And State Papers H5 



among your neighbors and friends. When men live 

 in a big city they lose touch with one another ; they 

 tend to lose intimate touch with the government, and 

 they get to speak of the state, of the government, as 

 something entirely apart from them. Now the gov 

 ernment is us, here, you and me, and that ought to 

 make us understand on the one hand what we have a 

 right to expect from the government, and on the 

 other hand what it is foolish to expect from the gov- 

 Tnment. We have a right to expect from it that 

 will secure us against injustice; that so far as is 

 humanly possible it will secure for each man a fair 

 chance; that it will do justice as between man and 

 man, and that it will not respect persons; that in 

 that division of the government dealing with justice 

 each man shall stand absolutely on his merits, not 

 being discriminated for or against because of his 

 wealth or his poverty, because of anything but his 

 own conduct. 



The government can take hold of certain func 

 tions which are in the interest of the people as a 

 whole. More than this the government can not 

 do or else does at the risk of doing it badly. 

 The government can not supply the lack in any 

 man of the qualities which must determine in the 

 last resort the man's success or failure. Instead 

 of "government" say "the town." Now what can 

 the town do for you ? A good deal ; but not nearly 

 as much as you can do for it, not nearly as much as 

 you must do for yourself. The government can not 

 make a man a success in life. If we would re- 



