The state is always an interested party. It means merely that when a man is weak he has a big brother to whom he may turn, who judges his case and says to the strong one, "I am here not only as a judge, but also to protect the weak against the strong. The burden of proof is upon you to show that my rulings are unjust. This man cannot make any progress toward real justice in the face of all the difficulties which beset him." And it is not always a single individual who is too weak. As Professor Ely says:—
"How helpless against a combination of railways is the city of twenty-five thousand inhabitants when struggling to do such a seemingly small and entirely right thing as to provide gates at grade railway crossings. The writer has one case in mind. The very modest efforts of the city were met with the threat that the railway shops would be removed to a village some thirty miles distant and in an adjoining state. Even the city of Chicago has had a mighty struggle, continuing for years, in its efforts to protect life at railway crossings. At one time it was proposed by the railways to leave Chicago and build another city in adjacent territory to escape what was regarded by the railways as oppression on the part of the city."
The following diagram will illustrate the one great central device which has been used over and over again. In Diagram I is shown g, h, i, j, k, l, m—small shippers. Each man has to take up individually his particular case against "A"—the railroad, a corporation composed of b, c, d, e and f,—that is, a coöperative, collective agency—an organized body. The small shippers are obviously,
