From the nature and movement of society in the past, it may be reasonably concluded that whatever wishes are entertained respecting socialism, however strong may be the desires of individuals to see the democratic body of the people control the economic and political affairs of the nation, with an authority in which all shall have equal shares, there still remains the stubborn and unavoidable fact that public management which will be effective in maintaining order and the conditions of social progress, will presume the concentration of administrative power and the necessary surrender of certain individual desires to the common interest, and that, too, whether the ultimate authority is conceived of as residing in the whole body of the people or in a small number.

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LECTURE III.

EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY.

process of organizing laborers and setting them in opposition to employ. ers, the fundamental tendency towards inequality already considered is strengthened and confirmed; and the growth towards unity and compactness of organization, which points towards the realization of some phases of the socialistic ideal, does not appear to set aside this tendency. There are, however, forces in progressive society, which seem to counteract the movement towards inequality, and in some measure help to preserve the basis of democracy. These forces do not tend to put down persons who have become prominent, but contribute opportunities for all to rise. To put down the conspicuous has never been a prominent aim of

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democracy as it has appeared in this country. The spirit of our society has not demanded that the successful shall be overthrown: rather that the accumulated wealth and the accumulated wisdom of the nation shall be so used as to provide opportunities for the advancement of the worthy of whatever origin. As democratic government is the outgrowth of equality, so in its enlightened activity it seeks to preserve equality. In the pursuit of this purpose the public schools furnish its most effective agency. They act as a levelling force, not by pulling down, but by lifting up. In some countries, where the aristocratic spirit is still strong, the richest members of society, who are able now to pay the expenses of educating their sons, object to the introduction of free public instruction, because it would give the sons of the poor opportunities to prepare themselves to compete with the rich, in the professions and in all callings requiring education, and thus rob wealth of one of its advantages; because it would throw down the barrier of inequality, and

clear the way for the ambitious poor to advance. Free public instruction opens to the great mass of the people, to the persons of small fortunes or limited incomes, the opportunity of placing their sons in successful rivalry with those who have the support of great wealth. It is particularly important from this point of view that under democracy all instruction, the highest as well as the lowest, should be free, since the highest form of instruction is of all the most costly and the most difficult for individual effort to furnish. If all the lower schools were free, and university instruction were supported by the fees of students, this order of things would constitute an insurmountable obstacle to the poor and to all persons of inferior incomes; it would give us that condition of affairs which makes the member of the aristocracy rejoice that his sons are released from the necessity of competing with the poor. A free university is, therefore, the best expression of the democratic spirit in an enlightened society. In obedience to the demands of true democracy, the high

est instruction must not only be free, but it must also be equal to the best. The university of a democratic commonwealth must, therefore, be a great university, in order that those who are unable to go to the conspicuous centres of learning in foreign countries, may be as well equipped in knowledge and training as their rivals, who have been able to avail themselves of all the advantages the world has to offer. Thus the great and free university stands as the most efficient contributor to equality on the higher planes of existence.

A monarchy may exist in stability, even though the great body of the people is corrupt; but the continuance of democratic institutions, with whatever advantages they possess, requires not only the preservation of equality, but also the the maintenance of a high standard of public morals and private virtue. To every lover of the liberty of his country therefore, it is of the first importance that all the forces which tend to enlighten and clarify the mind should be upheld and magnified. It is sometimes affirmed that there is a complete