First, there is the educational value in the fact that the people participate directly in the conduct of public affairs. It is true it sometimes happens, in countries which have already applied this form of government that a decision of the people, far from constituting progress, actually marks if not retrogression, at least an arrest in the development of social legislation, or even in some matter of general policy. Nevertheless the very efforts that are made to convince the people and to bring them back to primary considerations, constitutes the best kind of civic teaching and gives them a political experience, the value of which in a democracy cannot be exaggerated. The collaboration of great strata of the population in the creation of laws and in political life profoundly educates the masses in the principles of their Constitution; and an institution which has been established in a country after bitter struggles, perhaps after several defeats, becomes thereafter almost impregnable, or cannot be discarded except with extreme difficulty. In addition direct government constitutes the best system of democratic control over the organs of the state. Care must be taken in a democracy to institute control over control; for democratic government is essentially the reign of trust. The destinies of a nation should not, therefore, depend exclusively on the parliament. While one may be for parliamentary government, one may still fear that a powerful majority may establish a veritable dictatorship and oppress minorities; or that a majority formed by chance combinations may show itself incapable of action and retard indefinitely the adoptions of measures impatiently awaited by the people. There is, then, place in Germany for direct government; but to what extent? At first this place seems quite limited. Preuss, who in his draft of the Constitution made only limited use of it, presented direct government as convenient above all for small states; but he doubted that one could apply it in any considerable number of ways in a big country like Germany. In spite of this opinion direct government gained ground little by little and in the final text occupies considerable place. One finds in the Constitution not only the classic forms of constitutional and legislative initiative and referendum such as, for example, have been traditionally employed in Swiss and American democracies; but also we find there new applications of direct government.