THE LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFUL 



called in our vernacular, "captains of in- 

 dustry." 



Yet, even the least thoughtful person 

 can see a change coming. It is plain that 

 the civilized peoples of the world are 

 surely learning to think differently. 

 "Public ownership" is a growing idea. It 

 is even popular, in spite of earnest (and 

 some honest) opposition. To be sure, 

 public ownership, in the public mind, means 

 ownership of coal mines and street-car 

 lines, while, curiously enough, the most 

 significant accomplishments are in the 

 public ownership of the implements of edu- 

 cation and the public ownership of scenery, 

 wherein the intuitions of the race and the 

 log^c of events have outrun the reasoning 

 of the professors. It often happens so. 



If there is anything in the big world 

 that ought to belong to the public, surely 

 it is the landscape. The coal mines and the 

 oil fields have to be exploited; and from a 

 certain point of view the Standard Oil 

 Company and the Coal Trust are practical 

 necessities. But the landscape can not be 

 exploited; it can only be enjoyed. It can 

 not be consumed, though it sometimes is 

 destroyed. 



228 



