Page:Back to the Republic.djvu/23

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The Trend of Government
19

States by every chance acquaintance." That question was asked with an unusual degree of pride. Imagine, if you can, an intelligent American of today making, with any degree of pride, the following inquiries of European travelers:

What do you think of our Ohio and Oklahoma State constitutions?

What do you think of presenting a ballot to the voter containing the names of 334 candidates, or a ballot over six feet long covered with printed matter upon which a vote is to be cast within two minutes of time?

What do you think of having 128 boards and commissions in a single State in addition to an executive, two legislative bodies and seven other elective officials?

What do you think of our more than doubling the expenses of government in nearly every State in the Union during the decade from 1903 to 1912?

What do you think of spending over $2,000,000 of the taxpayers' money on primaries and elections in Cook County, Illinois, in the single year of 1916, aside from the personal expenses of the horde of candidates?

What do you think of our enacting over 62,000 new statutes in this country during the five-year period from 1909 to 1913, inclusive, and of our