Land Problems and National Welfare 



Webb ought to carry the greatest weight with 

 politicians. 



Mr. and Mrs. Webb have devoted many years 

 to the study of the principles of government 

 and their practical administration ; and though 

 they are the founders of what I think may be 

 termed the leading society of scientific Socialists 

 in the world, they are so unsocialistic in the 

 ordinary acceptation of the word that they are 

 fully alive to the danger of creating a class of 

 petty officials — mere Jacks in office — than which 

 nothing could be more harmful to a country. 

 They also strongly advocate the encourage- 

 ment of voluntary work in every direction, and 

 of private experiment — for in the realm of social 

 reform a private individual can do his most 

 useful work by experiment. If the experiment 

 is really successful the individual must, however, 

 expect the State to step in, take up his work 

 and extend it throughout the country as only 

 the State can do : and he should feel no jealousy 

 of the so-called interference, but rather should 

 rejoice that the highest seal of approval had 

 been placed upon his enterprise. 



The greatest danger is undoubtedly that of 

 falling under the sway of officialdom, and great 

 care must be taken to avoid it. But regarded as 

 a whole we have a really splendid type of per- 

 manent official — probably the most un-official 

 official in the world ; and the high tradition 



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