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those fundamental principles for the pro tection of property, to make the regula tion strong and effective and I believe the courts will so solve these propositions as to effectuate this end, because otherwise we may be followed by the calamity of public ownership. Whatever we may think of the theories of some prominent men to-day on that question, divided ownership between the state and federal government t with conflicting rights of control, to my mind is impossible. Whether there can be divided control of instrumentalities engaged in both classes of commerce when we ulti mately come to settle the question of rea sonableness of transportation rates, may yet be open to discussion. But divided owner ship of instrumentalities engaged in both classes of traffic would raise questions of conflict entirely destroying the effectiveness of the remedy. Imagine a railway situated exclusively within a state and incorporated under its laws, engaged in both classes of traffic, owned by the state and partially controlled by the federal government. If public ownership must come, and I earnestly hope it will not, it should be a federal ownership. But it is not the object of government to engage in business and occupations which should be freely open to all the people, and it is not for the interests of the people to increase the army of purely dependent government employees. Public service should not be despised; it should reflect honor upon those so employed, and while compensation should be, as far as possible, commensurate with the duties performed, the primary object of the service should be for the good of the state. Laying aside the tremendous influence in politics and the degenerating effect upon the public service which a great army of employees engaged in operating the railroads of the country, would exercise, it is against the interests of the country from a purely economic and educational standpoint. Great nations do not grow from dependent and subservient people. It is against the spirit
of the age; it is contrary to the teachings of our institutions and the examples of human progress. Government in legislation and administration should be free from selfish and sordid motives. It can only be so when the citizen has at heart just laws of government and high ideals as to their execution. The larger the number of elec tors engaged in public service in a purely business capacity, the greater the selfishness and the less effective the administration. But this is undoubtedly a question of political economy. The proposition that confronts the lawyer, and especially the judges, is how to effectuate in harmony with constitutional methods and the advanced ideas of the age, the regulation of rates of transportation which are necessary to the commercial equality and prosperity of the people, and take away the cause of the agita tion for public ownership. If we fail in this, we shall lower the standard of our profession. But we shall not fail. There are other questions which to-day are agitating the public mind, and receiv ing wide attention, which, perhaps, do not interest the lawyer more than those engaged in other vocations, except that his training and his opportunities peculiarly fit him to take an active part in these reforms. I refer more particularly to corruption in public life and political methods, and to that seem ingly lax morality exhibited by many in great commercial and financial enterprises. The exposure of these methods and the agitation of these questions do not indicate a more cor rupt condition than in other times, but they are rather a hopeful indication of an awakened sentiment to higher ideals in business and public service, and they are the most hopeful signs of the times. I can but allude to some phases of these ques tions in passing. I believe that we should by law prohibit corporations from making political subscriptions, and that we should all take an interest in enforcing the laws as they now stand, against the use of money directly or indirectly, to influence official
