e best reading in all realms of knowledge?

"Free as air," was the old-time strongest expression. Then men learned
how absolutely essential to physical well-being was abundance of water,
and our language records in its favourite expression, "free as water,"
the meaning of the untold millions that civilization has spent to supply
all people freely with this essential. We are learning the greater
lesson about the necessity of free knowledge more slowly, because
intellectual and spiritual things are not so readily discerned by our
mortal eyes, and it takes more time to read even those messages that God
has written very large for those who have eyes to see; but the time is
not far distant, mark my words, when our speech will again record the
general acceptance of a great truth in the common phrase, as "free as
knowledge." We should make the public understand the relation of the
school system to the library system; that the library is not merely a
collection of books, or a storehouse, but an aggressive and active
source of education, side by side with the free schools. If the issue
came--but, thank God, it never will--between giving up either the
library or the free school, I am not sure that I would not choose for
the welfare of the country the public library rather than the school.
This may sound strange from one who has given his life to education, but
I believe that even without our schools nearly every boy and girl would
somehow learn to read; and when I soberly consider the influence on
lives and characters and on the State, it seems probable that,
infinitely valuable as is the work of our free schools, it would be
exceeded by what could be done by a system of free public libraries,
reaching every boy and girl and man and woman in the community, and so
administered as to provide each freely from childhood to the grave with
the best reading in every field of interest and activity.

The State, whatever it may or may not do, should recognise the library
as being as essential to public welfare as is the school, and it should
give it as careful protection from dangers without and within as it
gives to institutions like banks and insurance companies. The State
should protect the library against unjust laws, improper interference,
or pernicious influence of any kind from without. It should guard it
also against misconduct, incapacity, or neglect on the part of its
trustees, officers, or employees. Beside the direct appropriat