URBAN AND RURAL LIFE 257 



nature, to a simpler and less artificial kind of living; and also in the 

 shadow of sentiment is an industrial situation which is steadily losing 

 its antagonism to this instinct. 



Furthermore, at the very moment when the forces of decentraliza- 

 tion begin to make themselves manifest to the keen observer, a deter- 

 mined demand for governmental regulation of railroad rates appears. 

 Eailroads, as everybody understands, have played an important role in 

 assisting the enormous growth of population at certain geographical 

 points; they have undoubtedly wielded the power to build up towns 

 and cities, or of retarding their development. Eailroad companies 

 have often exhibited a disposition to punish the small town, particu- 

 larly if its location is such that there is little or no competition in 

 regard to transportation. While electric lines offer indeed a partial 

 remedy for this unfortunate situation, measures directly affecting the 

 steam lines are needed, if this discrimination is to be entirely removed. 

 If the United States government is in the future to take an active part 

 in the control of railroads and the regulation of railroad rates, the 

 people must decide whether centralizing or decentralizing forces shall 

 be aided by the railroads, whether the large city shall be favored over 

 the smaller one or the town, and whether the large shipper shall be 

 permitted to receive special privileges in the shape of reduced rates on 

 large or frequent shipments or for goods shipped under peculiar condi- 

 tions, as, for example, in private cars. In the discussion of railroad- 

 rate regulation the question of the treatment of small towns as com- 

 pared with that accorded to cities ought not to be ignored. If rail- 

 road rates are to be determined or modified by governmental action 

 with a view of benefiting the general public, we must decide whether 

 the suburban type is desirable in the immediate future. We must, 

 knowingly or unknowingly, stand for or against centralization of pop- 

 ulation and manufacture. Shall we use the power to regulate freight 

 and passenger rates so as to accelerate or retard the growth of the sub- 

 urbs ? What is to be our attitude on this question ? Shall we use the 

 forces of legislation so as to act with or contrary to those economic and 

 physical forces which are building up the suburbs, and which work 

 unceasingly to mold our civilization into the suburban type ? 



As mankind becomes more highly civilized, wants become more 

 numerous and varied. In a century, the civilized world has been 

 advanced from a condition of penury to one of plenty ; life is now more 

 complex. The luxury of yesterday is the simple life of to-day. 

 Eequisitions for food, clothing and shelter are supplemented by de- 

 mands for intellectual, social and esthetic enjoyment. Since machine 

 production is employed chiefly in satisfying the demand for the com- 

 mon necessities of life, and because skilled and artistic work is neces- 

 sary to create those articles and to furnish the services which partic- 



VOL. LXVTn. — 17. 



