individual responsibility, and initiative spoken of by M. Leroy-Beaulieu. If we turn to our national life, the welfare of which is dependent upon the degree of personal responsibility felt by the average citizen, a less favorable result comes to our attention. There are defects of political and governmental machinery which are apparent to every one. Efforts toward better standards are made, yet there are still preserved, in the methods of government in most of the cities of the land, customs and practices which are not thorough, efficient, and economical, or equal to the methods insisted upon in ordinary business. In private business affairs the progress toward genuine efficiency is more rapid than in national, state, or municipal government. This may be attributed to the lack of a vigorous public opinion insisting that a man in the service of the public shall work just as long and as hard as the man in private business.
The American people are divided in their views about present conditions. The ultra-conservative are content to watch their in-
