The change had been long foreseen.

Public opinion had become fully ripe for it, and the whole mass of the people was behind it.
There was no more possibility of opposing it by force than by argument.
On the other hand the popular sentiment toward the great corporations and those identified with them had ceased to be one of bitterness, as they came to realize their necessity as a link, a transition phase, in the evolution of the true industrial system.

The most violent foes of the great private monopolies were now forced to recognize how invaluable and indispensable had been their office in educating the people up to the point of assuming control of their own business.

Fifty years before, the consolidation of the industries of the country under national control would have seemed a very daring experiment to the most sanguine.

But by a series of object lessons, seen and studied by all men, the great corporations had taught the people an entirely new set of ideas on this subject.