The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-11-11

governed more by the exigencies of each individual case than by the theo- rIes put forward by individualist ana socialist. In some directions the coun- tries of Europe and Asia have extend- ed the sphere of government, beyond anything known in the United States, in some respects our government has enlarged the sphere of the state be- yond anything attempted in the old world, but everywhere the tendency IS to extend rather than to diminish the sphere of the States activities.
 In the United States the public school is probably the best illustra- tion of extensive cooperation on the part of the public. We regard the education of the people as matter of public importance-so vital mat ter, in fact, that we no longer de- pend upon the private school. The private school has It's place, and it's establishment is encouraged by To- calities and regarded with favor by the government, but the people, act ing as a whole insist that the school door shall be open to every child born into the country. In the last quarter of a century much a1vance has been made in the establishment by the pub lie of technical schools, such as law schools, medical colleges, dentistry schools industrial schools and agri-
 
 est comparative advance has been made in the matter of agricultural col leges and experiment stations. In Flu rope the public school system is spreading more rapidly in northen than in southern Europe, but not less surely in southern Europe In Asia the people are just beginning to re- cognize education as a public func- tion-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 Eu- rope. In Asia the public school is of more modern origin, but some idea of the rapidity with which the public school is spreading in China may be known from the fact that 4,000 public schools have been established within five years in the district of one of the viceroys.
 Municipal ownership presents am other phase of this subject a century ago comparatively few cities in this country or Europe owned their own water works; now it is the exception that any city of any size relies upon a private corporation for its water supply City lighting is having the same history, although municipalities ton began later than with the water works. Now comes the question of | street car lines, and as the same prin- l ciples apply, the same inevitable trend toward municipal ownership Is notice able. The experience of all the cities | has been practically the same first, liberal franchise to induce the estab- lishments of water, light or street car plants; second, efforts at regulation and restriction, made futile by the cor | rupt influence of the franchise com panies; third, municipal ownership as a protection to the people and as a means of purifying politics. In the | extent to which municipal ownership | has been carried Great Britain leads 1 the world, although in other countries some cities like Vienna have rivaled the cities of Great Britain.
 In nearly all of the countries of Europe and Asia the telegraph lines are now owned by the government, and in most of the cities the telephone 1 system Is also owned by the public
 It is hardly necessary to say that in all countries Of any standing the mail