THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY 67 



Nepotism and other forms of favoritism now and then determine pre- 

 ferment, but large enterprises have -usually been free from these 

 influences. The sixth is the wholesome effect which comes from doing 

 things in the open. The tendency to insist upon publicity in corporate 

 and public management is strong. 



Publicity exposes not only wickedness but also folly and bad judgment. It 

 makes crime and political corruption more difficult and less attractive. The 

 forger, burglar and corruptionist need secrecy, for two reasons: first, that they 

 may succeed in their crimes; and secondly, that they may enjoy the fruits of their 

 wickedness. The most callous sinner finds it hard to enjoy the product of his sin 

 if he knows that everybody is aware how he came by it. No good cause ever 

 suffered from publicity; no bad cause but instinctively avoids it. 28 



I am not unmindful of the perils which attend the period upon 

 which we have entered. Some of them have been alluded to in the 

 course of these pages. In addition I will mention the following. First, 

 is the prevalence of a superficial habit of reading and thinking. Few 

 college graduates, even, are capable of sustained thought. Many voters 

 read nothing but a party newspaper. Second, is the difficulty which 

 many voters experience in foreseeing the distant consequences of some 

 kinds of political action. Third, is the vice of indifference and irre- 

 sponsibility to which some voters are subject. In a large population, 

 the amount of sovereignty that resides in the individual is so small 

 that he is tempted to wonder if it makes any difference whether he votes 

 or not. Fourth, is the temptation to assume that the majority is invari- 

 ably right, or, at any rate, that it is irresistible and that it is not 

 worth while to try to reverse it. Fifth, the press is interested in selling 

 news and has a certain bias in favor of war. It is therefore tempted to 

 pander to prejudice against foreigners and to foment international 

 ill-feeling. The manufacturers of armor plate and other military sup- 

 plies are subject to the same temptation. These and other perils, how- 

 ever, seem to me for the most part as inevitable as the dangers which 

 attend the young man who leaves home to go to college, or is set adrift 

 in the world to shift for himself. Moreover, they are largely offset by 

 the critical spirit which has taken the place of a blind obedience to 

 authority and precedent among a large number of the population. As 

 responsibility is the making of the man that is in the boy, so political 

 institutions that depend upon the self-control, public spirit and wisdom 

 of the masses tend to bring out the better side of human nature. One 

 can not learn to swim without the perils which attend going into the 

 water. Neither can humanity acquire a larger measure of self-discipline 

 with the aid of democratic institutions without the risk of not making 

 the best use of its opportunities. When the suffrage was enlarged in 

 Great Britain in 1867, Robert Lowe is said to have remarked: "We 

 must now at least educate our new masters." No words are more 

 appropriate at the present juncture in human affairs. 

 28 Charles W. Eliot, op. cit., p. 55. 



