GENERAL PRINCIPLES 13 
result; perhaps there are conditions where a 
proper use of a leash would secure perfect protec- 
tion to the public. * * * Under the circum- 
stances it seems to me quite illogical to urge that 
the ordinance bears no reasonable and direct rela- 
tion to its purpose. Consequently the court must 
hold that it comes fairly within the power of the 
board of health, even though the court might feel, 
which it by no means desires to intimate, that it 
might have found other means less annoying to 
dog owners which might prove equally effective. 
* * * Tt is the duty of the court to give an 
ordinance, where possible, such construction as 
would not render it unconstitutional.’ 18 
It is also the duty of the courts to prevent ex- 
cess of other officers, to see that they do what is 
required of them by law, and that they do their 
work in proper form. It is their duty also to judge 
between man and man, and to punish evildoers.’® 
8. Acts Must Not Be Arbitrary. Arbitrary 
action is the result of will, rather than of reason. 
It is the method used by tyrants in government, 
whether the tyranny may be shown by a single 
king, or by a temporary majority of the people. 
For this reason even the semblance of arbitrari- 
ness is shunned in American governments. The 
executive officer must show reason in the applica- 
tion of the law, and he must not use his position 
for the purpose of gaining some personal advan- 
tage over another. So the wording of a statute 
or ordinance must show that it is based upon a 
18 People ex rel. Knoblauch v. 19 PuBLIc HEALTH, Chap. V. 
Warden of City Prison, 153 N. 
Y. Sup. 463. 
