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Show BUREAUCRATIC GOVERNMENT One of the most significant political tendencies of the times in America is the rise of sentiment against the further increase of the power of the federal government. There can be little doubt that the government at Washington has taken, over activities that were little dreamed of by the framers of the constitution. In fact, as every school boy knows, the constitution, was designed de-signed and adopted only because there seemed no other way out. The articles of confederation had proved ineffective and there was danger that the country would break up into thirteen jealous states which would easily become the prey of the designing powers of Europe. At first, therefore, the danger was not that we might have a bureaucratic government, but that we might have no government at all. It has only been within the past two or three decades that the federal government has taken so many advances into the field of governmental activities which had heretofore been regarded as the peculiar province of the states. All sorts of societies and organizations have been formed to get the government to do things which these well-meaning persons have been unable to get some of the states to do. As a result many different bureaus have grown up at Washington, apparently responsible respon-sible to no one but their own sweet will. This has made neither for economy nor efficiency in government. But now the time of reaction seems to be at hand and men of all political parties are protesting against the establishment cf any more paternalistic bureaus in Washington. It is not only that these bureaus are expensive. There is danger that the people will forget to do things for themselves. Senator Bingham, of Connecticut recently summed up thia danger in the following well-chosen words: "If we take away from the communities the power of lecal self-government their ability to govern themselves wi;l atrophy. Eventually our system of government will fall because the citizens have neither ability to think nor power to act as responsible citizens. "Let us aim to give our localities more responsioility rather than less. "Far better is it for him to be independent and make mistakes mis-takes than to be free from mistakes and dependent on the wisdom of a highly centralized government. As a matter of fact a citize:: without responsibility ceases to be a citizen and becomes a subject. In our country we do not want subjects; we want citizens." The day has passed when there is any danger of our government govern-ment breaking up int;p aj number of independent states. What we must see to now is that the federal government does not take over too many of the functions of local government. Fortunately, however, how-ever, the people are becoming awakened to the danger. |