulty that the national parks in the west are protected against indus- trial exploitation. Not only is the land available for beauty in city and country thus diminishing, but the close proximity in which people live today interposes obstacles to the attainment of beauty. The owner of residence prop- erty may strive as hard as he will to make it attractive, set his dwelling well back, provide ample ground with lawn and trees in front; still his aim may be frustrated by his next door neighbor, who is more interested in getting the -maximum amount of rentable space and income-return than he is in beauty, and accordingly projects an apartment building to the street line. For- merly when land holdings were comparatively large, if one had a neighbor with whose taste he did not agree, he might find relative seclusion on his own property and forget the adjoining owner, but today our neighbors are too much with us-we cannot escape. At every turn we realize that for the in- dividual to try to attain beauty in the development of his property, acting alone, is almost hopeless. Along with the increasing obstacles to the attain- ment of beauty by the individual, there has begun an education of the public in the appreciation of it. In the schools of our forefathers studies were mainly utilitarian. Training in the arts is of a later date. Today it occupies no inconsiderable place in the curri- cula, with the result that there is being instilled into the younger generation a regard for beauty both in buildings and landscape, a sense of color and line that calls for expression. At the very time that circum- stances are making the attainment of beauty difficult except through common action, the demand for it is increasing and must increase if the finer traits of civilization are not to be lost. It is important then

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