!? » 
 
 
 
 UUKE UNIVERSn 
 
 rv 
 
 1 
 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 
 The Glenn Negley Collection 
 of Utopian Literature 
 
 
 
 Glenn R, Negley 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE 
 
 Future Commonwealth, 
 
 OR 
 
 WHAT SAMUEL BALCOM 
 SAW IN SOCIOLAND. 
 
 BY 
 
 ALBERT CHAVANNES. 
 
 [Copyright secured.] 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 TRUE NATIONALIST PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 1892. 
 
lapter 
 
 1. 
 
 « 
 
 2. 
 
 (( 
 
 8. 
 
 (« 
 
 4. 
 
 <( 
 
 5. 
 
 <{ 
 
 G. 
 
 <c 
 
 7. 
 
 « 
 
 8. 
 
 » 
 
 D. 
 
 (( 
 
 10. 
 
 (( 
 
 11. 
 
 u 
 
 12. 
 
 <( 
 
 i:i. 
 
 (( 
 
 14. 
 
 (( 
 
 lo. 
 
 (( 
 
 10. 
 
 (( 
 
 17. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 The Exodus, 1 
 
 The Object in View, ... (> 
 
 Some Rellections, 1") 
 
 A Philosophical Digression, . 1!) 
 The Chances Made, . . . . 2(» 
 
 At The Hotel, 38 
 
 Public Management, .... 40 
 The Right Spirit, .... 47 
 
 T!ie Apprentices, 5S 
 
 About Education, 00 
 
 Ancient Institutions, ... 67 
 Ilou.sekecping in Socioland, . 7'A 
 A True Commonwealth, . . 80 
 
 A ineasant Ride, 87 
 
 The I^md Question, . . . . 04 
 Arbitration and Laws, . . .101 
 The Conditions of Success, . KtH 
 

 EXPLANATORY. 
 
 In jtre^eiiliii^ tlif foil.twini; it.iijjes t<» Lhe pul»lio, I dosire 
 to say a few words lo «'\|il:iin llu^ motives whicli have led 
 to llu'ir piiMic.itioii. This can imst l)e done by first (]Uoting 
 a few sentences from an address upon the Proldetns of our 
 S'eeond Century, delivered by Ex-Senator Ingalls at Glen-Eeho 
 in the summer of 1891. 
 
 Speakiuijj of the evil results of our present industrial sys- 
 tem, Air. luijalLs said: "From 1860 to 1890 the country has 
 thrown richer at the rate of 250,000 dollars for every day 
 anil hour of these thirty years. There has been accumulated 
 durinj^ that term one liundred thousand millions of dollars, 
 enough to give every nian, woman an<l child beneath the flag 
 a competency, enough to secure to every family a comfortable 
 home, to educate and keep the wolf from every door, and to 
 guard against every misfortune and calamity. 
 
 '*And yet," he continuied with a dramatic uplifting of his 
 liands, "there are ten millions of people out of sixty-five 
 millions that never get enough to eat from one year\ end 
 to the other." 
 
 The speaker presented a strong contrast between the laborer 
 working incessantly, only to end his life in helpless mendicity, 
 and the 31,000 persons who hold more than one half of the 
 acquired earnings for the last hundred years. With a scathing 
 denunciation of the extravagance which s|)ends 10,000 dollars 
 on flowers for a wedding, and repeating that 31,000 men 
 controlled one half of the wealth of the country, Mr. Ingalls 
 strolled to the front of the platform, and raising his slender 
 form to its full height, exclaimed: "If thirty thousand, men 
 can do this, what is to prevent one man from getting control 
 of all? 
 
 "Tiie doctrine of the devil take> the hindmost','" continued 
 
ii EXPLANATORY. 
 
 Mr. Ingalls, "is a good one, but just now it seems as if there 
 were more hindmost than foremost. If the present condition 
 of things were to continue without being retarded, this land, 
 instead of being the land of the free and the home of the 
 brave, would be the land of the rich and the home of the 
 slave." 
 
 Making due allowance for the exaggeration of an impulsive 
 speaker, there is enough truth in Mr. Ingalls' indictment to 
 explain the general dissatisfaction which now exists with the 
 results of our present economic system. 
 
 Mr. Ingalls does not believe in the efficiency of the remedies 
 offered by the Nationalists, and he presented his objections in 
 a very forcible manner. 
 
 "There is," he said, "a growing sentiment in favor of Pater- 
 nalism in this country — of the government doing everything — 
 of the people doing nothing. We have now a new school 
 of political philosophy that is repudiating the declaration of 
 independence and is endeavoring to t)verthrow the maxims of 
 democracy and to insist that the race shall not be to the 
 stroQg, that the distinctions ordained of God shall be an 
 obliterated statute, that idleness shall bring the same reward 
 as industry and thrift, that the ignorant shall be as wise as 
 the learned, that debts shall be paid by acts of Congress, that 
 money shall be made as plenty as the autumn leaves, that 
 taxation shall be abolished by acts of the Legislature, and 
 that property shall be forcibly distributed among men." 
 
 It is to answer just such objections that this story has been 
 written, for they are often heard among practical men who 
 have really the welfare of the community at heart. These 
 objections cannot be answered in a few words, and it has seemed 
 to^ me that it could best be done by portraying a Common- 
 wealth where the changes we advocate have already been 
 accomplished, showing how the desired results can be attained 
 
EXri-ANA lOKY. lii 
 
 vvitlioiit resortinir to sucli revolntionnry methods Jis would never 
 meet with tlie approval of sensible and practical men, and 
 that without p;tssing the limits of the possible and practicable, 
 many chanijes could be made that would cause great impro- 
 vement. 
 
 For in this picture of a Future Commonwealth 1 have not 
 drawn on my imagination, but I have carefully studied the 
 line which progress h:is. followed since the dawn of civiliza- 
 tion, and have endeavored to portray the changes which will 
 probably take place in the course of coming years. 
 
 If my readers will take the trouble to investigate, they will 
 find that what I have described as being part of the public ins- 
 titutions of Socioland, already exists in its incipient stages in 
 one or the other of the civilized nations. And furthermore 
 they will find that the tendency to progress in the direction 
 described manifests itself now in a greater degree than it 
 did one or two hundred vears ago. 
 
 Many of these tendencies, it is true, are not yet strong 
 enough to affect the laws or public institutions, but iheir in- 
 fluence is felt among the most intelligent part of the popula- 
 tion, that is, among those who lead in the march of progress. 
 
 As some objections have been made, during the publication 
 of this story in serial form, in the 'Pi-ue Ndfionalht, both as 
 to the philosophical belief and to the spirit which controls the 
 enactment of the laws in Socioland, it seems well to mc tt) 
 say a few words in explanation. 
 
 The reaction of all changes upon tiie surroundings is now 
 recognized as a positive fact. We realize now that the success 
 of one nation affects more or less all other nations, and that 
 a change in one country implies a corresponding change in 
 all other countries. 
 
 But too manv sludentti of social science fail to understand 
 
iv KXI'LAXATORY. 
 
 that the t-anie law holds ;;tn)il in the social r(.'latIon.s. and we 
 now have the HjMjctacle uf a world full of social refonuers who, 
 dissatisfied witii some of the present conditions, strive with 
 main and iiii<,dit to cliange them, and at the same time 
 strive just as hard to prevent corresponding changes in other 
 directions. With oae hand they push along the car of progress 
 and with the other they work just as hard to hold it hack. 
 
 Nothing, in my estimation, has more inflnence upon [irogress, 
 aside from the motive power furnished by the desire for 
 increased happiness, than the religions beliefs of the people. 
 They control its conduct, public and i)rivate, and are respon- 
 sible for the spirit of its laws. 
 
 Increased knowledge has opened to mankind greater prospects 
 of happiness, which have been checked by religious beliefs 
 handed down to us by past generations. 
 
 The result is that our religion and our environment no 
 longer agree. The environment is of to-day, the religion is 
 of the past. 
 
 This is felt and realized by all those who earnestly study 
 the social problems, and strenuous eflfbrts are made to shape 
 and trim the old religious doctrines so as to make them fit 
 the new social conditions. 
 
 At the rate this work is progressing, it will not be a great 
 many years before the spirit of the Christian religion will 
 have been entirely changed; and according to the changes 
 which have already taken place within the church, supplemented 
 by the beliefs which are growing in favor outside the church, 
 I think I am justified in claiming that sometime in the near 
 future, religion will resolve itself in something like the philo- 
 sophical beliefs expressed by Mr. Walter in the third Chapter 
 of this story. 
 
 The infiuence of the religious beliefs upon laws and conduct 
 has leil me to devote some space to the subject, for 1 claim 
 
EXPLANATORY. v 
 
 that our economic condition is the logical outcome of our pre- 
 sent religious belief, and that both must change together if 
 any progress is achieved. 
 
 In tlic sixteenth Chapter, I have, very briefly and inadequa- 
 tely, tried to express my views as to the spirit which will 
 animate the coming generations and control the enactment of 
 their laws. 
 
 Every thinking person must acknowledge that nations are 
 growing more sympathetic and less (juarrelsome, and that a 
 spirit of leniency is replacing the "eye for an eye and tooth 
 for a tooth" doctrine of olden times. In [)r()()f thereof I can 
 point to tlie exemption clauses in the laws for the collection 
 of debts, and the growing tendency to compel arbitration in 
 cases of disputes between employers and their laborers. Both 
 exemption and enforced arbitration are steps away from exact 
 justice and natural rights, and are the result of a sympathetic 
 desire to help those who are defeated in the battle of life. 
 
 It is true that the American people, as a nation, have as 
 much faith as ever in the efficacy of the law as a moral re- 
 gulator, but among their best men the feeling is growing that 
 people cannot be made moral by law, and other nations have 
 progressed beyond us in tliis direction. 
 
 I have not touched upon the population question, and have 
 said but a word about the marriage rehttion, not because I 
 do not recognize their importance in the solution of the social 
 problems, but because they are not as fundamental as the ques- 
 tion of religious beliefs. 
 
 Yet I wish to put myself on record here as believing that 
 the tendency of the times is toward educating the individuals 
 so as to enable them to fulfil their duties as citizens in a 
 satisfactory manner without the need of state control, and that 
 the coming generations will be able to allow individuals much 
 more fre*>dorn in thoir personal actions. 
 
vi EXPLANATOKY. 
 
 Nationalism, in fact, will only prove acceptable in so far as 
 it will know how to reconcile economic organization with per- 
 sonal liberty. 
 
 I not only believe that it can be done, but I feel confident 
 that it will be done; and that it will come to pass in the evo- 
 lution of social progress, that wrangling, competing humanity 
 as we know it to-day, will, in its persistent search after in- 
 creased happiness, organize itself* into true Commonwealths, 
 with institutions somewhat like those 1 have tried to picture 
 as existing in Socioland. 
 
 How long will it take before it comes to pass? How far 
 will the work of organization progress? are questions the 
 future alone can answer. 
 
 For the present I shall be satisfied if I succeed in con- 
 vincing some inquiring mind that Nationalism is not an im- 
 possible dream, and that it offers prospects of improvement 
 lor society, which are well worth the consideration of intelligent 
 citizens. 
 
 Albert Chavannes. 
 
 Knoxville, Tenn. 
 
THE 
 
 Future Commonwealth 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE EXODUS. 
 
 Spencer, Sociolnnd, Africii, 
 June 1, 1950. 
 My dear friend Harry : 
 
 I have at last reached this place after a long atid interest- 
 ing journey, and I will at once commence a journal, which 
 when complete, will enable me to fulfil my promi.se that 1 
 would try to faithfully report to yon whatever I should see 
 or hear which could throw any light upon the social pro- 
 blems in which we are both interested. 
 
 I have no dou()t, from what I have seen of the people 
 since I entered tlie Commonwealth of Socioland, that if I do 
 not find here a complete solution of the prol)lems which 
 perplex us, I will find at least the resulls of interesting ex- 
 periments in Sociology, and valuable hints as to the best 
 course to be followed to secure a better distribution of wealth, 
 and an increase of general comfort. 
 
 For I must at once acknowledge that these people seem 
 much better satisfied than we are, and while they recognize 
 that they have not yet attained perfect social conditions, still 
 thev are confident that thev are travelling in the right direc- 
 
2 THE FUTURP: rOMMOXWEAl/ni. 
 
 lion, an.'l tli:it :ill desiralle <hun;^CK will conse eiisily ami 
 Tiatiirnlly in tlu' cuiirse of lime. 
 
 I]nt l>t.T(ire 1 enter upon a detalliN^ acvonut of what 1 see 
 an:l hear, I want to tell y<>u oT the eaiis^.s whi.h Km! to the 
 settlement of Socioland, as well as of the aims of the first 
 <?inij";rants, which controlled their condui-t .ind form the hasis 
 of their pulJic and private institutions. 
 
 I am enabled to do so from iurormation I reooivcd from 
 Mr. AVaUer, an old iientleman whom 1 found o\i the hoat, 
 a nntive of Ohio, who nearly fifty years a.ro emigrated l:o 
 this country, and I judge from his conversation, took an 
 active part in shaping the policy of the Coininonweallh. 
 
 You know as well as I do ilint the latter end of the 
 XlXth century was a time of great changes. Not only of a 
 great development of the natural resources and of the producing 
 power of mankind through the increased use t)f steam and 
 of electricity, hut also of changes iu tlic religious, scientific 
 and philosophical beliefs of the educated classes. 
 
 It wiis then that througli the researches of Darwin, Spencer 
 an<l otheis, commenced that period of leligious doubt in which 
 we still are in the United States, Truly before iheir time 
 theie had lieen skeptics and railers at the Christian religion, 
 men and women who denied the authority of the liible, but 
 their number was small, their inlluenco null, and civili/ed 
 society was willing yet to be controlled by persons who either 
 believed, or claimed to believe, that the ten commandments 
 were the expression of the will of God, and that the more 
 closely they could be followed and enforced, the better the 
 results would be. These persons explained the suffering and 
 mi.sery of the masses as due to the innate depravity ol human 
 nature, and the poor were kept <piiet by alternate doses of 
 ( harity and of promises of eternal bliss in the world to come. 
 
 Tiie doctrine of evolution, taught and accepted towards the 
 
THE EXODUS. 3 
 
 end of the ceiituiy, sapped this belief at its basis, and it was 
 s(ton recoorni'/ced by those who nndertook to follow it to its 
 {i)iii<';ii conciMsioos th;;t flu- whnlo philosophy of the past 
 l»tnli, upon ;' belief in special creation, would have to be re- 
 ico'iele;' until nn entin.- ('}i:u><:;e ba'I \ovn ^fleeted in relicrious 
 Ixliei'--, :'.nd thict cVv"n!u.':ily tiv ><ieiai i;:siitutions themselves 
 woviid be llicrcby inflr.cuccd. 
 
 The spread of these doctrines nn7(»nfj persons of progressive 
 minds caused naturally a p;reat commotion, and for a lonij 
 time confusion worse couibui.wcil was 'the res'^lt. Accordiui^ to 
 Mr. "Walter these years were the scene of such intellectual 
 wrangling as the world had never seen or will probably ever 
 see again. First cone the believers in these new tea(;hings, 
 enthusiastically fighting for the acceptance of what thev con- 
 sidered the truth, and thus ruthlessly tearing down the foun- 
 dations of the Christian beliefs, who were met and opposed 
 by those who, honestly or from interested motives, clung to 
 Christianity, and resisted all attacks which threatened its 
 existence; while mixing in the din of the battle were a legion 
 of persons, each v/ith a patent remedy of his own for all the 
 ills of society, striving for recognition, and trying by all 
 menns in their power to bring their schemes before the public 
 while the masses, fast lofing their interest in things spiritual 
 and their fear of damnation, and more interested in physical 
 comforts than in speculations of a philosophical nature, turned, 
 their attention to the practical work of developing the natural 
 resources opened to them through the increase of mechanical i 
 forces, and the extension of the means of C( rnmunication. 
 
 Out of this intellectual struggle soon emerged here and 
 there practical men and women who, discarding religious 
 speculations ntf to a future existence, and the Bible as a 
 guide for their actions, studied the laws of conduct in a 
 scientific spirit, and with the firm intention to prolit by any 
 
r 
 
 4 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 new truths they mid;ht discover. These jjersons, scattere:! in 
 every p;irt of the United States, \v<'re soon (Irawn together 
 i»y a common aim, and under the name of Sociologists, or 
 studentj- of Social Science, formed themselves into clubs for 
 tiie ptirsnit of social knowledge, and to seek for means of 
 jiractical application of such knowledge as could help them 
 to a more satisfactory mode of life and a better form of 
 government. 
 
 In the pursuit of now knowledge they claim to have be^n 
 entirely successful, and to have discovered many new social 
 laws which, if applied, would greatly beneiit society. But 
 when they tried to give their new knowledge practical force, 
 they found it a more difficult task than tiiey had anticipated. 
 Tiie ntunber of persons interested in such studies as they 
 pursued was comparatively very small, and the whole control 
 of the government was in the hands of men who had a direct 
 interest in opposing any changes and were entrenched behind 
 t-enturies of possession. The masses were too indifferent or 
 ignorant to offer a fair hoi)e of awakening to a better way 
 out of their misery, and personal conduct was yet largely 
 on trolled by laws enacted by men who were earnest believers 
 in the infallibility of the Bible, and who felt it their duty 
 to comi)el by force those who might disagree with them. 
 
 It is not strange that out of such conditions grew an ear- 
 nest desire to seek by emigration a land where their new ideas 
 loulvl iiud free development in a virgin and unoccupied coun- 
 try, and that like the Pilgrim Fathers, earnest men and 
 women should decide to leave home, friends and relations, in 
 the endeavor to found a settlement where they would be free 
 to follow the dictates of their intelligence. 
 
 The opening of the Dark Continent furnished them with 
 the desiied opi»ortunity. Several European powers had esta- 
 Idished protectorates over large and unsettled portions of the 
 
THE EXODl'S. 
 
 country, and were anxious to sci thcni inhabited hy a popu- 
 lation which could liclp to ciieik the shive trade, and open 
 new outlets to couinierce. 
 
 Taking advantage of this situation, trusty men wei-e selected 
 to spy the country and see what prospect it offered. They 
 were remarkably suc(;essful, found a large valley with fertile 
 soil an healthy climate, and capable of sui)porting a large 
 population. They made a treaty with the [jroteeting power 
 whic|i guaranteeil to the jjroposed settlement complete autonomy 
 in their internal government, and^ they were assured of pro- 
 tection against foreign foes so long as they could not protect 
 themselves. 
 
 In the mean time the home clubs had made ready for the 
 coming immigration as soon as the way should be open, and 
 a comparatively large and steady exodus took place from the 
 United States to the land of promise whiili the; baptized 
 with the name of Socioland. 
 
 Of com'se they had many difficulties to contend with, but 
 now they have overcome them and they are a prosperous and 
 happy i)eople. Their prosperity and happiness is not the 
 result of chance or of special advantages pertaining to their 
 new country. It is due to the fact that theii conduct, public 
 and pi-ivate, is intelligently controlled bv what they claim to 
 be scientific principles. They believe in a social sci ence, which 
 they claim is something difli?rent from political economy, 
 They study this science, and instead of allowing the doctrine^ 
 of Laissez faire full sway, and trusting to natural forces alone 
 to remedy existing evils, they are not afraid to help natuie 
 along, and to experinient in new lines of public co-operation 
 whenever they seem to lead in the right direction. 
 
 So much it was necessary for me to say, to explain to you 
 how it came to pass that in this far oft" land, a settlement of 
 our countrymen has been made, embued with entir«.dy diflerent 
 
(\ Tin: irrruE (ommon wealth. 
 
 i<lfa,s frcmi those which olHain in Europe and Americn. 
 
 .In«t :»s New Enghio'l was settFeil hy e:irne«( men and wonxMi, 
 havin;^ sperial aims and [trofonnd et)nvi('tions, wht> infu.sed h 
 new country and a new nation wiUi a new spirit, which li.i'^ 
 stnmpel its mark upon the United States government and utxm 
 the character of the peoi)lc, so in this land a n-nv spirit ha< 
 been infused, which, according to my information, has produce!! 
 wonderful resultij. 
 
 Of this, however, we can judge letter when I luive mixed 
 nn)re with the peo[)le, and I am heltcr acquainted will) the 
 liisiitutitins which I hey havp lieie inaugurated. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE OBJECT IN VIEW. 
 
 f found Mr Walter a very pleasant companion, and during 
 the few days we spent together 1 reeeiveil from liim much 
 valuable infornuition. "VVhen from qceslionb i m:ide to him 
 he understood why I was going to Sociol.md, am! learned from 
 my lii)s of the deep intcrcL-it 1 felt in social problems, he 
 seemed as desirous of imparting knowledge as 1 was to rcccivi' 
 it, and tried to facilitate by all nu'ans in l»is power the aiiut. 
 1 had in view. 
 
 **Mr. Baleom,'' he said to me one evening as we were 
 sitting in the cabin i«»nversjng upon Soeioland, '"it will help 
 you very mucli to imdcrstand what you will see in our country 
 if you know the object we had in view in couung here, as 
 well as some of the means by which we expected to attain it. 
 
 "There has been, as you know, many an exodus before our 
 own, but 1 believe they were ail actuated by very diilerent 
 
THE OBJECT IX VIEW. 7 
 
 motives from tliose wliich induced ns to leave onr native land. 
 The Ilebi'cwf^ were fleeing from bondage, the Puritans were 
 trying to escape religions persecution, and the Mormons ^vanted 
 to establish a religions hierarchy. On a smaller scale, but 
 nnder similar influences, many communities and co-operalive 
 colonies have been t^tarted, but they all had a definite plan 
 which they wanted to work out. We had no settled plan, no\ 
 definite scheme, but we had a very clear idea of the results / 
 we were going to strive for. • _ ^ , 
 
 " We were dissatisfied with society as organized in the 
 I'nited States, and did not believe that it aflbrded to the 
 individual all the facilities for comfort and hap{)iness which 
 the natural advantages warranted. 
 
 "With the increase of population and wealth »Many abuses 
 had been fostered that we felt powerless to remedy, and a 
 spirit of greed, strife and competition had been engendered 
 which was uncongenial to our character. Besides we had out- 
 LCrown the old ideas of religious morality, and were tired of 
 having our personal actions under the control of laws enacted 
 by men whose standard uf morals was not based upon the 
 result of our conduct on our happinsss, but upon certain com- 
 mandments and precepts which may have been proper enough 
 in the barbarous times in which they were promulgated, but 
 h;ul become superammated several centuries ago. 
 
 ''These causes of dissatisfaction alTected not us alone, but 
 the conservative influences were yet so strong that improve- 
 ment was very slov/, and we preferred to go to a new country 
 where we would be (vec to live according to (»ur own ideas 
 <»f right. 
 
 "We had faith in the good 'lisposition of human luiture, and 
 believed t!»at, if rightly taught, all persons would recognize 
 tliat whatever promoted the general welfare would also pro- 
 mote personal happiness. We wanted to educate our people to 
 
TlIK FrrrKK CO.MMONWKALTir. 
 
 tlic recojinition of tlie solMavity of the interests of the linm.'Uif 
 race, ami by tliis knowledge repliice as far as possihle the 
 rhecks to selfish ureed. now restrained, Imt ndt diminished, 
 hy religious anlhority and hninan biw. 
 
 "Rut, Mr. Balconi, we were not reformers acc-ording to the 
 meaning (»f the word among yon. We had no jiatent remedy 
 warranted to cure all the ills that the llcsh is heir to. We 
 <lid not claim to know everything, and we were fullv aware 
 that we could not lay down any positive rule of condnet as . 
 hest for us to follow. ^Ve were dissatisfied with existing 
 conditions, and wanted to see what desirable changes we could 
 ?nake. We had no desire to verturn the existing conditions 
 of society, or to give up anything which then gave satisfac- 
 tion. We wanted to try to impi-ove the public institutions 
 a little faster than was possible with the ideas prevailing in 
 the United States, and to conform our conduct to the laws 
 of nature, and thus incrc;iso our itiosjiccts of earthly ii:ippiness. 
 
 "As you can see our aims were very bro:id, for it was not 
 one special evil we wanted to correct, but we wauled a ge- 
 neral improvement, based \\\nm a radical change m the foun- 
 dations of the aims and belief^ which control society. 
 
 "The broadness of our aims was a great htlji to the success 
 of our experiment. Our object being the attainment of hap- 
 pirjess, all eflbrts which jesulted in its increase were- welcomed, 
 ;ind no faidt found Avith the me:ms emjjioycd. Our submis- 
 >'\()i\ to nature's laws made us submissive to nature's methods, 
 and we could but approve of what natiin- rewarded. 
 
 "In a word, we ai)plied to social science the same tests that 
 are universally applied to chemistry, mechanics^ or any other 
 exact science. If any one claiujs to have di.scovered some 
 chemical formula, or mechanical combination, which gives 
 satisfactory results, all he has to do is to prove it by practical 
 experiments, .ind if successful it is adopted by general consent. 
 
THE OBJECT IN VIEW. ^ 
 
 But in your country you have no test to apply to social ex- 
 periments, for you have no social science worthy of the name, 
 and tlie best results would be either ignored or denounced, if 
 brought about by menus opposed to the commandments of 
 Moses or the teach in<rs of Jesus. 
 
 "We believed then, and we believe now, that a righteous 
 end sanctifies the means, and not as is taught among you 
 that righteous means sanctify the end. And we further believe 
 that, so far as man is concerned, an increase of his earthly 
 happiness is a righteous end, approved of by the laws of na- 
 ture, and that all means which tend to accomplish that result 
 are right and proper. 
 
 "And it is because we Sociologists have accepted the increase 
 of happiness as a legitimate pursuit, encouraged and rewarded 
 by the laws of nature, and have accepted the achievement of 
 happiness as a correct standard for public and private actions, 
 that we decided to leave home, family, and friends, and es- 
 tablish a new Commonwealth where greed, strife, and compe- 
 tition would be held at a discount, and peace and happiness 
 fostered." 
 
 Mr. Walter paused a moment, for our conversation had 
 taken him back to the days of his j^outh and to the memories 
 of the past. But not for long, for fixing his earnest grey 
 eyes on me he contiuued: "Mr Balcom, when you reach 
 Socioland you will find yourself in a new atmosphere. Re- 
 member what 1 II in telling you, for it will heV]) you to un- 
 derstand how we have succeeded to accomplish many difficult 
 undertakings. The desire for happiness^ brings many valuable 
 results in its train. It fosters peace, leads to kindness, en- 
 courages unity. It teaches the value of health and comfort. 
 It softens the heart and broadens the sympathies. Seekers 
 after happiness cultivate their minds and exercise all their 
 faculties. Yes, the pursuit of happiness is a wonderful civilizing 
 
 .... V 
 
10 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 influence. I have watched it at work for fifty years and 
 more, and it has accomplished p:reatt'r results than centuries 
 of fear or of promises of eternal bliss. 
 
 "You can have no idea what a help it lias Veen to us in 
 the first years we spent here, wlien the many diflTerent opinions 
 which must 'naturally inanif'3t* themselves at the beginning 
 of such an enterprise might have divided us in many factions. 
 But instead of each insisting on the special merit of his 
 scheme, we were all willing to submit to the test of practical 
 experience, and were also decided to remain united whatever 
 might happen, for we believed that the friendship of j our 
 associates was more conducive to our happiness than the 
 adoption of some pet opinion of ours. And now that we 
 have safely launched our social bark, and have achieved satis- 
 factory results, we are more united than ever." 
 
 I was very much interested in Mr. Walter's statement, and 
 in the earnestness of his convictions, and as he paused 1 re- 
 marked to him that I thought he had given me a clearer 
 idea of the object they had in view, and that I wanted him 
 to tell me how they went to work to reorganize society. 
 
 "But do you not understand," he replied, "that we did 
 not intend to reorganize society. We wanted to improve it. 
 We did not believe in setting aside all the past ex[)erience of 
 mankind, and reconstructing society on entirely new lines. 
 We wanted to improve it on the same old lines, which is a 
 very diflerent thing. New conditions had created new abuses, 
 and we wantetl to stop them as far as possible. Not only did 
 we want to feel free lo work out our own happiness in our 
 own way, Imu we ould see also that while the United States 
 produced plentifully, the distribution was very defective." 
 
 "You are entirely right," I remarked, "and probably more 
 dissatisfaction is felt among us on account of the inequality in 
 the distribution of wealth than from any other cause." 
 
THE OBJECT IN VIEW. ? 11 
 
 ''It is natural that it should be so," continued Mr. Walter, 
 "for while production is not as large as it might or will 
 eventually be, still it is large enough to keep every one in 
 comfort if it was rightly distributed, and it is a crying shame 
 that in this advanced age of ours, some should be rolling in 
 wealth, while others are shivering and starving. 
 
 ''We consider the distribution of products as the most im- 
 portant question placed before civilized communities, and that 
 its correct solution offers the best prospect of increasing the 
 sum total of human happiness. From our standpoint, unequal 
 distribution is a two-edged sword whicli cuts both wavs. On 
 one side yon have the wealthy class, which lives in idleness 
 their wants supplied by hirelings, having no aim in life 
 except to pass the time which before middle age drags heavily 
 on their hands, while all around them lives another class 
 unable to secure a little of the leisure and some of the 
 luxuries which prevent the exercise of the most valuable 
 faculties of their more wealthy but not more happy neighbors. 
 
 "Nor are the relations between the two classes satisfactory. 
 The sympathies of the rich are wounded by the sight of the 
 privations of the poor, while the poor see with more and 
 more envious eyes the ever increasing possessions of the rich. 
 Thus the relations between the rich and the poor become 
 more strained, and in a measure the steady increase of pro- 
 dudion tends to diminish instead of increasing the happiness 
 of mankind." 
 
 "You need not enlarge upon this theme, Mr. Walter" I 
 replied. " You cannot frame a stronger indictment against the 
 evil effects of our system of distribution than you will hear 
 at any time in the United States. All who study the social 
 problems realize the evil, foi it is much worse now than it 
 >9as at the time you left our country. The rich have gro.vn 
 in number and wealth and are drawing everything into their 
 
12 ' THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 hands, while tlie poor, growing more intelligent nnd better 
 educated, realize more and more that they do not receive 
 the full reward of their labors. 
 
 "But what can we do about it? Where is the remedy? 
 We cannot despoil the rich for the benefit of tlie poor, for 
 it would destroy the accumulation of capital and diminish pro- 
 ductioH. The diffusion of capital in the hands of so many 
 untrained and incompetent persons would soon destroy it, and 
 the final result would be the impoverishment of the whole 
 country without any improvement in the condition of the poor." 
 
 "Very true," answered Mr. Walter. *'It is a ditiicult ques- 
 tion, but I can tell you what we have done, and how we 
 have succeeded in keeping down this inequa;lity between the 
 clasfcies, and prevented the acquisititm of the lion's share of 
 the produced wealth by a few privileged members of society. 
 
 "But let me remind you of one thing. It is not because 
 we believe in perfect equality, or that all men are entitled 
 to an equal share of the production, that we object to the 
 wide distinction which now exists between the opulent rich 
 and the abject poor. It is because the rich have more than 
 they can enjoy, while the poor have less, that we believe a 
 better system of distribution will benefit all. This very much 
 simplifies the problem, for if we can find the source of ex- 
 cessive wealth, and turn it into a reservoir for the benefit of 
 all classes, our aim will be practically attained. 
 
 "And that is what we have done. The large accumulation 
 •of wealth in private hands is not the result of the toil of these 
 persons, for no man can by dailv labor accumulate more than 
 will insure him a comfortable living. Excessive private wealth 
 is the result of social causes which encourage and reward the 
 cumulative power of capital. 
 
 "No, we knew well enough that the diffusion of capital 
 leads to its destruction, and that all means which would tend 
 
THE OBJECT IN VIEW. 13 
 
 lirec- I . 
 ;alist, 1/ 
 a lion ' 
 
 to its equal distrihiition would result in a diminution of pro- 
 duction and a reduction of general comfort. 
 
 "So the measures we took led in an entirely difierent direc 
 tion. We made our new Commonwealth the great Capitalist 
 and thus as far as possible prevented the undue accuraula 
 of wealth in private hands. 
 
 "There, Mr. Balcom, is the whole secret of it. Co-operation 
 on a large t^cale, not practised by a few, for the advantage 
 of a few, as it exists among you, but carried by the Common- 
 wealth, for the advantage of the whole population, for the 
 rich as well as for the poor, for the women as well as for 
 the men." 
 
 I must confess I was somewhat disappointed, for it was 
 nothing new for me to hear such doctrines, and I exclaimed: 
 "Oh! then your Socioland is simply a Socialistic settlement, 
 where the state controls everything. It may suit you, but 
 I doubt if it would suit me or many of the free and in- 
 dependent citizens of America." 
 
 A malicious twinkle gleamed in Mr. Walter's eyes. 
 
 "Free and independent indeed! Then things have wonder- 
 fully changed since my time. Wlien I lived in the United 
 States, in the days of my youth, I recollect hearing a great 
 deal about the slavery of labor, and freedom in trade with 
 foreign countries was unknown. We had Sunday laws regu- 
 lating the use of the days, and marriage and divorce laws 
 controlling private associations. Prohibitive laws on liquor 
 were in force in many states, while to crown this free social 
 edifice, the Mormon persecution was in all its glory. 
 
 "Eeassure yourself, we have not abridged personal liberty 
 as much as you have, and are not Socialists as you understand 
 the term. All governments are somewhat Socialists, some a 
 little more, others a little less. We are a little more, and 
 have intrusted the Commonwealth with the accumulation and 
 
14 THE FUTUEE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 use of a portion of our capital for the benefit of our people, 
 while you only intrust your government with the spending of 
 such capital as you raise by unequal taxation, or by 
 borrowing from the wealthy class, thus increasing the burdens 
 of the producers by corupelling them to pay the interest on 
 the money your government spends. 
 
 "Do you sometimes reflect, Mr. Balcom, how the different 
 enterprises, created by the growing needs of our civilization, 
 are divided in the United States? Take the cities for instance. 
 Whatever costs money to maintain, as the streets and the 
 parks, the police and the fire department, etc., is placed in 
 the hands of the government, and the people are taxed for 
 its support, while those enterprises which offer opportunities 
 to make money, as the supply of light and water, the life 
 and fire insurances, are allowed to fall into the hands of 
 corporations and individuals. 
 
 "We are so far Socialists as to claim that the sweet ought 
 to go with the sour, and to keep in the possession of the 
 people many valuable privileges which you give away to men 
 who use them for their private benefit. 
 
 "But," pulling out his watch, "I see it is getting late, and 
 we had better retire. To-morrow we will find plenty of time 
 1 > to talk before we reach Spencer, and I will explain to you 
 at length the changes we inaugurated in the public institu- 
 tions of Socioland." 
 
 I <* 
 
SOME REFLECTIONS. 15 
 
 CHAPTERS ni. 
 
 f- ._ SOME REFLECTIONS. 
 
 I believe, my dear Harrj^, that what I will see and hear 
 In tliis country will keep my mind busy, and that I will have 
 many new ideas to digest. I can see already that their way 
 of looking at the social problems is entirely different from 
 ours. They look them square in the face, with a clear con- 
 ception of the ends they are striving for, and do not allow 
 themselves to stray hither and thither after false issues as 
 we are inclined to do. 
 
 Mr. Walter was emphatic, and his whole manner expressive 
 of quiet determination, and he succeeded in giving me a clear 
 impression of the aims and methods of the people of So- 
 cioland. 
 
 After I had gone to rest it was a long time before I could 
 go to sleep. That which had struck me the most in our 
 conversation was Mr. Walter's frank avowal that as a people 
 they were engaged in the pursuit of happiness. There was 
 no false pretense of trying to serve the Lord, no claim of 
 helping to promote morality, no holding aloof a beacon for 
 the benefit of other nations. 
 
 Instead, these people freely acknowledged that they were 
 experimenting for themselves, trying to increase their own 
 happiness, owing no allegiance except to the laws of nature, 
 recognizing no duty except that of improving their faculties 
 and making the most of existing conditions. 
 
 That was something entirely new in my experience. I had, 
 of course, come across young people with more money than 
 brains, who said they wanted a good time, and were going to 
 enjoy all the pleasure that this life can afford, but among 
 
16 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 the sensible, respectable people of my acquaintance, the pursuit 
 of happiness was looked down upon as a low standard of life^ 
 leading to selfishness, and degrading in its tendencies. 
 
 To be sure I could not tell what was the aim in life of 
 these respectable acquaintances of mine. Had I asked them,, 
 which I never thought of doing, I would probably have found 
 they did not know themselves. I knew the religio'::s teachings 
 on that subject, and that we dre admonished to so live as to 
 glorify God. But my friends did not believe any such doc- 
 trines, or if they believed them, they made no pretense to 
 put them in practice in their daily life, being of the kind 
 who give their religion a Sunday airing, putting it carefully 
 away during the week to preserve it from unseemly wear, so 
 as to have it bright and shining on the rare occasions they 
 are called upon to parade it before the world. 
 
 As my mind roamed over the list of my acquaintances, I 
 could think of Mr. B., whose whole ambition seemed to be 
 to make money, of which he had already more than himself 
 or his family could use. His wife was a society leader, and 
 her object in life was to outshine her rivals. His sons were 
 certainly bent on pleasure, but with their expensive habits, 
 effeminate tastes, and shattered constitutions, were not happy, 
 and were positive proof of the fact that the pursuit of hap- 
 piness and of pleasure are entirely different. 
 
 And our neighbor D., is he living for happiness? If he is, 
 he seems to make a miserable failure of it. An overworked,, 
 tired-out man, without a minute he can call his own, follow- 
 ing an incessant round of occupations which have no interest for 
 him^ he is kept constantly tramping in a commercial tread- 
 mill for a bare support for himself and his large family. His 
 wife, whom 1 can remember as the lively, sweet Alice T., is 
 now a tired, dissatisfied woman. That couple had probably 
 in the early days of their marriage anticipated a happy life, 
 
SOME KEFLECTIONS. 17 
 
 but tho result had not come n«) to their fonrl expectations. 
 From them my thonglits turned to the contemplation of 
 myself. What was I livinp; for? I really could not answer. 
 An Agnostic, I was not living in view of a future life, and 
 yet I realized that I was certainly not studying how to attain 
 the highest satisfaction possible in this world. 
 
 As I lellected, I could see very clearly tliat I had no de- 
 finite standard of conduct, :ind that the principles which 
 controlled my life were of a very composite nature. Raised 
 outside the church, by parents w do had outgrown the Christian 
 beliefs without accepting any other, my moral education had 
 been desultory in the extreme. At one time my father railed 
 at the Christian dogmas, or made fun of their })uritanical 
 ideas and sanctimonious ways. At other times he would im- 
 press upon me the beauty of the- Christian doctrine of self- 
 renunciation, quote the golden ^rile, and call Christ the 
 greatest teacher that ever lived. Again he would preach the 
 doctrine of duty, how we must respect our parents, obey the 
 laws, help our neighbors, work for humanity. But these moods 
 did not last always. I was also taught that I m.ust learn to 
 take care of number one, fight for standing room, and strike 
 out for myself if 1 would not be crushed. 
 
 Out of such teachings the usual results had followed. I 
 simply drifted, one day following tlie voice of duty, and the 
 next allowing the care of self to predominate. The outcome 
 was not very satisfactory, but I could not see my way to 
 anything better, and I consoled myself wnth the thought that 
 I was doing about as well as the average of those by whom 
 I was surrounded. 
 
 Now that my attention Avas called to it, I could see that 
 instead of having a well-defined aim in life, and controlling 
 my conduct in the manner best calculated to attain it, I 
 allowed myself to be swayed by the ideas, beliefs and habits 
 
18 THE FUTUBE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 of the people among whom I lived, who themselves had no 
 accurate knowledge of right or wrong, hut were following 
 blindly in the footsteps of their superstitious ancestors. 
 
 Mr. Walter's conversation made a profound impression upon 
 rae, for 1 was logical enough to see that our conduct in life 
 must be largely controlled by the character of the solution 
 we accept for the problem of existence, and if practically 
 concurred in by a whole people, it must have a great influ- 
 ence on their public institutions. A nation with divided or 
 indefinite aims would drift along, where one with clear and 
 decided opinions would adopt efficient means to insure success. 
 
 As is the seed, so must the tree be, and if the people of 
 Socioland are happier and more contented than the people 
 of the United States, then I must conclude that they have 
 the best institutions. 
 
 I cogitated over these things a long time, wondering if these 
 people were really right, and if the pursuit of happiness is 
 the only safe guide to conduct; and if the old barriers erected 
 to restrain stltishness were thrown down, who would protect 
 the weak from the strong, or settle the terms of compromise 
 between individual happiness and public welfare when they 
 came in conflict? 
 
 Worn out with thoughts, I decided to present these questions 
 for soluiion to Mi. Walter the first thing in the morning, 
 and after hearing what he has to say on the subject, to 
 wait and see with my own eyes the working of these prin- 
 ciples in Socioland. Theoretical ideas must give way before 
 pnictical results. I would try and set aside iill prejudice and 
 pre-conceived beliefs, and impartially observe the life of the 
 inhabitants of the Commonwealth. 
 
 Of one thing I am certain. There is a great deal of misery 
 in this world, and even a slight increase of happiness is well 
 worth striving for. 
 
A PHILOSOPHieAL DIGRESSION. 19 
 
 CHAPTER. IV. 
 
 A PHILOSOPHICAL BIG BESS ION. 
 
 Tlie next morning I took the first opportunity to propound 
 my questions to Mr. Walter. I told liim that before he said 
 any more about the social clianges they liad instituted, I 
 wanted to have some exi)Ianations of their doctrine of accept- 
 ing the attainment of happiness as a standard of conduct, and 
 presented to him some of the objections which had arisen in 
 my mind. 
 
 "My young Mend," he answered, "I am glad to see that 
 you appreciate the importance of this question. One of the 
 first conditions of success is the concentration of our powers 
 towards the object we wish to attain, which is only possible 
 if we have a clear conception of what we wish to accomplish. 
 
 "If there is so little happiness in this world, it is largely 
 due to the fact that not many of the eflfbrts of men have 
 been directed towards it. 
 
 "Some men seek for pleasure, others for wealth- or fame, 
 many are trying lo serve God and Mammon, others are only 
 anxious to secure eternal bliss, while all Christians, sincere 
 or otherwise, are under the influence of teachings which de- 
 precate the pursuit of earthly happiness as inimical to the 
 will of God. 
 
 "We, on the other hand, believe in the pursuit of happiness 
 just as the sincere Christian believes in serving the Lord. 
 We believe that in so doing we are working in the line of 
 progress, and that to attain it we must not only cultivate 
 all the best there is in us, but that it will also induce us 
 to adopt those public institutions best calculated to increase 
 the welfare of society. 
 
■20 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 "I cannot explain to you why we believe those things except 
 by indulging in a little philosophical talk, something that is 
 not always interesting to the young. However, if you will 
 kindly listen to what I want to say, I will try to be brief, 
 and possibly you may be rewarded for your patience. 
 
 "We believe in evolution, in development, in latent poten- 
 tiality. We believe that until the advent of man, development 
 followed what we call the natural process, and that under this 
 process, plants, animals, and men were evolved. ' ■ 
 
 "But we further believe that when this natural procesS' had 
 finished its work, the latent potentiality of development was 
 not yet exhausted, and that the way was just made ready 
 for a further stage of development which we" call artificial, 
 — in contrast to the natural, although both are according to 
 the laws of nature — which requires for its accomplishment a 
 highly organized and intelligent agent. 
 
 "Man, who is the last and highest product of • natural evo- 
 lution, is this agent calcutated to promote this artificial de- 
 velopment, and is well fitted for the work by his ever- 
 increasing consciousness and intelligence. Through consciousness.' 
 he' dreads.ipain and enjoys pleasant seni^ations, by intelligence 
 he recognizes the nature of his surroundings, and learns how 
 to control his conduct so as to escape the one and increase 
 the other. 
 
 "The law of progress, as we understand it, is this: All 
 those actions of men which tend to advance artificial development, 
 — or civilization, to give it its popular name — produce at once, 
 or ultimately through their complex results, pleasant sensations, 
 and thus encourage men to repeat tiiem; while all those 
 actions of men v»hi(ui tend to obstruct civilization, produce 
 at once, or ultimately uy their complex results, unpleasant 
 sensations, and thus discourati^e men from repeating them. 
 'Under this law civilization has been carried and all the 
 
A PIIILOSOPIIICAI. DIGEEwSSION. 21 
 
 things we enjoy have been evolved, for tliis artificial develop- 
 ment consists in combining in numberless diflerent ways the 
 natural material, and is the stage of evolution through 
 which we are passing now. 
 
 "This boat which carries us so t^moothly and swiftly, the 
 houRes ve live in, the clothes we wear, the books we read, 
 are simply combinations called into existence by the desire 
 of men for pleasant sensations, or in otlier words, by their 
 efforts to increase their happiness. 
 
 "I will not weary you by enlarging on this theme, bi:t 1 
 will point out to yon that it is of the utmost importance for 
 our success that we should know if we are working in har- 
 mony with the forces which have brought the earth to the 
 present t-tage of development. Whether we believe that pro- 
 gress is controlled l)y laws alone, or that it is directed by 
 an intelligent power, the first condition of success is that we 
 should work in harmony with the law of progress. 
 
 "But how shall we know that we are in accord with the 
 march of civilization? Who shall decide when doctors disagree? 
 Wie answer that if we can find what is the incentive to right 
 conduct, we can tell by the result upon our hai)piness if our 
 actions are in harmony with the advance of civilization. 
 According to the law of progress as I have stated it to you, 
 pleasant sensations are the motive power of civilization, and 
 thus we believe that whenever our conduct causes an increase 
 of pleasant sensations, it co-ordinates with the advance o 
 civilization, which is equal to saying that the increase of hap- 
 piness is the true standard of conduct. 
 
 ''And it is thereon, Mr. Balcom, that our philosophy dififers 
 from that of all other civilized nations. They have moral 
 codes, revealed laws, ancient maxims, but they have no standard 
 of conduct by which they can test the correctness of their 
 actions. We also have codes, laws, and maxims, but they are 
 
22 THE FUTUEE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 all derived from a scientific standard wliich provides a correct 
 test for all our actions. TThis applies to the Commonwealth as 
 \ve\\ as to the individual. By that standard we test our public? 
 institutions, and find that those which secure the most happi- 
 ness are also the most conducive to a high state of civilization, 
 and bv that btandard each individual is taught to test his own 
 actions and soon learns by experience thai the conduct which 
 creates the most pleasant relations with his surroundings, is. 
 that which harmonizes the best with nature's laws and fosters 
 his truest happiness. 
 
 "I do not know if this brief explanation will convince you. 
 An entirely different philotiophy has held the minds of Christ- 
 ian nations so long that it is difficult to weigh impartially 
 the proofs of what we advance. For two thousand years the 
 fear of Hell has broodied as a dark pall over the Christian 
 world and the whole study of conduct has been turned in the 
 diiection of learning how to serve the Lord and obey hi& 
 commandments so as to escape the wrath to come. Success 
 has been branded as the badge of wickedness, and enjoyments 
 shunned as the temptations of our fallen and sinful nature-. 
 But the time has come when- better knowledge has dissipated 
 our fears, and an honest study of the subject has taught us 
 that success in the realm of conduct m^eans precisely the same 
 that it means in the realm of other pursuits. It simply proves 
 that we are acting in harmony with nature's laws, and we 
 have as much right to all the happiness we can attain, as 
 we have to the wages of labor faithfully performed. Pleasant 
 sensations may be called the wages given by nature for con^- 
 duct which it approves, and the larger the wages we receive, 
 the more assurance we have that we are moving in the 
 right direction. 
 
 "But whether I have convinced you or not, I have said 
 enough to give you an outline of out philosophy. If it strikes 
 
A PHILOSOPHICAL DIGRESSION. 23 
 
 you favorably, you can study it at leisure, and follow il in its 
 numerous ramifications. It will bear the test of investigationj 
 I assure you, and if once you accept it for your own, you 
 will never regret it. 
 
 "And now let us pass to the practical objections to its 
 adoption by the Commonwealth, which you presented to me 
 this morning. How, do you ask, is the innate selfishness of 
 niexi to be restrained? Who shall decide in case of a conflict 
 of interests? 
 
 "Before answering you, 1 miL-ht put some questions myself. 
 What leads you to believe that men are so selfish? Is it not 
 because you have heard so much about their innate depravity 
 that you fail to recognize the good there is in them? Are 
 you sure the display of selfishness is not the result of the 
 social conditions in which they have lived till now, and that 
 competition is not largely responsible for it? Or have you ever 
 experimented whether in a true Commonwealth there is so 
 much antagonism between j)ul)lic and private interests? 
 
 "We liMve more faith than you in human nature, and are 
 not afraid of a certain amount of selfishness, for we know that 
 it underlays all attempts at improvement. But it must be 
 tempered by sympatliy. They are the centripetal and centri- 
 fugal forces of society, which ought to balance each other, 
 and would do so if properly controlled. 
 
 "But your system of society fails to recognize the true 
 functions of these forces, and selfishness has th« control of the 
 government, and no power is given to sympathy to restrain 
 it. Selfish individuals are allowed to grasp all the valuable 
 privileges, while sympathetic person? waste their efforts in 
 vain attempts to palliate the suflferings endured by those who 
 are worsted in the battle of life, 
 
 *'We recognize the value of both factors, and instead of 
 preaching against selfishness on one hand, and allowing it to 
 
THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 run riot on the other, we kepp it within proper limits by 
 public measures, demanded and supported by the united sym- 
 pathies of the community. 
 
 ''The same sympathetic feeling prevents the Commonwealth 
 from passing laws that would antagonize with the welfare of 
 individuals, and leads it to encourage all its members who 
 honestly try to improve their condition. But it is also the 
 business of the Commonwealth to restrain those persons who 
 would abuse their power to the detriment of others. The 
 Commonwealth meddles as little as possible with private actions, 
 but f any person presumes on its toleration to impose upon 
 
 thers, it promptly interferes and puts a stop to it. We try 
 tojbe as a large family with many interests in common, and 
 where there is a sympathetic b(md uniting all its members, 
 but if one of the family so conducts himself as to be unpleasant 
 to others, the head of the family asserts his authority and 
 oblio^es liim to keep his proper place. The Commonwealth 
 as a whole represents the head of the family, promoting the 
 happiness of all its members, instructing and helping, with 
 kindness towards all, but prompt to control when the public 
 good requires it." 
 
 This my dear Harry, is in substance what Mr. Walter told 
 me, and I must acknowledge that it impressed me very favor- 
 ably. Among the many points in its favor whicli presented 
 themselves to me, 1 Avill only mention to you two which 
 seem worthy of special consideration. 
 
 If he is correct, then society is slowly progressing towards 
 a state of perfect harmony, where all factors will find their 
 proper sphere and the highest civilization be attained, and we 
 can explain the conflicts through which society passes now, 
 and has passed up to this time, as the educative stage of 
 mankind, and necessary to its full development. It is the 
 social phase of the struggle for existence, and will eventually 
 
A PHILOSOPHICAL DIGKESSION. 25 
 
 result in the survival of the must satisfactory public and 
 private institutions. 
 
 The other point goes to confirm tlie claim made by Mr. 
 Walter for the beneficent influence of the pursuit of happiness. 
 His assertions brought to my mind some facts that have come 
 under my notice. You know that I am interested in farming. 
 Now I have often had occasion 'to see the influence of a 
 correct standard iipon the character and the social relations. 
 
 You recollect Mr. Daval, our neighbor. He has a high 
 standard of farminc^, and is successful in his operations. He 
 is not soft-hearted, but all the same his men are comfortably 
 housed and are well and punctually paid; his horses are of 
 the best and receive all the care they need, and his stock 
 is well fed and sheltered. His relations with his men are 
 always pleasant; he treats them well, and they know it and 
 are anxious to remain in his service. 
 
 Not far from him lives Mr. Tliornwald, a much kinder man 
 and easy-gcving in all his business relations. But he is a poor 
 farmer and everything about him is in a dilapidated state. 
 His children leave him as soon as they can make their way 
 in the world, his men are ill paid and dissatisfied, his horses- 
 are poor and his cattle half starved. All the difference in results 
 comes from difi^erence in aims. To accomplish his ends, Mr. 
 Daval had to treat his surroundings right, even his fields 
 which receive the best of care, and give him large returns. 
 
 Call it selfishness, or call it by any other name, the result 
 has been to create around him a little community where exist 
 the best conditions for men and beasts, while life in Mr. 
 Thornwald's home is barely supportable. 
 
 These facts seem to me to point to an harmony in nature 
 which compels us, if we would be happy, to help improve the 
 conditions of our surroundings, which would go to prove that 
 Mr. Walter's claims rest on a solid foundation. 
 
26 THE IFUTUKE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 C5HAPTES V. 
 
 TBE CHANGES MADK 
 
 The morning was nearly spent before we had exhausted 
 the subject, and yet nothing had been said about the social 
 changes they had made in Socioknd, although that was to be 
 the topic of our conversation, and we were called to dinner 
 before I could get Mr. Walter to tell me what they had done. 
 At the table the conversation became general, and when we 
 left it, some time elapsed before I could get him disentangled 
 from his surroundings, and seated in a place where 1 felt safe 
 from interruption. 
 
 "Now," said I, sitting down comfortaoly by his side, "you 
 have treated me to a bit of history, and to an essay upon 
 philosophy, let us come down to Socioland, and to what you 
 have done to ameliorate its social conditions." 
 
 "Certainly^ I will tell you with pleas'jre," he answered. **! 
 see I have yet time enough before we reach Spencer. And 
 for a beginning 1 will tell you of one of our first measure?, 
 wiiich I believe would find favor m all countries and with 
 all classes of people. We have abolished all taxes.'* 
 
 "What!" I exclaimed, "abolished all taxes! That is indeed 
 a practical step towards happiness. But how then does your 
 government raise tlie money to meet its necessary expenses?" 
 I "Well," rejoined Mr. Walter, "it honestly earns it as every 
 I government <)U<;i)t to do. Our Commonwealth carries on busi^ 
 ness, earns money by legitimate means, and spends it for the 
 benefit of all. 
 
 "The system of taxation, Mr. Balcom, firmly entrenched as 
 it is in the habits of civilized society, is in fact a relic of 
 barbarism. It is a remnant of the times when the strong 
 
THE CHANGES MADE. 27 
 
 lived altogether on the labor of the weak. Civilization has 
 modified it, and the iron hand is n)ore cunningly masked by 
 the velvet glove, but the fact remains that the producer is 
 made to support all the public burdens. Of course the Com- 
 monwealth must have means to defray the public expenses, 
 but by what logical argument can it be maintained that if 
 it is trusted to spend money, it cannat also be trusted to earn it? 
 The tj-iith is that when the ruling classes were compelled to 
 surrender a jX)rtion of their privileges, and give the people 
 a voice in the control of the government, they threw on the 
 public all that w hich cost money, and under various pretexts 
 kept in their own hands all the profitable enterprises. As 
 plundering tlie producers was then the only known process for 
 providing funds to carry on the government, it was legalized 
 and made legitimate by acts of the legislatures, and legal 
 taxation was organized. When that proved insufl^cient, and the 
 people refused to bear heavier taxation, the rich, instead of 
 giving of their surplus to supply the deficiency, Ivwt t.. the 
 government the money they hml accumnlatecf, mid thus created 
 for their own benefit a perpetual lien on the production of 
 the country. To you, who are used to that system, it probably 
 seems perfectly right and proper, but to us who have a much 
 better way to provide for public needs, we look upon taxation 
 as an unjust and needless imposition. 
 
 "But the release from taxation is not the only advantage 
 which has resulted to the country from the management of 
 business enterprises by the Commonwealth. 
 
 "We spoke yesterday of the growing evM of large fortunes. 
 Our system has cut ofi" the evil at its roots. Excessive fortunes 
 are not the result of individual economy or pprsistent labor- 
 they are the result of the cumulative power of capital. If you 
 inquire into the origin of the vast fortunes which exist in 
 your country, you will find that most of them are due to 
 
28 THE FUTUEE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 the investments of profits made in certain lines of businesSy 
 carried for the benefit of the community. We readily ac- 
 knowledge the need of those services, we know that under your 
 system they could not be performed unless some persons had 
 saved, often by great denial, the needed capital; nof do we 
 believe that those services are over-paid. But we claim that 
 the field of activity they opened was so vast that it enabled 
 those persons to accumulate such large fortunes as to endanger 
 the welfare of the community. 
 
 "Those are the lines of business we decided to withdraw 
 from the field of competition, and to place in the hands of 
 the Commonwealth, to be prosecuted for the benefit of all. 
 
 "That is the first change we have made in our internal eco" 
 tiomy. Our Commonwealth, instead of levying taxes from its 
 citizens, carries on all the most extensive and profitable enter- 
 prises of the country, with the avowed object of making 
 money to be spent for the good of the whole people. 
 
 "Thus, Mr. Balcom, we have accomplished what I told you 
 
 I was our aim. We tap the Source of Excessive Wealth, and turn 
 
 \j,t into a Reservoir for the benefit of all classes." 
 \ ^ Mr. Walter's information was interesting, for the changes 
 he was describing seemed practical and well worthy of consider- 
 ation. So 1 asked hira to tell me which were the lines of 
 business the Commonwealth had kept in its own hands, and 
 how they were managed to avoid peculation and waste. 
 
 "My young friend," he answered, 'Hhe question of the ma- 
 nagement of public aflfairs is too large for us to go into now 
 and yoti' will be able to study it carefully while you stay in 
 Socioland. But as to the lines of business we place in the 
 care of the Commonwealth, I can state in broad terms that 
 
 jit., is those which 'require large capital, and return through the 
 
 I magnitude of their operations large profits. For the present 
 the Commonwealth controls the Wholesale Trade, the Trans- 
 
THE CHANGES MADE. 29 
 
 portation o'' IjCtters, Parcels, Merchandise, and Persons, the 
 Telegraph and Telephone, the Banks, the Life and Fire In- 
 surances, the Street Railways, the Supply of Lights and Water, 
 the Working of the Mines anr. a portion of the Manufactures. 
 
 "These, as you will see, are distributed between the Common- 
 wealth and the several Townships, so as to take advantage 
 •of the best localities, and to secure the most efficient manage- 
 ment. Each case is decided on its own merit<i, with due regard 
 to the comfort and happiness of our whole people. We try 
 to prevent the waste of competition, and the evils of undue 
 personal accumulation of wealth, and to make our Common- 
 wealth rich and prosperous so that it can reduce the expenses 
 of living, increase the comfort of all its citizens, and protect 
 the ^>oor and disinherited against want and suffering. 
 
 "But let us pass on to other changes we have made. Let 
 me tell you about our laws in regard to land." 
 
 I signified my desire to hear whatever he thought would 
 interest me, and Mr. Walter continued. 
 
 "Our Commonwealth never admitted the right of individual 
 ownership in land, and holds it in trust for the whole people. 
 For purposes of improvement it sells leases, equal for practical 
 purposes to complete ownership. These leases can only be 
 cancelled if the public good requires it, and the tenant must 
 be paid for actual damages inflicted upon him. No rent is 
 paid, and those leases can be divided, bought and sold, but a 
 limit has been placed upon the number of acies that each 
 person can get under his control. By this policy, the Com- 
 monwealth has retained in its possession all the best business 
 locations, or can reclaim them at reasonable rates. No pro- 
 perty can be held for speculation, nor can any man or set 
 of men levy exorbitant tolls in the shape of rents because 
 they are the lucky owners of a piece of land so situated as to be 
 indispensable to the efficient transaction of business. 
 
so THE FUTUKE COMMONWEALTIL. 
 
 "We liold that the land is common property, but we re-- 
 cognize also that its division among the people leads to a higher 
 development and to better culture. We appreciate upon cha- 
 racter the good efllects of personal enterprise and independent 
 management, provided they are kept within proper limits. It 
 is only when private enterprise overshadows and antagonizes 
 public welfare that we seek to circumscribe it. This land 
 policy of ours has been a success so far. It has stopped 
 speculation in land, it has prevented the preraiiture settle- 
 ment of distant portions of our territory, and yet those of us 
 who wanted to make a living by agriculture have been able 
 to get possession of all they could cultivate." 
 
 "I think I understand the trend of your public policy," I 
 remarked, when Mr. Walter ceased speaking. "You use the 
 power of the Commonwealth to regulate the distribution of 
 wealth. In the United States, we expect the government to 
 insure political equality, while you add to the functions of 
 yours the task of maintaining social equality. With this object 
 in view, the means you use must exert a very good influence 
 in that direction." 
 
 "Indeed you are correct, my dear Sir, and to insure the 
 success of our scheme, we have made some radical changes in, 
 the methods of educating our young people. 
 
 "We claim that equal advantages in education are necessary 
 to maintain equal chances of success in society. Furthermore 
 we claim that it is of the utmost importance to educate and 
 train the physical as well as the mental faculties. 
 
 "The education of the mind, the training of the intellect,, 
 can of course best be accomplished in the schools, and except 
 that we have reduced the number of hours of study, and 
 pay m&re attention to recreation, there is but little difference 
 between our schools and yours. The great difference is in the 
 industrial training of the youths of both sexes. The numerous 
 
^HE CHANGES MADE. ^1 
 
 business enterprises carried on l»y tlie Commonwealth and the 
 "Townships offer splendid opportunities for practical training, 
 and all our young people are compelled to serve a six vearsL 
 term of apprenticeship to the state." 
 
 "it seems to me," I rejoined, "that it is a very arbitrary 
 measure, and one that must create a great deal of dissatisfaction." 
 
 "It seems so to you," answered Mr. AValter, "because you 
 are thinking of its application under the old conditions, but 
 the public apprentice system is very popular with us. You 
 will stay lon^ enough mnong us to see how our youths are 
 treated and understand why it is popular with them, and I 
 can tell you why it is popular with the grown people ako. 
 
 "By entrusting to our youths a large portion of Uie work 
 connected with the business of the Commonwealth, we have 
 opened to them an extensive industrial school, where there is 
 an almost unlimited (lidice of occupations, and by requiring 
 of them only a ft w hours of actual work, we give them ample 
 time and facilities to keep on with their studies. Our system 
 is far superior to your industrial schools, for our boys do not 
 play with tools among other boys, but do real work alongside 
 of men, under conditions which train the mind to face all 
 kinds of emergencies, and compel them to exercise all the 
 faculties they may possess. One yeai in an industrial school 
 may teach a boy how to saw to a mark or plane a board 
 straight, and may teach him many of the technicalid-es of his 
 profession, but one year of apprenticeship will teach him all 
 that and much more. 
 
 "So we believe in our apprentice system because it gives 
 our youths the best training under the best possible conditions; 
 we believe in it because it considerably reduces public expenses, 
 and thus increases public wealth; we believe in it because it 
 has had a moral result which has been satisfactory beyond 
 our expectations. 
 
32 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 "There is always a tendency among the children of the man 
 who are the most puccessful, to believe that idleness and lux- 
 ury are badges of superiority, and that they are made of 
 different and better clay than those persons who are raised in 
 the lower walks of life. Six years of apprenticeship, subject 
 to uniform rules, and where merit is the only factor in pro- 
 motion, generally takes such ideas out of their heads, 
 
 ''Those, Mr. Balcom, are the changes we have made in the 
 public policy of Socioland, and I have no doubt that when 
 you see the results, you will acknowledge that we have suc- 
 ceeded, and that our people have much better facilities for the 
 pursuit of happiness than can be found anywhere else. 
 
 "By making our Commonwealth a co-operative business 
 concern, we have made it rich and placed all its citizens 
 above want. We have entirely abolished overgrown fortunes 
 and greatly diminished the accumulation of capital in private 
 hands', and yet we have retained sufficient fields of activity for 
 private enterprises, which being relieved from the pressure of 
 monopolistic competition, give to their operators agreeable 
 occupation and full reward for their labor. 
 
 "By retaining in the hands of the Commonwealth the con- 
 trol of the land, we have prevented its unjust distribution and ' 
 sinful waste, and yet we have secured to all our citizens a 
 fair chance to its acquisition. 
 
 "By our system of public apprenticeship we are training 
 our youths to useful occupations, developing their bodies as 
 well as their minds, and giving them a just appreciation of 
 the conditions of life. It brings all classes together and equa- 
 lizes their chances, and is without doubt the measure that 
 ^will have the most far-reaching effects." 
 
 We were nearing Spencer, and I thanked Mr. Walter for 
 ■ his kindness to me, and the interest he had manifested in my 
 desire to investigate. 
 
AT THE HOTEL. 33 
 
 "You ore welcome indeed," he rejoined. "It is a pleasure to 
 give information where it is so thoroughly appreciated. But 
 we are nearly at the landing, and as I live in Spencer I 
 hope to see you again and have naore conversation with you, 
 and that you will soon learn to know us and like us. 
 
 "Where do you intend to stay while in the city? You do 
 not know. Well, I v.ouM ndvise you to' stop at one of the 
 hotels kept l)y the city, near the wharves and dep<^ts, for the 
 convenience of travellers. Y''ou will be comfortable and the 
 charges are very moderate. It will be more interesting than, 
 if you stop at a private boarding house in tlie center of the 
 city, for it will be your first introduction to one of our public 
 institutions." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AT THE HOTEL. 
 
 Spencer is the commercial center of Socioland, and is situated 
 at the lower end of lake Norlay. It is the gateway of 
 communication with the civilized world. Now* a city of 50,000 
 inhabitants, it has a great future before it, and the character- 
 istic American thought came to my mind of the fine field 
 it would ofier for speculation, were it not prevented by the 
 land policy of the country. 
 
 We steamed slowly into port, and when we landed at the 
 wharf, I looked around for some one to takje me to the hoteL 
 Mr. Walter was busy, yet found the time to poind out an 
 official whose functions, he said, were to give information to 
 travellers, and help them on their way. This gentleman, for 
 
B4 THE FUTUEE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 tindoubtedly he was one in appearance and demeanor, aske^ 
 me where I wanted to go, and advised me to stop at the 
 nearest Cilf hotel, which was only a stone's throw from the 
 landing. He also pointed to me the government baggage agent, 
 a blight youlig man in uniform, who took the number of my 
 check and the address to which I wanted my trunk sent, and 
 after he had checked off on my baggage card the amount due 
 for city transportation, I was ready to go on ray way. 
 
 And here I mrty as well explain to you that in Socioland 
 there are no ticket offices at the railroad depots or steamboat 
 landings. Travelling cards are bought \t\ the stores, good for 
 a given number of miles. These cards are good on all roads 
 or boats, in all directions and at all times. The conductor 
 checks off tin; number of miles travelled, and when the card 
 is used, a new one is bought. There are no excursion or return 
 tickets, and the card does not give free transportation of baggage. 
 Batrgage cards are botigiit in the same way, good fov trans- 
 portation on the cars or bouts, and also for transfer from 
 the residences to the depots. The pri'-e of all these cards is 
 exceedingly low, according to our standa"rd, but with the ex- 
 ceptional facilities posses-ied-, l>y the Commonwealth, and the 
 concentration of all the business in its hands, it is claimed 
 the profit is quite large. The freight business is also managed 
 differently from ours. All goods must be prepaid, stamps 
 being used for that purpose. Tiiese changes d<» away with 
 some of the complications which increase the expenses in our 
 country, but are only possible where all the means of trans- 
 portation are concentrated in one hand. 
 
 I find, my dear Harry, that 1 am not making much progress 
 in my journey, but I must manage to take you as far as 
 the hotel, which proved to be a large brick building of plain 
 appearance, with City Hotel No. 3, written on the facade 
 and over the entrance. Its interior did not differ materially 
 
AT THE HOTEL. 35 
 
 from our large hotels; probably as much comfort, but less luxury. 
 At the clerk's desk stood a bright young woman, who after 
 I registered, had me shown to a room where I proceeded 
 to make myself at home. 
 
 That which struck me at once, as we made our way to the 
 upper regions where my room was located, was the number 
 of young people who seemed to be busy in the house, and 
 whom 1 c-oncluded were some of the apprentices Mr. Waller 
 had told me of. Both boys and girls wore plain uniforms, and 
 were evidently engaged in 'doing the regular housework. 
 
 The afternoon was well advanced when we reached Spencer 
 and supper was ready by the time 1 had attended to my toilet! 
 At the table, where a goodly number of guests were seated 
 we were waited on by these youths who performed their task 
 with due courtesy, but without servility. The service was 
 under the supervision of an elderly lady, who showed the guests 
 to their places, and saw that their wants were provided for. 
 
 After supper, I strolled a while in the city, and when I 
 returned to the Jiotel, madt^ my way to the parlor, where I 
 found, beside* many of the guests, quite a number of young 
 people in uniform, evidently the attendants of the house. 
 These youths were not busy at work, but were engaged in 
 social pastimes, and werp treated on terms of social equality. 
 
 At the piano, a middle-aged gentleman and a pretty brunette 
 were singing, while I Eecognized in hhe girl who plaj'ed the 
 accompaniment, one of our waiters at the table. The young 
 man who had showed me to my room was one of a party 
 who were playing cards, while many groups engaged in con- 
 versation were scattered in the room. Some of the ladies had 
 their work, and there seemed to be very little formality, but 
 plenty of mirth and good nature. 
 
 I quietly took a chair and watched the novel scene, won- 
 dering what our United States friends would say if the menials 
 
36 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 of an American hotel should invade the parlor and make 
 themselves at home therein. But I soon reflected that these 
 youths were not menialn, us we understand the term, but that 
 they were simply passing a term of apprenticeship which 
 would fit t'lem fo" t'r^ different duties of life, and that there 
 was nothing more degrading in theii work than there is in 
 waiting upon customers in a store, or in working in a milli- 
 nery establishment 
 
 As I sat thei-e, looking and thinking, a lady entered the 
 toom, and probably recognizing me as a stranger, and noticing 
 my lonely position, came towards me and opened the conver- 
 sation by a c.isual remark about the singers at the piano. As 
 ray principal o))ie^.t here is to get all the information I can, 
 I managed ti» turn the conversation towards their peculiar 
 method of treating the employees of the house, and remarked 
 that I was a stranger in the land, and not used to their ways. 
 
 "Yes,*' said the lady, "it must be somewhat unexpected to 
 find the help of the establishment enjoying themselves in the 
 parlor, and must be a shock to your ideas of social position." 
 
 '•'It is indeed unexpected," I answered, ''and at first it may 
 have seemed undesirable, but t can see that these young people 
 are sufficiently educated to be at home everywhere. No, what 
 surprises me is, that they should be spared from their occupa-^ 
 tions, and I wonder how the work can be attended to and 
 tliese boys and girls enjoy themselves at the same time." 
 
 "I understand that very well," she replied, "for our ways 
 are in some respects so difFeient from yours, that many things 
 you will see here must naturally surprise you. We are able 
 to give our youtlis plenty of time for recreation on account 
 of the difference in our social system. 
 
 "In your country^ a portion of the population has managed 
 to throw the burden of labor on othei*s, so that those on 
 whom the burden has fallen have very little leisure time. 
 
AT THE HOTEL. B7 
 
 With n« it is entirely different. All our young people must 
 do their share of work, and it is diflicult for the adult to live 
 in idleness here. 
 
 "Do you see that young girl," turning and pointing toward 
 another part of the room, "talking to that bright-faced boy? 
 She is the daughter of one of our best men in the town, a 
 sensible, practical, business girl, with the same qualities which 
 have made her father a success''nl man among us. With his 
 business abilities, he would in your country have accumulated 
 great wealth, and his daughter would have been educated to 
 fill a leading place in society. The result would have been 
 that she need never have done any work, and until she married 
 would have led a useless life, supported by the exertions of 
 the laboring poor. Besides the waste of her own time, she 
 would have required the services of a waiting maid to attend 
 to her artificial wants. Nor would she have been happier, for 
 she is born for better things. 
 
 "Her life here has been entirely different. Her father has 
 used his abilities for the benefit of the Commonwealth; as 
 ■one of our Managers he has earned the trust and confidence 
 of all who know him, and is in easy circumstances and no 
 more. His daughter has iiad to do her share of the public 
 work ever since she was fourteen, and thus has relieved of its 
 extra burden some of her less fortunate sisters. As she learned 
 the work, and her good qualities showed themselves, she has 
 steadily advanced, and now fills a position of trust in this house. 
 "Thus you see that as we all have to do our share, none 
 have to work very long or very hard, and we can give our 
 young people time to rest, or study, or enjoy themselves, as 
 they prefer. We use as little compulsion as possible in Socio- 
 land, but we provide ample facilities for study, and are 
 anxious to encourage all that tends to the intellectual develop- 
 ment of our children. 
 
S8 THE FUTURE COM MO:^ WEALTH.. 
 
 "You seem to be quite a believer in the public apprentice- 
 system," I remarked. ''It is ))l(^j'sant to find that the people 
 here are satisfied with their institiitions. A contented people 
 is something very unusual nowadays." 
 
 *'And it ought to be," the lady rejoined, ''for all other- 
 nations are cramped by institutions they have outgrown, and 
 no longer fit the intellectual tstjiture they have reached. Here 
 we are always ready to change whenever we have cause for 
 dissatisfaction. 
 
 "But so far as our apprentice system is concerned, it is 
 undoubtedly a great success. It greatly facilitates public busi- 
 ness, provides pleasant employment for the young, and best of 
 all, has proved a great educator, by teaching those who would 
 be idle how to work, and by elevating the lower classes and 
 educating them to hold their places among people of taste 
 and culture. 
 
 "The girl I ])ointed out to you i is an example of the first 
 now if you will look in the direction of this window, I will 
 show you an example of the other. That young man you see 
 reading there is an orphan. His father, a common laborer^ 
 died young, leaving his family destitute, fie carue here from 
 the old country and was a worthy man, but with little edu- 
 cation. Under these conditions, in your country this boy 
 would have had to go to work to help his mother, and would 
 have remained an uneducated drudge aU his life. With us, 
 his mother was provided with a good place in one of the Town 
 Laundries, where she receives liberal wages for short hours of 
 labor, and thus was enabled to easily raise her family, while 
 our apprentice system has given her boy an equal chance in 
 the world with more favored children. He has been with us 
 two years, and it has made a wonderful difference in him; 
 his manner has greatly improved and he is getting interested 
 in intellectual recreations. 
 
AT THE HOTEL. 39 
 
 "But you see he has had opportunities which our system 
 nlone could give him, for it has brought him in close contact 
 with t)iii<')i hotter educated persons than he was in the habit 
 of associating with. 
 
 "The a(;tual results of our system have neen a steady gain in 
 deportment and intelligence, and you will find no better be- 
 liaved peoj)le than the inhabitants of Socioland, which is due 
 to the training they receive in their youth. 
 
 "But have' We not talked long enough on serious subjects, and 
 would you not like to join us in some of the recreations of 
 the evening? We have very pleasant times, I assiire you, 
 and it is largely due to the presence of our young people, for 
 they make the charm of our social gatherings. Our travellers 
 come and our travellers go, but our boys and girls are here 
 all the time, realy lo amu^eand be amused. By freely mixing 
 together we learn to know all about 'ihem. They tell us 
 about their early lives, they confide to us their plans, their 
 hopes, their dreams, eiiid we give them' the benefit o our 
 experience, and try to make their life pleasant. 
 
 "But come, let me introduce you to Miss Bell, the lady 
 I pointed out to you. You will enjoy her society, I believe, 
 and when you get acquainted here, you will find that the 
 time passes quite pleasantly." 
 
 1 was easily persuaded, and was soon engaged in conversa- 
 tion, then joined in some games, and when 1 retired for the 
 -night, I thoroughly appreciated the friendly spirit which had 
 «o quickly made me feel at home among my new surroundings. 
 
^0 THE FUTUEE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 PUBLIC MANulOEMENl\ 
 
 The lady with whom I had the conversation I reported to- 
 you, proved to be Mrs. Wilton, wife of the Manager of the 
 hotel. 1 made the acquaintance of Mr. Wilton the next day, 
 and had some interesting talks AYith him upon their methods 
 of managing public business. 
 
 Mr. Wilton is an American, while his wife is a native of 
 Socloland. He is about fifty years of age, and cm me here 
 about fifteen years ago, having been in business in Cincinnati 
 before he came to Spencer. 
 
 "Mr. Balcora," said he,^ "I understand that you should be 
 surprised at our ways, for they are quite different from those 
 of the United Slates. I was surprised myself when 1 first 
 came, and wondered how business could be done in such easy- 
 going ways. For we all take life easy here, and no one has 
 to hurrj out early in the morning or work till late at night. 
 But understand me, I am speaking of productive labor. Of 
 course we do not idle away such a large portion of our time^ 
 but we spend it in what we might call recreation, in so far 
 that we all are at liberty to follow the dictates o^ our own 
 sweet will, and use our time as we like best. But there is 
 method in our madness, and if we have short hours of labor, 
 we make good use of them, and if none work very hard or 
 very long, all have to follow rome useful occupation part of 
 their time. 
 
 "Do you know that one of the most striking results of the 
 policy of this people — of our policy, I might say, for I am 
 entirely one of them — has been to so reduce the supply of 
 labor for domestic services, that there are many things which 
 
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT. 41 
 
 It is much easier to do for onrselves t)i;m to hire done, and 
 there are very few persons h( r<* who are not obliged to wait 
 x)n themselves more or less. You see, when our young people 
 have flni^^lled their term of 'apprenticeship, they all have a 
 complete knowledge of some lucrative trade, and but few are 
 fonnd willing to do menial labor. This fact, added to the 
 difficulty, if not the impossibility, of accumulating large for- 
 tunes, preventr, the formation of a class who can command 
 the services of others, and tluis withdraws them from the field 
 of production. Having no drones to support, we can accom- 
 plish much more, and stil) be able to considerably reduce 
 the number of hours of hibor. 
 
 "But excuse me, this was not the subjc^ct we were to talk 
 about. You wished nu- to explain to you the way in which 
 we manage public business." 
 
 ''Yes, it is precisely what I want to know," I answered^ 
 "With us th-? assertion is usually made, with more or less 
 truth, that whatever the government undertakes costs more 
 .than what is done by private managenien , and that the 
 assumption of business by the state open;? the door wide to 
 mismanagement and corruption." 
 
 "Well, my dear Sir," Mr. Wilton replied, "1 have not been 
 here so long but what I can recollect how things went in 
 the United States, and probably there is a foundation for the 
 opinion you now express, although it may be fostered by those 
 who have a direct interest in preventing the government from 
 extending its operations. 
 
 "But there is a fundamental difference between your govern- 
 ment and ours. Yours is a Republic, established to maintain 
 civil and political rights. Ours is a Commonwealth, organized 
 to secure those rights, and besides, to manage public business 
 for public benefit, 
 
 "The founders of your Republic had no idea of national 
 
42 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 co-opefation for business purposes, for post offices, railroads^ 
 street-cars, fhe lighting of streets, etc., was then nnknowtj) 
 and when yoirr Kepublic tries to manage business enterprisesj 
 it tries to accomplish something for which it has never been 
 organized, 
 
 "A republican government is in theory a part of the people, 
 but in practice is s ^netli'in'r above it. You elect your repre- 
 Sentatives to make your laws, and your officers to execute 
 them, and so long as they hold their niiHndates, they are your 
 masters as much as if they had been appointed ^>y a king. 
 
 "There is no inducement to abuse that power so far as civil 
 rights are concerned, hut it is only a question of time for 
 tbe men you elect to find out that a representative govern* 
 ment can grant, against the will of the people, lucrative places, 
 and leL'islate men into valuable positions where they can be 
 taken care of out of the proceeds of taxation. All financial 
 places of trnst are in the gift of political officers, and are 
 disposed of as rewards for personal services. Men thus appointed, 
 cannot be expected to be competent or trustworthy, and all 
 kinds of safeguards have to be thrown around them to keep 
 them 'in the path of bonesty. 
 
 "Yours is the Individualistic system, where the whole aim 
 of the government is to help the individuals to develop the 
 resources of tiie country by aflfording equal protection to all 
 its citizens. 
 
 "But a stream never rises higher than its source. A nation 
 where the individual is taught to look upon himself as en- 
 tered upon a race for wealth, where the winner reaches the 
 goal exhaiTSted by the effijrts he has made to distance his 
 competitors, where individual greed is encouraged by the 
 most tempting rewards, and wliere a most intricate system of 
 laws, courts aud prisons, is ^u'cded to preserve some kind of 
 order among the contestants will never evolve the right kind 
 
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT. 43 
 
 of a rovernment, or organize a satisfactory public management. 
 "It is something to have succeeded in restraining competiti^»n 
 within Ip^I bounds, i)ut voa will have to entireh cliange 
 your policy before you can inaugurate the true Co-ramonwealth, 
 and when you try to apply th^ machinery of your representa- 
 tive governtn<'.<t, to i\w management of business interests 
 you fail of entire success because it gives too much power to 
 your public officers and legislatures. 
 
 "Our Commonwealth is organized in a different spirit and 
 with a different purpose. It not only aims to preserve peace 
 and order, but also to co-ordinate our pro<iucing power, and 
 to make all its citizens participate in the increased production. 
 Thus our welfare is intimately connected with the pecuniary 
 success of the Commonwealth, and we are all interested in its 
 proper management. On that account the people never sur- 
 render the law-making power to their delegates, but exercize 
 a constant supervision over all their actions, and if they fail 
 to properly conduct the business commit te»i: to their care, they 
 are qviickly ciUed to account for their mismanagement." 
 
 '♦You do not then," I said, "surrender to your political offi- 
 cers T,]i,. business interests of the country, and do not expect 
 your President and Governors to nonage them through ao-ents 
 of their own selection," 
 
 '*No, not at all. In the first place we have no Presidents, 
 er Governors, their functions being fiWed by the Chairmen of 
 the executive committees, but if we had, we would not place 
 our financial interests in tln-ii- hands. 
 
 "We have added to our government a Business department 
 indepevdent of the Political and the Judiciary, which has 
 entire charge of the business enterprises of the Commonwealth, 
 and is responsible to the people alone for the result of their 
 labor. Through tliis department we co-ordinate the producive 
 power of the whole people, and constitute ourselves, into a 
 
44 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 co-operative association. It creates a bond thronG:)\ the com- 
 munity of interests, and tends to destioy the spirit of competi- 
 tion among us. 
 
 *'We, the jieople, thus become a business firm, and hire a 
 certain number of men to manage the work for us. We re- 
 cognize that if those men are competent, they are much better 
 situated than we can be to know what is the best course to 
 folJow to succeed, und we place in their hauds^ both power and 
 responsii)ility. We recognize also that there must be stability, 
 and on that account the Managers and Advisers are elected 
 for indefinite terms, and are retained in pla<"e so long as the 
 people are satisfied with their services. But should dissatisfac- 
 tion arise, specific charges must be laid before the Advisers 
 for investigation, and if they are sustained, a new election is 
 ordered, which is the final verdict pronounced by the people^. 
 Thus we are learning the art of self-government, and while 
 liable to make mistakes, they are corrected as soon as discovered. 
 
 "Those, you see, are the principles that govern us in the 
 organization of the Business department. Elections o^f officers 
 by the people, responsibility to the people, confidence in them 
 so long as they giye satisfaction, recall of their powers by the 
 people whenever they are no longer pleased with their ma- 
 nagement." 
 
 "These principles," I remarked, "seem sound enough in the- 
 ory, Uit may work badly in practice. The people who control 
 your machinery are often a very unwieldy element. 'What is. 
 everybody's business is often nobody's business,' is a saying 
 which contains more truth than poetry, and I should be afraid 
 that the public supervision of which you speak would prove 
 inefficient and easily evaded." 
 
 "You are right," answered Mr. Wilton, "and it iii partly on 
 that account that • we have established Advisory Boards. 
 
 "The functions of these Boards are three-told. To advise, to- 
 
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT. 45 
 
 supervise, to co-ordinate. They are clothed with no authority 
 except siicli as they need to enable them to attain the needed 
 information, and report to the people through publication. 
 
 "Jt is to them that we look for that close supervision so 
 necessary t<» success. Their duties are to overlook the whole 
 business situation, reconcile the different interests, keep watch 
 over the receipts and the expenses, study the best means to 
 promote the general welfare, and suggest them to the public 
 and to the Managers. 
 
 "They are thf «>il which lubricates the co-operative machine. 
 Their position enables them to take a broad look al the 
 situation, and to give impartial information. As they occupy 
 places of great influence, we are careful to select men of good 
 judgment and known integrity, for our material prosperity 
 depends largely upon the soundness of their advice. 
 
 "But as I have named the Managers, let me explain to you 
 what are their functions. Their name is the best explanation 
 I can give you, for thev really manage the business placed 
 in their charge, and within their de[)artments have full au- 
 thority placed in their hands. lam the Manager of this hotel, 
 and have all the needed power to run it successfully, provided 
 I use that power according to the recognized policy of the 
 Commonwealth. Our position is somewhat like that of the 
 captain of a vessel. A ruler on board, a private citizen on shore. 
 "Some of our Managers are elected by the Commonwealth, 
 for they direct enterprises which must be under a central control, 
 but all local business is controlled by Managers elected by the 
 Townships, a division we have adopted in place of counties or 
 incorporated cities, and which replaces them both. These 
 Townships have each a busine&s department of their own 
 which looks after their local interests. 
 
 *'\Ve have, as 1 iold you, formed ourselves into a businesa 
 firm, and have tried to follow the same course that a practical 
 
 . /IcO*-^ 
 
4$ THE FUTURE COMMOIS WEALTH. 
 
 business man would take under the same circmnstancfs.. 
 
 "Success demands a general direction by men who can overlook: 
 the whole field of <.f»erations, and co-ordinaie t<> a successful 
 end the means under command. We secure tliis through «>ur 
 I boards of Advisers, whose duty k is u> •-•jither information', 
 
 and furnish it to the inhabitants of the Commonwealth. We 
 do not entrust them with the execution of the measures they- 
 recommend, because it would give them more power than, 
 any man, or set of meoi, should have except in times of public- 
 danger. 
 
 "The next thing that success demands is an efficient executive 
 management, which shall not be hampered by intricate laws, 
 and regulations, hut left free to attain the desired ends in the- 
 best manner consistent witli the means pkced at its disposition.. 
 This, we secure through our Managers, who, elected by the 
 people, and responsible to the |)eoiji - alone, have every in- 
 ducement to fulfil their task to the best of their ability. 
 
 "Next, we must have a division of responsibility, which 
 we secure through our system of Tbwnships, which are really 
 3 branches of the whole firm or Commonwealth, having special 
 interests under their control. 
 
 "Believing as we do that co-operation ought to replace- 
 competition as far as possible, that each individual has social 
 as well as political rights, and that a Commonwealth which 
 helps its citizens to attain to a fair share of comfort and' 
 enjoyment is as far- superior to a Republic as a Republic i& 
 to Despotism, we have tried to secure tiiat result through, 
 our organization. 
 
 "We have retained political and indicial organizations, but 
 their importance is steadily dinyinishing, not l>ecause their- 
 functions are encroached upon by the business department, but 
 from the results of our policy, which are constantly dimi- 
 nishing the causes which compel the enactment of laws and 
 
THE RIGHT SPIRIT. 47 
 
 tl'« tieed of restraint. All wars, disputes, contentions, are the 
 'oiitcorae of the competitive spirit, either in nations or indi- 
 viduals, and whatever promotes the co-operative interests, 
 •diminishes the spirit of greed which has to be restrained by 
 law, and thus diminishes the need of the laws themselves. 
 
 "We believe in social equality, in the solidarity of human 
 interests, and instead of using our skill and intelligence in 
 trying to remedy the evils of society by law, we use our 
 intelligence in devising means to diminish the need of laws 
 by creating harmonious relations between man and man." 
 
 Mr. Wilton tlwn had to leave, s > 1 thanked him i\yr his 
 itiformation, hoping to hear more at some future day. 
 
 ♦ 1 1 1 » 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE EIGHT SPIRIT. 
 
 "Several days passed before I renewed my conversation witli 
 Mr, Wilton, days which I spent in viewing the city and its 
 surroundings, and also in getting acquainted wit)) the people. 
 Undoubtedly there is a difference between life here and in the 
 United States; : s much, I suppose, as there is between life in 
 the United States and in Europe. 
 
 One thing is quite noticeable. It is that they know how 
 to wo''l< and how to enjoy themselves. During working hours 
 everything seems to move briskly, each one h:is something to 
 do, and watiiout any fuss and worry, an immense amount of 
 work is accomplished. But the working hours are short, and 
 when they are over, one might believe himself in one of those 
 Italian cities, where after sunset it looks as if the whole 
 
48 THE FOTUKie COMMON WEALTH. 
 
 population had turned out to enjoy an evening stroll in the 
 open air. 
 
 The stores open late and close early, especially the wholesale 
 stores which do not keep open more than six hours. The 
 retail stores, which are left to private enterprise, keep open 
 lon.ojer, but no one is found willins: to work from early morning 
 till late at night, as so many are obliged to do under our 
 system. The more even distribution of wealth has fostered a 
 quieter spirit, and as great accumulations of property are not 
 possible, and poverty is practically unknown, there are none 
 of those strong incentives to extra exertions which are found 
 in other countries. ^ 
 
 T have made some casual acquaintances in mv rambles, and 
 have had some conversations with persons I met on the cars 
 or in the stores, and I find everywhere the same satisfaction 
 with existing conditions. 
 
 In a retail store I entered to bnv underwear, T found the 
 owner to be a quiet, unassuming old gentleman, who liked to 
 talk, and who told me some things that 2ro to show the 
 influence which surrounding conditions have in modifying 
 character. 
 
 "I am surprised," I said to him, "at the easy way in which 
 yoii do business here, and that some of your energetic men 
 do not take advantage of it to crowd to the wall their less 
 ambitious neighbors." 
 
 "I believe," he answered, *''that if you were to remain here 
 some time, you would understand it better. It is natural that 
 in your country you should strive for wealth, for w.'alth is not 
 only comfort, it is more, it is Dower. 
 
 "Under your system everything; '•^ for sale, and the man of 
 wealth can get possession of everything which is worth having. 
 Your rich men own your railways, your street cars, your 
 steamboats. They own your palaces, your most valuable lands, 
 
THE EIGHT SPIKIT. 49 
 
 the stores and the goods they contain. They own the ma- 
 nufactures, the banks and the money, and worse yet, they 
 own mortgages upon the homes of the workers and upon their 
 future production in the shape of public bonds. 
 
 "But it is not so here. Suppose I should bestir myself to 
 accumulate a fortune, what should I do with it? All our most 
 valuable property is in the hands of the Commonwealth and 
 cannot be bought at any price. We have no government 
 bonds or railroad stocks to furnish investments here. There is 
 a small demand for private capital, mostly for manufacturing 
 purposes, but on account of the high price of labor, and the 
 abundance of mgney furnished by the Commonwealth, interest 
 is very low, and we have little inducement to increase our 
 wealth beyond what will secure us a comfortable existence." 
 
 With my ideas fresh from America, where wealth is all 
 powerful and its acquisition the chief end in life, I expressed 
 my astonishment that the people of Socioland should be sa- 
 tisfied under such a regime, and my fear that this stifling 
 of private ambition might result unfavorably to the general 
 prosperity. 
 
 "Yes, yes," said my new acquaintance, ''you reason precisely 
 as would have done, some hundred years ago, a French mar- \ 
 quis or a German baron. They could not have understood i 
 that life was worth living in a country without an army and i 
 without an aristocracy. Yet you have learned in America ' 
 that there are other things worth living for besides parading 
 at Court or killing our fellow-men, and we have found out 
 here that there are other things worth living for besides the 
 acquisition of money. 
 
 "But you are entirely mistaken in your supposition that a 
 diminution of private ambition will have a bad influence oa 
 the public prosperity. 
 
 "Our men have as much brain, as much physical activity^ 
 
50 THE FUTUKE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 and are just as enterprising as yours, and as ready to conceive 
 and execute, but, unable to concoct schemes by which they 
 can exploit their weaker neighbors for their own benefit, they 
 have to place their intelligence and their activity at the 
 disposal of the Commonwealth to i)e used for the people's 
 benefit. 
 
 "My dear Sir," and the old gentleman getting a little 
 excited, emphasized his Words so ;is to bring the whole 
 weight of liis argument to bear upon me, "which do you 
 suppose displayed the truest ambition. Tiie freebooter baron 
 of old who, at the head of a liand of private retainers, 
 plundered the unwary traveller for his jjersonai advantage, or 
 the officer of a modern army, fighting for the preservation of 
 the whole country? Yours is tlie freebooter system, where 
 'Every one for himself and the Devil take the hindmost' is 
 the motto inscribed on your banner, while ours is the organized 
 army of labor, where individual effort is trained to promote 
 the welfare of all. 
 
 "No, no, this old argument of the decline of enterprise under 
 a better oo'-operative system will not stand fire or hold water. 
 It is based upon a false estimate of human nature, an<i ex- 
 perience disproves it every day^ Even in your country the 
 greatest achievements have been done undei- government aus- 
 pices, and the best woi'k is done by men who have no financial 
 interest in the result of their labor. 
 
 "You may have in your midst men who, under the incentive 
 of private gain, will do more and be keener in the pursuit 
 of wealth than they would be were they working for public 
 benefit, but also how many men with as keen intellect they 
 may crush, and how many efforts they may cause to abort in 
 their struggles to distance their competitors! All of which is 
 clear loss to the Commonwealth, and may more than balance 
 the gain made by tliose who are successful. 
 
THE EIGHT SPIEIT. * 51 
 
 "Not only do we escape this waste of energy, but our efforts 
 at improvement are tetter co-ordinated and better sustained, 
 for thev jiiv liacked by the whole power of the Commonwealth. 
 The result is that we are a wealthy people, producing at less 
 cost than other nations, and far beyond our daily wants." 
 
 I did not try to answer the old gentleman, for really I did 
 not know what to say. My objections could not be founded 
 on practical knowledge, but on preconceived ideas fostered by 
 education. These people had tried their system and were 
 satisfied. Still it seemed to me that all this government control 
 could not be maintained without a serious loss of personal 
 freedom. ^ ^ 
 
 I expressed my thoughts to my new acquaintance, and asked 
 him whether, for instance, he was not compelled to order liis 
 goods from certain stores, and give for them a price arbitrarily 
 fixed by the government? 
 
 "Not at all," he answered. "It is strange l\ow the idea of 
 compulsion clings to whatever is connected with government 
 control. Our wiiolesale trade is perfectly free, and the prices 
 are regulated by the law of supply and demand as in all 
 other countries. It is in the hands of the Townships instead 
 of being in private hands. That is all the difference. I order 
 where I please and what I please and every one does the 
 same. It is true that we have some regulations here that do 
 not exist in other countries, but they are for the protection 
 of the whole people. One is a regcilar scale of profits, without 
 any admixture of si)eculation in it. I know that the price I 
 give the Town for the goods bears a regular ratio to the 
 price paid to the producer and manufacturer, and I also know 
 that I have nothing to fear from those speculative fluctuations 
 in price which so often raia the most careful dealer. 
 
 "Another rule is that we must pay tl\e cash. The Common- 
 wealth furnishes an abundance of money for all transactions. 
 
52 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 and as it never speculates, we have no panic or stringency in 
 the money market. We, the merchants, are not at the mercy 
 of the bankers, and the whole trade of the country is never 
 paralyzed because these money kings feel the need of protecting 
 themselves. 
 
 "Again there is one wholesale price for all. The price of 
 goods in all wholesale stores is open to inspection, and our 
 customers can buy at the same price we do if they buy in 
 suflficiently large quantities. We are only distributors whom 
 the people are willing to pay for their trouble, but there is 
 no chance for exorbitant profits. 
 
 "Thus hy a few simple rules, which are approved of by all 
 sensible persons, and from the power which results from their 
 position, the Townships are able to regulate all the trade, to 
 insure to the customers a large choice of goods at the minimum 
 cost of distribution, and protect them against speculation. 
 
 "Outside of these regulations the most perfect freedom exists, 
 and I can deal with another Township, or with the manufac- 
 turer direct if I find it to my advantage. Besides, many 
 articles, as fruits, vegetables, meats, milk and others of a 
 perishable nature, never find their way to the wholesale stores, 
 but are left to private hands. We are not working out any 
 definite plan, and would as soon leave the wholesale trade to 
 private citizens if the result was more satisfactory. But our 
 system enables us to better provide for the people, and to 
 protect them from trusts and other speculative combinations. 
 And the profits derived from the wholesale trade form one of 
 the most available public revenues. 
 
 "As for the question of individual freedom, you are I think 
 entirely mistaken. The well digested regulations, approved of 
 by the majority of the people, and enforced by the Common- 
 wealth, are not nearly as oppressive as the rules arbitrarily 
 enacted according to the whims of the money kings. Order is 
 
THE APPRENTICES. 63 
 
 one t)f the conditions of society, and must be enforced either 
 by private edicts or public laws. All that we can ask is 
 that they should be such as tend to accomplish the desired 
 end with the least infringement of individual freedom. We 
 willingly submit to the government's control, but we never 
 would stand the treatment you receive from private corporations, 
 who have no respect for the desires of their customers, except 
 so far as it can influence the amount of money they expect 
 to make out of them, 
 
 "Besides, we have extended the sphere of personal freedom, 
 and are willing to leave private conduct to be regulated by 
 natural results, and many laws which are yet in force among 
 you, would not be tolerated an instant here." 
 
 Much more did the old gentleman tell me, for we talked a 
 long time, and I must acknowledge that the more 1 understand 
 the spirit which controls their public organization, the more I 
 believe that they are moving in the right direction. 
 
 ♦ •■ » ^ 
 
 CHAPTER IZ. 
 
 THE APPRENTICES. 
 
 The next day I had occasion to resume my conversation 
 with Mr, Wilton. 1 am getting very much interested in all 
 I see and hear, an<l while I do not find Socioland different 
 in its features and products from other countries I have 
 visited, I recognize that Mr. Walter was right when he warned 
 me that I would find myself in an entirely different atmos- 
 phere. This does not appear on the surface, although indica- 
 tions can be seen by the careful observer, but its influence is 
 
64 THE FUTUKE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 / 
 
 strongly marked on their internal economy. I am more and 
 more convinced that they are in a fair way of solving problems 
 which have puzzled mankind for a long time, and I desire to 
 learn all I can as to tlie manner in Avhich they are solving 
 them. So I was glad to find the next evening that Mr. 
 Wilton had no previous engagement, and could spare the 
 time for a long conversation. 
 
 After a few words on general subjects, I asked him to tell 
 me more about the management of public business, especially 
 of that part connected with the apprentices, for I meet them 
 at every turn, and they are one of the most conspicuous 
 features of the society in Socioland. 
 
 "I can probably best explain what you want to know," said 
 Mr. Wilton in answer to my questions, "by giving you a short 
 account of the management of this hotel. When the Township 
 of Spencer, for reasons we will not go into now, decided to 
 open another hotel, the first thing to be done was to select 
 a suitable spot upon the land in its possession, and upon that 
 tract to erect a building for that purpose. This was done by 
 the Town Architect under the supervision of the Board of 
 Advisers, the means coming from the surplus fund, which, with 
 the resources in the hands of the Township, is always large. 
 
 "All the material was paid for in cash, that which came 
 from the Township stores, as well as that bought from private 
 persons. The labor was hired by the day or the week at 
 liberal rates, but as many apprentices as possible were kept 
 at work, to reduce expenses, and also because we find that 
 physical exercise of that kind is a good training for our 
 young men, and kas a beneficial influence on their body and 
 on their mind. 
 
 "And here, Mr. Balcom, let me point to you the difierence 
 between our system and that of the United States. In the 
 building of this hotel we have eliminated the profit on the 
 
THE APPKENTieES. 55 
 
 land which would have gone to some speculator, the profit 
 on the material, which was mostly furnished by the wholesale 
 stores, and the profit of the contractor. That which has cost 
 us more money has been the labor which commands high 
 prices here, yet the final result has been to reduce the cost 
 one third. All this has been achieved without doing injustice 
 to any one, but simply by preventing the monopolization of 
 natural resources by individuals. 
 
 ♦'When the house was finished, I presented myself as can- 
 didate for Manager. I have been connected with hotels all 
 my life, and since my arrival in Socioland have been Head 
 Steward in another establishment. I had borne a good cha- 
 racter, and was elected without opposition. I have given sa- 
 tisfaction and have held the place ever since. My salary is 
 liberal, bnt not extravagant, and I am well satisfied. 
 
 "As soon a^ elected, I took charge of the house which was 
 not yet furnished. That part of the outfit was purchased under 
 my care, conjointly with one of the Advisers who was detailed 
 to help me until the work was finished. I furnished the 
 knowledge of what would be required, while he safeguarded 
 the interests of the Town. We were not limited in our expenses 
 by an appropriation, but confidence was placed in our judgment 
 and in our integrity. 
 
 "When the work was done, the full Board was invited to 
 carefully examine the hotel throughout, the accounts were 
 submitted to their inspection, and when all was recognized as 
 correct, both the Architect and myself were notified that our 
 work was satisfactory, and a notice to thai effect, as well as 
 a full statement of all our expenses, was published for the 
 benefit of the inhabitants of Spencer. 
 
 "Once in charge, I proceeded to hire help, and besides, 
 made an application to the Apprentice Bureau for as many 
 of them as I thought I could employ. Those young people, 
 
56 THE FUTUEE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 who receive no wages, and are often very intelligent and 
 anxious to learn, are a great help to reduce expenses, and 
 there is always a great demand for them. 
 
 "When we put in a requisition, we must state the kind of 
 occupation we have, for it is not only the apprentices just 
 called out that are free to choose to work for as, but all those 
 in the Commonwealth. Except that all apprentices are ex- 
 pected to keep at work, they have all the freedom of choice 
 they can desire. At any time a young man or woman working 
 for me can leave if they have a place offered to them where 
 they think they would be better satisfied, but I can also 
 send back to the Bureau any of them who does not give me 
 satisfaction. Of course there are checks to the abuse of these 
 privileges, for the Commonwealth has the welfare of its young 
 people very much at heart, and the Apprentice Bureau is 
 specially charged to see after them, and to advise them so as 
 to prevent unwise changes. The parents have also influence 
 with their children, and are consulted by the Bureau and the 
 Managers so as to attain the best results. 
 
 J "It is also the duty of the Bureau to investigate the com- 
 plaints of the apprentices, and if, as sometimes happens with 
 Managers newly elected, it is found that they cannot get along 
 with the young people, it is considered a sufficient reason to 
 put in motion the machinery necessary to secure a new election. 
 We have also among our children some who have a roviiig 
 disposition, and want to change often and without good cause. 
 For thesBy places are found with Managers specially qualified 
 to deal with such characters, and they are compelled to remain 
 until there is an improvement in their disposition. Thus, 
 without strict rules or harsh measures, we try by a process of 
 natural selection to make the most of the material at our 
 command. 
 "Once provided with a suitable building and the necessary 
 
THE APPRENTICES. 57 
 
 personel, I am left free to rim this hotel as if I owned it 
 myself, f am expected to charge moderate prices, to give 
 satisfaction to my guests, to deal kindly with my help, and 
 to clear a moderate profit. I must keep a strict account of 
 my receipts and expenses, which T can easily do with the 
 help of the apprentices, several of whom are fair accountants 
 and book-keepers. My accounts must always be open to the 
 inspection of the Board of Advisers, or whoever they choose 
 to delegate. 
 
 "The result of this union of responsibility and freedom is to- 
 create a body of men trained to the management of public 
 enterprises, and we are educating the growing generation in 
 the special qualifications needed for the responsible position 
 of Managers. It is the process of the survival of the fittest 
 applied to public affairs, and makes Socioland the best mana- 
 ged country in the world." 
 
 "But, Mr. Wilton," I reinarked, "do you not have trouble 
 with some of the apprentices? Of course the most of them 
 are to be trusted, but are not several of them careless and 
 unreliable, and more anxious to play than to work?" 
 
 "No," ho answered. *'We have very little trouble in that 
 direction. Probably it is due to the spirit which reigns in 
 Socioland and which affects all our people, and has its infiu- 
 enoe even upon the children. In the first place, all kinds of | 
 work are honorable here, and a moderate amount is looked 
 upon as healthy for both body and mind. Our children are 
 not taught that labor is a curse entailed upon the human fa- 
 mily by the fall of Adam. On the contrary, they are taught 
 that it is through labor that all that which makes life worths 
 living has been attained, and that further progress will only 
 result from labor intelligently directed. Then we teach them 
 the great advantages which resvilt from the combination of 
 labor, and try to make them understand that concerted action. 
 
58 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 is only possible when the riofht kind of spirit animates the 
 whole population. J*- 
 
 "As our aims are different from yours, we preach to our 
 youths an entirely different doctrine. Your sins are the sius 
 against the will of God, ours are the sins against the welfare 
 •of society* You trust in the authority of the law, we trust in 
 each other, and frown down any conduct which tends to des- 
 troy this confidence. Yoa envy and try to imitate the man 
 who enriches himself at public expense; we look upon him 
 as a public enemy. You excuse the man who betrays a public 
 trust; we look upon him with the same contempt as the brave 
 soldier looks upon the man who runs away in the midst of 
 battle. We thus create a public spirit which is an important 
 factor toward the success of our institutions. 
 
 "No, Mr. Balcom, we have very little trouble with our ap- 
 prentices. Having a common aim and common interests, the 
 desire for success permeates all our people and is felt by our 
 children, so that they are willing to do their part, and those 
 whose character inclines to neglect their work, are morally 
 compelled to keep step with their surroundings. 
 
 "However there are other causes which induce our apprentices 
 to work cheerfully. We try as far as possible to make them 
 happy, and want them to enjoy life as much as the conditions 
 permit. We believe in happiness, and want our children to 
 \>e happy. They are not only well cared for, but as you have 
 seen, they have much uiore recreation and also much more 
 freedom than they have in your land. "We ask nothing from 
 them in the Way of work but what they can see is for the 
 general good, and when their task is accomplished, not only 
 do we leave them free to do what they please, but we help 
 them to spend their time agreeably and profitably." 
 
 "That, Mr. Wilton," [ remarked; "must be a very good plan 
 for boys and girls of good disposition, but we would be afraid 
 
THE APPRENTICES. 59 
 
 to give so much freedom to our children, for it must be a 
 j;reat temptation to abuse the privilege, and forni habits and 
 associations which might have a bad influence on the character^" 
 
 "You give me here, Mr. Balcom, a very old argument 
 against every extension of individual freedom, an argument 
 which is logical enough in tiie mouth of a Christian who 
 believes in innate depravity, and is taught to pray to be kept 
 out of temptation, but which, if you will allow me to say t-o, 
 is entirely out of place in the mouth of an Agnostic and an 
 American citizen. 
 
 "You, as an Agnostic, cannot believe in natural depravity, 
 and as an American, you ought to know that the same criti- 
 cism is launched at you by the Europeans on account of the 
 greater freedom you give to the youths of both sexes, and yet 
 you have no reason to believe but what their conduct is just 
 as good as that of their European brothers and sisters. 
 
 "No, our experience has shown us that we can better afford 
 to trust our young people than to niistrust them, and that if 
 we taught them right we could safely allow them to control 
 their own personal actions. 
 
 "Besides all these influences, our system is such as to induce 
 our apprentices to their best exertions, for it is those wh.o 
 learn and improve, and show the most executive ability, who 
 advance in position. There is really more incentive to well 
 doing in oar system than there is under private competition 
 for the best prizes are won by actual merit, and not by favor 
 or the privilege of birth. 
 
 "I have tried to explain to you, Mr. Balcora, how we try 
 to foster from the start the spirit which alone can make our 
 public policy a success. That is the base, the foundation^, 
 which lacking would wreck all our efforts. Public institutions 
 are built upon private character, and the marked advance 
 we think we have made over otlier nations, we would soor\ 
 
60 THE FUTURE COxMMONWEALTH. 
 
 lose unless we cultivate the same spirit which animated our 
 predecessors." 
 
 This opinion of Mr. Wilton is worthy of a careful study. 
 If he is correct, then a change in public spirit must precede 
 a change in public institutions. The lessons of history would 
 show that he is right, for reveral times, under the leadership 
 of progressive men, nations have tried to advance further tlian 
 Avas warranted by the state of public knowledge, and after 
 short trials the ground gained was lost, and the people had 
 to fall back lo their original institutions. 
 
 • » 1 » » 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ABOUT EDUCATION 
 
 \/ 1 am staying longer in Spencer than I had at first intended, 
 ' but I am enjoying myself at the hotel, where I have many 
 friends, and where reigns a home feeling which I had never 
 found in a hotel before. 
 
 This feeling is not due to the special character of the 
 guests, but is due to the social feeling among the employees 
 of the hotel, young and old. As their tasks are comparatively 
 light and they have much spare time, and as special efforts 
 are made to spend this time in common, they constitute a social 
 circle open at all times to the guests, and form the bond that 
 keeps this pleasant home feeling alive. Every afternoon quite 
 a number of people meet in the parlor, and every evening 
 some entertainment is provided. 
 
 I find that music is very much cultivated in Socioland, and 
 \ the children are taught to play and sing in the public schools. 
 
ABOUT EDUCATIOK. 61 
 
 There are many good performers on several instruments among 
 the hotel people, and concerts are of frequent occurrence. As 
 for dancing, it is the order of the day here, and children are 
 taught to dance almost as soon as they can walk. Besides 
 these social advantages, there is a good library in the hotel, 
 and it is well patronized. 
 
 On the other hand, there is very little style and it is 
 not encouraged. Everything is nice and good, and all con- 
 veniences for comfort are provided for, but there is very little 
 for show. The table is well supplied, and the service sufficient 
 for those who are willing to eat at leisure. 
 
 One thing which makes it much easier for the people of 
 the hotel and which is characteristic of the habits of the 
 country, is that there is little or no travel at night. 
 
 In adjusting the time tables of public conveyances, the com- 
 fort of the employees is consulted as much as the desires of 
 the travelling public, and they are so arranged as to prevent 
 their being called upon to work at undue hours. That seemed 
 very strange to me at first, for it is an unheard of thing 
 among us that the convenience of the workers should be con- 
 sulted in the running of public conveyances, and I could not 
 understand that the travellers should be satisfied, but I learned 
 that it is one of the natural consequences of the emancipation 
 of the laborer from the thraldom of poverty. 
 
 In a country where a large part of the public labor is done 
 by the young people, and where wealth is so distributed that 
 want stares no one in the face, and where the attainment of 
 happiness is made the chief incentive to labor, it would be 
 unlogical to request the public employees to turn night into 
 day for the convenience of those who want to be carried at 
 night. Not that all night work can be dispensed with, only 
 it is reduced to its minimum. 
 
 Such a course would be impossible with us fof everything 
 
62 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 is rushed througli at railroad speed, and the motto "Time is 
 laoney" is a true index of th^ practices of our country. But 
 here if time is also money, yet money is not valued above 
 comfort, and it will not buy the discomfort of a large portion 
 of the people as it will do among us. 
 
 You may remember that the first dav of my arrival I was 
 presented to Miss Bell, whom Mrs. Wilton told me was the 
 daughter of one of the influential men of Spencer, one of the 
 class who among us would be a merchant prince and a finan- 
 cial power. I was very much pleased with her from that 
 evening, and as she seems to enjoy my society, we have he- 
 come very good friends indeed. She is not strikingly hand- 
 some, hut is a pleasant looking girl of about nineteen years 
 of age. She is a little above the medium height, with fair 
 hair and honest blue eyes. One of those girls who improve 
 in looks as they advance in years, and make the best of wives 
 and mothers. I have not fallen in love with her, so my dear 
 Harry, do not weave a little romance at my expense, but I 
 find her well-informed and intelligent, and we enjoy conver* 
 sing together. Miss Bell is as much interested in learning 
 something of our usages as I am in learning from her, and 
 it adds greatly to the pleasure of our conversation. 
 
 "Tell me, Mr. Balcom," she said to me one evening as we 
 were sitting in the parlor, "how do girls of my age spend 
 their time in the United States?" 
 
 "Ah! Miss Bell," 1 replied, "that is too hard a question for 
 me to answer, for it depends very much in what station of 
 life they are born." 
 
 "That is true," she remarked, ''I had forgotten you told me 
 that you have no public apprentices there. Do you know it 
 seems impossible to realize that there should be so much 
 difierence in the education of children? Now here all have 
 an equal chance, and the only difference is what results from 
 
ABOUT EDUCATION. 63 
 
 <i>ur special ability, or from the choice of vocations. But tell 
 me, how would I have been educated bad I been born in 
 the United States?" 
 
 "Well, Miss Bell, I will tell you as near as I can. You 
 would have lived in a very large house, surrounded by a great 
 many servants who would have waited on you, and would 
 have been nearly all your society until you were old enough 
 to go to school." 
 
 "What!" she exclaimed, "and my parents?" 
 "Oh! your father would have been too busy getting rich to 
 spend much time at home, and too tired and nervous to stand 
 the effervescence of your overflowing spirits, and as for your 
 mother, the demands of society would have absorbed all her 
 time, and she would have been compelled to leave you in the 
 care of the nursery maid. 
 
 "You would have been first sent to private school, then 
 to a finishing school until you were twenty years or more, 
 when you would have come out in society, and spent your 
 time in dressing, and making and receiving calls." 
 
 "Do you mean to say, Mr. Balcom, that I would have been 
 kept at school more than ten years of my life? And what do 
 these girls learn during all that time?" 
 
 ''Really, Miss Bell, it is more than I can tell you. So far 
 as I can judge, \vhat they learn they keep to themselve8,\ 
 for 1 have never been able to (letect it in their conversation,/ 
 I have some times asked them what they learned at school 
 and they would answer latin, algebra, geometry, chemistry, 
 etc., but I never could get them to tell me what was the 
 object of their studies, or how it was expected that it would 
 help them through life." 
 
 "But surely, Mr. Balcom, these girls do not spend all their 
 time in such studies. They must be taught some practical 
 knowledge, something of housekeeping or cooking, or dressmaking. 
 
64 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Something that will be of use to them in their married life."" 
 
 *'All that must seem strange to you, Miss Eell. It ought to 
 be incredible, but it is a fact that in the United States the 
 daughters of rich men are not expected to ck) any useful 
 work in their life. What is expected af them is to adorn 
 society, and they are taught accomplish aients to enable them 
 to fill in a graceful manner their appointed place. These 
 accomplishments would be well enough if these girls had a 
 useful background to hang them upon, but they know nothing 
 of life and its realities, and have no desirable aims or serious 
 purposes. They form among themselves a sort of mutual ad- 
 miration society, where the false coin of fashion passes in place 
 of the real currency of this busy world, and are failures so 
 far as the welfare of mankind is concerned. 
 
 "Of course you understand that I am talking now of the 
 daughters of our richest men, but unhappily they are the chil- 
 dren of our most energetic and intelligent citizens, those best 
 qualified to maintain a high standard of womanhood, and the 
 number of girls so educated is increasing all the time. Their 
 position makes them leaders in fashion, and all those persons 
 who want to raise themselves in society follow in their foot- 
 steps, and actually believe that this useless education is a mark 
 of distinction, and stamps its recipients as something superior 
 to the rest of humanity. 
 
 "We think we have made a great advance because we have 
 abolished the aristocracy of birth, but we have replaced it by 
 an aristocracy of wealth, and the lessons of history are re- 
 peating themselves. Our aristocracy, instead of cultivating the 
 qualities which have raised it above the common level, educate 
 their children in idleness and uselessness, and thus fail to 
 maintain the high standard they have attained, and demoralize 
 all below them by the pernicious example of their luxurious lives." 
 
 "I cannot help believe, Mr. Balcom^ that it is^ only one side 
 
ABOUT EDUCATION. 66 
 
 of tlie picture yon are showing me now. You must have a 
 larjje number of girls who receive a practical and an intellec- 
 tual education, and who, like ns here, can turn their hands 
 and ^irainb to all kinds of useful occupations, possessing culture 
 and accomplishments, and feeling at home everywhere." 
 
 *'0f course we have," I answered. "The force of circumstances 
 teaches many a girl the practical side of life, but it is not 
 looked upon favorably, even by the most sensible portion of 
 the community. The rich set the fashion, and all other classes 
 follow as far as their means will allow. You have a check 
 here on such pernicious influences in your social institutions 
 which prevents the private accumulation of wealth, and trains 
 all your people to useful occupations, but we have no checks, 
 and the evil is running riot, and is fast demoralizing society. 
 
 "The results of our system of education arejdstas bad among 
 the lower classes. Their children are not taught any useful 
 knowledge, such as would help them to rise in the world, 
 and our cities are full of girls who have to earn their living 
 and are thrown upon their own resources without any preparation. 
 You can have no idea. Miss Bell, of the misery of their ex- 
 istence. Ignorant, ill-paid, overworked, they are surrounded by 
 their rich sisters, who flaunt in their faces their carriages and 
 their silk dresses, and monopolize all the enjoyments. 
 
 "No, you cannot realize here how great a difference there is 
 in the education of our children, and how far from an equal 
 chance our system — or to be correct our lack of system — ^gives 
 them of /caching a desirable position in society." 
 
 **But, Mr. Balcom, if it is as you represent it, why do you 
 not adopt some system like ours?" 
 
 "You cannot understand," I answered, "how diflScult it is 
 to make changes in old settled countries. Many of us want 
 a change, and in time will be sufficiently numerous to compel 
 a change. The dissatisfaction with the inequalities io conditions 
 
m THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTir. 
 
 is becoming greater every year, and it is one of the most 
 encouraging signs of the times. 
 
 "It is only of late that this dissatisfaction has dared to 
 manifest itself, for the religious beliefs of tlie past were 
 opposed to changes, and their tendency was to encourage abject 
 submission. For centuries the poor have been taught that God 
 had created the existing conditions of society, and that he had 
 chosen some to be rich and powerful, and others to be poor 
 and submissive, and that any attempt to change these social 
 relations was an act of rebellion against the decrees of an all- 
 wise Providence. 
 
 "Those are, I suppose, arguments against progress you never 
 heard before, and wbich would have no effect on you, and 
 you would probably laugh at the person who told you that 
 health or sickness, success or failure, happiness or misery, are 
 not the result of the wisdom or foolishness of our actions, 
 but the result of the will of God. 
 
 "Yet for ages this doctrine has been preached to us by 
 those who were regarded as best qualified to teach, and any 
 doubt as to its truth has been threatened with fearful pu- 
 nishment in a future existence. This doctrine is no longer 
 believed, although it is still preached and listened to with res- 
 pect, and the number of persons who believe that it is possible 
 to equalize the social conditions is yet far too small to enable 
 us to accomplish any important change. 
 
 "We are just emerging out of the toils of an iron-bound 
 spiritual despotism, which has held society so long in its em- 
 brace that now that its arms are beginning to be loosened 
 we are yet so cramped that very few realize that we are free 
 to stretch out and seek for a more comfortable position. We 
 commence to dare to express our belief that our position is 
 not as satisfactory as it might be, and to deny the claims of 
 those who oppose changes from fear that they might prove 
 
ANCIENT INSTITUTIONS. 67 
 
 disastrous to their spiritual authority, but we are not yet far 
 enough advanced as a people to know how to modify our 
 public institutions. 
 
 "You can sec, Miss Bell, by what T tell you, how much 
 there is to be done before we can improve a state of society 
 which is not only far from perfect, but fails utterly to promote 
 1 the highest happiness of the rich as well as of the poor." 
 
 ^ I ■ » » 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ANCIENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 I had not realized, my dear Harry, until I conversed with 
 Miss Bell, how great a difference there is between their edu- 
 cation and GUIS, especially from a religious point of view. Here 
 was a young girl who had never entered a church or even 
 seen one, had never conversed with a preacher or been ap- 
 proached upon the subject of the salvation of her i>o\x\ and 
 never been told that there was any possible relation between 
 her beliefs and conduct here, and her happiness or misery 
 in a future existence. 
 
 The point which struck me was not the question of her 
 religious beliefs, for while I have never asked her, yet from 
 some words dropped in conversation I have reason to believe 
 that she leans toward Spiritualism, but that which interested 
 me was the fact, pure and simple, that her conduct was 
 entirely free from religious influences. 
 
 ' We have no such characters among us, at least I have never 
 seen any. We have unbelievers, agnostics, heathens even. The 
 slums contain many youths who have never entered a church 
 
68 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 or attended Sabbath school, but still they have come in contact 
 with men and women who go to both, ;tnd their conduct is 
 influenced by what they hear from them. I doubt if any 
 person can be found but what has heard of the Ten Command- 
 ments and know that they are held in reverence^ by per&ons 
 that they themselves respect. 
 
 )But not only this girl, \ but all these youths by whom I am 
 .surrounded, live in a country where there is no church, no 
 Bible, no preachers, and where right"*' and wrong are judge! 
 entirely upon the desirable or undesirable results of their 
 actions. 
 
 What a different basis from ours! How flexible and open 
 to change a nation thus educated must be, compared to one 
 which is hampered by old traditions, and whose people respect 
 and obey ancient laws, not becant^e tliey fulfil any useful 
 purpose, but because they are prefaced by a "Thus says 
 the Lord." 
 
 How it simplifies the solution of the social problem to place 
 it on a purely natural basis, by surrendering the bdiief that 
 somewhere there resides a creator who has promulgated laws 
 for the guidance of men, which are in direct opposition to 
 the laws that control the balance of the Univene, and who 
 compels obedience to these laws by rewards and punishments 
 outside of the realm of natural results. 
 
 It brought strongly to my mind what Mr. Walter had told 
 lae on the boat, that thev had adopted a standard of conduct 
 I /in accord with the law of evolution, and which would greatly 
 1/ facilitate progress. As Ifget* a better insight into the philoso- 
 phy of these people, and learn to understand the beliefs which 
 guide their conduct, I realise how difficult it will be for us to 
 make any marked advance so long as we try to follow at the 
 same time the teachings of the Bible and the dictates of our 
 natural desires. We are a house divided against itself, and it 
 
ANCIENT INSTITUTIONS. 69 
 
 helps us but little that our religious beliefs do not penetrate 
 deeper than tlie surface, and our obedience to the Bible is more 
 in form than reality. 
 
 The day after I had the conversation on education with 
 Miss Bell was Sunday, and in the morning as I sauntered in 
 the parlor after breakfast, she came to me and said: "You 
 know, I suppose, Mr. Balcom, that this is a holiday with us. 
 We cannot atop work entirely here, for there are many things 
 which have to be done, but we suspend all but the most 
 necessary occupations, and try to enjoy the day as u)uch as 
 possible. My work is such as can be [^laid aside for the day, 
 and what little 1 have to do consists in helping those who 
 are not so well favored. But I have most of the day free, 
 and I would be pleased if you will come home with me and 
 get acquainted with my parents." 
 
 Of course I gladly assented, and not long after we started 
 to walk to their house. The streets were quiet, most all the 
 stores closed, and the people whom we met were in their holi- 
 day attiie. In the course of the conversation I remarked to 
 Miss Bell that the absence of churches was something an 
 American would be sure to notice. 
 
 "It is true that we have no churches in Socioland," she 
 said, "and I have often wondered what people went to church 
 for. Can you explain to me what is the attraction which 
 takes them there?" 
 
 "Well, Miss Bell, I suppose it is habit more than anything 
 else which takes people to church now. It is one of those 
 duties which I told you of yesterday, that have been imposed 
 upon us by the iron hand of spiritual authority. You may 
 have heard that the Bible teaches that God created the 
 world in six days and rested on the seventh, and on that 
 account ordered that man should rest one day out of seven. 
 Of course no one believes that now, but"*8till the consecration 
 
70 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 of the seventh day to God's worship is upheld hy men who 
 believe one thing and preach another, and law and public 
 opinion enforces it. 
 
 "Then some three thousand years p.eo, a Jewish k ng named 
 Solomon built God a fine temple, for it was believed in those 
 days that God took special pleasure in temples and had to be 
 worshipped there. So in imitation of Solomon, Christians built 
 churches everywhere and now, although they no longer believe 
 in sucli a God, and no longer go to church to worship him, 
 they go there to hear fine music, to listen or pretend to listen 
 to a flowery discourse on subjects that have lost their interest 
 for them, and to join in prayers which no longer come from 
 the heart and are addressed to God, but are elaborate compo- 
 sitions pronounced for the entertainment of the congregation. 
 And the force of habit is so great that churches are still ^ 
 built, and people found to attend them, altliough the belief 
 which originally led to their construction and filled them 
 with sincere, but ignorant worshippers, has been entirely out- 
 grown. 
 
 "Do you understand now why it is so difficult to change 
 our institutions? From the standpoint of Socioland there are 
 no excuses for churches. The cost of their construction and 
 the salaries of the preachers are useless expenses, for they do 
 not contribute one iota to the public prosperity, or even preach 
 a scientific code of morality. 
 
 "There would be some excuse if an honest religious belief 
 was at the foundation of church-building and church-going, but 
 that belief is nearly entirely gone. No educated person now 
 believes in the six days' creation, or that God takes special 
 pleasure in expensive buildings, or in fine organs, or in famous 
 singers, and very, very few believe that to be a church member 
 secures a passport, to Paradise. 
 
 "No, it all rests upon inherited habits. It is the habit to 
 
ANCIENT INSTITUTIONS. 71 
 
 upliold the churches, 'jo they nre upheld. It is the habit to 
 say grace before meals, to open the sessions of legishitures 
 with prayer, to ^'rind the poor, to monopolize the land, to 
 cheat the government, to settle all disputes by war, to spend 
 millions upon the army, and so these things go (m and no 
 one dreams of changing them. 
 
 "Bnt let :iny one propose something new, as for instance 
 any legislation which might curtail the [)Ower of the rich and 
 improve the condition of the poor, or promote a better distri- 
 bution of the land, or reduce the expenses of the army and 
 thus lighten the load on the shoulders of the workers, or a 
 iliminution in the number of the hours of labor, then an outcry 
 is made by the conservative portion of society, for such dan- 
 gerous demands were never made before, and if not promptly 
 checked, the social edifice will be overthrown, and civilization 
 buried under its ruins." 
 
 I stopped abruptly, for I recognized that I had got unduly 
 excited, and I excused myself to Miss Bell. "I am afraid," I 
 said, "that yon .will think rae very uncourteons to allow 
 such a digression to take up our time this pleasant morning, 
 when agreeable thoughts alone ought to fill our minds. It 
 was very wrong in me to indulge in such fault-finding, but I 
 must aoknowleilge that I sometimes lose patience with these 
 nominal Christians who are trying to save their souls and gain 
 the whole world at the same time. 
 
 "What vexes me the most, Miss Bell, is that our best men 
 and women, many of whom earnestly desire to see the social 
 conditions improved, allow themselves to be turned aside from 
 an honest study of the best solution of the problems involved, 
 through fear that it might destroy the respect now entertained 
 for these ancient institutions." 
 
 "I do not know," Miss Bell remarked, . ''that I correctly 
 understand you. I can see that your people do many things 
 
72 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 that we would not think of doing, and yon seem to think that 
 they have no better reason for it except that it used to be 
 thought the right thing in the past." 
 
 "Precisely so," I answered. "Thus if our ancestors had never 
 gone to church, never observed the Sunday, the reasons now 
 given would not be deemed sufficient to establish the custom. 
 This matter of church-going is in itself of small importance, 
 but it shows the tendency to hold on to old habits which 
 prevents more important changes." 
 
 "Then, Mr. Balcom, the trouble seems to be in the conser- 
 vative character of the people as much as in their religion." 
 
 "Yes and no. Not in the special religion, for the Buddhists 
 and the Mahomeddans are yet more conservative than we are, 
 but the influence of all so-called revealed religions is to chrys- 
 talyze the character and customs and thus prevent improvement. 
 
 "At the beginning, when first promulgated, they are a great 
 force to impel forward civilization, but when their work is 
 accomplished, and their strength has spent itself, they cannot 
 be modified to suit the new conditions they themselves have 
 helped to create, for they are supposed to come directly from 
 God, so all the influence of their believers is exerted to pre- 
 vent changes \vhieh would leave all their paraphernalia high, 
 dry and useless. The more useful a religion has been in the 
 past, the stronger is the hold it has taken upon the people, and 
 the more difficult it is to hrow off the fetters it has placed 
 upon its followers. 
 
 "But let us drop the subject, and now that I have told you 
 about our national ideas upon keeping the Sunday, and why 
 we go to church, please tell ra e how you spend the day here." 
 
 "Really, Mr. Balcom, there is very little to tell, for we have 
 no special way of spending it, except as a day of rest and 
 pleasure. It is the day of family gatherings, of feasts and 
 picnics. We visit on that day more than upon any other, and 
 
HOUSEKEEPING IN SOCIOLAND. 73 
 
 public entertainments are provided for by the Townsliips, such f 
 as music in the parks, and dances. Those who are inlelleciu- ' 
 ally inclined can attend lectures and debates in our public hallf; 
 and we have also free excursions on the lake, rivers and rail- 
 loads, although not very often on account of the extra work 
 it gives to many persons who thus lose their cliance of Sunday 
 recreation. Every one spends his time as he chooses, ;ind 
 really the greatest difficulty is to select among the many 
 pleasant ways provided lor our amusement. 
 
 "But this is our house we are coming to, and I will have > 
 
 the pleasure of introducing you to my father and mother, and i 
 
 I to the balance of the family." — — — ' 
 
 ♦ • t « ♦ 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 HOUSEKEEPING IN SOCIOLAND. 
 
 Mr. Bell is a good-looking gentleman, yet in the prime of 
 his strength and activity, and impressed me as possessing great 
 will power and a sound judgment. He is heavily built, with 
 a roun4 head, keen gray eyes, a strong face, every lineament 
 well defined. His wife is quick and impulsive, slender, with 
 a refined face, and black hair and hazel eyes. They have two 
 sons, one older and the other younger than their daughter. 
 With the oldest one, a thriving young lawyer, I struck quite 
 an acquaintance later on. 
 
 I was received very pleasantly by the family, and it seemed 
 quite natural that the daughter should have invited me to 
 spend the day at their house. 
 
 "We are very glad to see you, Mr. Balcom," Mrs. Bell said 
 
74 THE IFUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 to me after 1 had been introdtioed. "Mary has told ns about 
 jou and how interested she is in all you tell her abont the 
 older countries. It is somethinfr new' !to her to ^ hear about 
 them, just as a great deal of what you see here must be new 
 to you also." 
 
 I assented to h^r rc-mrks, and thinkin'j: 'that it would be a 
 good opportunity to learn somethins; of the way in which 
 their new institutions affected the female portion of the popu- 
 lation, T turned the conversation in that direction by asking 
 Mrs. Bell if they did not find it very difficult to hire house 
 help in Socioland. 
 
 *'Yes, of course," she answered. "It is not only difficult, but 
 it is impossible here to have servants such as you are 
 I used to. Whoever we get to help us in the house we must 
 treat as one of the family. Nobody would submit here to eat 
 at a different table, receive their company in the kitchen, or 
 sleep in a cupboard under the roof. You see our system of 
 apprenticeship has a great influence upon the character of 
 J ! our girls. In the first place, the Commonwealth controls all 
 ''their time from the age of fourteen until they are twenty. 
 During that time these girls are much thrown together, often 
 indeed dwell in the same house, eat at thjs same table, sleep 
 in the same room, work in the same department, andiiassociate 
 in the same pleasures. It is not to be expected that girls so 
 trained would be willing to accept a menial's position in a 
 private family, especially as there are plenty of other occu- 
 pations open to their choice, for everyone coming out of the 
 training school is well fitted to earn her living in whatever 
 direction she may prefer. There are girls who like to do 
 house- work, and are] willing to help in private families, but 
 they must be treated as equnls and not as servants, and we 
 have to pay them as good a salary as they would earn as 
 book-keepers or clerks in a store." 
 
HOUSEKEEPING IN SOCIOLAND. 75 
 
 "That, Madam," T rejoined, "must be very pleasant for the 
 fjirJs, but cannot prove so satisfactory for those ladies who 
 must either do their work without hel(), or must submit to 
 close association with persons who may not be at all congenial 
 10 their tastes." 
 
 "I think tluit (m tho whole, Mr. Balcom, our system is 
 preferable to yours, at least so far as I understand the way in 
 which servants are treated in other countries. If idleness was 
 the chief aim of woman, and happiness was reached by com- 
 ing in daily contact with persons without education or culture 
 it would be diflerent, but we would strongly object to brin<.ing 
 into our houses the class of persons on whom your women 
 depend for the help they believe they must have. You may 
 relegate your servants to the kitchen, and build back stairs for 
 their especial use, and keep them at arm's length as much as 
 possible, but tiie fact remains that tlicy are a discordant ele- 
 ment' in the household, and while they may cater to the 
 luxurious habits of your female population, it is not to be 
 wondered at that there slx)uld be so much dissatisfaction as 
 we hear exists with your servant system. 
 
 "Your women do not seem to look at this question in that 
 light. They hire help to do their work, and if it is done in 
 a satisfactory manner and at a reasonable price, they are 
 willing to accept the annoyance of the daily contact as a 
 necessary result. 
 
 "To us, who have never been used to the class from whom 
 you draw your servants, for it does not exist here, the an- 
 noyance would be much greater, and I would never consent 
 to bring into my home a person with whom I would be 
 unwilling to associate on terms of equality." 
 
 **I know, Madam," I answered, "that there is much com- 
 plaint at home about the servants. In the United States 
 labor is so much better paid than in Europe, and so many 
 
76 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 more chances are open to the women to otherwise earn their 
 living, that if it were not for the immigration, from the 
 older conntries, the supply would fall short of the demand. 
 As it is, our help occupies a middle position hetween your^ 
 and that of Europe. We have many ladies who would prefer 
 to do their work alone, but who find that they cannot stand 
 it and at the same time keep their place in society. Their 
 health and strength fails them, and they have to get help 
 as a measure of self-preservation. How is it that yon can 
 manage it here, and aie satisfied with all the burden of 
 housekeeping resting upon you?" 
 
 ''Mr. Balcora, the burden of housekeeping is largely what 
 we make it ourselves, and if it is too heavy for us, it is usu- 
 ally our own fault. You will find that those ladies whose 
 strength fails in doing their work, are trying to live in the 
 same style as those who keep help. That is a pretty big un- 
 dertaking, but there is worse yet. Your leaders in society 
 not only have servants, but they have many more than they 
 need, and are using their power in trying to outshine their 
 less fortunate sistprs, who, unwilling to be outdone, put out 
 all their efforts to make what they call a respectable appear- 
 ance. Is it surprising if thes"- find it a hopeless struggle, 
 and if they are compelled to hire help to enable them to 
 make even a faint show of keeping up with the inflated style 
 of living expected from all those who have some pretension 
 to education and culture? 
 
 - "We have got rid of that pernicious influence. We have 
 no inordinately rich class to set up a false standard of life, 
 no fashionable class to create useless wants and to inaugurate 
 senseless fashions. Our fools — and I am sorry to say we 
 have some yet among us — are in the minority, and instead 
 of setting up for models, as with you, have to conform their 
 conduct ^to that of the sensible portion of the community. 
 
HOUSEKEEPING IN SOCIOLAND. 77 
 
 *'You am'*', understand that this difibrence in our standard 
 of living:, which leads us to eschew all unnecessary dis])hiy,-is 
 a 'great help to us. We aim to retain all the comfort possible, 
 but those willing to live plainly can attain a great deal of 
 comfort with a very reasonable amount of work. Besides, it 
 is the policy of the Commonwealth to make life in Socioland 
 as] pleasant as possible, and the lightening of the labors of 
 ihe women has not been forgotten in planning their public 
 institutions. One of the most unpleasant features of house- 
 keeping does not exist among us. 1 mean the washing and 
 ironing of clothes. This is done free of charge by the Town- 
 sliips. In every Town there are public laundries where that 
 work is done, and every week the cart comes around iand takes 
 away our soiled clothes and brings them back when clean. It 
 is a great relief and a great saving of time, for it is a work 
 which can be done much better and quicker in buihlings which 
 are fitted with proi)er mechanical appliances, than it can be 
 done at home." 
 
 "I would have expected," I remarked, **to see such work 
 done by private co-operation, but I find that the system does 
 not meet with much favor with you." 
 
 "No, it does not," answered Mrs. Bell. "You see, co-ope- 
 rative laundries would only benefit a portion of the population, 
 and cleanliness, which is said to be next to godliness, ought to 
 be in reach of every one, especially of those who have the least 
 time and money to spare. We have some co-operative enter- 
 prises, but the people do not seem ready to adopt the system 
 in its closest relations where it would cause too much friction. 
 We are making slow progress in that direction, and every 
 year some families unite their fortunes and keep house toge- 
 ther, but such experiments require for success special qualifi- 
 cations in character which are not yet common, although they 
 are certainly increasing among us. 
 
 r 
 
78 THE FUTURE OOMMOI^WEALTH. 
 
 / "But it is in public co-operation that we are succeeding best. 
 For instance, by its help we have inaugurated a reform in 
 visiting which has added to our leisure and enjoyment, and 
 at the same time reduced our expenses and the labor of 
 housekeeping. We have abolished the private parlor at home, 
 and in its place the To.vns have built Club houses where all 
 our visiting is done. Instead of spending much time and 
 money in keeping the best room ready to receive company, 
 and having our time taken up in making or receiving calls, 
 we see each other at the Club, where comfortable rooms are 
 always open, and where we go whenever we feel disposed and 
 can spare the time. 
 
 "This is comparatively a late innovation, and is the result 
 of our peculiar condition. We found that we were drifting 
 into a position where we must cease to visit at all except 
 our most intimate friends, or let visiting take more of our 
 time than was convenient under the circumstances. So we put 
 our heads together, and after full discussion decided that the 
 best rerjedy was for the Towns to erect buildings for social 
 purposes, and very soon one was built for an experiment. 
 The results were so satisfactory that now they are found all 
 over the land, and formal calls are no longer known in So- 
 cioland. These Club houses are provided with comfortable 
 parlors, music and reading rooms, and are open to all. They 
 not only relieve us from the tediousness of formal calls, but 
 furnish a pleasant place to spend a few hours, and help to 
 keep up the social life among us. 
 
 "Thus you see, Mr. Balcom, that we have learned to relieve 
 ourselves from too great a pressure at both ends of the social 
 scale, and intend to make more progress in the same direction. 
 The aimj? of the people have much to do with the march of 
 improvement, and we must expect that ours will take a dif- 
 ferent course from what it has followed in other countries. 
 
HOUSEKEEPING IN 80CI0LAND. 79 
 
 "In Furope, for instance, the rich have mastered the art of 
 enioving life, and of enhancing hy all means in their power 
 the pleasure of their existence, while all the efforts of the 
 poor have been directed toward entering to that desire of 
 the rich, so as to earn the necessary means to satisfy their own 
 wants. The result has h«-en that the genius and labor of that 
 country have been turned in ihe direction of striving to please 
 the taste and gratifying the whims of the owners of accu- 
 mulated wealth. In your country, its immense resources have 
 encour;iLM*(l the creation and acquisition of wealth, and in 
 that direction your powers are turned. 
 
 "Here our aims are changed. We have no rich class to 
 cater to, nor any prospect of accumulating large amounts of 
 wealth. It is not the individuals but the Commonwealth that 
 is rich, and our efforts are directed to the increase of the 
 comfort and happiness of all, women not excepted. Up to 
 this time, the Commonwealth has had enough to do in placing 
 within the reach of all its citizens those every-day comforts 
 which in your land are the prerogative only of those who 
 are said to be in easy circumstances, but we are fast in- 
 creasing in public wealth, and expect soon to make further 
 improvements which will make life still more pleasant and 
 enjoyable. 
 
 "When that dme comes, the claims of the women will not 
 be forgotten, for here we are a political as well as a social 
 power, and we have ns much voice as the men in the 
 management of the Commonwealth, but really 1 must say 
 that we have little need to exert our influence, for the men 
 are very considerate of us, and are always studying means by 
 which they can make our tasks easier or our lives more 
 pleasant." 
 
 Just then we were called to dinner by the younger brother, 
 and adjourned to the next room where a plain meal was ready 
 
80 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 for us. Miss Mary and her brothers had quietly gone out of 
 tlie room while we were talking and had set the table. We 
 all sat around the board, and wera soon engaged in a general 
 conversation which was very interesting and lively, but which 
 did not run on such topics as I have been writing to you, 
 and on that account I will not try to reproduce it here. 
 
 OHAPTBH XIII. 
 
 A TRUE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 After dinner we adjourned to the garden, and soon Mr. Bell 
 remarked that he judged from my conversation that I was 
 interested in their public policy, and that if I wished he 
 would explain some things which he thought might interest 
 me. Of course I was glad to avail myself of such an oppor- 
 tunity, and expressed; my willingness to hear whatever he 
 might wish to say. 
 
 "The United States is a very rich country," he commenced^ 
 "but it cannot by any means be called a Commonwealth, for 
 all the means of production are held in private hands, and 
 very few or none are held in common. We believe in a true 
 Commonwealth, and aim to make it rich so as to benefit the 
 whole people. As wealth cannot be created by individual 
 effort alone, but is the result of the combined industry of the 
 whole people, it is but common justice that as far as possible 
 the whole nation should profit by its increased production. 
 
 "As a result of your extreme individualism, you have no 
 public wealth to be handed down from generation to gene- 
 ration, and the child of the poor man does not benefit in any 
 
A TEUE COMMONWEALTH, 8^ 
 
 degree by the labor of his ancestors, for long before his birth 
 all tlie vahiahle propertv in the country has passed into the 
 hands of the capitalists, and he has to work just as hard to 
 supply his wants as his parents d^ before him. The laborer 
 draws his wages day by day, ft is truf, but the capitalist draws 
 his interest, or his rent, or bis profit, and besides reaps the 
 whole benefit of the increased value of all investments, or 
 what .T-<* call the unearned increment, which always follows 
 ■the gradual improvement of the country. 
 
 "Such a condition of things is not just, and the philosophy 
 on which it is baaed has been entirely repudiated by us. We 
 believe it is both the protecting care of society, and the co- 
 operation of capital and 3<ibor which makes this unearned k 
 increment' pofiBible, anVl that the whole Commonweal*!*' ought I 
 \ito profit'^ by it' as far as conditions permit. .-^_«--^ 
 
 '^Arid*" naw 1^ me explain to you hov/ we went to work to 
 establish what we consider a true Commonwealth. :;==:^»«>- 
 
 "TKe founders of Socioland, as you know, came from the^ 
 iJnite^ States. They had seen in less than two centuries the 
 wliole Wealth of tbfe nation passa^to the hands of a privileged 
 class. The land was held by a few while multitudes wer« 
 homeless; gold and silver mines yielded their riches into the 
 hands of a few millionaires, who conjointly with the money- 
 kings controlled the financial policy of the nation; th« coal 
 mines were in the hands of monopolists who checked the 
 output so as to create an artificial scarcity; the railroads, in- 
 stead of being managed in the interests of the people, were 
 manipulated for purposes of speculation, or combined so as to 
 prevent competition. Everywhere, private individuals, either 
 singly, or banded in litnited numbers, were striving to accumu- 
 late fortunes by compelling the consumer to pay them tribute, 
 and using all lawful means to give fictitious value to the 
 property in their hands. 
 
82 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 "These results were not due to any of tlie causes from 
 
 which the eppressed {)eo[)les of Europe had sufTered. Tliere 
 
 was no aristocracy with vested rights, no kings to give away 
 
 the people's suhstance to court favorites, no standing army to 
 
 prey on the wealth of the nation. They were tlie " outcome 
 
 of perfect freedom in competition, and of the policy which 
 
 \ had thrown open to all comers the chances of taking and keeping 
 
 I possession of all the means of production. Individualism in 
 
 1 economics had run mad, and the weakest members of society 
 
 { had been crowded to the wall in the unequal struggle. 
 
 "Our predecessors decided rightly that they would provide 
 against such results here, and that measures should be taken 
 \ to prevent the monopoly by individuals of the means of 
 lpro(luction. 
 
 "The first thing to be done was to create a fund which 
 would enable the Commonwealth to carry on its own business 
 enterprises. That was not an easy undertaking, for when they 
 came here they brought but little wealth with them, and 
 what they did bring, was private property. The Commonwealth 
 could, of course, have taxed some of that property, or it could 
 have borrowed it, but either course would have been opposed 
 to the policy they wanted to inaugurate. Taxation in any 
 form is always objectionable, and borrowing is worse, for none 
 can lend but the rich, and it is placing a mortgage upon the 
 labor of the country for their benefit. Both borrowing and 
 taxation are crude methods practised by nations ignorant of 
 the laws which ought to control social interests, and would 
 long ago have been abolished, were it not that through 
 their agency the rich contrive to throw all the financial burdens 
 on those who labor. 
 
 •*Xo, the first settlers managed the business of the Common- 
 wealth precisely as a wise young man starting in life would 
 have managed his own. They husbanded their resources, and 
 
A TRUE COMMONWEALTH. 83 
 
 topt their expenses below their receipts. The first money 
 which came into their hands was made by providing the people 
 with a medinm of exchange. Treasury notes were issued and 
 made a legal tender for all debts, and no other monej- was 
 "cognized as having a legal existence. Then the land ^s 
 thrown open for settlement, and rights of occupancy sold which 
 
 helped to fill the Treasury. 
 
 4ith the funds thus secured, the. Commonwealth started 
 Ihe wholesale trade and the business of common carrier. Ol 
 lourse it was slow work at first, but it was for the common 
 interest to see the public fund increase and prosper and by 
 ,ood management and economy the profits accumulated till 
 Lple means were provided for all public -'"P"'- 
 
 "Yet it took nearly twenty-five years before the Common 
 wealth felt rich enough to commence repaying to its citizens 
 the returns secured by their abstinence, but now that we are 
 receiving the full benefits accrued to us by the wise policy 
 ,f oir parents, we can bless them for the rich inheritance 
 hey have secured to us. They have planted the seed, and 
 It has grown and prospered, and every year it .gives ns a 
 
 nlentiful harvest. . - 
 
 "Now Mr. Balcom, if you will tell me what is the amount 
 of taxation in the United State., I will try and show you 
 the difference it makes to the working people between our 
 
 T>oHcv iind yonrs." 
 
 "I cannot" tell you positively," I answered, "for we have city, 
 county, state and federal taxes, and they are levied in so many 
 dtffereit wavs that there are no means of learning the exact j 
 loun. of our taxation, but 1 suppose that each P-- -»; 
 contribute at least twenty dollars a year to support our dif- 
 
 Xkf~;'t;mate as proximately correct," continued 
 Mr. Bell! '"and if there is one able-bodied man to every four 
 
m THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 persons, we find that each one has> to produce eighty dollars a 
 year to help pay public expenses. 
 
 '•Here we have no taxes at all. Instead the Commonwealths - 
 has an income over and above all expenses of twenty-five 
 dollars to each person, or one hundred dollars to each able- 
 bodied man. ~ -^J 
 
 "We have now here about one million inhabitants, and our 
 surplus income is over twenty-five million dollars, earned in 
 our import and export and wholesale trade, our transportation 
 agencies and our insurance policies. As the Commonwealth 
 has accumulated over four hundred million dollars of capital, 
 you can see that our surplus income only represents a fair 
 interest on the capital invested, and not one cent for profit. 
 
 "This income, earned in common, is spent for the common 
 .good and in promoting the comfort of all. A large proportion 
 is re-invested every year in improvements calculated to increase 
 the producive power of the Commonwealth, and in developing 
 its natural resources. What iu your land is left to private 
 enterprise, acting purely from selfish impulses, and regardless 
 of the best interests of the nation, is done by us under the 
 broader principle of a wise and scientific development of our 
 producing power, and no money is spent in permanent impro- 
 vements until a thorough scientific investigation has been made 
 to see that they co-ordinate with the plans which have been 
 previously decided upon as oflering the best prospect of pro- 
 moting public success. The industrial development of Socioland 
 bears to that of the United States the same relation that the 
 systematic drainage of a large tract of land would bear to 
 the drainage uf the same land by a number of individuals or 
 private corporations, each working for private advantage and in ; 
 competition with the interest of others. 
 
 ''Besides the capital we thus invest each year, a large amount 
 of our surplus earnings is spent for the direct comfort of the 
 
A TRUE COMMONWEALTH. 85 
 
 people?. It is now over one Iialf, and as our prolnclng power 
 kicreases, the proportion we can thus spend will increase also. 
 
 *'My wife told you about our public laundries and our Club 
 houses, and you have seen our parks and know of our schools, 
 but vou may not know that the bread cart furnishes to all 
 the citizens, free of cost, all the bread they wish to consume, 
 or that both gas and water are free in every house, or that 
 we pension the aged and the needy, and have free hospitals 
 and asylums. 
 
 **Thus you see, Mr. Balcom, we have reason to congratulate 
 ourselves upon the results of the policy inaugurated by the 
 founders of Socioland, but there is another advantage which it 
 is difficult to estimate in dollars and cents, and yet which 
 must not be forgotten. It is the great reduction in the price 
 of all necessaries of life. A reduction which has not been 
 effected by forcing down the wages of the working men, but 
 by eliminating from our Commonwealth all methods through 
 which one class of people can live at the expense of the other. 
 Rent^ interest and profit are kept within reasonable bounds 
 and the heavy load they place on the shoulders of labor has 
 almost disappeared. 
 
 "You can see now the difference in the prospects of a child 
 who is born here and one born in other countries. If born in 
 the United States, as soon as he commences to produce, he\yill 
 be taxed eighty dollars a year to maintain the government, 
 and in return has been educated at public expense, and will 
 be protected in his civil and political rights. The country he 
 is ushered into has long ago passed into the hands of indivi- 
 duals or corporations who look upon such as he as tools in 
 their hands to increase their wealth. His predecessors, instead 
 of saving and investing property, borrowed money and left it 
 as a mortgage on his work in the form of a public debt. 
 
 ''Of Commonwealth there is none, and while there is a large 
 
86 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 amoimt of producive capital, it is all in private hands, and! 
 the child of poor parents has little to be thankful for that 
 his lot in life has fallen in what is called a civilized country 
 for all that which makes ]ife desirable is already appropriated, 
 and his education only makes more galling the load he has 
 to bear, 
 
 "Here the child finds himself in entirely different conditions-, 
 j No taxes to pay, no idle class to support, no monopolies to 
 \ levy tolls on his labor. Instead a well-invested public fund of 
 four hundred million dollars, of which he is a share-holder, and 
 which will help him to raise himself to the position his na- 
 tural capacities enable him, to occupy. It will not destroy hi& 
 incentive to improvement, or make him the equal of his fellow- 
 citizens, but it will insure him a standing place in the com- 
 munity, from which he can raise himself as high as his abilities 
 will allow him. 
 
 "All thes6 results are attained without curtailing individual - 
 enterprise, or preventing any one from getting all the property 
 they can use to their advantage, or which is necessary ta 
 minister to their comfort. It is simply due to a policy which 
 prevents the monopoly of natural resources^ and the exces-sive 
 accumulation of wealth in private hands." 
 
 1 have here, uiy dear Harry, given you more the substance 
 than the form of our conversation, for we spoke of many other 
 things, and the ladies were not so entirely left out as my 
 account would make it appear, for in this advanced state the 
 women are interested in public affairs, and not only vote, but 
 hold positions of trust. But the conversation was mo>tly carried 
 on by Mr. Bell, his wife and children having a natural respect 
 for his opinions, and allowing him to explain the working of 
 their institutions, only occasionally putting in a remark here 
 and there. 
 
A PLEASANT RIDK «7 
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 
 A PLEASANT RIDE. 
 
 TowMnl the middle of the afternoon Miss Bell proposed that, 
 if 1 thonsiit I would enjoy it, we take a ride to the park 
 and out in the suburbs of the Town. 
 
 Of course such an offer was not to be refused, and as Mr. 
 Bell kteps a very neat turnout, not a long space of time 
 «lapsed till I found myself seated at her side. 
 
 Miss Bell held the reins, and turning to me said: "I have 
 offered to take you to the park, Mr. Balcom, but if you prefer 
 it we can drive some other way." 
 
 "No, Miss Mary," I answered. "I place myself in your hands 
 and I am sure I shall enjoy myself wlierever we go." 
 
 "Then if you leave it with me," said Miss Bell, "I will 
 first take you to the park that you may see how we enjoy 
 ourselves, and after we will drive out in the country." 
 
 So we drove along the street where Mr. Beil lives, and 
 soon reached the river on which Spencer is built. The park, 
 situated on that river, is very large and is left quite wild- 
 Except at the entrance, where a portion is laid out in walks 
 aud drives, and ornamented with lawns and flowers, it has been 
 left almost entirely in its natural state, except tliat roads and 
 paths have been cut in available places, and rough benches 
 and tublj-i constructed for the convenience of the picnickers. 
 
 The park contains also a large music stand with a dancing 
 floor attached to it, where a merry and noisy crowd way en- 
 joying itself heartily. Merry-go-rounds, swings, shooting galleries 
 and all the many amusements usually found at fairs were 
 there in abundance, and the whole place seemed to be given 
 up to harmless enjoyment. 
 
88 THE FUTURE COMMaNWEALTH. 
 
 The woods and lawns were full of pleasure parties, many 
 seeming to have spent the clay there, having set up their 
 croquets and hammocks, and otherwise having made themselves- 
 entirely at home. 
 
 After taking in the sights in the park, we struck out for 
 the country on a road skirting the river. The day was beau- 
 tiful, the air had become cool, and as we sped along at a 
 fine rate I found my position very pleasant, and as I leaned 
 back on my seat» thinking of all I had heard and seen since 
 my arrival in Spencer, 1 seemed to realize more and more 
 the advantages enjoyed by the people of ihis favored Common- 
 wealth, and turning to ray companion, 1 said to her: 
 
 "Miss Mary, you mast be very happy here, for your posi- 
 tion in life is pleasant indeed, and you live in a community 
 where the people certainly possess the art of enjoying 
 themselves." 
 
 Miss Bell paused a moment before answering, seeming to be 
 in deep thought, but finally remarked. "Yes my life is very 
 happy, but really I have never given the subject much thought. 
 You see our days flow on so evenly that we enjoy our hap- 
 piness as a matter of course. All our lives are pleasant here,^ 
 mine no more than those of the people with whom I live." 
 
 "But Miss Bell," 1 remarked, "has all your life been happy? 
 Did you not have an unpleasant time when you left your 
 home and went to live among strangers? Please tell me a little 
 about your early life and your school days." 
 
 "There is really very little to tell, Mr. Balcom. I think 
 here every one is kind to children and tries to make them 
 happy. My earliest recollections are of the pleasant time I 
 had with my parents while yet a little girl, of long walks and 
 rides, of helping mother in the lightest tasks of house-work, and 
 of how proud I was when I could feel that I had been of 
 some use. Then my parents helped rae to learn how to read 
 
A PLEASANT RIDE. 89 
 
 an.l write, :inJ I soon :if.[>reci;it,ed the ple.isiire 1 received 
 from study, so as I grew older and itegan to understand the 
 ;vh'ant:\-'es of knowledge, 1 was eager enough to get all ihe 
 information within ray reach. 
 
 "I never went to school until I was ten y ears of age, and 
 by that time i had acquired witli a little help from my 
 p:irents the rudiments of an English ediication, and had gone 
 as far as 1 could without teaciiers. !^o 1 Wi;s glad to receive 
 help from competent persons who had ample time to devote 
 to me. In school I found myself among children of my age 
 or older, who were also interested in their studies and needed 
 no urging from their te:icliers. Yes indeed, those were [dea- 
 sant days when we commenced to drink deep at the fountain 
 of knowledge, an,l our minds began to appreciate the beauties 
 and wonders of nature. Ilotany, astronomy, chemistry, physic, 
 history, geogrjiphy, were t;i light i(» us, and we liked our 
 studies so well that the time seemed far too short for all we 
 wanted to learn." 
 
 "But," I remarked, "were not those interesting studies 
 
 mixed with some not so pleasant? What about many subjects 
 
 which are not supi»osed to have much interest for young girls, 
 
 r but which they must learn if they want to be thoroughly 
 
 \^_eiiucated?" 
 
 "Of course, Mr. Balcom, all studies did not liave the same 
 interest for us, but wo never were requested to learn what 
 wn did not want to. For instance, if a scholar did not wish 
 to study arithmetic, the teacher would explain to him its use, 
 and how much he would need it in his work, but no ofFori 
 would be made to com[)cI him, and if he could not see that 
 it would be for his advantage to study it, the teacher would 
 simply tell him that he was the one to decide, for if a mis- 
 take was made he would be the one to snIFer from it. 
 
 "Some special studies, as geometry and algebra were only 
 
90 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 undertaken by those who had a taste for them, and teachers 
 were provided for those who had a taste for artistic pursuits. 
 
 "And thus the few years tiiat were spent at school passed 
 all too quickly, and left a very pleasant impression behind." 
 
 "From what you tell me/' I said, ''[ judge that the same 
 difference exists between the methods of education here and 
 ours, as exists between all our f)ublic institutions. With us, 
 scholars are made to study, whether interested or not, and no 
 efforts are made to teach them tlu; benefits that will follow 
 from their education, except that it is the usual and proper 
 course to take for children in tiicir social jiosition. You, on 
 the other hand, induce the children to study by helping them 
 to increase their knowledge of those things which interest 
 them, and by explaining to them the help they will receive 
 in their future carreers from the knowledge that is placed 
 within their reach." 
 
 "I do not know how it is in other countries," replied Miss 
 Bell, "but I know that in Socioland very litte compulsion is 
 ever used. We are told that if we desire to attain certain 
 ends, certain means must be used, and we are left free to use 
 those means or neglect them as we choose. But lot me 
 assure you that very few of us neglect them, and that the 
 spirit of improvement and the desire to learn are so strong 
 that our teachers are more anxious lo restrain than to urge- 
 On that account the hours of study are short, and as much 
 out of door exercises intermingled as possible. Many studies 
 are taught in pleasant talks in the open air, and short lectures 
 given us in our rambles." 
 
 "I think I have been told, Miss Bell, that the time of ap- 
 prenticeship for girls commences in their fourteenth year. If 
 that is the case, your school days are soon over. You have 
 J^t four years, if I count right?" 
 
 "Yes, you are right, and then we enter into an entirely 
 
A PLEASANT RIDE. 91 
 
 ilifFerent, but not nnpleasiint life. We are expected at tlrat 
 time to have arrived at an a<;e when we can appreciate the 
 need of work, and the necessity that we should fit ourselves 
 for the battle of life. We are taught while at school, that 
 all the advantages we enjoy here are the result of man's 
 and woman's lai)or, and that incessant care is needed for their 
 maintenance, and we are impressed with the fact that when 
 old enough we shall be enrolle 1 in the armv of workers who 
 are engaged in inaintaining and increasing the .velfare ot 
 the Commonwealth. Thus we are led to realize that we will 
 in our turn become iiseful members of society. 
 
 '•It is with those feelings that we enler upon our term of 
 
 ai)prenticeship, and we are proud of the trust which is placed 
 
 in us. When I was fourteen my name was enrolled among 
 
 the apprentices, and I was directed to make my choice between 
 
 the v:icani places offered by the different Managers. The two 
 
 first years we are requested to do housework, and to commence 
 
 with the most simple and easy occupations, so I entered in 
 
 the hotel where I am now, and made myself usef-1 in the 
 
 housekeeping department. But except that 1 had to live 
 
 away from home there was nothing unpleasant about it. The 
 
 work was light, for there is always an abundance of helj), 
 
 and I liad many hours I could devote to study. I have some 
 
 taste for nnisic, and could find all the time I wanted to i)rac- 
 
 tice, and had good teachers to help me along. 
 
 "At the end of two years I was allowed to make my choice 
 of the kind of occupation I <vanted to perfect myself in, and 
 as my taste led me more toward office work than to house- 
 keeping, I devoted less time to my ho'^se duties and commenced 
 to learn short-hand, type-writing and book-keeping, and was 
 set to work in the office. As other girls left, I had more 
 work put under my charge, so that now I have all tlie cor- 
 respondence and most of the books \nider my supervision. It 
 
92 THE FUTUKE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 is work I like, I have all the help I need, all the leisure I 
 can enjoy, and you see 1 have good reasons, to be satisfied." 
 
 "But, Miss Bell," I said, "this will not last. In one 
 year from now all that will be changed. You will be through 
 with your term of apprenticeship and you will have to leave 
 the hotel, for I do not suppose that Mr. Wilton can afford 
 to keep you when he will have to pay you a salary." 
 
 "I do not know, Mr. Balconi, what I sliall do when that 
 time comes. Our motto here is, 'Care not for the morrow, 
 foi sufficient unto the day is the Good tliereof/ but I know 
 that if it does not suit Mr. Wilton to keep me, I can find 
 plenty of occupations tt) choose from. I may get married, or 
 I can return home and help mother, or start in bubiness for 
 myself, or find employment in some public or private office. 
 Oh! no, we are never troubled with lack of opportunities here, 
 the difficulty is all the other way, to select from the many 
 openings offered to us." 
 
 ''I suppose. Miss Mary, that the same liberty is gnven to 
 all in selecting a vocation?" 
 
 "Certainly, all have the same liberty, but all, boys and 
 girls, are required to start at the bottom of the industrial 
 scale, and to stay there some time too. They run errands, 
 heJp the older persons, and learn the A. B. (■. of the indus- 
 trial alphabet. But as new recruits come in, they are promot- 
 ed, until having mastered the rudiments of industrial knowl- 
 edge, they are allowed to select the special branch in which 
 they wish to perfect themselves, and places are found for 
 them according to their desires. 
 { "Had I desired to learn housekeeping, I would have been 
 / put in charge of some minor departments, and gradually 
 i promoted to the higher ones. If I Iiad selected teaching, a 
 place would have been found for me in the schools. What- 
 ever we choose, we are helped to make it a success, but no 
 
A PLEASANT RIDE. 93 
 
 compulsion is ever used, and we are left free to decide for 
 ourselves the occupation in which we desire to improve our 
 opportunities." 
 
 "Yes! yes! I see." I could not help saying. "You rely upon 
 kindness and intelligence. You instruct your young people in 
 the construction of society, and show them the relation which 
 exists between useful knowledge and success and happiness. 
 Our children have no such teachings, and most of them are 
 led to helieve that their success or failure will depend on a 
 lucky or unlucky chance. Very few of our youths have any 
 idea of the relation which exists between their education and 
 their success in life. Education is aceepto<l by most of them 
 as one of the requironients of their position, and not as a 
 means to a well-defnuMl end. 
 
 "Of course many of them, as their minds n)ature, see that 
 it is a mistake and commence to study with an intelligent 
 purpose, l>ut they are left to make the discovery for themselves, 
 and the majority of our hoys and girls never find it out, and 
 only study because they are made, to, and because it is the 
 proper thing in the class to whicii they belong." 
 
 Our conversation after this drifted away from that subject) 
 and after a very pleasant ride oi' several miles through a 
 rich and well cultivated country, we returned to the eity, 
 and I was kindly invited by the fandly to ^'j'end the evening 
 with them. 
 
/ 
 
 94 THE FUTUEE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE LAND QUESTION. 
 
 You know, my dear Harry, that among tlie many social 
 questions which influence the welfare of humanity, there is 
 none of more importance, or which at this time lias been 
 more discussed, than the ownership of land. 
 
 The absolute ownership of the soil, as enforced in Europe 
 and America, has given rise to so many abuses, lias enabled 
 individuals and corporations to get possession of such vast tracts, 
 and to ask such enormous prices for desiirahle parcels of land, 
 that it is everywhere recognized as one of the great factors 
 in the inequality of wealth, and a great impediment to the 
 equitable distribution of products. 
 
 On the other hand it is argued by the conservative mem- 
 bers of society, that the absolute ownership of land by the 
 individuals is necessary for the best improvement of the soil, 
 and that unless owners are certain of reaping the benefits of 
 their labors, they will only skim the surface and spend neither 
 time nor money in those improvements which must be made 
 if the country is to attain its highest development. 
 
 You are as familiar as 1 with all the arguments, pro. and 
 con., of this momentous question, as well as with the many 
 schemes which have been proposed to recoutile the interests 
 involved. 
 
 I was aware, from what Mr. Walter had told me, that they 
 had a somewhat different land tenure in Socioland from that 
 which obtains with us, and I was glad of the o{)portunity 
 offered by an evening spent with Mr. Bell to get some infor- 
 mation from him on the subject. I feel that he is a clear- 
 
THE LAND QUESTION. 95 
 
 headed, well-informed man, whose opinions ought to have 
 weight, and who would not willingly color any statement he 
 should make. So I to(»k the first convenient occasion to broach 
 the subject. 
 
 "This land (luestion," he said, "is one of the most diflicult 
 we had to contend with, and we cannot chiim to have settled 
 it yet, nor is it likely to be settled for ages to come. Noth- 
 ing short of a state of perfect millenium, a time when pro- 
 duction will have become so large as to supply all possible 
 wants, and when centuries of peace and jjrosperity will have 
 so softened all hearts, and so i)ound men together as to destroy 
 the incentive to private interests, will enable men to reconcile 
 public and private claims to the ownership of land. 
 
 "But if we have not reached that stage, [ believe we have 
 made some advance, and our system, if still open to objections, 
 is yet greatly preferable to that which obtains in other 
 countries. 
 
 "I could in a few words explain to you what our system 
 is, but I think you will understand us better if I go back a 
 little and explain to you our position from the beginning. It 
 will take a little more time, but it will be more satisfactory 
 in the end." 
 
 I signified my assent and Mr. Bell continued; 
 
 "The foundation of our system was established before my 
 time, but the traditions of the first settlement of the country 
 were part of my early education, and if I did not participate 
 in the events of those days, I lived on terras of intimacy with 
 those who took an active part in the decisions of those times 
 
 "Our predecessors had seen enough in the United States to 
 make them keenly alive to the evils of i)rivate ownersliip of 
 land, and thev decideil unanimously that the Commonwealth ! 
 would retain for ever the control of the land, but that all ' 
 persons who desired to settle and improve some of it, sjiould 
 
96 TILE FLITUIIE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 be allowed to acquire a rij^ht of occupancy to a vacant tract, 
 and that this right should hold good against all piivaie inte- 
 rests, but should Le Uiiieit'^J ;<> the C'ui/imonwealtli upon the 
 payment of actual damages, wlienevcr the land was needed 
 for public purposes. 
 
 "After so much had boen decided upon, the next question 
 which presented itself was this: Sht)Uid this riglit be a free 
 gift or should it be paid for? Should it be for a limited or 
 unlimited number of acres? These questions were soon forced 
 upon the new commimity. Wlien the site for the city of 
 Spencer had been decided upon, tiieve soon nianifeHte'l itself 
 a natural desire from each one to possess as welf-located and 
 as large a tract as possible. On the other hand, the Comraoii- 
 wealth needed money, and was anxious to secure funds without 
 resorting to taxation. 
 
 "The result of these contending forces was that, after special 
 tracts had l>een reserved for pu]>Hc us^e, tlie land was divided 
 into zones, commencing at tiie cr>ijtre of the city. In the 
 inner zone no one could occupy more tiian one acre, in the 
 next zone the limit was placed at five acres, in the nest at 
 ten acres, while it was decided that thirty acres for one per- 
 son, or sixty for a married couple, would be the largest tract 
 granted, even at the furthest extremity of the Comonwealth, 
 and taking in consideration the public need of money, and 
 the desire that all should have the same chance to the land 
 of their choice, it was decided unanim(jusiy to sell the tracts 
 I at auction." 
 
 "And did the plan succeed?" I asked, "and is the public 
 satisfied, and does it still regulate the ownership of the soil?'' 
 
 "Yes," answered Mr. Bell. "It proved in the main satis- 
 factory, and not nearly as liable to abuse as the old system. 
 The plan is the same, but we have reduced the size of the lots 
 to suit the needs of our increased population, for you know 
 
THE LAND QUESTION. 97 
 
 that we claim that it is one of the advantages of our institu- 
 tions that we can change our policy to suit the needs of the 
 times. * 
 
 "No changes were needed for many years, but as the 
 country became settled, small business centers began to grow 
 in many directions, and now Townships had to be established, 
 and thus new and independent zones liad to be marked out. 
 At the sites selected for the business h)cations of these new 
 Townships, many persons had to be dispossessed of their 
 rights because the land was needed for public use. They 
 were repaid the money they had paid at first, and wore 
 compensated for tiie improvements they could not remove. Of 
 course it was not pleasant, but as their neighbors had to 
 reduce the size of their lioidings, thoy were enabled to make 
 satisfactory purchases, and the inoreasod i)rospcrity of the whole 
 settlement was a full comijcnsation to all the parties for 
 their trouble." 
 
 ''And here in Spencer itself, I suppose you found it neces- 
 sary to make some changes?" 
 
 "Oh! yes, we had to make them also. The Town had to 
 take back some of the land it had sold, and in the center 
 of the city the limit has been cut down to half an acre, 
 while the limits of the acre zone have been much extended." 
 
 "But do not these enforced changes create ranch disturbance?" 
 I asked. "1 represent to myself what a commotion it would 
 create among us if such an ordoi was enforced." 
 
 "You would find," Mr. Bell answered, "that it would only 
 aflect the very rich in your large cities, for the high |)rico 
 of youi land brin.^s about the same results. With you the 
 division of the soil is fostered by its increaseil value, which 
 makes it more profitable for the owner to sell than to hoUl 
 it. With us it is differont. Our system of land tetmro des- 
 troys speculation and prevents higli prices, so we must resort 
 
98 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 to other means to compel its division. And we find our policy 
 answer very well our purpose. 
 
 "Those who have acquired rights of occnp<>incy in a growino: 
 city, know that they will some day have to divide with others, 
 and act accordingly. Many a father gives his children a por- 
 tion of his land who would have held on to it till death 
 released his grip. Many a person sells at a reasonable price 
 a piece of land to the man who needs it, who would have 
 taken advantage of his power to drain him of his last pos- 
 sible dollar. 
 
 "Besides we give plenty of time for the changes to take 
 place easily and gradually. Our citizens are more induced 
 than compelled to divide with those in need. When the land 
 within the acre limit had been practically all occupied, there 
 were found many persons willing to pay the occupants a fair 
 price for a part of their lots, and the persons in possession, 
 knowing that eventually they would be compelled to sell, were 
 inclined to make a virtue of necessity, and part with what 
 they otherwise might have preferred to keep. 
 
 '•M:irk you, nothing is taken which is necessary to the 
 possessor's comfort and welfare. The size of the lots is always 
 ample for all legitimate wants. It is only the superfluous they 
 are compelled to give up, and the sense of insecurity it gives 
 in the possession of the superfluous is an important factor in 
 inducing our people to divide with those who are less favored. 
 
 "You must have noticed, Mr. Balcom, that our aims are 
 entirely diflerwnt from yours. You are after stability, you are 
 afraid of changes, you dread the weakening of the existing 
 order of society. We care nothing for these things. We are 
 trying to improve our condition in life, and are ready to 
 change every day if we are better satisfied thereby. That 
 which we want to see enduring is not the institutions, but 
 the happiness of the community. 
 
THE LAND QUESTION. 99 
 
 ''But to return to t!ie l:in 1 question. As population increases, 
 the tendenry is to an amiable division of the property, I'.s 
 preferable to an enforced one, which is sure to come sooner 
 or later. Whon this priK;ess has been <,n)in':; on for a sufficient 
 length of time (o allow all right minded persons to a(\jnst 
 the sue of their lots to the public welfare, a vote is taken 
 and two or three years given for the enforced reduction of 
 the holdings to the new limit, after .vhich the occ npants lose 
 their rights to the excess of their property which reverts l)ack 
 to the Commonwealth without compensation." 
 
 "And how," I asked, "does your poli(\ ailed the general 
 settlement of the country?" 
 
 "Our country has been surveyed, the best locations for rail- 
 roads an 1 public roads ilecided upon, which are b-iilt as fast 
 as needed, and we settle the country as we go, avoiding pre- 
 mature expenses and needless privations. 
 
 "We are in no hurry to develop all our resources at once, 
 for we have nothing to gain by it. We do not, as is the case 
 with you, build long lines of railroads going through deserts 
 and uninhabited (countries, to carrv settlers from rich farming; 
 sections only half cultivated, to far-off" states just opened to 
 civiliication. It is private speculation which induces your people 
 to this course, and engenders the desire to get possession of 
 large tracts of land, but the result is an immense amount of 
 wasted labor and needless hardships. 
 
 "Your system of land ownership is suited to the ideas and 
 character of your people, and fosters the spirit of enterprise 
 which is fast making the Unitetl States the richest nation in the 
 world. Our system is soiled to our character and aims. We do 
 not develop as fast, but we avoid the evil of land speculation and 
 monopoly of the soil. Yours is the hot-bed growtii, fostered l.y 
 the desire for riches, ours is the healthier growth of a contented 
 people, following the line of intelligent development. 
 
100 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 "And what about the titles to these rights?" I asked. "Do 
 you have the same system of transfer by deeds as obtains in 
 other countries?" 
 
 "No, we have not, and thus we have done away with a 
 fruitful source of litigation. The T()wnshij)s alone can jirant 
 those rights of occupancy or transfer them. Whenever a chanjje 
 is made, the former occupant relinquislies his riglit, wiiieh 
 is cancelled, and a new one is issued. Transfer by inheritance 
 follows the same rule. And the change once made is final 
 and not to be disturbed or questioned, for we hold that it is 
 of the utmost importance that the men who labor on the 
 soil should feel all possible security, and that improvement 
 and occupancy are worthy of more consideration than ancient 
 deeds or mislaid wills. 
 
 "Many of ihe results of our land poli.-y may seem hard and 
 arbitrary to those who are used to the absolute ownership of 
 the soil, and to the right of sale and mortgage, but to us 
 who have never been used to them, we look only to the 
 results on the public prosperity, and they are eminently 
 satisfactory. 
 
 "No public enterprise is thwarted by the selfishness or stub- 
 bornness of individuals or corporations, no large tracts mono- 
 polized by shrewd speculators, no exorbitant ground rents le- 
 vied on commerce or manufactures, no endless and expensive 
 litigation entered into because some lost marriage certificate 
 has been found, or a flaw discovered to invalidate some ancient 
 title. 
 
 "It might be thought that the feeling of insecurity to 
 individuals would more than offset those advantages, but we do 
 not find it so, for sudden changes are never made, and they are 
 always the result of the best judgment of the people, publicly 
 discussed and expressed, and always directed toward increasing 
 the prosperity of the community. 
 
ARBITRATION AND LAWS. 101 
 
 "Besides the tendency of our institutions is such that while 
 it checks the large accumulation of wealtfi in tlie hands of 
 those of a grasping disposition, it also checks the tendencv to 
 waste of the property held by those who are inclined to he 
 reckless or extravagant, so that on the wiiole there are probably 
 less changes in the occupancy of the soil in Socioland, than 
 there it. to be found under the absolute ownership of other 
 countries." 
 
 About that time the ladies came in, and after a pleasant 
 social evening, I walked back to the hotel iwith Miss Bell, well 
 satisfied with the way in which the day hnd been spent. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ARBITRATION AND LAWS. 
 
 I believe I told you before, my dear Harry, that 1 had 
 found an agreeable friend in William Bell, the older brother 
 of Miss Mary. He is a bright young man, very enthusiastic 
 as to the future of Socioland, and thoroughly imbued with 
 the spirit which prevails here. 
 
 He is a lawyer by profession, but the word has an entirely 
 different meaning here from that which we give it, or it 
 would be more correct to say that it means here what our 
 best lawyers are and what they all ought t(» be. Instead of 
 fomenting trouble and fostering lawsuits, their work consists 
 \n settling diflerences and adjusting difficulties, and in 
 presenting their client's case clearly and concisely to the judge 
 when their efforts do not meet with success. They act more 
 •as counsellors and advisers than as advocates, and in fact I find 
 
)/ 
 
 102 THE FUTliKK a>MMC)NWEALTH. 
 
 that the law ha» niiich less to <1() hero th.ui with iis, in re- 
 gulating the relations of men to tMih otiu'r. 
 
 As I have plenty of time, I often drop in his oflice, and 
 if 1 find him at lei'«ure we drift in c(»nver^^ation upon all 
 kinds of suhjects, and 1 ihink it will inti-rest you if I repeat 
 some of our talks upon their ideas of law aiitl governiiieut. 
 
 I was tellin;^ hii/i a few days ag«i that, as far a*- 1 knew, 
 theie had lK?en only two forms of government tried. One was 
 the autocratic, where the rulers had succeeiled in olittiining 
 control of the power and were u>ing it to their own advan- 
 tage, and the other the representative form, where the people 
 try logovern themselves by delegating their powers to lej^islativc 
 •^ bodies who make the laws and [provide means lo enfone them. 
 But 1 said that it seemetl to me that here in Soeioland they 
 were experimeuting on a third method, where the people tried 
 to govern themselves with as little intervention of delegates 
 ^as possible. 
 
 "Yes," he answered. "Our system is peeuli.ir to (tinselvi's, 
 and is the result of the phil(jsophii;d beliefs of those who 
 founded our Commonwealth, and of the conditions inider whieb 
 it has been started. 
 
 "I have," he further remarked, "read extensively aliout the 
 l.*\ws and customs of other nations, and I find that the (((ustant 
 trend of the oppressed has been to have justice mete<l out to 
 liurn, and t«) ^ain j-ossession of what they consider their rights. 
 In the pursuit of these aims they have elaborated eou>tilutions 
 defining the relations of men to each otlier, and enaeted 
 nundierless laws to compel due respect for these rights in 
 Older that justice might be maintained. 
 
 "Now we look upon these ideas as entirely natural for 
 those who are oppressed and at the same time are taught 
 ihut 0(hI has created all men C(pial; but for us who have 
 eliminated all foriuf- <•! oppressif>n from amon^ us as inimical 
 
ARBITRATION AND LAWS. 103 
 
 to haijpiness, ami believe in the evolution of man from a 
 lower or<?anisni, anrl in the stnipgle for existence and the 
 survival of the fittest, such a view is entirely unscicnlilic, 
 and cannot furnisli a sound l.nsis for the formin;,' of constilu- 
 tions or the enactment of laws." 
 
 "What!" I said. "Do you not believe in the need of justi( e 
 or the enforcement of rights?" 
 
 "No, not in the sense in which you use these words," he 
 answered. "With tis they only mean a form of conduct 
 which experience has shown to be beneficent to mankind, 
 and cjtlcuhited to promote the best interests of society. But 
 we do not believe that in the liglit of the evolution theory 
 there can be such a thing in nature as abstract justice, or 
 that it is possible to attain perfect rights. 
 
 "In your search after this ignis-fatuus you are all the time 
 trampling upon justice and violatioi: natural rights. Like the 
 man who loved peace so well that he was always willing to 
 fitrht to attain it, vou are all the time unconsciously breaking 
 the very principles you are trying to establish. For instance 
 what greater violation of natural rights can there be than the 
 individual appropriation of land? Bv what right, please tell 
 me, can any man or a body of men say of a porticm of the 
 soil: 'This is mine.' They did not create it. It was there 
 long before them, and will remain long after they have passed 
 away. And yet habit has so blunted your sense of right that 
 you talk about the natural right of men to their land, as if 
 they had an actual right to it instead of having only a leg:d 
 title to it, based originally upon spoliation and force. 
 
 "And talk about justice. Is it just, tell me, to take a 
 husband and father from his family, and send him to fight 
 the battles of his country because he happens to be luidcr 
 a certain age, while an older man, with as much or more at 
 stake is allowed to remain at home? Is there any jnstice in 
 
104 THE FUTURE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 preventing a man from voting until he is twenty-one years of 
 age, or in keeping a woman away from the polls altogether? 
 
 "Go to Europe, to America, to Socioland, or to any country, 
 and you will find that [)erfet;t justice does not exist, cannot 
 exist in fact, for it is not in accord with the law of evolu- 
 tion, and all the efforts of mankind do not enable them to 
 attain it." 
 
 To this tirade 1 could make no reply, for it was a new 
 idea to me, and one I had never studied, so I confined my- 
 I self to asking my friend if they were going to do without 
 ' justice, by what did they intend to re[)lace it? * 
 
 ^'^ "THose were the views entertained by the first settlers," he 
 answered, "so instead of seeking the establishment of justice 
 and tiie maintenance of individual rights, they sought to pro- 
 mole a sjjirit of friendliness and good-will toward all, and 
 shapeil their laws so as to discourage litigation, and to induce 
 the people to settle their di/Ierences among tiiemselves. They 
 abandoned the jury system as too expensive and cumbrous, and 
 abolished the right of appeal to higher courts. The decision 
 of the judge is final and must be acce[)ted as such. 
 
 "You believe that the enforcement of justice is the duty 
 of the governtnt'nt, and (hat you must see to it that every 
 man is protected in his natural rights. We look upon the 
 nu'ii who cannot agree among themselves as undesirable citi- 
 zens, and we only settle their disputes for them because it is 
 the best way for the peace and happiness of the community. 
 But it must be done quickly, and at the least possible expense 
 of time and money. If the parties do not like the judge's 
 decision, they will l)e more inclined to come to a mutual un- 
 \ (lerstanding next time, or to resort to arbitration, which we 
 \ favor by all m>jaus in our ])0Wer. 
 
 'Tiie law has very little to say about the enforcement of 
 contracts lu ihe collection of debts, for we think it better to 
 
AUr.ITUATloN ANM» LAWH. 104 
 
 tiftfli our jx'njilo ll>rtt ihrr mii»l look to the honfwJjr of the 
 nmtrHrtiui; jwrllrii, llian fn llm lirl|» of iUo « MinmcMiwrnhh 
 for iUv fnifiltiH-nl of pr'mjiw><» mft«l^. Stiitn for «Umn^f»i nrc 
 HiftconmeM, for we ihink it Ur«il t»> Uvo down «lan<l* r than 
 In !nlrn<<ifr it l-r Tr'ntilntiii); H lM'ff>rc the |iut»!i«*. In <ivU 
 nni«P, j}»o "tntnlo of limitntlon |>r'>nn'll.v i1cl»nr^ (ho rom| !tlnnnt, 
 for we hnl'l that dilTi-rt n«"«j ouRht to Ito jpiirVlr H.>Hled niwl 
 qnlrklr forjfotten. nor ilo we hmc »tifrjrici>t rcpcil for thfl 
 <ii<tfltc* of the i\ctu\ to allow niinln'nl wilU to <li«lurb cxli»tlnjt 
 con*Ilt!orw. 
 
 "Bit«iiU>ii, we leave the inH}ri(lii«N much freer In control 
 their prirnte arttons tliHn j« «h>ne in other eoiintrie^. We 
 do not trj to mnke the jtoople religioiw or mornJ hy law. 
 Marrirtjrv att«! tiii-nn'c ure frof, roliKi'»uf j-onvirrlions i»ro n^ter 
 inlerfereil wilh, nil •fn^n «re e<jMnl J>efore the '««, »t>t\ kII 
 {•ernonnl nrlionH «fe left «« much an |M>i«<«Hile to l«e j'ontn^Ued 
 l>v th«i tn(*lli);ent jn«lanienl of lh« imliTi'lunU vonf^rned. 
 
 "Criminal «"H»»e«* nrc CrentM «li(Ter«MUly. They »rr mre with 
 «\ l>e<-mii#<? wa h*»e ilou« »WAy with the iiwrntires to crime, 
 Ihii when they iK> o»<-»ir, we hM)k u|»on the r«l|»Hin m <H- 
 neawcH |>erxt-»n« ntnl lre«t them ac-rxmiingly. 
 
 *To ail tiiew <l>«n<?(*« ihe ohjection might he mad* that 
 jit-'lirr nui«t oAcn suffer, an<l if perfect jnsllce wfi« mir »lm» ve 
 «rmiKI certainly be aiUancing in the wron^ d'jectl'm. But we 
 do not iieliere that f>erfcct juMtice can he attAined, artd we 
 know that it in daily rioUte«l, even by thoac nntlona who ha?e 
 the nwMit elatmrtte co«!e of Uwa. Ho we prefer to look to the 
 niUnre of kindly fccHnjpi an<l to ihe increa*« of comaatinlty 
 of lntere<itjt for ihe ree«j(nition of aa many IwlifldHHl rl^hta 
 and Ihe e««taM5»hn»ent of a« mach jimtioe as the ^teial cowU- 
 tlon» jvermit. 
 
 "It Is by thiw ditnlntAhing the nnroliw of the law*, and 
 tearhing the peoftle the art nf indtvidnal cnotrol, that we nut 
 
100 TIIK FUTUUE COMMONWKALTil. 
 
 govern oumcWcs ty Hirect legisiallon, atwl take from our le;:is- 
 Inllre IxkIicb the power ther bo oHcn abuse in rcprc^cntntivo 
 countrua, tttvl I Injlieve our jn-oplc ccl r1oii;» ns wr-li (»r l>cKer 
 Ihun thoRC nations who l«w>k for the |»n»{Mfr rc^:iilation of in- 
 (iivklunl crmtlnrt to the incrra'«« in nomln-r of l'>eir InwH." 
 
 AaA it » true th.it the ppnple of Sficncor scotn rcmai-kahlr 
 well behnvcil, Itsr-mornw Rrc unUnoxn, ami driinkeuucrtn docs 
 not ROOfM to ext»l here, an\ m> Imfers are in \m met on 
 the ptreel comers. When I a-nkr*! my friend how they hail 
 )mccee«le«! in itanixhing the^b f»08ti» of riviii£^*d eoonlrlep, lie 
 ssid he di<l mA. know how it w»a hr«Hight nlxnit, for he had 
 never seen th#-m and Iwf did not believe the "jH'cio^ exiate*! 
 fn 8«)ciolaml or ha»d l>e«-n isipoited there. He sujtjwmc-*! the 
 climate »»« not fjir«»rtihle %e> Uust kind of grtiwfh, ftjr though 
 once in it .^hile di-«reput»Me ch:tf^t.ier4 made their 3pj»earrtnce 
 OB the Btrtf tfv they lorvkr»l w> hwt nml forlorn, an 5 m ijuifkly 
 di«ipj>earwi from the ptildic pa«>, lh«t prolKthly they mcmit><l 
 their vnrn or left in i»c:in'h nf inor^? rnngenial cllmtM, 
 
 A few jiavB Weri my friemi }t«ife mo an in!en*Hling ucoMini 
 of the formati«m of their if«>vi*nin>cr.t ««• He had hoHnl it 
 froTo tlje &nt stfttlpris. 
 
 **I wa-* told" Sie «ui(!, "thnl when tise first emiKranlM arrlvrd 
 here, they dci*ide»l, crmtnirj to all prece<leni«, t« draft m» eoiw- 
 titution, to enAct no bwts h»il to wail an. I decide caoh tatixa 
 »» U prcKnte! itwlf. They were not nnt.»cn»n>> then, an«l 
 nff^\ to mr-cl in a Urpe hall, which wi« one of the first lniil- 
 ding^ they {Hit n}», an*! talk mallon* over «n»l dH!i«le what 
 oiHirtw they had lictier follow. Thexe dei't^'W**, duly reer.nlwl 
 and rote<l n|>fm, are the tonmhititMi of all otir inwK, hnt are 
 tiaU« to mr«H$i4^l!<«n h? |y>p<tl.ir rote H anj times 
 
 ^Onr l»f»alncw!i (i7»tem waa op«j«niTOd in ih© Rime way, and 
 hf the name pnitxt* twir Sp»t Managers were a|<jH>inte.l. When 
 thf time arrireH f.»r the OwnnmrnweaUh to rommenee lawlne** 
 
ARP.ITRATION AND LAWS. m 
 
 on ii^ own ncw.nnr, Ihp \^l mm wrrp *rlrrJc<! to J^Vp It In 
 clinrirr .m.| .!-. .hr U.M thcv muM for thr i»mninnilr. 'llnw 
 Inn^ .hnll wt mtt, T iIht n.k<H|. 'A, Inng n. yo,, give «,tU. 
 fj«<iion,' wo ansuprr*!. 
 
 "TUv rx|K>rifnont wah n micow. Tl.rf* m< u U>ok pri.l* in 
 Ihcir work nivl n^mra\ no rn;.r<« lo m;«k9 U »Mrr.c».fiiI. h 
 WM fon,,.! 1.^1 ,., ^ive then. m.,.l, Utitmle of action «n<1 to 
 iij.r>oi„t A«lvi,^,r.v B/«in!« in help tl.rru ,x>-on!inat« thdr effort*. 
 
 "Wli^n tt.o f1n.t rliRiKrecment ninonn tlip •cdlcru urow. thrr« 
 WR^ no ,.<u,r», j.irv or j.i.|-r, so a roliah!.. m.n wiu w-leclr,! 
 »o i.'Mtl,. their <H^piiio, nn<i it wn*. .1^ i,i,J f, rnforuc hit d«. 
 ri«ion whucvcr it rniKht In-, nn.l thiiM (Hir fiml judge wm 
 rrrntHl 
 
 "Fw.r fwcral yc^n then wn« no IctflnUtiirc, for the people 
 rvH in m.iw-nu-ptini:,. to .Ii-rn«^ nn.l v(.(r n|ion wirh qnp.tlun« 
 «" pre-e>nt<Hl tl.omHclvrs nml «i tliis lime nil otir Town«Kl|n 
 »rc thus p.vprni-*! till tiir imrenM' <,f jw>puU(inn makea it 
 lmpr«rtir«l»lo. Hui ^„r IruinlMtUr U«n„ hure none of Ibe p„wtr 
 th^-.v jK«,H«w in oth«T rf)untric«. and onlj not «. romtnhtee* 
 '•here Die dif^renl opinlond nrc dl»ol•^^i an,l cndenwed, snri 
 finally pfit in nhsite iii be Tote*? upon bj the people. 
 
 "(hir «y«t<?m Ik nol at nil calniUtetl to promoie ettemirc 
 lcgi«Utlon, am! If we »ero n liwmafcing nm) & Uw-loTlng 
 people, we wouW nol be Mtiiifled with It. But we look upon 
 Inw it best M t necewrj eril, aikI replace i( a* far m 
 poeaiWe by oni»cili«llon and kimllr frelin^a.'* 
 
108 THE FUTURE tX)MMONWEALTH. 
 
 OHAPTEB 2VII. 
 
 THE CONDITIONS OF SUCCES.'^. 
 
 I Imve not na'xA nnytltinj: !o you nlxtut Mr. W»iUcr, JiUixxixh 
 I have Rocn liitn ofion, and o»llctl ujxm him wvcrnl times 
 !«l hlf* l»nii'4e, hj'Cii-.iHo I hnve Irit'il J(» omfuio niyiii'lf iih far 
 as |H»«!<iliU' to liie toj>ic< mvl <-«)nver-ii«l!nni4 which troxt nj<ir« 
 it|«f><'iallj of the |Mil»lir ioKtitnlioiiH of Sh-ioImhi. P>nt I will 
 jjive you :in .iwrnint »»f the hist etrnveniutiitu I hwl wlili liim, 
 for I think it wiil inicre«t y<ni to kii<»* hix views iijum the 
 (iiflTiiHiou of the priiioijilcx they n-ivot'stte, nn I t!»eir ;i<Jo|»lio»i 
 hy other roiintries. 
 
 I Ut%<\ Ih'en ealllnff H|»on him, nn J •(rntcl in hln lihrnry he 
 B<Mre«*i«<1 mc thtf: 
 
 "Well, n.y y(rtinsj fricn<l, you have bccij hero some little 
 Ume, and must h.ive forme"! wuno ojunioni* jw to what you have 
 *oen, stmI niiwt utwlcn«tani| the rewiiltn of the ehHni(e« we haFe 
 m«<le in our form of gnvernment. IIf»w «U>ei« it «lrike yon? 
 Hare wf (irojrrttwc.!, or hitve wc l>ecii tMking Isfti-kwiinl uttj s 
 In eivili ration?" 
 
 "I inaut My," I iinswered, "that it wtrnsi to me Shut you 
 h«vc m.uf* great pn»g^t^s•», rthI huTC ei»lnhlishe«l here a (/)ai- 
 monwealth frotn which ymi have- eliminjitc<l uiany of Mie 
 dcfof't* which still exist In other coimtrie«, nnd 1 woidd l-e 
 |4enwl !ndc««! If some of the chnngra you Uavc lunnpumte*! 
 bert ccuW •!«» H« made in the Unite*! Siaics. It would go 
 very f*r to WQi-Homte the condition of (he lower elscscs, an<' 
 incretMe the comfort and happiiicsa of iho whole people." 
 
 "Ye*, thna^ chaniri-x are de»»ir«hle, or at least we think mt 
 here, or wt wonhl not hare ln»«titii»ed them," h? aniiwercd. 
 
TIJE ("nNDITlONP OF SUCK^. 109 
 
 "iSiil inii«-w< liif ili.trrntrr of tlir )>rop}r j« »]'iitp »lifrorcnt frt>m 
 wh.il !• wn<4 in 'uy litnc, v.m will fitvl tfinl (licrr arr ilinirtil- 
 lif» M« ihf^ wny tl,:n ii ^il| take nitiny ycim, if not ivniiiriea, 
 lt» •>vcrrxtmo. 
 
 "You niii^l !in li'p* -in I l*i »l wh.«n wo lef\ ihe L'nlto'l St:«le* 
 m cornp here, it wa» not n iiintlpr nf ♦•l»oi(i', IhiI of nerin^iir, 
 ira«l we wen a fair |ir'««|Kit of pllivlins thc«l«!«»jrt'<f chMn^vi*, 
 wo wi»i;l.| not h«vo eT}»:itrin|t.<<l o'irMf|v«*s luvJ faco"! the liiirt!- 
 xlii|m itf n n>.'* wtllfrn'Mi?. Hul wp <*!MiI I »»op no pnxii'CPt 
 of A c»iin,»l*Mp I'liangp In our liiap, nnl only one of gni<hint 
 hut xlow iinprf>viMni'nl." 
 
 '*Y<»iir vi'.'w-* nro m»l very enconrnnJnij," I -^itul. "and hanlljr 
 in Kauri willi your iKrlii-f in pvolntii»n, fur ron musl Itclicre 
 in lltp jjni.Iiiiil iin|in>vein«nl of fUHMtty." 
 
 "Ccriainlv, I iH-lirvf in if, itni! I know ihnt niKnkiiwI l» 
 HJpadily pro^'n'^sin;; lo^sar-l iK-llcr o»n.!ition««, nn<l I fpel c«n- 
 fi'U-nt tlial if our inf^iitiiti >n« nr\' llu* l»o>*t <~iloul.\le<1 to promote 
 hi«)>i>inp^ niid tlir lii/luMi r'»riii of rivilis-ilitm, they will be 
 n<loptc«l pvprywliprr; for s\hlpm* of coTPriunpnt, iw well ba 
 public or privHip iiv«titiitionn, niurt slawl thi* tot of the 
 »(rii)t;^lf fv)r p«i««leiuv that tin" filli.'^t may siirvivc. But the 
 Working of thi>« Inw is pT«-ei*<lini;|y ftlow, nml un«l«T ttrtMlM 
 cxtrvlitioim «vnluHp« m«y cIjij'^p l>ffnre ini|»ort«nt clmeifcc mn 
 l* a«"cnjnpli»he«l. 
 
 "A chnnyp jioph iw< yxt pontpcnplatp," hp (•t>nlinne<i, "otn 
 only l.w tfTi'(t<^il if iifl"*il^ njxm «n incnviKi- in Ihf intellifferK-e 
 of (he j»cop!o. I ilo not l»rlievp, Mr. Il:it<on», thai if onr 
 in>»ti'.ulion8 ctmlil U- tran^plnnti,**! I»o.lily in tho Unit«*<l Slfilr*, 
 they woul.l cn^liiii* for au\ length of tlm«. Your |»p<iple «rf 
 prohnhly ready for «»ome of the chnnffr* w^" have mmle, nnt\ 
 in tirr?« n»«y ntlopt «»nr whole «yf«tpm, b«»l oiir ptoTrmnu'Tit n 
 ♦•ntirely too ileivmlenl U|w»n iIjc inmr love of onler nrnl the 
 H<»i«S cotiditct nnil kindliocHB of wir citiu-nf), to ropt with 
 
no THE KurriiK cx>mmon wealth. 
 
 the f\t\nt of ^rrcefl a«nl in«nvj«!nali«m whirh arc the marked 
 allrlbiito^ of lli<* inhabitant* of the l!nito<l SU'Ue^. 
 
 "No, ujiltrM you cnn t*o<-wrc .t mi«rh more Intrllixpnl |»«»imi- 
 Ution, <mc whirh i« M\y \m\mc\] nith the opirit «»f nnirr 
 Bn«! ronriUaJlun, one whii-li know* >»h;jt U ll«o true Imnik of 
 rtffil fist men t nml haj-pim**, voii ho«l lellrr mlhcro to ihc 
 cxihlinij '>ri5rr of mx-ifl/, iiii|>n>v iny it nt fii-l H" jv.-«sil.|r, tlint 
 \p u fa^t tm the knowledge of the (rue conilitioitH of Hurt'^wi 
 jjerrowirt xnrlety. 
 
 "Klucnlc Ihc |»co|>l'»; cdtuv.lt them iwit in (Jrrok or fjitin, 
 Inrl awaj (ntm lht> «ti|H»rslitJi>o« which n«>w (viutrol iheir livc^; 
 r<!u<t»te thi^m to «hxt tn their tnK» p«<->ition h«T<*, t'» tlicir 
 ilejK-n^leix* U|»c)n the frm-OK of natiirv nn'l th«- aJ«w>liitc ntTfwity 
 of i4)rjini< nntnntl l.iwi*. Tt-wcii ihein llnf .trJviinlijjr!* of ov 
 ojttTation, the ItcntMr nf ngm-nt^ii, the ▼unity Mnd cinptinrtM 
 nf »liow Roil ^lyle, the }nil»lir <I,Tn^r of the j>riv:ite nci-nmn- 
 Ution of wraith, the folly of <li*tiif«tion, the watte of tjunrreln 
 an«l titiralion, and us fn<il a* lhi» education l!ikc« hold of thv 
 niM^'M^ diftidnci** him! re|drtr«« the <dd idenx whioh now couiml 
 ihem, «» f«Ml, »nd no footer, will ycm 'w »'»le to brin< alwuil 
 the clmniiCH you are utrUinjt for.** 
 
 . Mr. VVa)t«r lean««l Uirk in hi'* chair in d^p thou^hl, ntw! 
 hl» eyes *«*mod to take an in«ar«i reirr)«f»ectire lof»k. In a 
 momrni he ratted h\% head and look in;; at u>4 Kiid: "Mr. 
 ^aSf^i^it our »^nTiTerwtlon Irkea mc back to thow early d«y<« 
 wh«-n we rt:inn»encr<5 f»iir »ct(lon»ent^ ! wnn a youni; man 
 tb'.>n, with more etithtiMwoi and ^ncrgj than cx|>crJenoc, hut 
 many c»f ttv were middl^-agcd or oki jK*oph-, wlio, tirt-d of 
 atrife an»t ix>injK'litii-«, were htnfiiiig for jn-acc and agreement. 
 W« »er» nearly a thotiaaml, men, women and ehildrtti, aiMi 
 far atK>T« lite Bverage in knowledge at>d IntcUlj^cnc-e. We had 
 \«(i l«}dod '*• the MM}i9rtiUiMi> N>tiefii of tho paM, ftttd bad 
 pf oj ir v vi m d Ivyond lk« ^dltes and creakn««a of modern ctriUxatlon. 
 
THE fONDITIOXS OF SUCCI^SS. Ill 
 
 Our nu-n «li«l n»»l «1rink »<r (jutnMr, or »|><ti.1 llu^ir lime on ihe 
 ntr»rtpi. ( inr ««>imci« <1ii1 n<>i giuTiricr «i llie »l>rin«' of f:i*hl»n, 
 imr i<e>r.i»"n)'» tln'ir tin^o r.n.\ nfTfns\h in f(Milinli aMi-n.iitK lu 
 »<iil'»«;ifiiU* *lylf for «"<»nifi>rl. It wns llie «linr:n1<-r «••<! lliC 
 ln(cllip(nrr» of ih'^w j«cr.|>lo wliiili fni»lil<«<l O.cm Ji» i»ii<tfM''I, 
 Biv) w)ii(Ii <»lim|H-<l ihi* vo'inir nnllon n\{\\ tfip •pirit will) 
 which it l« nnio»Jllf^l n<<*, uni »hih iiiMlorlnv'* ami Miiitni-)* 
 our inx(iiuti'>t)'<. 
 
 "ITriii wc Ix'^n 'I'l.Trrrl—uiir. wc wimiM h.irr U-*-!! (»«*m«tr«l 
 in llie firvl monthn of mir »»TiHlfn<c. fur now «i>fi<litii»fi^ onMixhl 
 in ih«' {ft•^^ ni"n_y nrw i»|iininn*. II«<I wr U>f>n nnnily, imr 
 »ifH|»l«" orgnnii:iti«in »»f\rr wiMil't Itnrr rt>«lraini"«l u«. IIn*1 wr 
 l'(<Mi pHMilr, jiriTr.li* amhitirn woi.hl hnvp Hrf«-*lr>«l nil t'vr 
 »<rluMin"« fur ptiMic nilfnrr. 
 
 'Iliil {he nrc'l plnnu^l ••>• 'ho«/> iitoi.->r ■piriu irxiW rf»«»l ntv! 
 prtMT. Our 'hililrrn wen* rni-^cl imvUt jh«'«*« lnrtM«»ncr«, Bnd 
 i( jwMur.tti «l ilim thoKMiKlilv. TIkw*- who j'Hm*'! m later 
 w«Tc lli'm- whw wvn* »»tln«<-|«il h«r ■ (iiiuriuuiilT nf iWir** 
 mil i !• 'IS whil ' U»i»* ^«"iii/ IK wiir> IxHMriit.' )li«<iiiiiiripf) lefl 
 nn to M'lurit lu ollu-r ruuiitrifx. 
 
 "Il ix nn nxiom in |»h»»»ulM/jr tlial in :\ hfilthy nrjrniilum 
 tlir eliiuiiiHliii^ ;m.»(t« nr%' >uni«'irul to thr»>w ofl nil « (Ten- 
 ••ivp ni.iKir uhi.Ii in.'»t l«e al'«or!»«'«l, nrxl tlui' the orR^nintn Iw 
 k«-jil in ;4 lirihliy "•.utc. Il i« jii"t m tnio in Muriohxfy, iin<l 
 r <M»i|y (>«^iitMini4* will iirjv.> out i>jtiir:>l!y till the iuilividiulM 
 il triniKtl «<»nln»l or n-«iiulhlp, jtriTiiUvI nlwsy* thil the influx 
 U n«»t iM'V)>n>l IIh" ra|wi"lir of it« rliminatlnc pi»wer». 
 
 "\V»' hnvr ever '•ecu niin<irnl of ihU inilh, nrvl whilr the 
 l'nil«il St«t~<i h:«vi» ••|««-nf<l their dnom wMr to the prt«»r ntvl 
 lpn*>f:int of nil nntlon*, m^er U> iletek*)* their mt'erlnl re- 
 iiour«T*, !in<i inxi'Hifl ti jiroTitie i-lienp l«U»r for their (•npit«li»rt*», 
 revanllow of the »HiRn»lty of tnnnfortijing tcrh p^rnufw Into 
 intclliRrnt rltir»fn», »e h«'.-e lt»rti •••n-ftil to tK»t ri>conniK« 
 
112 THE FUTURE OOMMOxVWEALTJf. 
 
 emi^mtion, or do Hnythtng which would hat*" brotif^hl iipm 
 n» f\i€.h fin oulfKHir »» jon havw rrcriTed in the IfniUsl 
 
 "We «re btit Uftle kn'»wn, ■m! do not f;i>e »<» >»o known. 
 Wc h«ve no ^mismtioit l<iirrnil •piTi»«itr!jj the 'i-lluKift of our 
 Ifood fortune, sml >ih<Hil(! we ever l* thn-atfiuMl w'tlh nn 
 oo«lri*inihlc nnijrniiion, we wmiid not itoMtUitc to |»n>ronl it 
 by forrr If n»H>imnr/." 
 
 "Fr.MU whm jm\ ^ny," I rcmnrkoxl, "I JskIkc thfit you ttxn 
 five u« hut Jitlle l»ope of « sittHMiy fhftntff, vet »urrlr we 
 mtwt bt« iihte lo do notitelhinK to l>rin< Mlxnit iiiorc (lcffimb!e 
 0)nditi<tns. \\V t-nnnot !iee ho much niinfry i«od xufTerinz, nivl 
 know ihiif it inn Ik.' prwvcnle** on*! yrt fold our it)«ud« Bn<l 
 imw-lvrly w«it fo^- (he tftMHl work ^m n<T^(ni|du«h itwif. SoniO 
 <H»f iniiit take »miAur<?« lo rnlij^hlcn thf ni.»s^'f« if it is ever 
 to lieroniC 4 reality." 
 
 "No, I do not l>orufve th»l ;i Rr\'»t tloal «-.in Im» Bccons- 
 {dihh'Yj (tiMin, yft th^TC «rc many thinj^ joti i.tn do whi<h 
 would promc^f the Hiins you bn*c in view. 
 
 "A jtreal deal c»n !>f done U) #*dufTile the {>copIe in the 
 tmc functionn of the government, asid In the »dvRnlJiK<n of 
 pnidlc co-ofK-mlion. If you mn gvt the p«il'Iic inl^rtntwl 
 ami lead them tti inudy «nd dbcii« th^«e *juesti'j»», n jjreat 
 advance will huve !K>fo made, and it will oj.>cn the way for 
 pnictiraJ exjierinjentu. 
 
 "Rul the mai«e^ are more easily reached by object Icwwms 
 than by any other fcrrrw of education, aiid while it is imjx>«- 
 •Ible to ectabtieh anywhere on American soil an independent 
 Commonwealth like Kuololand, you can jxiint otsl every instance 
 where the principleei we adTocatt* have been trlnl, ami cm- 
 phsftise the f»rt that the result* have been aniformcly bene- 
 ficent for the |*oplo if hooe«tly conducted. And when thin 
 edocation haa he«n carrleii Itinit eno<tgh to imbue a aufOcient 
 
THE CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS. 113 
 
 minilier f»f jjt'isons with the^^e principles, you can ^<xm political 
 control of some city or township, ami give the most important 
 features of our system a fair trial. 
 
 '^Experiments alone can teach wliat are the conditions that 
 will bring around the desired results, and if a number of 
 persons who have outgrown the present public institutions 
 should find themselves in a position where they could control 
 the public power, and use for their benefit the agencies of 
 pul)lic co-operation, their example would be a great edu- 
 cating force, and their influence would slowly radiate until it 
 would afFcct the whole population. 
 
 "The world moves in spite of all conservative influences, 
 and it moves in the right direction. So be of good cheer, and 
 do not feel discouraged because a heavy body like the United 
 States cannot move as fast as our little Commonwealth. 
 
 ''When you return home you can work in the good cause, 
 and join your eflbrts to those of the persons who are even 
 now trying to educate the people so as to secure a better 
 form of government. I hope that what you have . seen here 
 will help you in your task, and that you will prove a power 
 for good in your native land." 
 
 Amen! I say. And may this brief account of what I have 
 seen in this Hivored Commonwealth induce many to imitate : 
 them, and may it be a factor, however humble, in the peace- 
 ful evolution of our industrial system, until every person in 
 the land shall receive an adequate share of the comforts that 
 should accrue to all from the progress of civilization. 
 
314 THE FUTUKE COM MOxV WEALTH. 
 
 r 
 
 Ami no>v, „„■ dear Ifarrv, while, I might write m,„.|, ,„„,.e 
 thnt wonid interest yo,., I will not extend this account of 
 my v.s,t here, but I will send it to yo„, that yon n,ay 
 reflect on what I have described, and see how it a .plies to 
 the solution of the ,,roble,ns we are studying. 
 
 For my part, I am well satisHe.1 of the superiority of the 
 
 Ireatze fully that the progress they have made is Aue to 
 U e .levelopment of their character which enables them to 
 place xn the hands of the Comn.ouwealth many of its mo^ 
 .mportant industries, while at the satne time they Zl 
 been able to safely withdraw government cmtrol from , I 
 deparments ofmorakand religion. The material being better 
 
 ZhITIT:: '' ''''''"' ""'' '■-^- "«- been tble to 
 erect a much better structure. 
 
 For the present, the example of Socioland can only serve 
 usTntr labo" ""' '" '""" ''"' ""P^ ^^'^'^ ^"^^'"^ 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 Samuel Balcom. 
 

 
 
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