The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1935-04-18

one so fit to
\ .'Ss'SS conduct any
Lewis Haney business as
those who are personally inter
ested in it,"
~ 1t is desirable, says Mill,
that the individual citizens
should run businesses "as .
means to their own mental
education" 1t strengthens
their faculties, exercises their
judgments, and brings them
knowledge of affairs.
Government operations tend.
to be everywhere alike. With
individuals and voluntary assO-
Citations, on the contrary, there
are varied experiments, and
endless diversity of experience"
The business of government
should be to enable individual
experiments to benefit by the ex-
perience of others. instead OF
tolerating to experiments but its
own"
3. "The greatest of all reasons
against government interior.
ence," says Mill, sis the great
evil of adding unnecessarily
to its power" This is the
danger of bureaucracy. 1t is
this point which 1 would en-
phaSiZe.
Every function taken on by
government causes more of the
active and ambitious part of the
public to become mere hangreS'
on of government, or Of some
party which aims to become the
Government.
Listen to Mill: eff the roads,
the railways, the banks, the in.
Surance offices, the great joint
stock companies, the universities,
and the public charities. were
all of them branches of the Gov.
eminent.
IF, in addition, the municipal
corporations and local boards
became departments of the CEN
trail administration.
IF the employees of all these
were appointed and paid by the
Government, and looked to the
Government for every rise in
life"
Then, he says, "NOt all the free.
dom Of the press and popular
constitution of the legislature
would make this or any other
country free otherwise than in
name."
And not this: Mill goes on to
reason that the more skillful and
scientific the administration Of
such bureaucracy, the greater
the danger.
He says eff indeed all the high
talent of the country could
could is underlinedD be drawn
into the service of the Govern
ment, a proposal tending to
bring about that result might
well inspire uneasiness."
Why? Because then there
would be a "brain trust" As
Mill puts it, "AlI the enlarged
culture and practiced intelli-
gence in the country would be
concentrated in a numerous
bureaucracy, to whom alone the
rest of the community would
look for all things"
The able would seek to rise by
getting positions in the bureau
cracy. The outside public would
become Unqualified to criticise or
check it.
"No reform can be effected
which is contrary to the inter
est of the bureaucracy"
Mill suggests some results:
"The public, accustomed to
expect everything to be done
for them by the State, natur.
ally hold the State responsible
for all evil which befallS them,
and when the evil exceeds
their amount of patience, they
rise against the government,
and make what is called a
revolution.
"WhereupOn somebody else,
with or without legitimate
authority from the nation,
vaults into the seat, issues his
orders to the bureaucracy, and
everything goes on much as it
did before; the bureaucracy
being unchanged, and nobody
else being capable of taking
their place."
Why is the army of govern.
ment employees growing? Why il
there a real estate boom in
Washington? Why do our mayors
run to the capital?
Is Mr.. Roosevelt building q
bureaucracy for Mr.. Long to use2
Many questions are suggested.