The German Empire contains within it every form and shape of
human community, varying from sheer mediaevalism to extreme modernism.
But whatever the form or shape of these separate governments, they are
all alike in having control over their own local affairs. Most of the
great states of Germany still possess control even over their own
railways. They have their own Parliaments, their own judges, and, in
many cases, their own reigning sovereigns. It was part of the wisdom of
the founders of the German Empire that they made no attempt to
interfere with these local powers. They contented themselves with
combining all those forces for common defence, including them under a
common tariff, and giving to them a common vote for a common assembly
at the centre. In other words, Germany rests upon the two principles of
unity and division, and in that combination lies its strength.
THE UNITED STATES
Or turn to the United States. There you have another of those powerful
human governments resting on a basis of forty-six State authorities,
each with its own legislature, and even with its own little army. Each
of those state governments has control over such great matters as
criminal and civil law, marriage and divorce, licensing, education,
game laws, and the regulation of labour.
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