The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-11-13
Copyright 1906. by Joseph 3. Bowie.
-COpyriSht in Great Britain
All Rights RescrVed.)

Lincoln. Neb.. oct. 1S.-Each local
ity has its questions Of interest; each
state has subjects which arouse ais
cuSSiOn; each nation has it's issues of
paramount Importance, and the world
has it's problems. There are transient
questions which come and go and
questions which. like TenAy&OnS brook
go on and on forever" Each genera
ton. in each country meets the issues
presented by conditions but all the
nations of the earth are constantly
graphing with problems universal in
their scope and everlasting in duration
In his famouSe Grafton at Gettysburg,
Abraham Lincoln spoke of an "un-
finished work which those buried
there had promoted, and to which the
living should dedicate themselves.
every generation finds unfinished work
when it enters upon llfe'S stage am!
leaves the work unfinished when 1t
departs.
The work Of the civilization is ever
an unfinished one Tor the reason that
new problems present themselves as
soon as present ones kave been solved
IN our trip around The world, we have
had an opportunity to note some of the
problems which most concern all peo-
pie at all times. The first concerns
the legitimate sphere of the gov
crnmenJ-What should the government
acting for all the people do. and what
should be left to the Individual? This
subject is under consideration in every
civilized nation. and no two nations
have reached the same solution.
At the two extremes stand the indi-
NidualiSt and the s0cialist-the former
jealousy guarding the Individual ani
opposing any encro&chmentS upon his
sphere of action. the latter emphasiZ-
ing the work OF the state and seeking
to convert the work of production and
The work Of distribution into state
functions. Between these extremes
stand the mass of the people govern
cd NOR" by the eXigenCieS Of each in
diVidual case than by the theories pax
forward by individual and socialist,
Ia some direction the countries of Eu-
rope and Asia have extended the sphere
of government beyond anything known
in the United states. in some re
spects our government has enlarged I
the sphere of the state beyond any
thing attempted in the old world but
rather than 10 diminish the sphere Of
the states activities.
In the United States the public
school IS probably the best illustrG-
ton of extensive cooperation on the
part of the public. We regard the
education Of the people as a matter
of public Importance-So vital a mat
ter. in fact, that we no longer de-
pend upon the private school. Th@
private school has its place. and its
establishment Is encouraged by To-
calities and regarded with favor by
the government, but the people, act
ing as whole insist that the school;
door shall be open To every child born
into the country. In the last quarter
Of a century much advance has been
made in the establishment by the
public Of technical schools. such as
law schools. medical colleges. dentis-
try schools. industrial schools and agri-
cultural colleges, probably the creates:
comparatiVlye advance has been
made in the matter of agricuI-
tural colleges and experiment. stations
In Europe the public school system
is spreading more rapidly in northern
than in southern Europe, but not
less surely in southern Europe. In
Asia the people are just beginning to
recognize education as a public func-
tOn-a part Of the states work. In
Japan public instruction has for some
years been modelled after the systems
employed in the United States and
Europe. In Asia the public school is
of more modern origin, but some idea
of the rapidity with which the public