Sir John Bean's amendment having been rejected by sixty- two
votes to forty-five, the resolution of the General Purposes Committee was adopted by sixty-one to forty-five. The pro- gress of this controversy only confirms us in the view, to adapt Milton, that "the State shall be my governors, but not my tradesmen." If we get to the realities of the problem they are as follows : The Progressives, in order to bolster up an unfortunate and unremunerative speculation in tramways, now aspire to control the London traffic in order to penalize those who, greatly to the interests of the public, compete with the Council's tramways. It is a very old story. In the same way the Post Office desired to kill the telephone when it threatened their telegraph monopoly. They also would have liked to prevent the introduction of Boy Messengers. Municipal and State monopolists always try to kill improve- ments. That is one of the great arguments against State trading.
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