DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES 287 



is abundantly clear that general ignorance menaces an attack 

 not merely on the republic but on civilization. Moreover, it 

 is the Anglo-Saxon way — and we are still largely Anglo-Saxon 

 — to make theories after trying experiments. We are at pres- 

 ent thoroughly committed to the experiment of universal edu- 

 cation. We are hoping to find that it not only imparts infor- 

 mation and shai-pens intellects, but counteracts temptations 

 and lessens crime, increases the earning power of the individual 

 and the effective force of the nation. Few things can be made 

 certain in sociology, but if after a time the prophylactic power 

 of education appears probable, the existence of libraries is 

 justified, for there is no doubt that they are educative. 

 They take up the work where the schools are compelled to lay 

 it down for the majority of the community, and they carry 

 it on through hfe; they are doing this with greater and greater 

 effect as the schools succeed more and more fully in giving to 

 their pupils their best gift — the power of self education. 



