Experimental  Xeotelation  13
One  of  the  points  about  the  railway  system
which  the  Government  of  the  last  generation
undertook  to  settle  once  for  all  was  the  proper
place  for  great  railway  stations  in  London.  A
committee,  chiefly  consisting  of  military  men,
decided  that  the  railway  stations  should  not  be
brought  into  the  centre  of  London.  Hence  the
position  of  the  stations  at  Euston,  King’s  Cross,
Paddington,  Waterloo,  and  Shoreditch.  At  great
cost  their  decision  has  been  entirely  reversed.
It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  these  are  matters
of  physical  science  and  practical  engineering,  in
which  the  supremacy  of  experiment  has  long  been
recognised.  That  is  not  wholly  so  ;  for  the  success
of  a  system  like  that  of  the  railways  or  tramways
depends  much  upon  social  considerations.  However ­
  that  may  be,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  showing
that  the  same  principles  apply  to  purely  social
institutions.  If  anything,  it  is  the  social  side  of
an  enterprise  which  is  usually  most  doubtful  and
most  in  need  of  experiment  when  it  can  be  applied.
To  construct  the  Thames  Tunnel  was  a  novel  and
difficult  work  at  the  time,  but  not  so  difficult  as  to
get  the  populace  to  use  it.  The  Great  Eastern
steamship  was  another  instance  of  a  great  mechanical
success,  which  was,  to  some  extent,  a  social  and
economical  failure.  Many  like  cases  might  be
mentioned,  such  as  the  real  ice-rinks  lately  invented.
How  is  it  that  any  kind  of  purely  social  institution ­
  is  usually  established  ?  Take  the  case  of  the