last. It may
carry us into the extreme of personal government, national, State, and
local, or history may repeat itself and we may return to the principle
of frequent elections and direct responsibility to the voters under
the arbitrament of the courts of law. We may go on to special courts
(declared odious in the Great Case of Monopolies) and administrative
law, or be content with improved understanding of the law we already
have.

These matters are too large for us; coming down to more concrete
facts, we find that the general tendencies of legislation upon State,
and particularly municipal, government are to somewhat enlarge its
functions, but considerably to limit its expenditure. Greater distrust
is shown in legislatures, municipal as well as State, and a greater
trust and power reposed in individual heads, and a much greater power
intrusted to more or less permanent boards and commissions, usually
not elective, and often clothed with vast powers not expressly
submitted to the scrutiny of courts of law. The purposes of education
are somewhat extended, generally in the direction of better education,
more technical and practical and less "classical."[1] Charity includes
a largely increased recreation for the people, State provision for
many more classes of the invalid and incompetent, specialized homes
for various sorts of infirm or inebriate, and some little charity in
the guise of bounties of seed, etc., to needy farmers, which latter,
however, have usually been held unconstitutional.

[Footnote 1: Though a lady orator in Boston this year complains to
an audience of labor unionists that trades schools and industrial
education tend to "peasantize" the poor. Peasanthood was the condition
of the agricultural laborer; it was skilled labor that made him
free--neither peasant, peon, nor villein. See p. 20, above.]

Thus, in 1890 North Dakota limits the debt of cities to five per
cent.; but permits county loans to raise seed grain for needy farmers;
other States extend the principle of socialism to electric lighting,
gas, natural gas, water, sewers, agricultural drainage, irrigation,
turnpikes, and cemeteries. That is to say, all may be built,
maintained, or run at the municipal expense, or under municipal
control. In 1895 Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas, and other States
carefully limit State, county, town, or city taxes to prescribed
rates. Texas requires a two-thirds vote on the issue of municipal
bonds, and fixes