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BEYOND THE HORIZON 
 
 A Novel 
 
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BEYOND THE 
 HORIZON 
 
 A Novel 
 
 BY 
 
 FRED B. MORRILL 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE CAMPAIGN," A 
 POLITICAL NOVEL, PUBLISHED BY THIS HOU8E 
 
 THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 440 FOURTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
 MCMXVIII 
 
Copyright, 1918. by 
 The Neale Publishing Company 
 

 TO MY WIFE 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Prologue 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. A Flight Through Space . 
 
 II. A Look Backward . 
 
 III. The End of the Flight . 
 
 IV. Gold a Useless Thing 
 
 V. Entree Into the New World 
 
 VI. An Equestrian Dance 
 
 VII. The System 
 
 VIII. We Continue Our Journey 
 
 IX. An Execution Sale . 
 
 X. An Industrial System 
 
 XI. True Christianity 
 
 XII. How Criminals Are Made 
 
 XIII. A Eailroad System . 
 
 XIV. Treatment. Not Punishment 
 XV. A City and Its People 
 
 XVI. For Man and Humanity . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 9 
 
 17 
 
 23 
 
 47 
 
 53 
 
 65 
 
 86 
 
 115 
 
 149 
 
 173 
 
 183 
 
 194 
 
 214 
 
 234 
 
 246 
 
 262 
 
 284 
 
BEYOND THE HORIZON 
 
 PROLOGUE 
 
 I MAKE A PROMISE 
 
 Soon after the beginning of the new year 
 just past, while making a trip across the con- 
 tinent, the train on which I was traveling was 
 snowbound in the mountains, and for several 
 days we were cut off from all intercourse with 
 the outside world. Fortunately, the larder of 
 the diner was well supplied with provisions, and 
 there was coal enough in the tender of the 
 engine to furnish sufficient heat to keep the 
 cars comfortable, so, except for the inconven- 
 ience of the delay, the passengers did not suffer 
 any discomfort. 
 
 Thus isolated, and with nothing to do but 
 pass away the time and endeavor to make our 
 enforced imprisonment as pleasant as possible, 
 it was but natural that, — among some of us 
 at least, — agreeable and lasting friendships 
 should be formed. The fact that for the time 
 being we were living almost as one family, 
 under the same conditions, with no cares to 
 
 9 
 
10 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 harass nor duties to perform, seemed to pro- 
 duce a feeling of good fellowship among the 
 passengers; and when, after the first twenty- 
 four hours, it became certain that it would be 
 several days before we could proceed, all re- 
 straint was cast aside, and we were no longer 
 strangers but comrades bent upon making the 
 best of our situation. 
 
 Among my fellow-passengers there was one 
 that particularly attracted my attention; not 
 only by reason of his quiet, genial manner, but 
 also on account of his thoughtful consideration 
 for the welfare and comfort of others. He was 
 a well put-up, athletic young man, about thirty 
 years of age, with refined, clear-cut features 
 and expressive blue eyes, which, when he was 
 engaged in earnest conversation, reflected his 
 variable emotions, — eyes that at times were 
 calm and grave, then again sparkling with an 
 intellectual glow that accentuated the thoughts 
 that he was uttering; a smile pleasing and 
 attractive, and a laugh so genial and hearty 
 that there could be no doubt of the genuineness 
 of the merriment that it proclaimed. 
 
 He soon became a general favorite with the 
 passengers, and was always the life of any party 
 of which he was a member. I observed, how- 
 ever, that when by himself he was frequently 
 absorbed in deep thought, and apparently had 
 something on his mind that was causing him 
 much concern. At first I could not fully deter- 
 
I Make a Promise 11 
 
 mine whether it was a matter of serious import 
 to himself or some grave problem that he had 
 assumed the task of solving. His general de- 
 meanor seemed to indicate that he was not bur- 
 dened with many of the cares that fall to the 
 lot of man; therefore it seemed unlikely that 
 his periods of seriousness and absorption were 
 caused by any personal financial complications. 
 And as we grew to be better acquainted I soon 
 became convinced that the state of his mind 
 was not that of worry but rather that of per- 
 plexity, — probably over some important course 
 of action that he was carefully considering. 
 
 My interest in the young man caused me to 
 seek his society much more than that of any 
 other of the passengers: an attention that he 
 seemed to reciprocate with interest. As a nat- 
 ural result, we spent a considerable portion 
 of our time together. He was an easy and 
 interesting conversationalist and handled any 
 subject that we might have under discussion in 
 a manner that proved him to be a man that 
 had traveled extensively, and one that had made 
 the most of his opportunities. Although he was 
 well informed upon literature and familiar with 
 the current events of the day, I soon found that 
 he was especially interested in sociology, exhib- 
 iting a profound knowledge of that subject. 
 
 He was very much opposed to war, and main- 
 tained, with much feeling, that war was barbaric 
 and unnecessary; even, indeed, going so far as 
 
12 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 to assert that the present prevailing tendency 
 of the nations of the world to engage in bloody 
 strife was conclusive evidence that the human 
 race had not advanced beyond the brutal, or 
 barbaric, state. 
 
 Another astounding proposition, — to me, — 
 that he advanced was that this world was capa- 
 ble of producing more than enough for every 
 being in it, and that mankind was solely to 
 blame for the poverty and wretchedness that 
 were everywhere present. And when I opposed 
 that idea, he very readily assembled in support 
 of his contentions sufficient facts and figures 
 to overcome completely any arguments that I 
 could advance to sustain the position I had 
 taken. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding his genial, candid man- 
 ner and his intellectual and pleasing personal- 
 ity, there was a something about the man that 
 I could not fathom. At times there was a fas- 
 cinating strangeness about him that seemed al- 
 most unreal, and in such moments he appeared 
 to be a man of mystery, — but with a mysterious- 
 ness that charmed and attracted rather than 
 repelled. Just what might be the enigmatic 
 quality that so affected me I could not have 
 explained if I had tried. If I had attempted 
 to do so, I could only have said that at times, 
 when engaged in earnest conversation, he con- 
 veyed to me the impression that he was famil- 
 iar with a different period, or I might say with 
 
/ Make a Promise 13 
 
 another world than this. It was an impression 
 faint and unreal, not at the time seriously con- 
 sidered, yet it haunted my mind as does the 
 hazy recollection of a dream. 
 
 It therefore naturally followed that I soon 
 became interested in my fellow-passenger, and 
 as there was nothing to divert my attention 
 during the enforced imprisonment, I must con- 
 fess that before it was ended I had become so 
 completely absorbed in the man that my state 
 was that of one under some mesmeric spell. 
 
 I have mentioned that sometimes he talked 
 and acted as if he were familiar with another 
 world ; and when I make that assertion I do so 
 with the full knowledge that very few, if any, 
 can comprehend how any one, whose mind is in 
 a normal condition, can give out an impression 
 of that kind. But who in this day and age may 
 say that a man is mentally unbalanced, just 
 because he speaks of something as possible, or 
 even as existing, even though the entity of which 
 he is aware be beyond the ordinary affairs of 
 general knowledge and understanding, — espe- 
 cially if that man is vigorous and active, both 
 mentally and physically, clear of eye, and pos- 
 sessed of a personality that appeals to all with 
 whom he comes in contact? 
 
 It was not so very long ago when no one 
 would have believed it possible for a person 
 in New York to converse with another in San 
 Francisco. If any one had had the temerity 
 
14 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 seriously to maintain that it could be done, he 
 would have been declared insane by all of his 
 fellow-men. To throw the human voice across 
 the continent would have been looked upon as 
 an impossible feat. Yet, that which had been 
 considered impossible has been accomplished, 
 and the only wonder now is that it had not been 
 achieved before. 
 
 What would the pioneers of '49, as they pur- 
 sued their weary way across the plains and 
 over the mountains toward the setting sun, have 
 said to any one that might have advanced the 
 idea that the time would soon come when to 
 travel across the continent from ocean to ocean 
 would be only a comfortable, even a luxurious, 
 journey of a few days? 
 
 We now have wireless telegraphy and phono- 
 graphs, flying machines and submarines, and 
 many other inventions almost as wonderful, — 
 all accepted as a matter of course, when but a 
 few years ago they would have been considered 
 impossibilities. So we know that the things 
 that had once been considered impossible have 
 in the course of time become realities. And it is 
 not for us to say what is impossible, either upon 
 this planet, which we call our world, or in the 
 universe of which it forms an infinitesimal part. 
 
 If some genius of to-day could get in commu- 
 nication with the inhabitants of Mars, within 
 the year we would be reading in our morning 
 papers, with as little concern as we now read 
 
I Make a Promise 15 
 
 the news of the Great War, the Associated Press 
 dispatches from that mysterious planet. 
 
 The impossible of to-day may become an 
 accepted fact to-morrow, and will not even be 
 looked upon as a wonder, — or a miracle. 
 
 I was, therefore, not altogether unprepared 
 for the disclosure made to me by my fellow- 
 traveler before we arrived at the end of our 
 journey. Yet, although somewhat prepared, 
 even so I was astounded, — more, dazed, — by the 
 immensity, and, as it then appeared to me, un- 
 reality of what he revealed. And when, after 
 finishing his disclosure, he handed me a manu- 
 script and requested that I take charge of its 
 publication, I could not at the moment either 
 consent or refuse. 
 
 "I realize," he said, "that you will wonder 
 why I do not attend to its publication myself; 
 but I cannot, — it is impossible. ' ' Then he added 
 with much earnestness: "You will understand 
 the reason why I cannot do so when you have 
 read the manuscript. I cannot remain here any 
 longer. The manuscript contains all that I have 
 told you and much more. It has been written 
 by me from notes made while I was there, and 
 I will vouch for its accuracy. I regret that I 
 have not the time to write more. While I was 
 there I saw so much more than I have described. 
 But the call for me to return is irresistible, and 
 I must go back." 
 
 I did not at the time make him the promise 
 
16 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 that lie requested. But before we separated I 
 willingly assured him that I would faithfully 
 carry out his request. And in accordance with 
 that promise, and wishing for his enlightening 
 chronicle the consideration hoped for by its au- 
 thor, — my storm-bound companion, — it is here- 
 with presented without any changes or altera- 
 tions. 
 
 F. B. M. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 A FLIGHT THROUGH SPACE 
 
 For two hundred and forty hours we had 
 been traveling through space, my companion 
 evincing during that time much less concern 
 than an experienced traveler would have had 
 upon an ocean liner. Now, however, he began 
 to show more interest than heretofore in our 
 course and surroundings, and occupied his time 
 in making observations from the circular glass 
 outlooks in the front and sides, and even in the 
 top and bottom, of our compartment, as well as 
 in studying an instrument that was set solidly 
 into the wall near the buttons by which he con- 
 trolled the machinery and the steering-appara- 
 tus of the car. 
 
 During all that time of travel there had been 
 continual sunshine, and I had got into the habit 
 of computing time by hours instead of by days. 
 The sun and moon had been the only objects 
 visible, the latter pale and indistinct, for a 
 time being almost below instead of above us, 
 and to be seen only by looking through the 
 outlooks in the bottom of our compartment, — 
 which at first gave me a feeling hard to describe. 
 
 17 
 
18 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 During the first few hours after commencing 
 our journey, Creon, — for such was the name by 
 which my companion had requested me to call 
 him, — had busied himself with taking observa- 
 tions, adjusting the machinery, and fixing our 
 course. But after that he paid very little atten- 
 tion to these matters, except to take an occa- 
 sional observation, which was always made in 
 connection with the sun and the instrument 
 before mentioned. After our direction had been 
 once fixed, and the machinery adjusted accord- 
 ingly, we continued in as direct a course as does 
 a bullet in leaving the barrel of a high-power 
 rifle, and possibly as swiftly; although it was 
 impossible to ascertain whether we were simply 
 floating through space or traveling at a high 
 rate of speed. A faint buzz and whirr of ma- 
 chinery and a slight vibration therefrom had 
 been constant, but otherwise there was no per- 
 ceptible motion. 
 
 All the machinery was contained in a small 
 room in the rear of our living compartment, 
 and was controlled either by the simple pres- 
 sure of a button or the slight turning of a 
 small lever, there being several of each in the 
 rear of the room. The temperature and air 
 supply were also controlled in the same manner, 
 the air coming from a compressed-air chamber 
 extending along the whole top of the car, and 
 being kept in constant circulation by electric 
 fans similar to those that we see in general use. 
 
A Flight Through Space 19 
 
 After circulating through the car, the air was 
 forced through a purifying, or cleansing, proc- 
 ess and then into the original compartment to 
 be again used. Thus we were always furnished 
 with fresh air in plenty. This system Creon ex- 
 plained, after it had occurred to me that our 
 air space was limited, and I had expressed 
 alarm lest it become exhausted. 
 
 Our meats, fish, and vegetables were main- 
 tained fresh and cool by a system of refrigera- 
 tion, produced by forcing air into the box in 
 which our provisions were kept; the air, pass- 
 ing through a damp cloth of felt-like texture 
 before coming in contact with the contents of 
 the refrigerator box, was thus dampened and 
 cooled, and kept our food supply in perfect con- 
 dition. 
 
 Our cooking was done by electricity, in a small 
 buffet kitchen, and required very little of our 
 time. The compartment in which we lived was 
 some twenty-five by fifteen feet in size, com- 
 fortably but not elaborately furnished, while 
 concealed electric lights, which were only turned 
 off while we slept, added to the subdued sun- 
 light that came through the heavy glass out- 
 looks, producing a soft, mellow light, very pleas- 
 ing and restful. 
 
 I must confess that I have not described all 
 that was contained in that compartment. And 
 while I still hesitate to mention a portrait on the 
 wall, — having intended not to mention it at all. 
 
20 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 — I feel that unless I do describe it (or, rather, 
 shall I say, attempt to do so) I have failed to 
 give my readers any idea of the room in which 
 I made the journey from planet to planet. 
 
 When I first beheld this portrait I was under 
 the excitement of commencing a journey never 
 before undertaken by any of my fellow-men; 
 yet, when my eyes first rested upon those fea- 
 tures I could scarcely suppress an involuntary 
 exclamation of admiration. It was, as I after- 
 wards ascertained, the enlargement of a photo- 
 graph, and colored true to life. The picture 
 was that of an exquisitely beautiful girl just 
 out of her teens, with delicately chiseled fea- 
 tures, a Cupid 's bow mouth, upon which rested 
 the trace of a smile in keeping with the half- 
 laughing dark eyes that looked at me modestly 
 but fearlessly, a skin soft and white, just tinted 
 with enough of the flowing blood of healthy life 
 to give a warm, rich color, and over all a crown 
 of dark-auburn hair, which even in the subdued 
 light, gave forth an indescribable delicate lus- 
 ter. No ornaments bedecked either her tapering 
 fingers or shapely ears, but, nestling in the 
 bosom of her dress, a rosebud just unfolding 
 into bloom produced a charming contrast to the 
 pearly skin above. 
 
 It was a portrait of Halena, the daughter of 
 Creon. He always spoke of her as Hallie. 
 
 A small room between our living compart- 
 ment and the machinery room in the rear was 
 
A Flight Through Space 21 
 
 fitted up with a mechanical riding horse, punch- 
 ing bag, and other devices, giving us ample 
 opportunity for exercise. So, taking everything 
 into consideration, we were as cozy and com- 
 fortable as two travelers could well expect to 
 be. 
 
 The car in which we were traveling was oper- 
 ated and controlled by electricity, which was 
 automatically generated in a small compart- 
 ment in the front end; but I am unable to 
 describe the mechanism by which the operation 
 was accomplished. 
 
 My companion explained that our journey 
 was being made by simply driving our car in 
 a direct course from the earth and heading off, 
 as it were, in its direct flight through space the 
 planet to which we were going; and that, in 
 order to connect with our objective, it was only 
 a simple proposition of calculating the speed 
 and course of that planet in relation to our 
 speed. He also explained that what was re- 
 quired on our part was to drive our car beyond 
 the influence of the gravitation of the earth 
 and within that of the planet of pur destina- 
 tion. Since, then, we were continuing in a 
 course directly opposite to that in which the 
 earth we had left was moving, and in a diago- 
 nal direction toward the other planet, — which 
 was coming at a rapid rate toward us, — the 
 going from the gravitational influence of the 
 earth into that of the other planet would be 
 
22 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 accomplished in the quickest time possible, and 
 was as simple as crossing the Atlantic on a 
 steamer from New York to Liverpool. 
 
 A journey from one planet of the universe to 
 another not being a new experience to my com- 
 panion, he did not share with me the excitement 
 that possessed me during the first few hours 
 after we had started on our travels. To be 
 shooting through space like a huge ball pro- 
 pelled from the mouth of an enormous cannon, 
 — or perhaps rather like a meteoric body flung 
 forth from one of the planets and sent out into 
 that limitless space through which the millions 
 of planets that make up the universe have been 
 plunging for untold ages, — to see your world 
 recede from you, grow smaller and smaller, and 
 then vanish into the dim distance, to fade away 
 and disappear into that nothingness by which 
 you are surrounded, is a strange and startling 
 experience, and the sensations produced are 
 indescribable. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A LOOK BACKWARD 
 
 It might be desirable not to proceed as rap- 
 idly with this narrative as did we, Creon and I, 
 in making the journey I have been describing, in 
 order to devote a few lines to a general descrip- 
 tion of myself, and recite some of the circum- 
 stances that led up to my trip from planet to 
 planet, — a journey that, I will admit, must 
 seem as improbable to my readers as it would 
 have appeared to me twenty-four hours before 
 I became immerged in that something called 
 space, from which I emerged into a new world, 
 and for a time mingled with its people. 
 
 As for myself, I still consider that I am 
 young, although a sufficient number of anniver- 
 saries of my birth have come and gone to place 
 me in that class of bipeds styled "bachelors" — 
 as distinguished from benedicts, — a class that 
 to belong to, I have found, under the circum- 
 stances by which I have been surrounded, has 
 had its disadvantages as well as its advantages. 
 Upon my arrival into this world I was exceed- 
 ingly fortunate in the selection of my parents. 
 In fact, my family have shown good judgment 
 
 23 
 
24 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 in that regard ever since my great-grandfather 
 accumulated a snug little fortune in the slave 
 trade and wisely invested it in Manhattan real 
 estate, with the result that his posterity have 
 been able to live in luxury and "give no 
 thought to the morrow." Being rich and a 
 bachelor, I naturally have been looked upon 
 with envy by some, and as a "good catch" by 
 others, who have had marriageable daughters 
 to be disposed of. Not, I am bound to confess, 
 on account of any distinguishing qualities that 
 I possess as a man, but merely on account of 
 my chance selection of parents through whom 
 I can enjoy the accumulations of the old slave- 
 trader. 
 
 I remember at one time wondering how it hap- 
 pened that I should come down the centuries, 
 and just at the opportune moment step into this 
 world with my fortune already made; why it 
 was that I should have had the special privilege 
 of enjoying the wealth made in such a business ; 
 but, after attempting to solve the problem, I 
 finally concluded that it was all a mere matter 
 of chance, and that the one who stepped in the 
 fraction of a second behind me was probably 
 leading a life of hardship, or perhaps was a 
 descendant of one of my ancestor's slaves. 
 Having arrived at which paradoxical conclu- 
 sion, I congratulated myself upon my good for- 
 tune, and dismissed the subject from my mind. 
 
 For some time I have been interested in the 
 
A Look Backward 25 
 
 study of the different phases of the social prob- 
 lem and also in a cursory way have looked into 
 the different systems of government. Of war 
 I have always maintained a feeling of horror. 
 I have never been able to reconcile myself to 
 the idea that, either as citizens or soldiers, men 
 should be allowed to destroy homes and kill or 
 maim one another. 
 
 Not being required to bother myself with 
 business affairs, and having an income sufficient 
 to enable me to do as I pleased, I have devoted 
 a large portion of my time in traveling about 
 the world as my fancy has directed ; sometimes 
 in out-of-the-way places where the footprints 
 of men were rarely seen, and at other times in 
 the congested centers of civilization. My trav- 
 els, however, have not been the rambling from 
 place to place of an idle man, without aim or 
 object, but have usually been made with the 
 view of pursuing the studies I have mentioned ; 
 although, I must confess, I have never contem- 
 plated taking a part in any of the various social 
 reform movements that are being advocated. I 
 had become interested in the subject and it may 
 have been (probably at first was) partially 
 curiosity that prompted me to engage in my 
 investigations. 
 
 Most men have a hobby upon which they 
 spend more or less of their time and thoughts, 
 and my particular one has been sociology. If 
 I were to give a reason for my interest in the 
 
26 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 subject, I fear that I would have to confess 
 that, as I required something to occupy my 
 time, that study appealed to my imagination 
 more forcibly than did anything else ; although, 
 as I proceeded with my inquiry, I commenced 
 to entertain the hope that I might be able to 
 evolve a plan for the general betterment of the 
 human race. It gradually became clear to my 
 mind that a social system under which the de- 
 scendants of a slave-trader could live in luxury 
 and idleness, while those of his slaves must 
 struggle in poverty and want, — a system under 
 which Chance plays the most prominent part in 
 controlling the lives of men, — was wrong and 
 unjust. 
 
 While spending a few weeks in Atlantic City 
 shortly after returning from a trip to one of 
 the South American states, I became acquainted 
 with Creon, my companion in flight through 
 space to another world. Before forming his 
 acquaintance I had frequently noticed him 
 about the hotel at which I was stopping, my 
 attention being particularly attracted to him 
 by reason of his courteous manner toward every 
 one with whom he came in contact. Waiters and 
 other employees about the hotel he seemed to 
 regard as acquaintances rather than as servants 
 bound to do his bidding and unworthy of fur- 
 ther notice ; though at the same time he required 
 of them such service as other guests were en- 
 titled to receive. With the guests as well as 
 
A Look Backward 27 
 
 with the employees he appeared to be a general 
 favorite, and was much sought after as a pleas- 
 ant companion. 
 
 In appearance he was a man between forty- 
 five and fifty years of age. He was always 
 well dressed, and impressed me as being a man 
 of the world, fond of good but wholesome living, 
 with plenty of leisure at his disposal, and pos- 
 sessed of ample means to enable him to enjoy 
 life at its best. 
 
 One evening, several days after I had first 
 noticed him, Creon accosted me as I was enter- 
 ing the dining-room, remarking that he noticed 
 I was about to dine alone and, as he did not 
 have any company for the evening, it had oc- 
 curred to him that we might pass the dinner 
 hour more pleasantly by occupying a table to- 
 gether. 
 
 I very readily accepted the suggestion, and 
 thus commenced an acquaintance and friend- 
 ship that completely changed my whole life. 
 Little did I then realize that that evening's meal 
 would lead to an association that would furnish 
 the means of my visiting a new world, of my 
 making a flight through space from one planet 
 of the universe to another in about the same 
 length of time as required to make the trip from 
 an American to a European port. I found him 
 that evening a rare and entertaining compan- 
 ion, and thereafter sought his company as much 
 as possible. 
 
28 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 From Creon's conversation it was evident 
 that be had traveled in many countries and was 
 familiar with the forms of government and so- 
 cial conditions of all the principal nations. Re- 
 garding himself, his occupation, and residence 
 he never made mention, and I came to the con- 
 clusion that he was one of that class of men 
 that spend their time in traveling from place to 
 place and from country to country, as their in- 
 clinations might lead them. He was always 
 good-natured and cheerful, and apparently 
 v* ithout a care on earth, or a thing to cause him 
 worry or apprehension. In manner he was 
 quiet, unassuming, and genial; fond of whole- 
 some amusements, and very much interested in 
 outdoor sports; was an enthusiastic lover of 
 horses, and an expert horseman. A man who 
 had read much and remembered what be had 
 read, — of literature and history, both ancient 
 and modern, he possessed a knowledge far 
 superior to that of any person with whom I had 
 ever before come in contact. Such was Creon, 
 a man whom to know was to appreciate and 
 always remember, — a man of another world 
 than mine, although I was not made acquainted 
 with that fact until some time later, — just be- 
 fore our journey commenced. 
 
 As our acquaintance continued, I found that 
 his ideas of government and all matters per- 
 taining to social conditions, man's obligations 
 to man, and general manner of living were in- 
 
A Look, Backward 29 
 
 teresting and entirely different from any I had 
 ever heard advanced. And as our acquaintance 
 ripened into friendship, the more freely he dis- 
 cussed these matters and the more fully he gave 
 expression to his ideas. Well do I remember 
 our discussion that resulted in the journey al- 
 ready mentioned, — a discussion that com- 
 menced at the dinner-table in the evening and 
 did not end until after the morning sun was 
 shining into his room, to which we had ad- 
 journed after finishing our meal. Before that 
 he had, at times, in a general way advanced 
 ideas that were new and strange, but upon this 
 occasion he cast aside all restraint and showed 
 how this world of ours, by the simple exercising 
 of common sense and good judgment on the part 
 of its people, could forever do away with wars, 
 misery, and want, and insure to every one 
 plenty and to spare. According to his idea, all 
 of our systems of government were wrong; our 
 plan of education, our social system, and our 
 method of training and bringing up our youth 
 were not such as to properly develop the mind 
 and thoroughly appeal to the human side of our 
 organism. He contended that the human race 
 was composed of two elements, — human or 
 divine, and animal or brute ; that any system of 
 government, society, or education that tended to 
 foster and develop the animal rather than the 
 human, is primarily wrong, engendering, as it 
 does, in the mind of man greed and envy, which 
 
30 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 are the principal causes of crime and man's in- 
 humanity to man. 
 
 "Why," he exclaimed, growing more enthusi- 
 astic as he proceeded, "the greater portion of 
 your literature appeals to the animal rather 
 than to the human part of man, and tends to 
 degrade rather than to elevate the mind. Your 
 histories as studied in the schools are almost 
 entirely given over to wars, battles, rapine, and 
 bloodshed, — to tales and records of the doings 
 of kings, rulers and warriors, who are repre- 
 sented as heroes for the admiration of mankind, 
 when in many instances the world would have 
 been much better off had they never been born. 
 In your histories the people are not given any 
 consideration, and their manner of living, their 
 habits, customs, and pleasures are rarely men- 
 tioned. The idea is instilled into the mind that 
 war, with all its horrors, furnishes the only 
 means for the production of heroes and men of 
 valor. 
 
 1 ' Then let us take the classics, so-called, — the 
 'Iliad,' for instance, which is much studied 
 and read as a literary gem, — and what do we 
 find? A production of rare composition and 
 great poetical beauty without question, but yet 
 given over to war, bloodshed, and carnage, 
 brought about by the infidelity of a faithless 
 wife, whose beauty, as well as the valor of her 
 paramour, is extolled to the uttermost. Mene- 
 laus, the outraged husband; Agamemnon, the 
 
A Look Backward 31 
 
 much-lauded king, and all its heroes, both Greek 
 and Trojan, are brought forth as men of fierce 
 passions, boastful and conceited, whose profes- 
 sion it was to butcher human beings, and who 
 were never satisfied unless fully occupied in that 
 business. Peace and good will toward men find 
 no place within its lines. 
 
 "Then, again, what do the people have pre- 
 sented to them in the papers as news for every- 
 day reading, to go with one's breakfast? 
 "Here," he said, picking up a morning paper, 
 "is a fair sample. On the front page, under 
 attractive headlines we find an account of a 
 prize fight, the result of each round being given 
 in detail. The winner, it says, was roundly 
 cheered by the enthusiastic men and women 
 in attendance, and after the fight was over he 
 was carried away from the ring upon the shoul- 
 ders of his admiring friends. His opponent was 
 rendered unconscious by a knock-out blow, 
 which broke his jaw, and, as he fell, blood 
 streamed from his nose, mouth, and ears; for 
 a time the physicians in attendance were doubt- 
 ful of his recovery. The huge building, espe- 
 cially constructed for the purpose, was crowded, 
 and many people could not even procure stand- 
 ing room, and were turned away disappointed. 
 The presence of many fashionably gowned 
 ladies and their escorts was very noticeable. 
 The interest taken by the ladies, who watched 
 the fight closely and expressed their approval 
 
32 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 when their favorite landed, was clearly appre- 
 ciated by the contestants. Many thousand dol- 
 lars changed hands on the result. Then we 
 have a full description of three murders; the 
 details of the lynching of a negro ; two automo- 
 bile accidents, in which three people are killed 
 and several injured ; an account of a bank rob- 
 bery, and nearly a whole page is given to a sen- 
 sational divorce trial, in which much of the 
 testimony is published in full. 
 
 "So much for local news, all tending to ex- 
 cite but not to improve the mind. Then we 
 have the description of a recent battle, and 
 from it may be formed some idea of what war 
 is. Listen to this: 'General Fighter's troops 
 charged the enemy, and in a hand-to-hand con- 
 flict captured several standards and a large 
 number of guns and prisoners. The carnage 
 was fearful, his men charging over heaps of 
 the slain in order to reach the enemy. General 
 Fighter's famous charger, Bellerophon, was 
 killed during the melee, and was buried upon the 
 field with military honors. The hospital corps 
 being insufficient to care for the wounded, many 
 lay where they fell, exposed to the rain and 
 cold for hours, and perished for want of care 
 and attention. In order to maintain the posi- 
 tion won, the exhausted troops remained upon 
 the field during the night, without rations or 
 shelter; the living and the dead sleeping to- 
 gether in the muddy trenches, which had been 
 
A Look Backward 33 
 
 taken from the enemy at the point of the bay- 
 onet. ' 
 
 ' ' Think of the feelings of wives and mothers 
 whose husbands and sons on both sides are fol- 
 lowing the colors! That is war, where human 
 life, especially the life of the common soldier, 
 is reckoned as nothing; men as so many units 
 to be blotted out, whereupon others are forced 
 in to take their places, to be in turn pierced with 
 bullets, or torn with shot and shell, and left 
 upon the ground uncared for and forgotten by 
 their comrades, who have been transformed 
 from human beings into fighting demons. And 
 yet, by a system of education and training that 
 to me seems impossible, men are made to believe 
 that war, with all its horrors, is just and right, 
 and that to fight and die upon the field of battle 
 is a glorious death. 
 
 " If a whole human race, by a course of train- 
 ing and education, can be brought to that point 
 and be persuaded to leave their homes and 
 families and take up the weapons of war and 
 go forth to kill and be killed, how much better 
 would it be, — and certainly much easier, — to 
 educate and train all mankind to peace; to in- 
 stil into their minds that war cannot be made 
 an excuse for killing and destroying; that it is 
 just as wrong for a people banded together as 
 a nation to kill mankind and destroy homes as 
 for an individual to commit the same crime; 
 that no nation, great or small, has the right to 
 
34 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 declare war against any other nation, or the 
 right to keep and maintain armament, instru- 
 ments, or munitions of war of any kind. It is 
 the possession of the gun that creates the de- 
 sire to shoot; the means of death, the desire 
 to kill. Would there be any wars if the people 
 of all nations were trained to peace and no pro- 
 visions for war were made or allowed 1 You 
 forbid by law the carrying of arms by a private 
 citizen, but you, as a nation, spend millions of 
 dollars, each year, in battleships, arms, muni- 
 tions of war, and the training of men to fight. 
 As a soldier a man may take the lives of hun- 
 dreds and become a hero worshiped in song and 
 story, but as a citizen, if he intentionally kills 
 or even injures another, he is severely punished. 
 As a soldier he is urged to destroy, but as a 
 citizen, if he takes or injures the property of 
 another, he is sent to prison. Why should the 
 people of a nation collectively do that which 
 would be considered a crime if done individu- 
 ally? 
 
 "You see that it does not take either much 
 thought or study to determine that under your 
 system of training and education the human 
 race has advanced but very little, if at all, since 
 the dawn of history; that even those you call 
 the most enlightened are still mere barbarians. 
 As a nation your people commit crimes, under 
 the guise of civilization, and never stop to con- 
 sider what you have done; and if you do, you 
 
A Look Backward 35 
 
 soothe your conscience with the thought that 
 it was an act of the government in the interest 
 of your so-called civilization and must be right, 
 and therefore is right. If the people and those 
 who are in control of the governments and na- 
 tions would devote the same attention, thought, 
 and money to the elimination of poverty and 
 the uplifting of the human race that they do to 
 war and preparation for war, there would be no 
 poverty and want, nor even ignorance in this 
 world. 
 
 "War lords are unnecessary, and would not 
 be tolerated in any enlightened country. A few 
 of them in control of one of your principal na- 
 tions have set your whole world aflame." 
 
 "But suppose one government insults an- 
 other would not the government so insulted 
 insist upon an apology?" I inquired. "It could 
 not do otherwise and maintain its dignity as a 
 nation. And then we will say that the apology 
 is not forthcoming. War would then, of course, 
 be inevitable. The dignity of a nation must be 
 sustained, no matter what it may cost in life 
 and property. Misery, woe, want, widows, and 
 orphans count for nothing, as compared with 
 the dignity of a nation and of those who gov- 
 ern." 
 
 "From your standard and way of reason- 
 ing, yes," he replied. "But is your way of 
 looking at it correct? Is there any excuse for 
 allowing any nation or body of men to prepare 
 
36 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 for the taking of human life and the inflicting 
 upon mankind the misery and woe; the grief, 
 anguish, and suffering that war entails; the 
 widows and orphans and the destruction of 
 homes! If one man insults another, do your 
 people allow the man insulted to kill the man 
 who insults him? And if you do not allow that, 
 why should a government or a nation act dif- 
 ferently than would an individual ? If one man 
 cannot arm and prepare to destroy his fellow- 
 men, their homes and property, why should a 
 large body of men, called a nation, do so. 
 
 "Do you know that your forms of govern- 
 ment are a relic of barbarism growing out of 
 the banding together of men for their mutual 
 protection from each other, and from beasts of 
 prey, in that period when all men were mere 
 savages, and like the wild beasts of the forests, 
 depended upon brute strength and cunning for 
 their very existence? In those bands were men 
 who, on account of possessing superior strength 
 and cunning, became leaders, and to a certain 
 extent governed the band to which they be- 
 longed. They surrounded themselves with 
 every protection they could conceive of, and for 
 weapons used clubs and stones for the destruc- 
 tion of their enemies. 
 
 "Such was life in those crude and brutal 
 times. Battles were fought, men and leaders 
 killed, and one band joined another. In the 
 course of time some of the bands became oblit- 
 
A Look Backward 37 
 
 erated, while others grew in size and strength, 
 and finally formed what you call governments 
 or nations, still retaining the same system as did 
 those original bands of savages when dressed 
 in the skins of wild beasts, — only upon a larger 
 scale and in a more effective manner. Instead 
 of a few being killed with crude and unwieldy 
 weapons, your people now kill and destroy by 
 the thousands, and lay desolate the country over 
 which they pass. Because of long practice in 
 war and the invention of weapons of destruc- 
 tion your people now commit cruelties and 
 cause misery and suffering unknown and un- 
 thought of by those roving bands of long ago. 
 As I read your histories and study your people, 
 I find that, while you have made progress in 
 some things during the past few thousand 
 years, your social system, — your methods of 
 government have practically remained the same. 
 I find that you have made great progress in the 
 art of war and great strides in the invention of 
 weapons of destruction. You can now take life, 
 destroy cities, villages, and homes more effec- 
 tually than ever before. But has your progress 
 in literature, art, and many of the sciences ad- 
 vanced accordingly! Is the life of a human 
 being held dearer by those in power; or is it 
 any more worth the living to-day than it was 
 in the higher types of civilization five thousand 
 years ago? Your whole system of government 
 
38 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 is a system of spoliation, — of the strong preying 
 upon the weak. 
 
 "In any civilized and enlightened country 
 every one works for the common good of all, 
 not for himself alone. Every one must produce 
 his share, either for the needs or pleasures of 
 all; and when that condition is fully attained, 
 the people can claim that they have reached a 
 state of civilization and enlightenment; not be- 
 fore. So long as there remains ignorance, bru- 
 tality, misery, and want, — all of which are un- 
 necessary under a proper system of training 
 and education, — just so long will the people 
 remain in a state of barbarism. And do you 
 know that those who are possessed of the high- 
 est order of intelligence, of the most learning, 
 and of that which you term wealth, are mostly 
 to blame; for they are the ones who have the 
 ability, the means, and the opportunity to bring 
 about the necessary changes. Those changes 
 can never be accomplished by means of wars 
 and strife, by the destruction of property, by 
 agitation or agitators, nor by one class pitting 
 itself against another. All these methods only 
 engender bitterness and hate; they accomplish 
 nothing. Neither can the changes be brought 
 about either by class legislation or by the enact- 
 ment of law T s of which you already have far too 
 many. For the more you have the farther are 
 you away from the object to be attained. The 
 result can only be accomplished by proper 
 
A Look Backward 39 
 
 training and education, by appealing to the 
 higher instincts of the human race; not alto- 
 gether in a literary sense, but in a sane and 
 common sense manner; in a way that every 
 one can understand; by proper thought and 
 study on the part of the people, with a desire 
 to accept that which will be best for all and 
 will make life worth living ; by internationalism 
 rather than nationalism; by eliminating all 
 causes for greed, envy, and hate ; by doing away 
 with the idea that any one man is entitled to 
 get and control all that he can, whether it be 
 money, lands, chattels, the products of the soil, 
 or the food of the people, no matter how, so 
 long as he does not use force and keeps within 
 what you term the law (that is, within certain 
 rules and regulations that you have made, by 
 which he is controlled, and which I find vary 
 in different communities) ; by dealing with one 
 another justly and fairly, — each possessing the 
 same rights as another, and no more ; by teach- 
 ing, adopting, and maintaining a system under 
 which there cannot and will not be any rich or 
 poor, with plenty for all and to spare." 
 
 "This, undoubtedly," I said, "would be a 
 very desirable condition to bring about, but 
 that is impossible. Any man is entitled to 
 that which he earns, and should be allowed to 
 keep it and do with it as he likes." 
 
 "True," he said, "I will admit all that. But 
 is he entitled to take, keep, and enjoy that which 
 
40 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 some one else has earned? You say that a con- 
 dition such as I have described is impossible. 
 I am going to surprise you by saying that it is 
 not only possible, but I can take you to a coun- 
 try in which such a condition is existing to-day, 
 and has existed for centuries; and if you are 
 the man I have taken you to be, you will go 
 with me and visit that country. ' ' 
 
 "What!" I exclaimed, "a country where 
 there are no wars, with their resulting misery 
 and want; no poverty, no excessive rich, and 
 no miserable poor? You seem serious, but I 
 know you are not, as there is no part of this 
 world that we are not familiar with, and cer- 
 tainly such a country has never been discov- 
 ered." 
 
 "Did I mention this world?" Creon asked 
 very quietly and earnestly. And if I had been 
 interested before, you may imagine that my 
 interest now changed to excitement and won- 
 der, when, leaning forward and taking one of 
 my hands in his, he looked at me intently and 
 said: "I want to say to you again that there 
 is such a country, peopled with a happy, care- 
 free, and prosperous people, and I want you to 
 visit it with me. It is the country of my birth, 
 in which I have always lived. I want you to 
 mingle with its people and to study their social 
 system. I desire to prove to you that a condi- 
 tion such as I have described is not only pos- 
 sible but real. Go with me and see for yourself 
 
A Look Backward 41 
 
 the conditions under which the people there are 
 living. You can stay one month, six months, 
 or as long as you like. I will guarantee you 
 a pleasant journey and a safe return. Will you 
 go?" 
 
 For the moment I could not answer. The 
 proposition was so strange and seemed so im- 
 possible that I could not comprehend it all. 
 
 "When and how will we make the journey?" 
 I at length inquired. 
 
 "If it is agreeable to you, we will start to- 
 morrow, and the trip will be an easy and inex- 
 pensive one. Take as few things with you as 
 possible. A hand-grip will do, and no money." 
 
 "I will go with you," I replied, full of won- 
 der and astonishment. "Although I do not 
 know where this country of which you speak is 
 located, or how we are going to reach it, I am 
 convinced I will not regret making the jour- 
 ney. ' ' 
 
 The place from which we started I am in 
 honor bound not to reveal. 
 
 During our journey we had plenty of leisure, 
 which we spent in reading and conversation; 
 my companion being one of the most agreeable 
 and interesting conversationalists it had ever 
 been my good fortune to meet. And the sub- 
 jects we had to converse upon, and the many 
 and interesting things he had to relate, were all 
 to me new, pleasing, and strange, — relating to 
 a country or rather a world, in which there are 
 
42 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 no wars, strife, nor misery; no greed, hate, 
 avarice, nor contentions ; a world in which every 
 individual has the time and means to pursue his 
 pleasures as he desires in a peaceful, quiet 
 manner; where all are upon an equal footing 
 and without restraint; where contentment and 
 happiness reign supreme, and where man's in- 
 humanity to man is unknown ; a world of plenty 
 and to spare; where there are no rich and no 
 poor, yet where each and all possess greater 
 riches than the greatest potentate of whom I 
 have ever heard or read. 
 
 And this country I was going to visit. I was 
 to see it with my own eyes, mingle with its 
 people, share in their sports and pleasures, and 
 study their social system and condition to my 
 heart's content. To this, to me a new world I 
 was journeying, — to one of the planets of the 
 universe, peopled with human beings, similar 
 to that which I had so recently left: a planet 
 of about the same size as my own world, going 
 through space under the same conditions ; with 
 the same sun to give it light and heat, and a 
 like moon to illuminate its nights; with a cor- 
 responding life, human and animal ; with earth 
 and water, fields and trees, cities and villages, 
 homes and farms; with mountains, hills, and 
 vales, lakes and rivers, fields and forests ; with 
 its works of art, and educational and other 
 public buildings; with its social and industrial 
 
A Look Backward 43 
 
 life flowing along with the years and centuries. 
 Yet on this planet there dwelt a people with a 
 social condition to our world unknown and un- 
 heard of. 
 
 Here was a country where all are not only 
 born free and equal, but so remain while life 
 lasts, — a country without a ruler; without class 
 or social distinction ; where the equal enjoyment 
 of life, liberty, and happiness is given to all. 
 A country without a form of government, ac- 
 cording to our standard, yet with a system of 
 government that has existed for thousands of 
 years, solid and indissoluble, — a system based 
 upon reason, intelligence, equality, and a just 
 regard for human rights, where the brother- 
 hood of man is recognized as the first principle 
 of good government; a government looking to 
 and providing for the welfare, happiness, and 
 greatest good of all; a government founded 
 not upon the theory but upon the fact that the 
 products of the land and water, like the air 
 the people breathe, are for the equal use and 
 enjoyment of all, and sufficient, when properly 
 used, to amply supply every man, woman, and 
 child with plenty; yet at the same time requir- 
 ing that every person shall perform his or her 
 share, and work not for self alone but for all. 
 
 Was it any wonder that I could not realize it 
 all, and that I almost reached the point where 
 I began to doubt my own existence and become 
 
44 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 distrustful of the reality of my surroundings? 
 At times I wondered if I were not under some 
 hypnotic influence, from which I would awake 
 to find myself back upon the only world I had 
 known, — a world where greed, avarice, strife, 
 and individual ambition predominate and are 
 encouraged as the means by which so-called suc- 
 cess may be most quickly attained ; where men, 
 and even women, are working clay and night to 
 invent and manufacture instruments, great and 
 small, for the taking of human life and the 
 destruction of cities, villages, and homes ; where 
 the fathers of families are engaged in killing 
 and mutilating other fathers of families, and 
 children are taught that this condition is right, 
 that for this purpose human beings are created ; 
 where hate and cruelty are encouraged, to kill 
 and be killed is called patriotism, and brutality 
 is honored and enthroned; where men are col- 
 lected in vast numbers, instruments of destruc- 
 tion placed in their hands, and ordered to go 
 forth and kill, maim, and destroy to the utter- 
 most. 
 
 A world in which millions of men, — the best 
 in the land, — at the will of a few clothed with 
 powers of government are furnished with every 
 weapon of death that the minds of man have 
 been able to invent and engaged in the awful 
 work of destruction; where men's heads are 
 crushed with clubbed muskets, pieces of steel 
 
A Look Backivard 45 
 
 thrust through their bodies, their bones broken 
 and bodies mutilated with shells and bullets, 
 their limbs severed and backs broken; where 
 men are trampled upon and crushed, and their 
 mangled and torn bodies left forgotten and un- 
 cared for upon the sward, in the grain fields, 
 under the trees, by the hedges and highways, 
 and in the ditches which they had themselves 
 dug, in order that they might have an advantage 
 in killing and destroying, and which were des- 
 tined to become their shallow graves ; where 
 each man prays to his Maker for the power and 
 means to kill, mutilate, and destroy the other; 
 where cries of hate and coarse oaths are the 
 answers to appeals for mercy, and brutal laugh- 
 ter mingles with the groans of the dying; where 
 mercy, sympathy and brotherly love have fled, 
 and hate, anger, and brutality reign. A world 
 of war, where the fiery imps of the inferno are 
 let loose, and where fathers, husbands, and sons 
 are transformed into demons, whose only de- 
 sire is to kill not beasts of prey but men, — men 
 with wives and families depending upon them 
 for support ; whose wives and mothers are pray- 
 ing for their safe return to a home that will be 
 made desolate without them. A world in which 
 a few may live in luxury in the midst of want 
 and misery, and where many go hungry in the 
 midst of plenty; and all by reason of the im- 
 proper training and education of its people ; all 
 
46 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 because of ignorance, prejudice, and greed, — a 
 greed fostered and encouraged by the mistaken 
 idea that man is entitled to keep for himself, 
 and to take from his fellow-men, all that he 
 can, regardless of the hardships and miseries 
 that others may suffer thereby. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE END OF THE FLIGHT 
 
 After completing his observations, as men- 
 tioned in the beginning, and satisfying himself 
 regarding our location in space, Creon informed 
 me that the (to me) new world that we were 
 seeking was now in sight, and that our journey 
 would soon be ended. Being anxious to see the 
 object of our destination, which had been con- 
 tinually in my mind for some time, I at once 
 went to one of the front outlooks and was sur- 
 prised to see what seemed to be a large ball 
 moving through space in our direction, and 
 which, as I continued to watch it, appeared to 
 gradually increase in size as it approached. 
 
 As we were now within the gravitational in- 
 fluence of this planet, our motive power was 
 turned off, except sufficient to enable us to 
 maintain our course, and keep the car in its 
 proper position and under control. In less than 
 an hour we entered into the atmosphere of this 
 planet, and that which I had at first observed 
 as a large ball, traveling through space and 
 growing in size, was now beneath us, — a huge 
 world, toward which we were descending; al- 
 
 47 
 
48 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 though to my unaccustomed eyes it appeared to 
 be coming toward us at a terrific rate of speed. 
 
 After descending to within one mile, as I 
 judged, from this earth, Creon, by some ma- 
 nipulation of the machinery, stopped our 
 descent, and after taking observations through 
 some glasses, changed our course to the right. 
 He also partially turned off the motive power, 
 so that we maintained a speed of about a hun- 
 dred miles an hour ; and handing me the glasses, 
 with the request that I inform him as soon as 
 I should observe a mountain range with three 
 distinct peaks, the center one being somewhat 
 higher than the others, he busied himself with 
 getting together his personal effects, opened 
 two or three of the glass outlooks, and with- 
 drew the bolts and bars fastening the heavy 
 steel door by which we had entered, — all with 
 as little concern as if he were about to leave 
 his hotel. 
 
 This new world now seemed to be passing in 
 review beneath us, and with the glasses I could 
 distinctly observe it in detail. That part over 
 which we were passing was for the most part 
 a densely populated country, with cities scat- 
 tered here and there, but none of any consider- 
 able size, or closely built. All the buildings had 
 ample grounds, which were well kept and 
 planted in gardens, shrubbery, and trees, pro- 
 ducing a pleasing, prosperous, and comfortable 
 appearance. 
 
The End of the Flight 49 
 
 One thing that particularly impressed me was 
 that, so far as I could see, none of the cities 
 over which we passed had any business centers. 
 There were here and there large, substantial 
 buildings that appeared to have architectural 
 beauty, and also huge buildings that had the 
 appearance of being warehouses, but of large 
 stores and office buildings there were none. The 
 country over which we passed was in a high 
 state of cultivation, and the farms and fields 
 were small in the greater number of instances. 
 The houses in the country appeared to be very 
 much the same as those in the cities, and I 
 noticed that the buildings, lawns, trees, and 
 shrubbery had the same neat and well-kept ap- 
 pearance. Highways, with hedges and trees 
 growing on either side, extended in every direc- 
 tion. Some of these highways were much wider 
 than others, with a space in the center upon 
 which grass, trees, and shrubbery were grow- 
 ing, and through the center of this space I ob- 
 served cars, resembling our trolley cars, pass- 
 ing back and forth. People were working in the 
 fields and traveling along the highways. 
 Horses, cattle, and other domestic animals were 
 grazing in the pastures. Life, and busy life, 
 was everywhere visible. 
 
 In passing over several rivers and lakes I 
 observed many boats and craft of various kinds 
 and sizes plying back and forth, but what kind 
 of motive power was used in their propulsion I 
 
50 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 was unable to determine. Upon one lake of con- 
 siderable size there was a large number of sail- 
 boats and launches, and a crowd of people was 
 gathered upon the shore. As we passed over it, 
 a race between several of the sailboats was just 
 being finished, and I could see through the 
 glasses the crowd surge back and forth, and for 
 the moment their cheers and shouts, mingled 
 with strains of music, floated faintly up to us. 
 
 In all the cities and villages there were 
 numerous parks and places for outdoor games 
 and sports, and in nearly all of these parks 
 there were many people, sports of some kind 
 being in progress in the greater number of 
 these public grounds. The nature of these 
 g, nies I, from my point of observation, was 
 unable to determine; although, judging from 
 the many horses on the field, in some instances, 
 I concluded that they played a prominent part 
 in the sports. The higher hills were all clothed 
 with forests, and there was usually more or 
 Less timber around the lakes and along the 
 rivers. A more beautiful and pleasing coun- 
 try to look upon one could never expect to see. 
 Its principal beauty, however, consisted in its 
 development under the hand of man. Here was 
 a country made beautiful by man, and made 
 to produce to its uttermost for his needs and 
 pleasures. 
 
 I had become so interested in observing this 
 panorama passing beneath me that I had for- 
 
The End of the Flight 51 
 
 gotten to keep an outlook as requested by my 
 companion, and had also failed to notice that 
 the day was drawing to a close, until I suddenly 
 realized that the sun was setting and darkness 
 was gathering over the villages and fields be- 
 low. There had been a change in the landscape 
 over which we were passing, it being somewhat 
 broken, with less evidence of habitation, and 
 after passing over a stretch of country, which 
 apparently was utilized for the grazing of stock, 
 I observed that the country beyond was covered 
 with forest. In looking through my glasses to 
 see if I could ascertain its extent, I discovered 
 that we were approaching a range of moun- 
 tains, and the three peaks for which Creon had 
 requested me to watch. The speed of the car 
 was now slackened, and the matter of landing 
 was soon and easily accomplished by slowly 
 settling down to the ground. 
 
 Upon alighting from the car, I could see by 
 the dim light yet remaining that we had landed 
 in a small level meadow of not more than an 
 acre in extent, surrounded on three sides by 
 high perpendicular walls, almost, in fact, wholly 
 surrounded, as there was only a small opening 
 at one end, so narrow that it appeared only a 
 mere crevice. I was trying to satisfy myself 
 whether our landing place w T as the work of 
 nature or of the titanic hand of a gigantic race, 
 when my companion broke the silence by an- 
 nouncing : 
 
52 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 1 'Time, two hundred and forty-nine hours, 
 twenty-four minutes." 
 
 That was the time that it had taken us to 
 travel from the world that I had always be- 
 lieved was the only one to this, the new world 
 that I had been so interested in observing for 
 the past few hours. A trip from one of the 
 planets of the universe to another in a little 
 over ten days, — from the earth to one of its 
 stars ! But to which one I do not know. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 GOLD A USELESS THING 
 
 It is said that "truth is stranger than fic- 
 tion," and when I stop to consider fully all 
 that I am about to relate concerning that world 
 that I visited and its people with whom I asso- 
 ciated, I am forcibly reminded of that well- 
 known adage. Nevertheless, I will describe 
 that world and its people, and especially their 
 social system and form of government, — if it 
 can be so called, — just as I saw it without any 
 concealment or exaggeration, and regardless 
 of whether they conform to my ideas or the 
 ideas of my readers upon those subjects. Un- 
 less I do that this story would be a vain and 
 useless thing. 
 
 That, without gold, — or what we term wealth, 
 — men and women can enjoy all the comforts, 
 pleasures, and even the luxuries that make life 
 worth the living will no doubt seem impossible 
 to many, and when I go further and state that 
 under the system that I there found in opera- 
 tion poverty and want were unknown my read- 
 ers will say that such a condition is inconceiv- 
 able, and when, as I proceed, it appears that 
 
 53 
 
54 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 war, with all its horrors, — the death, misery, 
 and suffering that it inflicts, — is never even 
 thought of by those people, they will declare 
 that I am dealing with the impossible. 
 
 I will admit that there was a time when I 
 would have entertained the same opinions, and 
 would promptly have pronounced such asser- 
 tions the phantoms of a dreamy mind ; but what 
 one has seen with his own eyes he is bound to 
 believe, regardless of the opinions of others; 
 and if all doubters could make that journey and 
 mingle with the inhabitants of that world as I 
 have, they would no longer consider that gold 
 is necessary to human enjoyment; they would 
 no longer believe that war, poverty, and want 
 are the natural inheritance of mankind and 
 must therefore be endured. And I am confident 
 that, as I describe it all, each and all of my 
 readers will say that it would be a delightful 
 world in which to live, and in order to do so 
 they would be willing to perform their part at 
 all times ; and they may perhaps wonder if there 
 is not some way by which they can reach it and 
 become one of those contented, happy and care- 
 free people. Even though they may not feel 
 that way, at any rate they will stop and wonder 
 if all the cares and perplexities, the disappoint- 
 ments and annoyances, the burdens that they 
 are required to carry, are after all really neces- 
 sary; whether they are not the product of a 
 complicated and cumbersome social system, 
 
Gold a Useless Thing 55 
 
 founded upon the mistaken idea that every one 
 is entitled to acquire and keep all that he can, 
 regardless of the necessities of others ; and hav- 
 ing allowed their mind to carry them that far, 
 they may reach the conclusion that a great im- 
 provement over present earthly conditions is 
 possible. Yet, when they arrive at that con- 
 clusion they may reach that "stumbling block'' 
 over which so many have fallen, and say that it 
 could be done, were it not for the perversity of 
 human nature. 
 
 But under those circumstances the best way 
 to surmount that obstacle is to take a minute, 
 personal inventory, so as to have an average 
 specimen of human nature to work on, and if 
 that inventory proves satisfactory, there is no 
 foundation for believing that the perversity of 
 human nature is the great obstacle that pre- 
 vents a sociological change for the better. When 
 any man or woman reaches the conclusion that 
 morally, socially, or spiritually he, or she, is 
 better than his fellow-kind, the conclusion is 
 usually based upon a false premise, and the 
 sooner the delusion is cast aside the better it 
 will "be for that person and those with whom 
 he may associate. 
 
 But we have traveled far from the car in 
 which we made the journey to that world I am 
 going to describe, and must return or we may 
 not be able to find the pocket in the mountain 
 
56 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 in which we alighted after our flight through 
 space. 
 
 Our first night in that new world we spent 
 in our car, at the point where we had landed, — 
 I will not say "slept," since for me sleep, for 
 the greater part of the night, was impossible. 
 I was more excited and restless than when we 
 had first started on our journey. The thought 
 kept passing through my mind that I was not 
 in a new country but in a new world,— one of 
 the stars of the universe that I had no doubt 
 watched with interest as it twinkled down at 
 me as I lay by my campfire during some of my 
 travels upon my world in the past. The door 
 and outlooks were open, and a cool, refreshing 
 breeze passed through the car, in which the 
 fragrance of the forest was especially noticeable 
 after our days of close confinement. 
 
 Some time after midnight the moon, full and 
 round, on its journey reached mid-heaven and 
 flooded with silvery light the pocket in which 
 we lay. I could no longer remain inactive, and 
 quietly going outside, stood for some time con- 
 templating the beauties of the night and specu- 
 lating upon the unreality of my phenomenal 
 adventure. And as I stood there alone in the 
 silence of the night a feeling of awe came over 
 me that I could not cast aside. I could compre- 
 hend as never before the immensity of the uni- 
 verse, — the vastness of space. I could fully 
 realize that the stars with which the heavens 
 
Gold a Useless Thing 57 
 
 were studded were planets, — real worlds, — 
 probably teeming with life, and each perform- 
 ing its part in that great planetary programme 
 that commenced with the beginning of time and 
 will continue on forever; and then I thought 
 that, in comparison with it all, how infinitely 
 small is one individual man. 
 
 That thought, however, not appealing to my 
 fancy, I commenced a search of the stars to see 
 if I could not in some way decide which one 
 of them was the world I had so recently left, — 
 my world, — and finally decided upon one that 
 seemed to be a little nearer and brighter than 
 the others. I then seated myself in the door- 
 way of the car and soon after became oblivious 
 to my surroundings, in sleep. 
 
 When r awoke, the sun was shining on the 
 tops of the cliffs by which we were surrounded, 
 and not more than fifty feet from me were two 
 large animals gazing in wonder at our car, but 
 apparently paying no attention whatever to me. 
 As soon as I recovered from my surprise and 
 momentary alarm, I saw that they were a cou- 
 ple of beautiful elk, and my hunting spirit was 
 immediately aroused. But, remembering with 
 regret that there were no weapons in the car, 
 I could only remain quiet and watch them as 
 they carefully went on with their inspection. 
 After satisfying their curiosity, they slowly 
 crossed the small meadow and disappeared in 
 
58 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 the canyon or small opening through the cliffs 
 by which they must have entered. 
 
 I had become so absorbed in watching the 
 animals that I had not noticed that Creon had 
 prepared our morning meal until he announced 
 that our last meal to be eaten in the car for 
 some time was ready. 
 
 As soon as we had finished our breakfast we 
 placed the car in its hangar, which had been 
 constructed from a cavern in the cliffs, and then 
 started on our journey down the mountain ; fol- 
 lowing a footpath for some five or six miles, 
 until we reached a highway that continued along 
 the bank of a small river. 
 
 Although in an unbroken forest, this was a 
 broad and well-kept road, with macadam sur- 
 face and cuts and fills to maintain a uniform 
 grade. The timber was mostly deciduous, with 
 here and there some pines, hemlock, fir, and 
 spruce, and reminded me of a forest in the foot- 
 hills of the Appalachian Mountains. It was an 
 ideal June day; the trees were in full foliage, 
 and wild flowers were blooming along the path- 
 way. Game and song birds, rabbits and squir- 
 rels, were everywhere present, and we often saw 
 deer and elk. All the animals and birds were 
 remarkably tame, paying scarcely any attention 
 to us as we passed along. 
 
 "Do you know why these animals and birds 
 are not afraid of men, — why they do not scurry 
 from sight upon our approach?" inquired 
 
Gold a Useless Thing 59 
 
 Creon, as I stopped to admire a beautiful ani- 
 mal that was leisurely crossing the path a short 
 distance ahead of us. "It is because here men 
 do not chase them with dogs and guns. Dogs 
 we have as pets and companions, but of fire- 
 arms there are none, we have no use for them. 
 In this country there is not one instrument 
 made for the destruction of men or beasts. 
 Without weapons to kill and destroy, the de- 
 sire to kill vanishes. Hunting, killing, and 
 destroying are not the sport and enjoyment of 
 a truly civilized and enlightened race." 
 
 On the bank of the river, where the path we 
 had followed joined the highway, was a place 
 used for camping and picnics. Some tables 
 and benches had been constructed beneath the 
 trees and a stone contrivance, something like 
 an open fireplace for cooking and preparing 
 meals, was near the river. It was a beautiful 
 place, with green banks gradually sloping to the 
 river, shaded with large and beautiful maple 
 and oak trees. Here we lay down on the bank 
 for a short rest, to enjoy the cool shade and 
 listen to the murmur of the water mingling 
 with the songs of the birds. It was a restful, 
 peaceful spot. A deer stood knee-deep in the 
 water only a few yards away. A couple of 
 squirrels were chasing one another around and 
 up and down a neighboring tree; a kingfisher 
 came slowly up the river, just skimming its 
 surface and, perching upon a limb overhang- 
 
60 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 ing the water, sat motionless, watching for his 
 dinner. The rap-pe-tap-tap of a woodpecker 
 upon a hollow tree in the distance floated 
 through the woods almost unnoticed and seemed 
 to fill in as a part of the surroundings. 
 
 My companion had been in high spirits all 
 the morning, but although the day was fine, the 
 scenery beautiful, and the walk through the 
 woods pleasant, after being confined so long in 
 the car, I was depressed and worried. I could 
 not get over the feeling that I was in a new 
 world among strangers, without means to meet 
 the necessities of life. While I had my gold 
 with me, I felt that I had a protector, and the 
 leaving it behind caused me much trouble and 
 concern. During our walk I said very little, 
 and the more I thought of my situation the 
 more downhearted and depressed I became, un- 
 til by the time we stopped to rest, my feelings 
 had reached the point where I had begun to 
 suspect my companion of some ulterior motive 
 in bringing me to a strange land without money 
 or means. True, he had told me that I would 
 not need money, and that if I had any it would 
 be a useless thing; nevertheless, I was unable 
 to comprehend such a condition, and could not 
 understand why with gold I would not be able 
 to procure anything I desired. How I was 
 to get along without it was unthinkable. 
 
 Noticing my dejected and worried appear- 
 ance, which must have been very apparent, 
 
Gold a Useless Thing 61 
 
 Creon inquired if I were ill; as from his view 
 of life, sickness and death were the only causes 
 for worry and unhappiness. Upon my answer- 
 ing him in the negative, he looked at me intently 
 for a moment and said: 
 
 " Oh ! I see, — you are homesick. Well, if that 
 is the case, you can go back at any time you 
 wish, but I would advise you most sincerely 
 not to be in too great a hurry, as you have much 
 to see and to learn, if you will remain for a 
 time." 
 
 I then explained the cause of my troubled 
 mind and said to him: 
 
 ''I have learned that gold is the one friend 
 to keep and rely upon, for so long as you pos- 
 sess it your other friends stand by you, but 
 without it most of them desert you. With gold 
 in plenty your friends are legion and the path- 
 way of life smooth; you are looked up to and 
 respected by all, the best there is to be had is 
 yours; the rich and the great are pleased to 
 call you friend, and all others are ever ready to 
 do your bidding; you are sought after, wined, 
 and dined and the fairest of the fair are proud 
 of your company and recognition. But with- 
 out this magic yellow metal your life is hard, 
 without companions, and without friends, and 
 you may reach the state, — as many others have, 
 — where you will be without a place to lay your 
 head or a crumb to eat, and left to die a miser- 
 able death, unnoticed and alone. With gold, 
 
62 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 life's needs and pleasures are at all times ob- 
 tainable, while without it misery and want are 
 sure to follow. Here I am millions of miles 
 from home, with only the clothes I have on 
 and without a dollar in my pocket. How can 
 any one be cheerful under such circumstances'?" 
 
 For fully a minute Creon gazed at me with a 
 look of sadness and pity that I shall never for- 
 get. Slowly rising to his feet, he let his eyes 
 rest for a moment upon the deer still standing 
 in the water and at his mate coming down the 
 river bank, then, turning to me, with the sad- 
 ness gone from his face and in its place the 
 same happy, care-free expression that first at- 
 tracted my attention, even before I had formed 
 his acquaintance, he said: 
 
 "You have shown what training, education, 
 and environment will do; they will cause a 
 whole nation, — yes, a whole race of mankind, — 
 to fully believe that a yellow metal taken from 
 the earth, without any medicinal virtue, fur- 
 nishes the sole means for life's needs and en- 
 joyments. That it has the power of sustaining 
 life itself, and, without it, life is not worth the 
 living. On account of that belief you, a man 
 of intelligence beyond the average, surrounded 
 by the beauties of nature, on a glorious day, 
 with all animal and bird life full of peace and 
 joy, trusting in their Maker, are unhappy, wor- 
 ried, and miserable just because you have left 
 behind you a few hundreds of pieces of this 
 
Gold a Useless Thing 63 
 
 wonderful thing, which you and your fellow- 
 men have been taught to worship. In the world 
 you are in now, the training, education, and 
 environment of mankind have been different. 
 The people are no longer in a state of barbar- 
 ism; they have reached a state of civilization 
 and enlightenment. You know what a world 
 is in which the belief you have just expressed 
 exists, — where gold is worshipped. Come with 
 me, meet the people in this world, mingle with 
 them, and learn that gold is not necessary to 
 life, to happiness, or the means of furnishing 
 the necessities of life, but is, instead, the curse 
 of your race, and, instead of being the friend 
 you think, is the source of all your unhappiness. 
 
 "A man thinks as he is trained to think; as 
 a man thinks, so is the man; as men are, so is 
 the nation. Some of your people realize this 
 and are trying to break the fetters of environ- 
 ment by which they are bound, and have been 
 able to partially free themselves ; the recognized 
 right of ownership, the right to have and to 
 hold, has been so long instilled into the minds 
 of your people that it has become the great 
 obstacle in the way of your progress, prosper- 
 ity, and happiness. If the people of your world 
 could once and for all surmount that obstacle, 
 the rest would be easy. 
 
 "You cannot by force compel a man to be- 
 lieve in this or in that. The human mind can- 
 not be thus controlled. But through a system 
 
64 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 of training and education from childhood, cou- 
 pled with environment, man may be made to 
 embrace any belief, or accept any social condi- 
 tion. In religon he may be a Christian or a 
 follower of Mahomet, or Confucius. As to 
 political government, he may be made to believe 
 in a republic or a monarchy. He may, as you 
 know, be made to believe in and accept the so- 
 cial conditions of your world as right and 
 proper, or he may be made to see and believe 
 that the system that you will find here is the 
 only one under which the human race may live 
 in peace, contentment, and plenty." 
 
 What Creon said, and his frank, earnest man- 
 ner in saying it, convinced me that I had no 
 cause for apprehension, and I immediately 
 apologized for my rudeness and distrust. I 
 also informed him that I was ready to proceed, 
 and had no desire to return to my world until 
 I had seen with my own eyes that system he 
 had so interestingly explained. 
 
 "I hoped that you would," he said. "Down 
 this road about a mile you will come in contact 
 with this system for the first time, and I am 
 sure you will appreciate it when you fully un- 
 derstand it. You will find it humane, simple, 
 and effectual." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 ENTREE INTO THE NEW WORLD 
 
 Before going out into that world and min- 
 gling with its people I was fully instructed by 
 Creon regarding the habits and manners of the 
 inhabitants; their industrial methods, educa- 
 tional systems and social customs ; their amuse- 
 ments, and their manner of transacting busi- 
 ness, if you may call it such. But I soon found 
 that even then I must have appeared strange 
 and sometimes, I fear, uncouth to those with 
 whom I first came in contact; although I had 
 always mingled in what we call the best so- 
 ciety. 
 
 One of the things that my instructor tried to 
 impress upon my mind was that in that world 
 there was no money, nor any necessity for 
 money, and that everything I needed was free 
 and to be had for the asking. I, of course, pro- 
 tested against this, supposing that, as his 
 guest, he expected to provide for all my needs 
 during my stay. I had, however, without his 
 knowing it, taken quite a sum of gold with me; 
 all of which he made me leave in the car, say- 
 ing with a laugh: 
 
 65 
 
66 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 "It will be perfectly safe, as you are now 
 in a country where gold is of no value nor of 
 any use for any purpose, as you will soon see 
 and appreciate." 
 
 This brought to my mind that during the 
 time I had known Creon he always had plenty 
 of money, with which he was very liberal, and 
 I was curious to know where and how he pro- 
 cured it, if there were none there. When we 
 were about to go from the car he was so in- 
 sistent that I leave my gold, — as a useless thing 
 to take with me, — that I ventured to inquire 
 how he procured the money that he appeared 
 to have in plenty when in a country where it 
 was so needed for comfort, even for existence. 
 
 "Naturally," he said with a smile, "that 
 would seem a little strange to you, and un- 
 doubtedly requires an explanation on my part." 
 
 Then, stepping into the buffet kitchen, he 
 removed the cover from a large jar, and re- 
 quested me to examine its contents, whereupon, 
 to my surprise I found that it contained dia- 
 monds, pearls, and other stones of value, most 
 of them in the rough. 
 
 "This," he said, "is the source from which 
 I procure my supply of funds when in your 
 world. All I have to do is to convert as many 
 as I like of these into cash, which is an easy 
 matter, and I can always procure more when 
 my supply becomes exhausted. In this world 
 you are now in there are diamonds and other 
 
Entree into the New World 67 
 
 precious stones, as you call them, and as they 
 are not used by the people as ornaments or in 
 any other manner, except some of them in a 
 mechanical way, they are of no more use than 
 other stones and pebbles. The wearing of or- 
 naments such as earrings, necklaces, and finger 
 rings by your people is another evidence that 
 they have not entirely emerged from barbar- 
 ism." 
 
 One thing that Creon was particular in im- 
 pressing upon my mind was that the people as- 
 sociate with one another upon an equal basis. 
 The man who works in the ditches, on the 
 streets, in the stables, or on the farm, is socially 
 the equal of any one. Those that serve you at 
 table, cook your food, or blacken your shoes, 
 are at all times your social equals, and are en- 
 titled to the same courtesies and the same con- 
 sideration as any other person. That for one 
 to work and do his share is honorable, no mat- 
 ter what that work may be, so long as it is 
 necessary and a part of the system. All whom 
 I met possessed a frank, courteous and agree- 
 able manner, and greeted me with an air of 
 friendship and good will that was irresistible. 
 In meeting and conversing with the people it 
 was impossible to distinguish those whom we 
 call laborers and mechanics from those we 
 term professional men and merchants. All were 
 well dressed, with the appearance of being 
 well cared for, happy, and contented. I did 
 
68 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 not observe any person, either old or young, 
 who was shabbily dressed and ill kept, or who 
 had a careworn and disappointed look. Intel- 
 ligence, refinement, and prosperity were every- 
 where present, and a more noble and robust set 
 of men, or more beautiful and healthy women, 
 I never expect to see. 
 
 Instead of a government, they have what I 
 should call a system, under which every indi- 
 vidual performs his share tow T ard maintaining 
 [he whole and receives his share in return, and 
 at 1 he same time is absolutely free and indepen- 
 dent. And, although he owns no property, as 
 we call it, not even the house in which he lives, 
 [he table upon which he eats, the bed in which 
 he sleeps, the tools with which he works, the 
 horse he rides or drives, yet he has them all 
 and knows to a certainty that he will have them 
 so long as he has need of them. And, although, 
 if he be a tiller of the soil, the food that he 
 produces no more belongs to him than it does 
 to the man who makes his clothes, still, he is 
 certain that he will always have food in plenty. 
 And under this system every one, young and 
 old, knows that so long as he does his share 
 toward maintaining the system he can never be 
 in want, even though he be helpless with sick- 
 ness or useless with age; never be without a 
 good, well-furnished house in which to reside, 
 plenty to eat and to wear, free libraries, free 
 music, free amusements, and free everything 
 
Entree into the New World 69 
 
 that goes to make up life's need and pleasures. 
 And not only that, but he knows that he will 
 always have plenty of leisure and opportunity 
 for the full enjoyment of these benefits, — all 
 upon a broad plan of equality as one big family 
 working together, each for the greatest good of 
 all ; not under a system where one may be rich 
 and living in luxury to-day, surrounded by 
 family and friends, with servants to do his bid- 
 ding, and to-morrow be poor, friendless, ill, and 
 cold, without either a crumb to eat or a place 
 to lay his head. 
 
 About a mile down the road from where we 
 had stopped to rest on the bank of the river, we 
 came to a small village consisting of a number 
 of dwellings, a schoolhouse, a public building, 
 hotel, store, stable, and a few small houses. The 
 highway here formed the main street of the 
 village, and from it a circular driveway led 
 around past the public building, hotel, and sta- 
 ble, which were located on the river bank some 
 distance back from the main street. 
 
 The space between the main street and these 
 buildings was laid out as a park, with a foun- 
 tain and bandstand near the center, and seats 
 here and there under the trees. The dwellings 
 were surrounded by extensive grounds, which 
 showed careful attention. All the buildings, in- 
 cluding the dwelling houses, were principally 
 constructed of stone, brick, or cement, and pos- 
 sessed originality of architectural design and 
 
70 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 individuality of treatment. The hotel was be- 
 tween the public building and the stable, and 
 was constructed of stone and brick, with broad 
 verandas, which gave it a cool, comfortable, and 
 inviting appearance. One of the verandas ex- 
 tended out almost over the river and was 
 used as one of the dining-rooms when desired. 
 
 As we turned into the driveway a dozen or 
 more horses, saddled and bridled, were being- 
 led from the stable to the front entrance of the 
 hotel, and as we approached, a party of ladies 
 and gentlemen in riding costume came out, 
 mounted, and galloped down the driveway past 
 us, waving a merry good-day as they rode by, — 
 a greeting that was heartily returned by my 
 companion. 
 
 From the well-kept appearance of the village 
 and its surroundings, the style of the hotel, 
 the dress of the people, and the smart, up-to- 
 date appearance of the riding party, I con- 
 cluded that this was a favorite mountain re- 
 sort, where no one except the servants had any- 
 thing to do but enjoy life; and so I expressed 
 myself to Creon, who simply said: 
 
 "Our walk and the fresh air have given me 
 a good appetite; and as it is now a little past 
 the noon hour, wait until we have had lunch, 
 and then we will go into the park, and you may 
 then give me your impressions of this place and 
 the people." 
 
 Upon entering the building, I found that the 
 
Entree into the New World 71 
 
 interior was as pleasing as the exterior and 
 had the usual appearance of a first-class sum- 
 mer hotel in my country. Well-dressed ladies 
 and gentlemen were about the rotunda and on 
 the verandas, apparently without anything to 
 do but amuse themselves. Some were dressed 
 in riding clothes, and one party had tennis rack- 
 ets and wore costumes suitable for that game. 
 
 We passed into the dining-room overlooking 
 the river, and were given a table by a young 
 lady who had the room in charge. The cook- 
 ing and service were excellent, with an ample 
 menu. During the meal my companion in- 
 formed me that we would remain here until 
 morning, and after we had finished our meal 
 he would see about rooms for the night. Al- 
 though we were late, a number of guests still 
 lingered over their meal, and no one seemed 
 to be pressed for time. 
 
 I noticed that the men were all strong, 
 healthy, and tanned, showing that they spent 
 much of their time out of doors. Their con- 
 versation ran chiefly to outdoor sports, power 
 plants, and forests. And from all I could un- 
 derstand from the conversation of one group 
 at a table near ours, I gathered that they were 
 interested in an extensive electric power plant 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 After we had finished our meal, and Creon 
 had arranged for our rooms, we went to the 
 
72 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 park, where, after procuring a seat by our- 
 selves, ruy companion remarked: 
 
 "Well, tell me what you think of this place 
 and the people, from what you have thus far 
 observed. ' ' 
 
 Before answering I let my eyes take in the 
 surroundings, and made a mental note of what 
 I saw. There were a number of people in the 
 park, — some reading, others engaged in con- 
 versation ; all were well dressed and apparently 
 were people of leisure and means. In the ten- 
 nis courts, — of which there were several, — 
 games of tennis were being played, and quite 
 a crowd was occupied in interestedly watching 
 the games. Several smart turnouts, with beau- 
 tiful, highbred horses and fine harnesses were 
 visible, while in the carriages were ladies and 
 gentlemen enjoying an afternoon drive. A few 
 men were working around the park, looking 
 after the lawn, shrubbery, and flowers. These 
 and the employees about the hotel and stable 
 were the only persons who seemed to be occu- 
 pied with work. 
 
 ' ' Surely, ' ' I thought, ' ' this is a resort where 
 the people of wealth come to enjoy the summer 
 months, away from the heat and noise of the 
 city. A delightful place it is ! — and, if I am not 
 mistaken, an expensive one, also. This talk of 
 Creon's about there being no ownership of 
 property, no wealth, and of every one's doing 
 his share, as well as that wonderful system of 
 
Entree into the New World 73 
 
 his that he has told me so much about, is non- 
 sense. I will cut a pretty figure here, — I will, — 
 without a cent to my name. It only takes a 
 glance at my surroundings to disprove the 
 whole thing." 
 
 And all my faith, my hopes, and the ideals 
 that I had built up were once more destroyed. 
 Then, turning to my companion, I said : 
 
 " I do not know what to think, or what to say. 
 To me it is plain that this is a place where peo- 
 ple of means and leisure come to spend their 
 money and enjoy themselves. That the people 
 we see are men and women of wealth and re- 
 finement, who have not been burdened with the 
 ordinary cares of life, and are here living a 
 life of pleasure, no one can question. I have 
 seen too many places of this kind to be mis- 
 taken. From what you have told me of this 
 world, this is the one place I did not expect to 
 find. You have tried to instil into my mind 
 that in this world all men are equal ; that there 
 are no idle rich; that here none work and toil 
 that others may live in idleness and luxury, and 
 yet, the first time I come in contact with your 
 people I find the very opposite condition to ex- 
 ist. 
 
 "Look at the men working upon the lawns 
 and attending to the flowers, that these idlers 
 may enjoy their beauty; see those grooms 
 bringing the horses and waiting upon the peo- 
 ple who go out into the sunshine and enjoy the 
 
74 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 beauties of nature without effort. Do I not see 
 one class waiting upon and doing the bidding 
 of another class, just exactly as I have seen in 
 my world during all my life? Why have you 
 deceived me in the way you have? What object 
 had you in telling me that life and social con- 
 ditions here were different from what they are 
 in the world from which we so lately came? 
 Even a few short hours ago, when 1 became 
 doubtful, worried, and downhearted, you 
 cheered me up and caused me to cast aside my 
 doubts and fears by the promise that I should 
 soon be brought face to face with this wonder- 
 ful system of yours ; and now that I am here I 
 find nothing as I had hoped, — nothing as I had 
 been led to believe, — and am doomed to dis- 
 appointment." 
 
 In my excitement the feeling that I had been 
 wronged and imposed upon overwhemed me 
 completely, and I was about to turn away, with 
 the idea of making my way back to the car, 
 hoping that I might be able to get my gold, 
 when noticing the look of amusement with 
 which Creon was regarding me, I hesitated, and 
 stood looking him full in the face, unable either 
 to do or say anything further. He could, of 
 course see that I was very much agitated, and 
 for the second time that day I doubted his sin- 
 cerity. 
 
 ''Possibly," he said, "your conclusions are 
 warranted, in view of what you have observed, 
 
Entree into the New World 75 
 
 and I am frank to tell you that I expected as 
 much. But do you not observe any difference 
 between these people and those you have been 
 accustomed to see in the resorts of which you 
 speak?" 
 
 "Yes," I answered, "I do. There are, I 
 must confess, none of the newly rich, — the par- 
 venu is not in evidence ; nor do I see the osten- 
 tatious display of wealth, the snobocracy, that 
 is so conspicuous about the hotels and resorts in 
 that world of mine. The ladies here are not so 
 made up nor so overdressed, and I observe that 
 there are not the extreme styles in dress nor the 
 desire to attract attention. I have never seen 
 about a place of this kind a people dressed in 
 better taste and more refined in looks and ap- 
 pearance. These people possess culture and re- 
 finement as well as wealth. It must be a very 
 exclusive place, and you have, no doubt, brought 
 me here in order that my first impression of 
 your people will be favorable. I notice that 
 even the servants about the hotel are not ordi- 
 nary people. But all this is not to the point. 
 While it is a pleasure to meet and associate with 
 people of culture and refinement, I did not have 
 to travel millions of miles from one planet to 
 another to find such." 
 
 "I am much pleased," said Creon, "to know 
 that you are favorably impressed with the peo- 
 ple, the place, and the surroundings. I hoped 
 that you would be. Now I am going to tell you 
 
76 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 something that will be a greater surprise to you 
 than anything that you have yet heard, or seen. 
 You have told me who, judging from their dress 
 and manners, you think these people are; to 
 what class, as you say, they belong. These peo- 
 ple you see, — these people of culture, refine- 
 ment, and supposed wealth, belong to what you 
 would call the laboring class. These men, — or 
 at least the majority of them, — are bricklayers, 
 concrete mixers, mechanics of one kind or an- 
 other, wood cutters, and farmers, who are work- 
 ing regular hours at their employment every 
 day. There are a few professional men, such as 
 doctors, architects and civil engineers, and here 
 and there a traveler like ourselves. 
 
 "The ladies that you see here are their wives 
 and daughters and, like them, are doing their 
 share in some kind of employment. Another 
 thing that may surprise you is that instead of 
 this place being a fashionable resort, — a place 
 for the idle rich, as you say, to waste their time 
 and spend their money, — it is an obscure fron- 
 tier village, as this part of the country is just 
 being cleared of its forest and prepared for the 
 habitation of man. I see that you are not con- 
 vinced; but, if you will take a short walk with 
 me, I will prove all I have said. It is now nearly 
 three o'clock and you can have an opportunity 
 of seeing this system in full operation. Do you 
 see that many of the men are leaving the park 
 
Entree into the New World 77 
 
 and their amusements'? Those men are going 
 to their work for the day." 
 
 Proceeding up the river a short distance, we 
 came to a place where a large dam across the 
 river and an electric power plant were being 
 constructed. Here a couple of hundred or more 
 men were at work : some engaged in excavating ; 
 some constructing forms for concrete; others 
 laying brick, while others seemed to have the 
 work in charge, supervising and planning. Most 
 of the men were bareheaded and barearmed ; all 
 were powerful, well formed, muscular fellows, 
 working with an earnestness and efficiency such 
 as I had never seen before. Stopping upon a 
 close-by elevation, where we could look down 
 upon them, I observed that these men were 
 dressed for the work they were engaged in, and 
 that there was no shirking or loitering on the 
 job, each man attending strictly to the work he 
 was doing. 
 
 Near where this work was going on there was 
 a long two-story building into which well- 
 dressed men, such as I had seen in the park and 
 about the hotel, were entering, and among them 
 I recognized two of the gentlemen in the group 
 at the table next to ours when we were at lunch- 
 eon. Being curious, I inquired of Creon what 
 the building was used for. 
 
 "Why, that building," he replied, "is where 
 the workmen change their clothing. Each man 
 has a locker, in which he keeps his working 
 
78 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 clothes, and changes before going to work. By- 
 doing this, the men are not seen upon the 
 streets, in their homes, and about the hotels and 
 parks, in their working clothes, but have the ap- 
 pearance, as you seem to think, of being men of 
 wealth, with leisure to enjoy it. 
 
 1 ' In the building there are hot and cold water, 
 bathrooms sufficient for all, shower and plunge 
 baths, and attendants in charge. As soon as 
 the men finish their work they go there, remove 
 their working clothes, take their baths, don their 
 other clothes, and are through work for the day, 
 with the feeling that they have performed their 
 part, and are free to read, ride, and play, — are 
 men of leisure until it is time to go to their 
 work the next day. 
 
 ''Men who perform this kind of labor only 
 work three hours in each day, as the work of 
 the day is divided into four shifts, the first shift 
 going to work at six o'clock in the morning, and 
 the last quitting at six in the evening. The 
 men now working commenced at noon and will 
 work until three, and the men you have seen 
 entering that building are now getting ready to 
 take their places and will work until six. 
 
 "With short hours of labor, good living, 
 wholesome amusements, and no dissipation, 
 these men are always strong, healthy, and will- 
 ing, and will accomplish more in the three hours 
 they work than your laboring men do in eight or 
 ten. They have no cares, no worries, and are 
 
Entree into the New World 79 
 
 never overworked, tired, or worn. For twenty- 
 one out of the twenty-four hours of the day 
 they are men of leisure, with means of enjoy- 
 ment furnished them free. And then, they know 
 that when they arrive at the age of sixty years 
 their labors are over, and during the balance of 
 their lives they will occupy a position that can 
 only be attained by those that live to reach that 
 age. They live in good homes or in first class 
 hotels. They dress well, live well, and are pure 
 and healthy in mind as well as in body. 
 
 "From an economic standpoint, the mechan- 
 ics and laboring men here cost the community 
 less than they do in your country, give much 
 more in return, and receive a great deal more 
 for themselves. Here, as you see, they are in 
 wealth and in social standing the equal of any 
 man; their occupation is honorable, and they 
 are independent and self respecting. Their 
 lives are clean, noble, and enjoyable. They do 
 not drink to excess,— not even regularly, or as 
 a habit, — and tobacco in this country is un- 
 known. 
 
 "Did you ever stop to think of the enormous 
 cost of drink and tobacco each year to the labor- 
 ing men in your country, — not counting their 
 loss of force and energy therefrom? Neither 
 of these give anything in return and are a total 
 loss to the men themselves and to the com- 
 munity. Then consider your losses by reason 
 of strikes ; the fights between capital and labor, 
 
80 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 which of course are brought about by reason of 
 your insane system, and must continue as long 
 as that system exists. Then the inefficiency, 
 and the desire not to give too much in return 
 for the wage received. All of this is a burden 
 upon your people, and is one of the chief causes 
 of the high cost of living, which I heard so much 
 about when there. Your people must get away 
 from all this. The laboring man knows that he 
 is being wronged, and in retaliation wrongs 
 others as well as himself. Capital is grasping, 
 relentless, and hard; without a soul; without 
 sympathy; without pity, and without reason. 
 Thus you go on under a system by which, in- 
 stead of working together for the good of all, 
 you work, plan, and fight against one another, 
 making life as hard and burdensome as pos- 
 sible." 
 
 "Do all men work only three hours each 
 day?" I inquired. 
 
 "No," he informed me; "the men who super- 
 intend the work, and do no manual labor work 
 six. ' ' 
 
 Just then a gong sounded, and the men came 
 out of the building, dressed in their working 
 clothes, and took the places of those we had seen 
 at work. I noticed that the men working did 
 not stop until those who took their places ar- 
 rived, and then, turning over their tools to the 
 new men, they all entered the building from 
 which the others had come. In going to their 
 
Entree into the New World 81 
 
 work there was no evidence that the work was 
 distasteful or irksome. Instead, they reminded 
 me of the manner in which professional ball 
 players go upon the grounds to commence a 
 game of ball. There was the vim and enthu- 
 siasm in their manner and conduct that one 
 notes in a number of athletes in action. My 
 companion informed me that most of these men 
 took up lighter employment by the time they 
 were forty-five. 
 
 "In fact," he said, "I think I owe a great 
 deal of my physique and good health to the 
 little over ten years I served my country as a 
 bricklayer. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Were you a bricklayer 1 " I inquired, for the 
 moment somewhat astonished, as I had found 
 him to be a man of the highest type of culture 
 and refinement. 
 
 "Why, yes," he answered; "and I flatter 
 myself that I was a fairly good one and could 
 lay as many bricks in three hours as the best 
 of them. You appear surprised, and from your 
 way of judging men, my admission may have 
 the effect of causing you a momentary shock. 
 I know that, under the method of training and 
 education that you have received, bricklayers, 
 as well as others who perform manual labor, 
 are looked upon as a class not to be recognized 
 in what you call good society. At the same 
 time, a man who has money, no matter how 
 he may have obtained it, — if he is willing to 
 
82 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 spend it freely, — will be recognized and made 
 much of. 
 
 "Money is the thing that is recognized by 
 your people, while brains, ability, and merit 
 are of secondary importance. As a laborer a 
 man may pass through life unrecognized and 
 alone, but if by some freak of fortune he sud- 
 denly acquires an abundance of gold, he finds 
 that friends gather around him in vast num- 
 bers, and he is no longer a nonentity but a per- 
 son of influence and importance; that people 
 who, before he was touched by this magic wand, 
 passed him by as unworthy of notice now meet 
 him with a hearty welcome, and the doors of 
 the wealthy and great are opened wide that he 
 may enter. 
 
 "You will doubtless call to mind many men 
 in your world, devoid of learning, culture, and 
 refinement, ignorant, coarse and uncouth, vile 
 in habits, and foul of mouth, who, on account 
 of their wealth, are looked up to, sought after, 
 honored, and respected ; when in many instances 
 it is known by all that their wealth was ac- 
 quired by oppression, by fraud and deceit, by 
 taking undue advantage of others, by the toil 
 and misery of the child and mother, and even 
 perhaps by taking the crust from the feeble 
 grasp of the hungry and perishing. Is there 
 anything about labor that is dishonorable, — any 
 reason why honest men who work with their 
 hands should be shunned by any one? Is the 
 
Entree into the New World 83 
 
 man who rides any better than the one who 
 walks'? Is there any reason why the equality 
 and unity of mankind, — the full reality of hu- 
 man brotherhood, — should not prevail in your 
 world as well as in this? 
 
 "This world in itself is no better than yours. 
 I know them both, and I can say to you that 
 they are in all respects alike. Here the hu- 
 man race has reached a high state of civiliza- 
 tion, while in your world it is still groping in 
 ignorance and darkness. Some there are who 
 have pierced the gloom and are struggling to- 
 ward the light. But the thirst for gold, the 
 desire to possess, the ownership of lands and 
 chattels, must be obliterated before any real 
 advancement can be made. 
 
 ' ' All who think and feel ; who are not so sel- 
 fish as to have lost all regard for humanity, 
 realize the injustice and hopelessness of the 
 existing conditions, and many are blindly striv- 
 ing to bring about a change for the better, but 
 are met with the idea that human nature can- 
 not be changed and that it is useless to try. 
 If we concede that the human race prefers war, 
 strife, turmoil and misery to peace, content- 
 ment, happiness and prosperity, the conditions 
 that prevail in your world cannot be changed. 
 You have seen our laborers at work and you 
 have seen them when not at work; you know 
 the conditions under which not only your la- 
 box^ers but all your people live and exist. Which 
 
84 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 would you prefer to be : A laborer in this world 
 under our system, or a millionaire in yours?" 
 
 "Surely," I answered, "the people I have 
 seen to-day enjoy greater freedom, live better 
 lives, and get more real enjoyment and pleasure 
 out of life than is possible for any king or mil- 
 lionaire under the social conditions existing in 
 my world. I am now convinced that all you 
 have told me of your system, and much more, 
 does in fact exist. I owe you an apology, and 
 hope you will forgive my rudeness in enter- 
 taining any doubts of your sincerity. It is im- 
 possible for me after the education and train- 
 ing I have had, and the environment under 
 which I have lived to comprehend the situation 
 and conditions before me. I have only seen 
 the rich enjoying the luxuries of life and sup- 
 posed that none others could." 
 
 "Apologies are unnecessary," said Creon, 
 "I can very well appreciate your feelings and 
 your mode of reasoning. All of which carries 
 out the idea that training, education, and en- 
 vironment are the controlling elements in hu- 
 man affairs. Let us return to the hotel and 
 lay our plans for the journey which is before 
 us, and upon which we will start in the morn- 
 ing. ' ' 
 
 What I had seen relieved my anxious mind 
 and I commenced to understand the full import 
 of all he had told me regarding the social sys- 
 tem of those wonderful people. 
 
Entree into the New World 85 
 
 And then there appeared to me the vision of 
 a portrait upon a wall, — beautiful and inspir- 
 ing : the portrait of a girl with smiling lips and 
 laughing eyes that removed all further hint 
 of the doubt and anxiety that had been haunt- 
 ing my troubled mind. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 AN EQUESTRIAN DANCE 
 
 On our way back from the power plant my 
 companion informed me that our ultimate des- 
 tination, the Capital of the Country, was some 
 five hundred miles from where we were, and 
 that we could either make the journey by train 
 or procure horses, and either drive or ride. I, 
 of course, told him that his plans were mine, 
 and that I did not want in any manner to inter- 
 fere with his business or pleasure. 
 
 "It is," he said, "my business as well as my 
 pleasure to show you this country, its people, 
 and our social system in full operation. I have 
 brought you here for that purpose and my time 
 is yours, and I hope your time is mine. If 
 we travel all of the way by train, you will see 
 very little of the country and people, and I 
 would advise that we either procure saddle 
 horses and ride, or a team and drive. We can 
 then make the journey by easy stages, which 
 will enable you not only to see the country and 
 the cities and villages as we journey along, but 
 meet the people also. How would you like to 
 make twenty-five miles to-morrow on horseback 
 
 86 
 
An Equestrian Dance 87 
 
 to a small town, located at the head of a lake 
 which is about one hundred miles in length? 
 Then instead of following the road around the 
 lake, we can go by boat to the lower end, and 
 then determine the manner in which we will 
 complete our journey." 
 
 ' ' Nothing would give me greater pleasure, as 
 I am very fond of riding, ' ' I replied. ' ' But we 
 are without suitable clothes for riding, and 
 then, how about horses ? You know we are not 
 coming back, and we would have to make ar- 
 rangements for their return. And then what 
 will we do about the few things we have? 
 While I have never traveled in as light march- 
 ing order as now, still we have enough to make 
 it uncomfortable to carry on horseback." 
 
 ' ' Oh, I think we can manage all that without 
 any difficulty," he said. "Suppose we go over 
 to the stable and ascertain what arrangements 
 we can make about procuring horses." 
 
 Having been interested in observing the peo- 
 ple and the surroundings generally, I had not 
 given the stable building any special attention, 
 but upon approaching it, I observed that it was 
 a large two-story building of concrete structure, 
 with extensive wings on the sides, and in the 
 rear a covered circular space or rink for the 
 exercising of horses and indoor riding in bad 
 weather. As we entered, a beautiful, even- 
 ly-matched pair of blacks were being harnessed 
 to a light driving buggy, and five or six other 
 
88 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 horses were being saddled. As soon as the 
 blacks were ready, a lady and gentleman came 
 out from the waiting-room, each presenting a 
 card to the attendant in charge, who, procuring 
 a small punch from his pocket, punched each of 
 the cards, as a train conductor would do with a 
 passenger ticket, and handed back the card, 
 with the wish that they might have a pleasant 
 drive. 
 
 As the two passed us in driving out, the lady 
 gave us a pleasant nod of recognition, and her 
 companion, upon noticing it, raised his hat with 
 a polite salutation. I could not refrain from 
 watching the horses as they moved down the 
 driveway toward the main street. Their poise, 
 style, and gait plainly indicated that they were 
 thoroughbreds of the highest type. Carrying 
 their heads erect, with arching necks, without 
 check or curb, they were as fine a pair as I 
 would ever wish to draw rein over. 
 
 ''There," I thought, "are some persons of 
 importance, to have a turnout like that ! I must 
 find out who they are." 
 
 So, turning to Creon, who stood beside me, L 
 said: 
 
 "There is a pair of horses that it w T ould be a 
 delight to own. Who are those people? I no- 
 ticed that they seemed to recognize you, and 
 how is it that they have a pair of horses like 
 that kept for their pleasure?" 
 
 "That lady and gentleman?" he asked. 
 
An Equestrian Dance 89 
 
 ' ' Why, if I am not mistaken, the gentleman is 
 one of the workmen we saw at the power plant 
 a short time ago, and as to the lady, if you had 
 not been so interested in the horses, you would 
 have observed that she was the lady who waited 
 upon us at luncheon. I presume she is the wife 
 of the gentleman with her. They have finished 
 their work for the day and are now taking an 
 evening drive, which they have, no doubt, well 
 earned. ' ' 
 
 "But the horses!" I exclaimed. "Surely 
 such magnificent animals as those are not fur- 
 nished for the use of every one. In my world, 
 millionaires who are lovers of horses do not 
 have any better." 
 
 "Yes, they are a good pair," he replied. 
 "Now let us look over the stable and select a 
 couple for ourselves for to-morrow. We had 
 better make an early start and enjoy the morn- 
 ing air." 
 
 "How can we select a couple for ourselves 1 ?" 
 I inquired. "You speak as though the stable 
 were yours and that all you have to do is to 
 order what you want and you get it." 
 
 "Well," he said, "it does come pretty close 
 to that. So far as the ownership, as you call it, 
 is concerned, I own it as much as any one ; and 
 as to procuring what we want, any of the saddle 
 horses in the stable, not already engaged, are 
 ours for to-morrow, and all we have to do is to 
 select them. Before going through the stable I 
 
90 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 want to say that I am satisfied you will see here 
 a better class of horses than you ever before 
 saw in any one stable. In the first place, our 
 horses are never overworked nor underfed, and 
 have the very best of care and attention. 
 
 "Then, we do not breed in your usual hap- 
 hazard way, without regard to color, weight, 
 style, strain, or adaptation to a special use. Our 
 horses are bred and raised on farms specially 
 fitted for the purpose, under the charge and di- 
 rection of men who are experts, and make that 
 their life's study. Then the colts and young 
 horses are trained, not broken. Those farms 
 are devoted to the breeding of special classes, 
 such as saddle horses or driving horses, and 
 upon others the combination horse used for 
 both saddle and driving is made a specialty; 
 light and heavy draft-horses are also bred with 
 as much care and attention as is given to the 
 raising of ponies for the children, polo ponies, 
 racers, and jumpers. 
 
 "Polo, racing, and hurdle-jumping are all fa- 
 vorite sports here, and as there is, of course, 
 no betting, and as all are for the sport of the 
 game, the contests are keen, and the best win. 
 In the horse shows and in the racing and jump- 
 ing contests the trainer usually rides the horse 
 that he trains, and the farms upon which the 
 winners are bred and trained are held in great 
 repute. Look at those saddle horses over there, 
 and notice the wide foreheads, silky manes and 
 
An Equestrian Dance 91 
 
 tails, deep plump chests, small, well-shaped feet 
 and legs, glossy coats, style, and movement. 
 Every one of them, to a good horseman, looks 
 and acts like a winner. Do you know it does 
 not cost any more to keep and take care of 
 horses like those than it does to feed and care 
 for that many scrubs? and then see what we 
 have in return." 
 
 "You speak of polo ponies, racers and jump- 
 ers. Do the people here play polo, have horse 
 shows, horse races, and all that sort of thing?" 
 I inquired. 
 
 ' ' Certainly they do, and, by the way, I under- 
 stand there is to be an equestrian dance at the 
 polo grounds this evening, which will be some- 
 thing new to you; so, we must attend." 
 
 In looking through the stable I found the 
 finest lot of horses that it had ever been my 
 good fortune to inspect. Every one of them 
 showed good breeding and care. The stable 
 was clean and well aired, and the neatness of 
 the men and its thorough equipment reminded 
 me of a high-class racing stable in my own 
 country. The horses were all kept in box stalls, 
 the hay for their feed was chopped, and their 
 grain ground, or rolled. Machinery for that 
 purpose was installed in the stable and operated 
 by electricity. I did not make inquiry as to 
 the number of horses in the stable, but there 
 must have been between a hundred and fifty and 
 two hundred. On one side of the main entrance 
 
92 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 there was a well-fitted-up office, and on the 
 other side a large and rather luxuriously fur- 
 nished waiting-room. Carriages, harnesses, 
 and saddles were of the best, and all neat and 
 well kept. 
 
 After thoroughly inspecting the stable, we 
 went into the office, where Creon inquired of a 
 gentleman sitting at the desk about procuring 
 a couple of saddle horses to make the trip next 
 day to the town on the lake of which he had 
 spoken. 
 
 ' ' When will you return f " he inquired. Upon 
 being informed that we were travelers and 
 would not be coming back, he thought for a 
 moment and said: 
 
 "I suppose you would like a couple of pretty 
 good saddlers, and we have a number from 
 which you can have your choice. Yes, I have a 
 pair of good ones that came up from the lake 
 a few days ago, and should be sent back. I will 
 have them brought out so you can see how you 
 like them ; and if they are satisfactory, you can 
 have them." 
 
 "You need not trouble to do that," said 
 Creon. "I am sure they will be all right, and 
 we will call for them in the morning at six. ' ' 
 
 "Now," said Creon, after we had left the 
 stable, "the time has come when you must be- 
 come one of us, a resident for the time being of 
 this planet, a part of our system, and entitled 
 to all its rights and privileges. When I left here 
 
An Equestrian Dance 93 
 
 to make your world a visit I had a vague idea 
 that, if I found a man in whom I could con- 
 fide, I would bring him back with me ; so I pro- 
 vided myself with the means of taking care of 
 him after I got him here." 
 
 Then, taking from his pocket a round metal 
 piece about the size of a half-dollar, and a card 
 such as I had seen the lady and gentleman pro- 
 duce in the stable, he handed them to me, say- 
 ing: 
 
 ' ' On this side of the metal piece you will see 
 a number preceded by the abbreviation 'Dist.' 
 That is the district in which you will belong 
 while here,— the same in which I belong. On 
 the other side you will see a number preceded 
 by an initial. That is your number in this dis- 
 trict. 
 
 1 ' When you desire anything, you select what 
 you need and present that metal check; that is 
 all you are required to do. When you procure 
 anything beyond your everyday wants, — for in- 
 stance, any article of wearing apparel, — your 
 district and number are taken by the person 
 from whom you receive the article and for- 
 warded to the counting house of your district, 
 and there entered against your number. At the 
 end of the year you will receive a statement 
 showing what has been charged against you 
 during the year. Those charges, however, do 
 not include lodging and meals and the ordinary 
 everyday necessities. So long as a person per- 
 
94 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 forms his or her share of labor those are fur- 
 nished within reason upon presenting the metal 
 check, and no record is made of them. If it 
 appears from your account that you are ex- 
 travagant and procuring more than your share, 
 proper action will be taken to require you to 
 curtail your desires. It is seldom that this oc- 
 curs, and it is considered a great disgrace to be 
 called to account in that regard. 
 
 "That card is your amusement card. Pleas- 
 ure is one of the objects of life, and under our 
 system that is also provided for. We furnish 
 means by which every man, and every woman, 
 is provided with recreation and entertainment. 
 You may go riding or driving, attend the the- 
 ater, ball game, races, or any other place of 
 amusement, and that card will give you those 
 privileges. 
 
 "As you will see, there are numbers running 
 from one to thirty-one ; they represent the days 
 of the month. You write the month across the 
 top and sign your name at the bottom, and on 
 the first of the month you will surrender this 
 and receive a new card. At the stable, at the 
 theater, or at any place of amusement you at- 
 tend, present this card to an attendant in 
 charge, and he will punch the number represent- 
 ing the clay of the month. It serves as a pass 
 to any entertainment for that day. You see, it 
 is all very simple. Our plan of providing for 
 the needs and enjoyments of the people is much 
 
An Equestrian Dance 95 
 
 less complicated than the money system in your 
 world and according to it every one receives his 
 or her share and no more. 
 
 "We not only believe that all who are able 
 should be required to perform their share to- 
 ward the support and maintenance of all, but 
 we believe that they should receive in return 
 the necessities and comforts of life and the en- 
 joyments and pleasures also. None is required 
 to work unless he is perfectly able, physically 
 and mentally, to do so; and if it is found that 
 any one is employed on work that is too hard, 
 or for which he is not adapted, he is given other 
 employment. All, however, who are able to 
 work but will not, — and such cases are very, 
 very rare, — are first carefully examined by ex- 
 perts as to their mental condition; and if it is 
 found that their minds are unbalanced they are 
 sent to the institution for the feeble-minded for 
 treatment; but if upon such examination they 
 are pronounced sane, they are committed to the 
 institution for the treatment of criminals. 
 
 "Those institutions we will visit and inspect 
 on our way to the Capital City. You will find 
 that our methods of caring for the insane and 
 criminals are entirely different from what they 
 are in your world; as different, indeed, as are 
 our whole social and industrial systems. 
 
 ' ' By the way, as our plan of dealing with one 
 another is new to you, for a time you had bet- 
 ter watch me, and when I produce my check or 
 
96 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 card you can produce yours also. Now that you 
 are one of us, it is necessary that you have some 
 occupation, and for the present you will act as 
 my secretary and travel with me as such. As 
 it will soon be closing time, we had better pro- 
 ceed to the store and select our riding clothes, 
 and you will find that there will not be any more 
 trouble about doing that than there was in pro- 
 curing the horses. After that we will dine and 
 then go to the equestrian dance." 
 
 There was only one store in the village, — a 
 large, two-story, brick building with basement, 
 and, upon entering, I found that it very much 
 resembled what we call a department store. The 
 grocery, vegetable, and fruit departments were 
 on the first floor, and occupied nearly its entire 
 space. 
 
 Having made our wants known, we were di- 
 rected to the second floor, where we found a 
 large assortment of riding goods, — from boots 
 to cap, — in stock, and we soon made our selec- 
 tions. As this was my first experience in get- 
 ting what seemed to me something for nothing, 
 I watched Creon very closely, with the idea that 
 so long as I followed his lead I would pull 
 through. So, when he produced his check and 
 requested that his purchases, if they may be 
 called such, be delivered at the hotel, I did the 
 same with the best grace possible, half believing 
 that the request would be refused. 
 
 But, notwithstanding my doubts, the numbers 
 
An Equestrian Dance 97 
 
 on the checks were taken down, and when we 
 arrived at the hotel some half-hour later the 
 packages had been delivered. I had procured a 
 complete outfit, including underwear, shirt, cap, 
 riding boots, gloves and crop, and as soon as 
 I reached my room I inspected and tried them 
 on. They were finely made and a good fit, and 
 in looking at myself in a full-length mirror in 
 the room, I decided that I would not look out of 
 place on the bridle paths in Central Park, espe- 
 cially if I had as a mount any one of the saddle 
 horses that I had seen in the stable that after- 
 noon. 
 
 When we entered the dining room for dinner 
 the tables in the main room, as well as those in 
 the one in which we lunched, were nearly all 
 occupied. An orchestra, occupying a balcony be- 
 tween the dining-rooms, was playing low, soft 
 music, which, mingling with the usual noises 
 that abound where a couple of hundred people 
 were dining, carried me back to the dinner hour 
 in the fashionable hotel at Atlantic City where I 
 had, less than two weeks before, been stopping. 
 
 In the center of the main room there was a 
 fountain surrounded with ferns and aquatic 
 plants, from which the gentle splashing of the 
 water in the basin conveyed a sense of refresh- 
 ing coolness. The linen, silver and china upon 
 the tables were all set off by floral centerpieces. 
 The decorations of the room were rich but plain, 
 the furniture heavy, comfortable and substan- 
 
98 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 tial, and a few paintings upon the walls gave 
 evidence of artistic talent of considerable abil- 
 ity in conception and execution. 
 
 There were no men waiters, young ladies 
 dressed in white performing that service, as I 
 later found, in a satisfactory manner. The lady 
 guests, although tastefully and becomingly 
 gowned, were not in what we term evening 
 dress, and the gentlemen were not dressed in 
 the style usually adopted when dining in the 
 fashionable hotels that I had been accustomed 
 to, — like the men waiters who serve them. 
 
 While waiting for our orders to be served I 
 carefully looked over the room and the people, 
 and I could readily sc e that many of the tables 
 were occupied by family groups, — father, 
 mother, sons, and daughters. The gentlemen 
 were fine specimens of physical manhood: in- 
 telligent and refined in looks and appearance. 
 Many were taking wine with their meal, and all 
 looked and appeared as though they were at 
 peace with the world and felt that they were 
 receiving their share of its bounties. 
 
 The ladies were healthy and fine looking, with 
 refined, clean-cut, intelligent features ; and with 
 their bright, sparkling eyes, clear complexions, 
 and vivacious manners were very attractive. 
 As I looked over the room I thought I had never 
 beheld a finer-looking, more intelligent, and 
 more prosperous-appearing people. There was 
 
An Equestrian Dance 99 
 
 not a worried, sad, or careworn countenance 
 present. 
 
 At one of the tables I recognized the gentle- 
 man from whom we had ordered our horses, and 
 near us, with a lady and two children, the groom 
 who had shown us through the stable, while 
 close to the fountain were the lady and gentle- 
 man who had driven out behind the pair of 
 blacks in the afternoon. 
 
 ''What do you think of it all?" Creon in- 
 quired, noticing that I was much interested in 
 the people and surroundings. 
 
 "Think of it! What can I think to see the 
 whole people, — mechanics, laborers, stablemen, 
 and their families, — dining like millionaires, 
 and much happier and more care-free, and, I 
 raay also add, more refined in manners and 
 more intelligent in looks! It is wonderful, — 
 almost unbelievable." 
 
 ' ' It may seem so to you, having been trained 
 and educated as you have," he replied, "but it 
 cannot seem as impossible as your inexplicable 
 system does to me. How human beings with 
 reasoning powers, and with minds to think, can 
 continue from generation to generation without 
 making any progress, without throwing off the 
 yoke of ignorance, and continue to worship more 
 and more a yellow metal, — of no greater in- 
 trinsic worth in itself than the metal check or 
 paper card that you now have in your pocket, — 
 is past my comprehension. 
 
100 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 "Why do they not realize the cause of all 
 their misery; wake up to the reason why so 
 many are broken in health, miserable, and un- 
 happy ; why families are disrupted, and children 
 turn against their parents, and parents against 
 their children; why your prisons and jails are 
 crowded to overflowing, and insanity is contin- 
 ually increasing f 
 
 "But let us not speak on the subject further 
 at present, lest we spoil our appetites for a 
 good dinner. I will order the wine, as I am 
 more familiar with the brands than you are, and 
 I believe I know of one that will please you. As 
 soon as we have dined, we must get into our 
 riding clothes. The equestrian dance will be a 
 proper place to initiate them, and although we 
 will not participate, I desire that we arrive 
 early, in order that you may see it all." 
 
 After finishing our meal we donned our rid- 
 ing clothes and started for the polo grounds, 
 which were just outside the village. Arriving 
 at the entrance, we found an attendant in 
 charge, and upon presenting our cards, we were 
 admitted, checks for our seats being handed to 
 us. An usher directed us to our seats, and I 
 was pleased to find that we were well down in 
 front with a good opportunity of seeing all 
 there was to be seen. 
 
 The place was enclosed on one end and two 
 sides by a structure built on a half circle and 
 similar to the grandstands in our ball parks, the 
 
An Equestrian Dance 101 
 
 other end being enclosed by open sheds except 
 an opening for the entrance of horses and ve- 
 hicles. A raised platform, so constructed as not 
 to obstruct the view of the field, was at the cen- 
 ter of the circular end of the grandstand ; and 
 very soon after we were seated the members 
 of the band came in and took their places upon 
 this platform. The field was considerably 
 larger than the regulation size of a polo ground, 
 and the grandstand — of permanent and sub- 
 stantial construction— had a seating capacity 
 for several thousand people. 
 
 After looking around and noting the size of 
 the field and the seating capacity, Creon made 
 the remark that, "they must be planning to 
 make quite a manufacturing town out of this 
 village. ' ' This struck me as singular and I ven- 
 tured to enquire what these grounds had to do 
 with the size of the town. 
 
 "You remember," he replied, "that I told 
 you this was simply a frontier village, and so it 
 is at present, but its future size, population, 
 public buildings, schools, and manufacturing 
 plants, its parks, streets, places of amusement 
 and municipal improvements, — in other words, 
 the town just as it will be when completed — 
 are now all planned, and these grounds are laid 
 out not for the present but for the future. When 
 we settle a new country, we do not do as your 
 people have done,— first donate a large portion 
 of the land to railroads, and then let every one 
 
102 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 else scramble for the rest: the water powers, 
 town-sites, forests, and lands, good bad and in- 
 dii'f'erent, some of which are afterwards utilized, 
 some not. 
 
 ' ' The first thing we do in settling a new coun- 
 try is to send out engineers and experts to make 
 a careful survey and report on its condition and 
 resources : the extent and character of the tim- 
 ber, its soil and agricultural probabilities, its 
 topography, the extent of its water powers, the 
 sand, clay and cement deposits, if any. In fact, 
 we first ascertain what we have and then figure 
 out what we can do with it for the best interests 
 of mankind. 
 
 "Then after this is all determined, we con- 
 struct an electric power line from the nearest 
 power plant, build an electric railroad into the 
 country, and make a few good highways, — such 
 as you have seen to-day, — lay out future towns, 
 construct power plants, and prepare to settle 
 the country. 
 
 "This, as you have seen, is a well-timbered 
 country, consequently, they have figured out 
 what mills and manufacturing plants will be 
 necessary to take the raw product and convert 
 it into lumber, furniture, and other timber prod- 
 ucts. All that cannot be so utilized will be con- 
 verted into paper pulp, and none of it will be 
 wasted. As the timber is taken off, the land 
 will be put in condition for cultivation, more 
 highways laid out, farmhouses and buildings 
 
An Equestrian Dance 103 
 
 constructed, fences built, dwellings in the towns 
 erected for the workers in the mills, fruit and 
 ornamental trees planted, and the country fully 
 developed and beautified as needed, and not be- 
 fore. The mills will be so constructed that after 
 the timber that is tributary becomes exhausted, 
 the machinery can be readily removed to some 
 other like plants, and these mills then used for 
 other kinds of manufacturing. Thus, they will 
 not become useless and a loss to the community, 
 as is the case in a great many instances in your 
 country. 
 
 "From the survey and report it is determined 
 what lands shall be cleared of timber and what 
 shall not. We learned long ago that it was nec- 
 essary to protect the watersheds and conserve 
 the rainfall, and plan accordingly. We have 
 also learned that electricity is the one all-power- 
 ful force. With it we operate our trains, mills, 
 and factories ; heat our buildings ; do our cook- 
 ing, and, of course, light our streets, highways 
 and buildings, in the country as well as in the 
 cities and villages. Consequently we pay much 
 attention to our water powers, and the whole 
 people are given the full benefits to be derived 
 from them. 
 
 "How different it is in your world! There, 
 nothing is free to the people, except the air they 
 breathe, and by the time I next visit there I 
 expect to find that some syndicate has gotten 
 control of that, and is dealing it out to the peo- 
 
104 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 pie for a consideration in yellow gold, having 
 educated and trained them into thinking that it 
 is proper and right. To me it would be as sane 
 and feasible as some of the things that are be- 
 ing done there now. Your water powers are 
 only partially utilized, and those only for the 
 benefit of what you call capital. 
 
 "Your people seem to think that it takes capi- 
 tal to develop your water powers, and hence 
 they can only be developed by those who pos- 
 sess it. There is where you all make your mis- 
 take. It is brain and muscle, thought and labor, 
 that develop everything, and those are fur- 
 nished by the people alone, and they should 
 reap the full benefits. But under your system, 
 capital is continually receiving the benefits and 
 handing them over to the so-called owners of 
 capital, who live and thrive thereon, while the 
 people receive nothing therefrom. But let us 
 drop the subject and give our attention to what 
 is going on before us." 
 
 While I had been listening to my companion 
 I had at the same time been interestedly ob- 
 servant of all that was going on in the field 
 before us. Ladies and gentlemen were arriving 
 on horseback and gathering in groups, or 
 slowly riding about the enclosure ; and within a 
 short time two hundred or more had assembled. 
 
 The ladies all wore riding habits of the same 
 style and color, — a close fitting, cutaway scarlet 
 jacket and a black silk hat giving them a jaunty 
 
An Equestrian Dance 105 
 
 appearance; while the gentlemen, with their 
 white breeches, black riding boots, and moss- 
 green frock coats formed a pleasing contrast. 
 Each lady and gentleman carried a crop decor- 
 ated with a ribbon that matched the rider's 
 coat. 
 
 The tails of the horses were tied with ribbons, 
 and ribbons were braided into their manes, — 
 those on the horses ridden by the ladies being 
 white and scarlet, and those of the gentlemen 
 white and green. 
 
 ' ' The riding clothes that you see, ' ' observed 
 Creon, "are only worn upon occasions of this 
 kind, just as evening dress is worn by your peo- 
 ple at balls and formal functions. And in order 
 that the color effect may not be broken, no one 
 is expected to participate unless so dressed." 
 
 As my companion was speaking, my atten- 
 tion became fixed upon a party composed of 
 ladies and gentlemen that had just entered, who 
 were riding down the field. There was one 
 among them that particularly attracted my at- 
 tention, — a young lady whose features seemed 
 familiar. An acquaintance, — a friend? But 
 that was impossible. With the exception of 
 Creon, there could not be any one upon that 
 planet that I had ever seen before that day. 
 For a moment I was puzzled, then I realized 
 who it was, and forgetting everything but her 
 presence, involuntarily exclaimed : 
 
 "It is Hallie!" 
 
106 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 My companion's attention having been else- 
 where attracted, lie had not noticed the group, 
 and upon hearing my outcry he turned to me 
 with a look of astonishment and wonder. 
 
 "I mean your daughter Halena," I hastily 
 explained, in some confusion. ' ' Why didn 't you 
 inform me that she was to be here this eve- 
 ning?" 
 
 ' ' Hallie here ! I can hardly believe such good 
 news possible," cried Creon. "Where is she? 
 Yes, sure enough, — there she is," he continued, 
 starting toward the enclosure, and beckoning 
 me to follow. 
 
 Ever since I first beheld that portrait upon 
 the wall of our living compartment in the car, 
 I had been looking forward to the time when 
 I should meet the original; but just at that 
 moment I felt like a bashful schoolboy unex- 
 pectedly called upon to make his first public 
 declamation. Why such a feeling should pos- 
 sess me I could not understand and for the 
 moment I almost decided to remain in my seat 
 until her father should return. But the strange 
 sensation soon passed, and I obeyed his sum- 
 mons with a new feeling that, — as I passed 
 down the aisle, — I was being looked upon by 
 every one present as a curious specimen of 
 humanity from another world. 
 
 She was not so much surprised at meeting 
 her father as he had been at seeing her. She 
 had been expecting him for some time and had 
 
An Equestrian Dance 107 
 
 come to the village several days before for the 
 purpose of meeting* and surprising him upon 
 his return to his home planet. 
 
 During our journey Creon had often spoken 
 of his daughter, and had informed me that she 
 was a teacher in one of the schools in the Capi- 
 tal City, and I wondered how she could be so 
 far away from her duties ; as I then understood 
 that all were obliged to perform their daily 
 tasks. But I soon learned that, being entitled 
 to a vacation, she had embraced the opportu- 
 nity of visiting some friends that were residing 
 in the village, so that at the same time she 
 might be able to give her father an unexpected 
 welcome when he passed that way on his jour- 
 ney home after leaving the car in the pocket of 
 the nearby mountains. 
 
 When I was introduced by Creon as a friend 
 and traveling companion, the young girl's dark, 
 bewitching eyes flashed upon me a look of in- 
 quiry, but in a moment it had passed, and with 
 extended hand I was accorded a hearty wel- 
 come. I knew that in that momentary glance 
 she had decided that I was a stranger from an- 
 other world, and in her handclasp I seemed to 
 feel a touch of sympathy and concern, which 
 immediately banished the temporary feeling of 
 self-consciousness and loneliness that had come 
 over me upon realizing that I was a creature 
 from another planet. 
 
 The portrait upon the wall of the living com- 
 
108 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 partment of our car had left a pleasant and 
 lasting impression upon my mind; an impres- 
 sion entirely different from any that I had ever 
 before experienced. It had caused me to dream 
 day-dreams until the pictured image had become 
 a real personage, and toward the end of our 
 journey almost a companion. And yet, at times 
 I had wondered if the subject of the portrait 
 would come up to my expectations; whether 
 my fancy had not constructed a phantom form, 
 which, when I beheld the original, would van- 
 ish like a mirage of the desert. But when I 
 saw her that evening sitting her mount with 
 all the grace and poise of a sculptured eques- 
 trian figure, I knew that the portrait had not 
 deceived me, and that my dreamy fancy had not 
 created a vanishing phantom. 
 
 But our interview was soon interrupted by a 
 gentleman upon the platform, who was an- 
 nouncing the names of the lady and gentleman 
 who had been selected as leaders for the eve- 
 ning and requesting that all take their places for 
 the grand march. Immediately all proceeded to 
 form in couples behind the leaders, and Creon 
 and I returned to our seats. The band com- 
 menced to play at first a slow march, which 
 soon became more lively. The horses there- 
 upon changed from a walk into a trot and 
 shortly into a canter; and after circling twice 
 around the outskirts of the field, they came 
 down the center. Then, upon reaching the 
 
An Equestrian Dance 109 
 
 lower end, each crossed over and back on the 
 outside, and back and forth, following the lead- 
 ers up and down, whirling about in and out and 
 back again, crossing and re-crossing, sometimes 
 in single file and then in couples, fours, eights, 
 and twelves ; at length swinging around in per- 
 fect line, with the leading lady in the center 
 of the field and the leading gentleman on the 
 outside, to form into circles, squares, and again 
 in couples, fours and eights, without a miss or 
 break. 
 
 With the mingling colors of the riders, the 
 perfect motion of the horses, the brilliant lights, 
 the stirring music, and the laughter, the scene 
 presented will never become obliterated from 
 my mind, although I have since participated in 
 equestrian dances in which more than a thou- 
 sand horses and riders were in action. 
 
 It would be impossible for me to explain all 
 the different figures and formations of this 
 march, which continued for fifteen or twenty 
 minutes, during which the horses appeared to 
 enjoy it fully as well as did their riders. After 
 each dance the riders walked their horses lei- 
 surely about the field in couples and groups, the 
 gentlemen engaging partners for future dances. 
 The dances were similar to quadrilles, the par- 
 ticipants usually forming in sets of fours, and, 
 while being danced, the horses were sometimes 
 in a walk and at other times in a trot or canter ; 
 their gait being controlled by the riders by the 
 
110 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 use of the crop. At times a few couples would 
 not join in a dance, and I noticed that their 
 horses were restless while the band was play- 
 ing, and apparently eager to be taking part with 
 the others. 
 
 They were a happy, merry people, free from 
 care and trouble. There were youths and 
 maidens exchanging sly glances of admiration, 
 coquettish smiles and looks which might lead to 
 a new home to be constructed and fitted up in 
 this newly settled district, — a home in which to 
 raise their children, love, live, grow old and die, 
 without thought of the morrow, and without 
 payment of rent, taxes, interest, or assess- 
 ments : a home not only to be used and occupied 
 by them while life lasts, but by their children's 
 children's children who might follow after 
 them. Cupid that evening was perched upon 
 the grandstand, and mayhap the heart of more 
 than one youth and maiden was pierced by his 
 well-directed dart, which he knows so well how 
 to cast. 
 
 Finally a gentleman, who had been selected 
 as the leader for the evening, announced that 
 all would form for the last quadrille and re- 
 quested the band to play the usual music for 
 that dance. As he uncovered his head in mak- 
 ing the announcement I recognized him as one 
 of the workmen I had observed laboring in the 
 park that afternoon. Up to that time it had 
 not occurred to me that the greater number 
 
An Equestrian Dance 111 
 
 of these people I had been so interested in 
 watching were mechanics and laborers ; uncon- 
 sciously, from their looks and manners, I had 
 thought of them as members of that wealthy 
 and gay society of which I had seen so much in 
 my world, — persons with nothing to do but fol- 
 low the pleasures of the day and amuse them- 
 selves and one another. 
 
 The last dance was particularly interesting 
 and beautiful. As in the first, all the riders took 
 part. In forming, the leaders took a position 
 in the center of the field and the other riders 
 formed in four converging lines. When the 
 music commenced the riders, maintaining their 
 formation and with perfect alignment, rode 
 several times around the field on a trot, in a 
 figure that resembled a large wheel in motion, 
 then, breaking into a canter and following the 
 leaders, they rode down the field to the circular 
 end, the ladies and gentlemen in separate lines, 
 when they crossed over and swerved to the right 
 and left back on the outside to the other end, 
 where, swinging into line across the field the 
 ladies and gentlemen, in alternate positions, 
 rode down to the band platform at a full gallop. 
 The music, which before had been lively, now 
 broke into a rollicking chorus, in which the rid- 
 ers joined, with their crops waving in harmony 
 with the time of the music as they swept down 
 the field. During the remainder of the dance 
 the voices of the riders mingled with the music 
 
112 Beyond the Ilorizon 
 
 of the band, the spectators also joining most 
 heartily in the last chorus. 
 
 As we went out with the crowd, I noticed that 
 many of the ladies and gentlemen wore riding 
 clothes, and that all were well dressed and well 
 mannered. Upon our way to the hotel I com- 
 mented upon the exceptionally fine quality of 
 the music which the band had rendered, and in- 
 quired how they were paid; then noticing the 
 look of amusement that Creon gave me, I 
 changed the expression to : 
 
 "How are they provided for?" 
 
 "We have," Creon replied, "musicians — vo- 
 cal and instrumental, — who make it their pro- 
 fession, and also leaders of bands and teachers 
 of music. Most of the orchestras, such as fur- 
 nished us music at our dinner this evening, are 
 not required to perform other labor. But bands 
 such as furnished the music to-night and play 
 of an evening in the parks are made up of 
 amateurs, who play for the practice and enjoy- 
 ment they derive from so doing. All of our 
 children receive a musical training and can play 
 some instrument with a greater or less degree 
 of skill. There are some who, not particularly 
 caring for music, or becoming more interested 
 in something else, give it up as they advance in 
 life, but you will find that the people here are 
 very fond of music, and, as they have plenty of 
 time to devote to it they gave it much atten- 
 tion." 
 
An Equestrian Dance 113 
 
 By this time we had arrived at the hotel, and 
 soon after, Hallie, — I cannot speak of her by 
 any other name, — and her friends made us a 
 visit, but the hour being late they remained only 
 for a short time. 
 
 Before they left it was arranged that she 
 should join us in the town at the head of the 
 lake and from there continue with us to the 
 end of our journey. 
 
 ' ' What a day ! " I thought, as I lay reviewing 
 all I had heard and seen since I had left the 
 car in the pocket of the mountain that morning, 
 — "and what a people, and what a system! 
 Never did any man of my world pass a day like 
 it before. It has been left to me, of all the 
 millions, to see and mingle with a people who 
 have been lifted out of the darkness of barbar- 
 ism into the light of civilization and enlighten- 
 ment and taught to live a life of reason, — a 
 life simple and natural." 
 
 It then seemed to me that upon returning to 
 my world it would only be necessary for me 
 to unfold what I had observed in the one day 
 I had spent within the influence of this new 
 world's environment, and the darkness would 
 be cleared away and the people freed from war, 
 wealth, and poverty. 
 
 As I lay thinking of it all, and of the happi- 
 ness and enjoyments of life that would follow 
 down the years and centuries to come, the 
 thought that I might be the instrument by 
 
114 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 means of which all this could be accomplished 
 gave me the feeling that I must return and pro- 
 claim what I had found. While these thoughts 
 were passing through my mind my eyelids be- 
 came heavy and closed. Visions of scarlet 
 coats, flashing eyes, the wave of a crop, a glance, 
 and a smile, with merry laughter mingled with 
 strains of music soft and low, floated before 
 me, and I knew uo more. I was in another 
 world, — in the land of dreams : I was asleep. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE SYSTEM 
 
 Just as I had finished dressing the next morn- 
 ing, a knock at the door announced that Creon 
 was ready for our morning ride, and upon open- 
 ing it I found him dressed for our journey. 
 The grip in his hand called to my mind that I 
 must make some arrangements regarding the 
 few personal effects that I possessed, and I in- 
 quired what I should do with them. 
 
 "Put them into your grip and we will have 
 them checked to our destination," he said, "and 
 when we arrive there we will find them at our 
 hotel ready for us. The man here who looks 
 after such matters will see that they are put 
 on the train. Upon their arrival they will be 
 taken to the hotel, and when we are assigned to 
 our rooms, upon presenting our baggage-checks 
 they will be sent up to us. And you do not even 
 have to tip the bell boy or trouble yourself 
 about the matter in the least. Come, let us be 
 going, the morning is fine, and the horses will 
 be ready for us by the time we reach the stable. 
 I am informed there is an inn a few miles down 
 the road, and what do you say to our break- 
 fasting there?" 
 
 U5 
 
116 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 At the stable we found that our horses, — a 
 splendid pair of bays, — were being saddled, and 
 we were soon mounted and on our way. Upon 
 reaching the top of a small elevation on the out- 
 skirts of the village, I halted, and wheeling my 
 horse about, sat looking at the village that nes- 
 tled among the trees. The substantial buildings 
 and comfortable homes with their lawns, shrub- 
 bery, and flowers; the park and fountain with 
 its crystal drops flashing in the morning sun- 
 light ; the well-kept streets ; the beautiful trees 
 saved from the forest to lend their shade and 
 beauty for the enjoyment of man; the sparkling, 
 dancing river, being harnessed and made to 
 serve mankind; the well-cultivated fields, and 
 the farm buildings beyond, with the sunshine 
 of a glorious morning over all formed a picture 
 of peace, comfort, and plenty never to be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 "That a frontier village, — a settlement in ad- 
 vance of real civilization!" I said to myself 
 half aloud. "What a contrast to the frontier 
 village, — the outposts of what we call civiliza- 
 tion, — in my world, as I have seen them in the 
 past. Here beauty, culture, and refinement are 
 everywhere present, while in my world there 
 would be found the main street used as the 
 dumping ground for discarded bottles, ashes, 
 and other rubbish, — dusty when dry, and miry 
 when wet, — lined with straggling buildings of 
 various sizes and shapes, devoid of paint, and 
 
The System 117 
 
 decorated with glaring signs, announcing the 
 names of the saloon, dance hall or gambling den 
 by which they are occupied. A place devoid of 
 beauty, where there are no trees nor flowers, 
 shrubbery nor lawns, parks nor fountains; 
 where men, or at least human beings, are seen 
 reeling along the street and spending their time 
 in fighting, drinking, gambling and carousing; 
 where there is no place for healthful recreation 
 or innocent amusements; no true enjoyments; 
 where everything that appeals to the brutality 
 of man is to be found in abundance, and nothing 
 to satisfy his human longings and appeal to his 
 better nature; where crime, lewdness, and law- 
 lessness run rampant, and virtue, honor and de- 
 cency are in disrepute, — such are the advance 
 guards of our system of settling a new coun- 
 try. But they have passed away, and many of 
 the natural beauties of a grand country, its 
 animal life and resources are wasted and gone 
 forever." 
 
 In my world I could see the great West, — 
 that magnificent empire, stretching from the 
 Father of Waters to the shores of the Pacific, — 
 with its forests, rivers, streams, and lakes; its 
 mountains, hills, and rolling prairies, over 
 which, but a few short years ago, roamed vast 
 herds of buffalo, antelope, and deer, which have 
 been wantonly killed and destroyed for the mere 
 pleasure of killing in barbaric sport. 
 
 Then, turning to Creon with a feeling of sad- 
 
118 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 ness and sorrow that I could not conceal, I ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "What an opportunity my people, my coun- 
 try, have thrown away. Would that reason and 
 common sense had prevailed there, as here, in 
 disposing of our lands and in the settlement of 
 our country! The people controlled the lands, 
 the forests and all the resources of a vast terri- 
 tory, — enough for all, and more than would be 
 needed for many years to come. Yet they let 
 them all go from them, because they knew no 
 better; because they had been improperly edu- 
 cated and trained; because of the idea of per- 
 sonal ownership, the individual desire to have 
 and to hold, to grasp and retain, through which 
 the majority have lost all. When they had the 
 chance, — when it was all under their control, — 
 why did they not see the opportunity for the 
 betterment of mankind 1 ? Why could they not 
 have seen that then was the time for the change 
 from the old to the new 1 But it is now too late. 
 The lands have passed from the people into the 
 hands of individual ownership. The forests are 
 being destroyed. The coal deposits and water 
 powers are controlled by capital. The shores 
 of the lakes, rivers, and streams have been de- 
 nuded of timber. The hillsides are bare, brown, 
 and eroded. Our so-called civilization has done 
 its worst." 
 
 "True, a great opportunity has been cast 
 aside and lost," observed Creon, "but it is not 
 
The System 119 
 
 too late, and reason will in time prevail. Prop- 
 erly educate your youths, instill into the minds 
 of the people the true principles of the brother- 
 hood of man; take from them the things that 
 appeal to the brutal instincts, and replace them 
 with those that appeal to the human ; guide and 
 urge them in the right direction ; surround them 
 with the proper environment, and the final re- 
 sult will be certain. Do not use force or vio- 
 lence, but instruct, guide, and direct and in time 
 all will be well. It takes time to train a horse 
 or a dog properly, but much longer properly to 
 train a man ; even when it is for his own good. 
 
 "A small start has been made, a beginning 
 in the right direction, by the retaining of your 
 national parks and by the laying out of your 
 forest reserves. Even though they are laid out 
 in a haphazard manner, it shows, at least, that 
 the people have caught the idea in a small way, 
 and are attempting to do something. At least 
 those lands are not in the hands of individual 
 ownership, and are safe for the time being. 
 Come, let us be riding, or we will be late for our 
 breakfast." 
 
 And continuing our journey, in a little over 
 an hour we arrived at the inn of which Creon 
 had spoken before starting. It was situated 
 in a well-cultivated clearing of a couple of hun- 
 dred or more acres, and around it were located 
 stables, barns, and other outbuildings, giving 
 the place the appearance of a well-cultivated 
 
120 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 and prosperous farm. The land had evidently- 
 been cleared and the buildings constructed 
 some time before, and the house had been 
 a stopping place for travelers before the vil- 
 lage we had left was established. The build- 
 ings, although of lumber, were well built and 
 substantial, and everything about the place was 
 neat and inviting. As we drew rein at the door, 
 a young man came from the stable to take our 
 horses, and upon being informed that we were 
 only to stop for breakfast, loosened the saddle 
 girths and fastened the horses to some nearby 
 hitching posts. A lady met us at the door, and 
 upon Creon's inquiring if we could have break- 
 fast, directed us to the waiting- or living-room, 
 -ia(ing that if wo would be kind enough to wait 
 for a short time the meal would be served. 
 
 Although but a room in a wayside inn for the 
 accommodation of the chance traveler, it had 
 the appearance of a family living room, and it 
 being the first that I had entered in that new 
 world, I was interested and observing. The 
 room was of good size, with high ceilings, well, 
 and comfortably furnished with easy chairs and 
 lounges, rugs upon the floor, pictures upon the 
 walls, books upon the shelves, a reading table, 
 a piano, and the w T alls tastefully decorated 
 and in harmony with the surroundings. Withal 
 it was a pleasant, homelike, habitable room. 
 
 I learned that the place was established for 
 the accommodation of the experts and engineers 
 
The System 121 
 
 at the time they made the survey and gath- 
 ered their data upon the resources of that sec- 
 tion of the country, and that it had since been 
 used as a stopping-place for travelers, but was 
 not then as much frequented as formerly, on 
 account of the hotel in the village being so near. 
 Creon informed me that inns of this kind were 
 maintained along all of the principal highways, 
 for the accommodation of the public. 
 
 While we were talking, the proprietor, as I 
 must call him, a gentleman of about forty years 
 in appearance, came in with the young man who 
 had looked after our horses, and both of them 
 greeted us with that good-natured freedom that 
 I had observed in the manner of all the people 
 toward one another. 
 
 Breakfast was soon announced, and as we 
 entered the dining-room, the lady who had met 
 us at the door and a young girl of about sixteen 
 entered from another room. There was only 
 one dining-table in the room, at which the six 
 of us were soon seated ; and it was plainly to be 
 seen that we were breakfasting with the family 
 as if we were friendly guests instead of tran- 
 sient travelers. The ride and morning air had 
 furnished me with a good appetite, and as I 
 glanced over the table, I saw that there would 
 be no need of my leaving it with my appetite 
 unsatisfied. The equestrian dance of the eve- 
 ning before, — at which they had all been pres- 
 ent, — being referred to, I made mention of the 
 
122 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 fact that it bad been very interesting to me, 
 being the first one I had ever attended. 
 
 ' ' The first one you ever attended ? ' ' exclaimed 
 the young man. "Why, I did not suppose there 
 could be any one who had never attended an 
 equestrian dance !" 
 
 Then, noticing my embarrassment, he politely 
 apologized, and the conversation was quickly 
 turned to another subject. Soon recovering my 
 composure and desiring to take part in the con- 
 versation, I remarked to our host that they 
 were very pleasantly situated, with beautiful 
 surroundings, and inquired how long he had 
 made the place his residence. 
 
 "I helped to cut the first trail up the river 
 from the head of the lake," he replied. "That 
 was before the experts and surveyors came in, 
 and then I helped to clear the land and construct 
 these buildings and have resided here ever 
 since. You know, I am a great lover of nature 
 and very much enjoy hunting, and here I have 
 had ample opportunity to gratify those hobbies 
 of mine, — studying nature and making investi- 
 gations, — w T hich I could not have done, except 
 on the outskirts of civilization." 
 
 "But how do you hunt and kill game with- 
 out firearms!" I asked in surprise, having un- 
 derstood from Creon that hunting was not one 
 of the sports of these people. And I imme- 
 diately saw that I had made another mistake, — 
 the second one within fifteen minutes, — and 
 
The System 123 
 
 then and there I resolved that the meal would 
 be finished in silence, so far as I was concerned, 
 and that I would get away as soon as possible. 
 Thinking, however, that Creon might be able to 
 help me out of my dilemma I turned to him, 
 but he only gave me a look of amusement, and 
 addressing our host, said: 
 
 "You say you are a great lover of nature and 
 fond of hunting. If I am not mistaken, you 
 are Mr. Tweto, the writer and naturalist. I 
 should have known you, but it had escaped my 
 mind that you lived in this district. I am called 
 Creon by my friends." 
 
 "What? Creon, the writer, scientist and 
 traveler? Yes, my name is Tweto, and it gives 
 me great pleasure to meet you. I have recently 
 read your book 'The Planet of Gold,' and it is 
 almost unbelievable that a people so far ad- 
 vanced as to have a literature, who are able to 
 read and write, and who are capable of think- 
 ing and reasoning, can be so cruel and inhuman 
 in their treatment of one another. I have under- 
 stood that you often start on your trips from 
 somewhere up in yonder mountains. I venture 
 to say that you are either about to start or have 
 just returned from one of your flights. If re- 
 turning, tell us if you did not find any change 
 for the better. My heart bleeds for those peo- 
 ple : they are so miserable when they might be 
 so happy. I think you have well designated it 
 'The Planet of Gold,' as that metal seems to 
 
124 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 be the main source of all their woes. From your 
 description many, it seems, would be glad to ex- 
 tricate themselves from their burdens, but seem 
 to be unable to do so on account of the influence 
 that yellow metal has over them. Perhaps you 
 brought back with you something new that will 
 be interesting." 
 
 ''Yes," replied Creon, "I have just returned 
 from a visit to those people of whom you speak, 
 and right glad I am to get back and bring with 
 me my friend here, and secretary." 
 
 "How long were you there?" inquired the 
 young man. ' ' For some time, I presume. You 
 must be glad to return. I, too, have read that 
 book, and it must be a horrible place to remain 
 in for any length of time." 
 
 "From all I have seen during the short time 
 I have been here," I replied, "I know I will 
 have the sympathy of you all when I inform 
 you that I was born and have lived my whole 
 life upon that 'Planet of Gold,' as you call it, 
 and would be there now were it not for my 
 friend Creon, who out of the kindness of his 
 heart provided for me the means of visiting this 
 wonderful planet of yours, or rather this won- 
 derful people, as I have not observed any phy- 
 sical difference between the two worlds." 
 
 After making this confession I realized a 
 sense of relief, knowing that I was now, at 
 least, an object of sympathy and commisera- 
 tion as well as one of interest, while before I 
 
The System 125 
 
 was not sure of my standing in their opinion, 
 after the blunders I had made. These, I could 
 well see, had been almost unexplainable, but 
 were now cleared away. 
 
 "You one of those people from that other 
 world?" exclaimed our host in astonishment, 
 rising from his seat and grasping my hand. 
 "Can it be possible? I must confess that your 
 remark about firearms and the killing of game 
 struck me as peculiar, and I could not under- 
 stand your meaning, but now it is made clear. 
 With us hunting does not mean killing as it 
 does in your world. I will be pleased to show 
 you some of my trophies of the hunt after we 
 have finished our meal, if you will remind me of 
 my promise, in the event I overlook it in my 
 excitement. ' ' 
 
 "I am so glad you told us," remarked the 
 young lady, "as I was very anxious to learn 
 where you had lived, since you had never seen 
 one of our dances until last evening. I was half 
 tempted to ask you, but did not want to appear 
 rude. ' ' 
 
 "Can it be possible," inquired our hostess, 
 "that in your world husbands and wives with 
 families separate and their children are taken 
 from one parent and given to the other, even 
 from their mother; and that by going through 
 some form, which you call a divorce, they are 
 allowed to again marry another person? It is 
 a terrible thing to separate a family and take 
 
126 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 children away from their parents. And yet, I 
 understand, it is done under the guise of jus- 
 tice, and that you have men clothed with the 
 power to do that." 
 
 "One thing that shocks me," broke in the 
 young lady, "is that your young girls fre- 
 quently marry men because they are possessed 
 of that which you call wealth, so that they may 
 live in idleness, wear fine clothes, and have 
 servants to wait upon them." 
 
 "I must admit," I replied, "that such things 
 do happen. But if you could only realize the 
 necessity of having wealth and position, you 
 would not, I am sure, think too harshly of them. 
 The possession of wealth, you must know, 
 means a life of plenty and luxury, if not of 
 happiness; while without it one may be con- 
 fronted by hardships and want." 
 
 "I do not care what it means," she asserted, 
 "I think it is dreadful. A young lady here 
 would not marry a man like that; money, 
 wealth, or anything else would never be thought 
 of, and besides, I am thankful that it is not 
 necessary. Marriage here is a sacred thing, 
 and continues forever." 
 
 "I realize that here there is no necessity for 
 marriages for money, or position," I said. "In 
 fact, there could not very well be. And yet, I 
 do not understand why there are no divorces. 
 Even under your social system a married couple 
 might not be congenial, and, if compelled to 
 
The System 127 
 
 continue in the marital relation would both be 
 unhappy; whereas, under other circumstances 
 or with some one else, they would both lead 
 happy lives. ' ' 
 
 " Don't you know," replied Creon, "that in 
 the first place many of your unhappy marriages 
 are brought about through debts, financial dis- 
 appointments, continual drudgery and worries'? 
 Then with others there is discontent in not be- 
 ing able to have as much as their friends and 
 neighbors, which causes the wife or husband, 
 and perhaps both, to become sour, fretful, and 
 peevish. Another cause, and a very grave one, 
 is neglect of the wife and family on account of 
 intoxication on the part of the husband. And 
 then you have those marriages that have been 
 spoken of, where money and position are the 
 controlling elements. If you will investigate 
 your divorce courts, as I have, you will find 
 that practically all the divorces in your country 
 are brought about through one or more of the 
 causes I have mentioned. Under our social sys- 
 tem none of these things can exist; hence they 
 are all eliminated as a factor which might bring 
 about a condition in the life of a married couple 
 where a divorce would be thought of and wel- 
 comed. Again, with us the husband and wife 
 are never worn out, tired, and discouraged. 
 They have plenty of leisure which they enjoy 
 with each other and with their friends. And 
 besides, they do not believe in or know anything 
 
128 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 about divorces. They have never been educated 
 to understand that if either desired a separa- 
 tion, there are lawyers ready to provide the 
 means, and judges clothed with power to grant 
 what they desire." 
 
 ' ' I can now very readily comprehend, ' ' I said, 
 "not only the reason why your people do not 
 have divorces but also why my people have so 
 many. Being a bachelor myself, I have never 
 given the subject much thought, although I have 
 realized that it w T as one of our great social evils, 
 and the cause of much misery." 
 
 During the meal the conversation drifted to 
 our money system, and producing from his 
 pocket a ten-dollar gold piece and a five-dollar 
 bill, — one of our treasury notes, — Creon ex- 
 plained how they were used in paying for labor 
 and for procuring the necessities of life, the 
 acquiring of lands, goods and chattels, food and 
 clothing; how they were the foundation of our 
 whole industrial and social systems, and that 
 with them one could procure anything desired, 
 and without them would suffer for the necessi- 
 ties of life and even die of cold and hunger, not- 
 withstanding there was food in plenty. 
 
 He told them of the idleness and waste; of 
 the luxuries enjoyed by those who had them in 
 plenty, and of the wretchedness and suffering 
 endured by those who were unable to procure 
 them. He dwelt upon the insensate desire of 
 many to procure and retain them from others 
 
The System 129 
 
 and of the toil without ceasing of the many, in 
 order to procure sufficient to maintain life it- 
 self. 
 
 When he had finished tears stood in the eyes 
 of the ladies, and the young man was thoughtful 
 and silent. 
 
 "Can it be possible?" exclaimed Mr. Tweto. 
 "I cannot understand it at all. It seems so 
 unnecessary and — inhuman. ' ' 
 
 "I can now very readily appreciate your feel- 
 ings," I replied, "but I will have to confess that 
 until I became acquainted with your wonderful 
 system I did not see anything very radically 
 wrong with ours. I felt that something should 
 be done to relieve the very poor, and that those 
 who depended upon their daily labor for an ex- 
 istence did not receive all that they were en- 
 titled to,— that there should be something done 
 in their behalf; but I had never thought of 
 anything approaching the conditions I have 
 found here. It would have seemed impossible. 
 
 After finishing our meal, we were preparing 
 to leave, when our host insisted that we have 
 our horses put in the stable and remain for the 
 
 day. 
 
 "Why must you go? I cannot permit it, he 
 
 exclaimed. "To have you and Creon just re- 
 main for breakfast— it is unreasonable, and 
 cannot be thought of." 
 ' ' I quite agree with you, ' ' Creon replied. I 
 
130 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 cannot forego the pleasure of remaining, and 
 will therefore accept your invitation." 
 
 "Good! We will make a day of it," he ex- 
 claimed, with the enthusiasm of a boy, — and we 
 did. 
 
 After finishing breakfast, our host invited 
 Creon and myself to accompany him to what he 
 called his workroom, — a large, comfortable, 
 well-lighted room in the rear of the house. 
 The walls on two sides were lined with books; 
 and books, writing material, papers, and manu- 
 scripts were scattered over a large work-table 
 near one of the windows. 
 
 "This," he said, as we entered "is where I 
 spend much of my spare time. My son helps 
 me look after the farm and the guests of the 
 house, which occupies more of our time than it 
 would if we labored in the fields with the men 
 who only work five hours during the busy sea- 
 son. We have over two hundred acres under 
 cultivation and in pasture, which my son and I 
 superintend. This, you know, is much larger 
 than the ordinary farm, and as soon as the sur- 
 rounding country is settled, it will either be cut 
 up into small farms, or be devoted exclusively 
 to stock raising. 
 
 "The men who work on the farm are all 
 young, unmarried men, who will take farms 
 themselves when they marry. As this district 
 is new, and really just being formed, we have 
 not yet settled down to the regular system of 
 
The System 131 
 
 a completely developed country. On the farm 
 we only raise enough fruit and vegetables for 
 our own use, and our surplus horses and cattle 
 we deliver to the stable in the village. During 
 the summer season the men prefer to work from 
 six in the morning until eleven, and then they 
 have the remainder of the day to themselves." 
 
 "How do they spend their leisure time?" I 
 inquired, as from observation in my world I 
 had found that farmers and their help usually 
 work from daylight until dark, and their leisure 
 hours are few. 
 
 "They have no difficulty about that, I assure 
 you, ' ' he replied. ' ' They read, study, play ten- 
 nis and other games, hunt, fish or ride up to 
 the village and amuse themselves with whatever 
 may be going on up there. One of the young 
 men here is the champion tennis player in this 
 part of the country. They frequently go to 
 town and play, and often people from there 
 come here. We have some very fine courts, 
 which you probably have not yet observed. 
 Tennis with us is a favorite game, especially 
 among the younger people." 
 
 "You speak of hunting and fishing. I have 
 learned that hunting is different with your peo- 
 ple from what it is with us, but how about the 
 fishing?" I inquired. 
 
 "I can probably answer that question bet- 
 ter than Mr. Tweto," said Creon. "We fish 
 with rod and reel as you do, and for the sport 
 
132 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 of it, as well as for the fish for food; but they 
 are never taken in any other manner. Seining, 
 netting, and that sort of thing are unknown, 
 and, if attempted, would not be tolerated. The 
 lakes, rivers and streams are not polluted by 
 sewer deposits and other refuse, but are kept 
 well stocked with fish. If you are a lover of 
 that kind of sport, I will see that you have some 
 that is good. Fish is a favorite food with us, 
 and as they prey and practically live upon each 
 other, we feel that by catching the larger ones 
 we protect the smaller ones from being de- 
 voured. ' ' 
 
 "That," I observed, "reminds me of your 
 promise to show us some of your trophies of 
 the hunt. I cannot imagine what they are, but 
 I am sure they will be interesting." 
 
 "Before showing my trophies I must tell you 
 that instead of going forth with an instrument 
 of death in our hands, to kill and destroy ani- 
 mals and birds, we go with a camera, and pho- 
 tograph them in all their natural beauty. I 
 do not mean that old-time hunters, like myself, 
 photograph every animal and bird we come 
 across, — only the most beautiful specimens, 
 having regard to their position and surround- 
 ings. Then we enlarge and color the pictures 
 and make them as true to life as possible. Did 
 yon notice the picture of an elk in the dining- 
 room at the hotel when you were there? That 
 is some of my work, and I spent much time in 
 
The System 133 
 
 following that beauty before I caught him in 
 just the position to suit me, and after that I 
 spent much more time in enlarging and color- 
 
 "Now, in this portfolio I keep my bird speci- 
 mens, which are enlarged to natural size and 
 colored as true to nature as I am capable of 
 making them. I want to call your attention to 
 this robin feeding her young, and to the grace- 
 ful pose of the mother bird, as she is about 
 to drop the worm into the mouth of the young- 
 ster who appears to have the longest neck, as 
 well as the largest mouth, of the lot. Then this 
 grouse just springing into the air as he takes 
 to flight, with wings half spread and head erect, 
 —the very perfection of graceful motion. It 
 takes time and patience to get pictures like 
 these, but it is well worth the time and trouble. 
 In these later years I hunt for days at a time, 
 and perhaps see hundreds of birds and animals, 
 without getting a specimen; but what a satis- 
 faction when I get one just as I want it ! And 
 how much better it is than to lay it low, to 
 take its life, and destroy it forever. With your 
 people it is the desire to extinguish life; with 
 us to perpetuate. These birds and that elk that 
 you saw in the dining-room of the hotel are 
 probably living to-day in all their natural 
 beauty, and their pictures will continue to exist, 
 we know not for how long, to please the eye of 
 mankind and add to the enjoyment of life." 
 
134 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 "No one can doubt but your way is the bet- 
 ter," I said. "To destroy life, for the mere 
 sake of killing, and to derive pleasure from so 
 doing must be barbaric, and is wrong and in- 
 human. But tell me, — what do you do with all 
 your specimens? Are they yours, or do they, 
 like everything else here, as I understand, be- 
 long to no one but to all?" 
 
 "My work of this kind is all done during my 
 leisure hours; the hours that are mine to do 
 with as I like, and consequently I can do with 
 my specimens as I please. Some of them I give 
 my friends, and a great many I turn over to 
 the people, and they are placed in homes and 
 public places. You and friend Creon are now 
 to select any one for yourselves that you like 
 best, and it will always give me great satisfac- 
 tion and pleasure to know that you have them." 
 
 And as I write, the grouse just springing 
 into flight, as it hangs on the wall of my room, 
 reminds me of my flight to that happy land, 
 and of the days i there spent among its con- 
 tented and happy people. There it hangs in 
 all its natural beauty, graceful and artistic, not 
 bedraggled and bloody, stark, cold, dead, — its 
 life blotted out in sport by man calling himself 
 a superior human being. It is not death but 
 life, represented in all its activity and natural 
 beauty. An object lesson to those who derive 
 pleasure from killing, — from blotting out the 
 life of the innocent, the harmless, and the beau- 
 
The System 135 
 
 tiful. Something to admire, study and think 
 about. To me it represents the civilization and 
 enlightenment of a human race. 
 
 After selecting our specimens, which were to 
 be forwarded to Creon's home, our conversa- 
 tion drifted to the subject of government; the 
 administration of justice between man and man, 
 and the social obligations that rest upon every 
 man toward all other men. 
 
 "Do you not have any government, any laws, 
 or any governing body!" I inquired. "I do 
 not understand how you can govern (or, per- 
 haps, it would be better to say control) the peo- 
 ple, without any laws. Surely you must have 
 laws of some form. No people except savages 
 can get along without them. Laws denote civili- 
 zation and enlightenment, and my people, I am 
 pleased to say, have at least advanced thus 
 far." 
 
 "Yes," replied Creon, "we have laws, or at 
 least a law, but not, I believe, in the sense you 
 speak of. In your world, and especially in your 
 country, you certainly have laws in plenty. In 
 fact, so many that no one, not even your law- 
 yers or those you call judges, who administer 
 them, know fully what the law is. Their offices 
 are lined with books containing the law, volume 
 upon volume, and those, I am informed, only 
 contain a very small portion of the laws that 
 have been enacted by your law-making bodies, 
 and declared by your courts. You have so 
 
136 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 many kinds of law, and so much of it, that a 
 great deal is overlooked and forgotten. You 
 make laws and then repeal them; and that 
 which may be considered a good law at one time 
 may soon after not be the law at all. Upon in- 
 vestigating your system of jurisprudence I find 
 you have constitutional laws, congressional 
 laws, legislative laws, municipal laws and case 
 law. And then, if none of those will fit the case 
 in hand, or rather in court, you go back a few 
 centuries and dig up the law as it was then in 
 some other country. This you call the common 
 law, and mete out justice under that, whether 
 it applies to the case and present conditions or 
 not. I have attended your courts and it seemed 
 to me that injustice is dealt out about as often 
 as justice. 
 
 ''As it appears to me, one lawyer will get up 
 and state the law which applies to his side of 
 the case and produce book after book to prove 
 it. Then, after he has finished, the lawyer rep- 
 resenting the other side will prove by even 
 more books to the contrary. And after they 
 have talked themselves out, the judge will prob- 
 ably declare that both are wrong, and decide 
 the case upon what he thinks the law is. By 
 the time the whole matter is finally disposed of 
 and settled, the litigants are exhausted in mind, 
 body, and purse. Yes, you have laws, and you 
 have men clothed with power to enforce them, 
 but do your laws insure to man liberty, equality, 
 
The System 137 
 
 and justice? Do they prevent man's inhuman- 
 ity to man?" 
 
 "I must admit," I replied, "that we do not 
 always get the best results, and our laws and 
 manner of enforcing them do not in every in- 
 stance deal out the same justice to the poor as 
 to the rich. I have often thought that we have 
 too many laws, and that our system could be 
 improved; but it seems as if every time we 
 try an innovation we make it worse." 
 
 "The only law we have," said Mr. Tweto, 
 "is the law of the brotherhood of man, which 
 means that all men are free and equal and must 
 deal justly by one another. That all are en- 
 titled to receive their share of the products of 
 the earth and the enjoyments of life, — the same 
 as all others, — and no more. And so receiving, 
 must perform their share in return according 
 to their ability. 
 
 "That is our unwritten law, known, recog- 
 nized, and lived up to by all. What more is 
 needed! Beyond that you cannot go. It insures 
 peace, comfort, contentment, and happiness. 
 The full enjoyment of life is guaranteed to 
 every one, and all that is required is that each 
 individual shall do his or her part, and who is 
 not willing to do that? Under our law, if you 
 may call it such, there is nothing to induce 
 crime, and all social evils are done away with. ' ' 
 
 "In my world," I said, "we have the idea 
 that we can cure all social evils, prevent crime, 
 
138 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 and regulate, govern and do justice to all 
 through the enactment of laws. When a law 
 does not prove effectual, we repeal that and 
 take up another, and so we go on trying out 
 this idea and then that, but do not seem to get 
 any nearer the goal for which we are striving. ' ' 
 "And by pursuing that course you never 
 will," exclaimed Creon. "You cannot regulate 
 and control human nature by the enactment of 
 laws. And I should think your people by this 
 time would so realize and abandon that old, 
 worn-out idea which has proven such a failure 
 through long years of trial and disappoint- 
 ments. Something may be accomplished, of 
 course. A man may attempt to bail out the 
 ocean, and after working for a long time will 
 find that he has succeeded in accumulating what 
 looks to him to be a large amount of water in 
 his reservoir; but when he turns to the ocean 
 to see how far he has succeeded in his enter- 
 prise, he finds that other waters have flowed 
 in and that it still remains the same body of 
 water, the same old ocean, and that all of his 
 efforts have been in vain. And so it is with 
 your people. They strive and struggle; they 
 enact laws and repeal them, and while these 
 laws are in force they punish men for their vio- 
 lation by fines and imprisonment, thereby caus- 
 ing suffering and disgrace to the wives and 
 children of the so-called offenders ; and, like the 
 man who attempts to bail out the ocean, they 
 
The System 139 
 
 really accomplish nothing. A man violates a 
 law, is arrested, and thrown into prison. The 
 family, though innocent, are deprived of the 
 earnings of the husband and father and in 
 many (if not in most) instances, are thus made 
 to suffer hardships, and perhaps reduced to 
 want ; while the government, as you call it, sup- 
 ports the offender, in many instances in idle- 
 ness. 
 
 "That is what your people call justice and 
 think they are progressive human beings. In- 
 stead of teaching, training, and educating, 
 your people punish, use force and violence. 
 Instead of surrounding man with an environ- 
 ment that is good and which appeals to his bet- 
 ter nature, you surround him with that which is 
 bad and tends to deaden and destroy even the 
 little within him that is good. Instead of mak- 
 ing a man better, your methods make him 
 worse. By punishment and by the use of force, 
 you may conquer a man, but you can never 
 thereby make of him a better man, nor can you 
 teach him either to honor or respect the laws 
 under which he is punished and his family 
 caused to suffer humiliation and disgrace. 
 
 "Did you ever stop to think of the unreason- 
 ableness and the injustice of it all; of your in- 
 human treatment of those you call criminals; 
 and of the inconsistency and impracticability of 
 your whole plan of meting out justice? Prob- 
 ably not, as your whole people have become so 
 
140 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 imbued with the idea of government by law, 
 and of punishment for its violation, that they 
 cannot comprehend any other method ; and with 
 few exceptions, are unable even to see the re- 
 sulting wrongs and injustices. 
 
 "Did you ever attend a police court in one 
 of your larger cities, when it was in full opera- 
 tion, and watch the flotsam of humanity being 
 disposed of under your laws? If you have, tell 
 me, did you find there any mercy being shown 
 to the miserable and unfortunate, or anything 
 being done that would tend to make those poor 
 outcast wretches any better? Laws, like gov- 
 ernments are a relic of barbarism, and are only 
 necessary to control fierce and savage men, — 
 not to apply to men who have been properly 
 educated and trained, and who are surrounded 
 by proper environment ; who are human beings 
 in the full sense of the term; who are civilized 
 and enlightened." 
 
 "I will admit that all you have stated is 
 true," I said. "From the little I have already 
 seen of your system during the short time 1 
 have been here, I realize that the government 
 of my country and its laws do not bring the 
 greatest good to the greatest number; that my 
 people have much to learn, and, like the savage 
 tribes of the wilderness, the majority are sat- 
 isfied with their surroundings and conditions 
 because they know no better." 
 
 "You may not know," remarked Mr. Tweto, 
 
The System 141 
 
 "that men from this world have visited yours 
 during many years in the past, and I have taken 
 much interest in reading and studying the books 
 they have written about your people; their 
 forms of government; their laws and manners 
 of life, and especially in regard to their relig- 
 ious beliefs. I find that you all believe in a 
 future life, and in an all-overruling Power. 
 Your religion is grand, and its teachings beau- 
 tiful, inspiring, and sublime. It teaches duty, 
 mercy, and brotherly love. It warns against 
 the accumulation of riches and the desire for 
 gold. It proclaims peace on your earth and 
 good will toward all men. It denounces greed, 
 hate, and envy. It bids you be humble, peace- 
 ful, and loving, — to love all mankind, and to 
 be as brothers unto one another, — to do kind- 
 ness and to maintain justice. It guides and di- 
 rects you in the life that is. It forbids war, 
 conflict, and strife, and demands that you for- 
 give your enemies. 
 
 "By following its precepts your people could 
 do away with all your miseries and troubles. 
 You could have peace, contentment, and happi- 
 ness. And while you pretend to believe in it 
 all, you fail and seemingly refuse to be guided 
 by its teachings. Its words of life fall as upon 
 dead ears ; and over that religion and its teach- 
 ings you even quarrel among yourselves. While 
 you pretend that you believe in its teachings, 
 you refuse to profit by them. But if you do 
 
142 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 believe in all it proclaims and in its promises, 
 your acts show that you are unworthy and un- 
 grateful ; while if you do not so believe, you go 
 far enough to prove that you are hypocrites 
 and dissemblers. 
 
 "By believing in, and conforming to, its 
 teachings, there would be no wars, no misery, 
 no want, and no social evils to contend with. 
 By complying with its precepts there would be 
 no need of governments or of laws, and justice 
 between man and man would at all times pre- 
 vail, and you would be a happy, carefree, and 
 prosperous people. There is very little differ- 
 ence between our religious beliefs and those of 
 your people. But with us, we fully believe in 
 the teachings of our faith and live in accord- 
 ance with what we believe; while your people 
 either do not believe what they profess, or, be- 
 lieving, care not for its teachings." 
 
 "I must confess," I said, "that the majority 
 of my people do not give the thought to our re- 
 ligious belief that they should; and I fear that 
 there are many who avow a faith in its teach- 
 ings, but fail to practice that which they pro- 
 fess. But there are a few who do believe and 
 who live lives in harmony with its teachings, 
 and for those, governments and laws are unnec- 
 essary. They, and they alone, are beyond the 
 restraining influences of government and laws. 
 They, and none others, of my people have 
 reached a true state of civilization and enlight- 
 
The System 143 
 
 enment. My people have recognized govern- 
 ment and have been controlled by laws so long 
 that, without their restraining influences, all 
 kinds of trouble might follow. The doing away 
 with government and laws and the ownership 
 of property have for years been agitated by 
 some in my world. But the idea has been looked 
 upon as impracticable and as the dream of 
 dreamers. I believe, in fact, that the plan has 
 been tried out in a small way in communities 
 and invariably resulted in failure. While I 
 have not so far observed any difference be- 
 tween the people here and those in my world, 
 there really must be; and I must ascertain 
 what that difference is." 
 
 "In one sense," observed Creon, "there is a 
 difference, and in another there is not. The 
 people here are human beings just as your peo- 
 ple are, with the same instincts, the same pas- 
 sions, and the same desires. But with them 
 education, training and environment have made 
 the change you see. They have been educated 
 to lead upright, wholesome lives. The tempta- 
 tions that bring about greed and selfishness do 
 not exist. Your people can bring about the 
 same results in the same manner, and by no 
 other. ' ' 
 
 "I believe I comprehend your idea," I re- 
 plied. " It is all a matter of training, habit, and 
 surroundings. A man is exactly as are those 
 with whom he associates; as other men are so 
 
144 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 will he be, and as they do will he do also. Elimi- 
 nate greed and 'do unto others as you would 
 have others do unto you,' and nothing more 
 will be needed." 
 
 ' ' You have it, ' ' he exclaimed, ' ' and when your 
 people see, follow, and adopt that idea they will 
 be as you see us here." 
 
 "Permit me," I said, "to inquire regarding 
 your organization and plan of keeping up your 
 system, as it cannot run itself. There must be 
 some supervision; some head to keep it in op- 
 eration, otherwise there would be absolute 
 chaos. ' ' 
 
 The system as explained by our host is very 
 simple, and I have since found it very effective. 
 
 "In the first place," he began, "the country 
 is divided into districts and sub-districts. When 
 a man reaches the age of sixty years, he is no 
 longer a part of the main working body but 
 becomes one of the supervisors of the sub-dis- 
 trict in which he resides. The sub-districts are 
 small and have a public building in which the 
 supervisors meet and have their headquarters, 
 and each supervisor is provided with a secre- 
 tary, so that his duties may be made as light 
 as possible. The whole body is divided into 
 committees, which have certain matters to look 
 after. 
 
 "One committee looks after the schools; an- 
 other, the allotment of workmen; another is 
 charged with the duty of providing with homes 
 
The System 145 
 
 newly married couples, that desire to commence 
 housekeeping, and of seeing that their homes are 
 properly furnished, while another looks after 
 the amusements and makes provision for such 
 diversions as the people need. Each committee 
 has different matters in charge. These com- 
 mittees report to the whole body at regular 
 meetings, and full records are kept of all pro- 
 ceedings. Their duties do not occupy much of 
 their time, although as a rule the sub-district 
 supervisors are much interested in their work, 
 and having worked and lived their lives under 
 the same kind of supervision, are familiar with 
 the needs of the people ; therefore they take up 
 their duties fully equipped for the work. When 
 a man arrives at the age of sixty-five years he 
 becomes one of the District Managers and con- 
 tinues to occupy that position until he reaches 
 the age of seventy; then for five years he is a 
 member of the Grand Council, which is the su- 
 preme head of the system. The District Man- 
 agers as a body meet four times a year, while 
 the Grand Council meet only twice, — both doing 
 most of their work through committees which, 
 like the Sub-District Supervisors, are furnished 
 with secretaries. 
 
 "The work of the District Managers is con- 
 fined to a general supervision of the internal af- 
 fairs within their district, and embraces what 
 you would term public improvements, such as 
 the improvements of the cities and towns, the 
 
146 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 laying out of highways, and matters of that 
 kind. The Grand Council has charge of matters 
 relating to the whole country. It provides for 
 the forming of new districts, the opening up of 
 new territory, the improvement of waterways, 
 and construction of railroads. 
 
 ''Men like our friend Creon, who make such 
 journeys as you are aware of, report directly to 
 the Grand Council. You see, when a man be- 
 comes one of the District Managers he has had 
 five years' experience as a Supervisor, and then 
 when he enters the Grand Council he has had 
 five years' more as a District Manager." 
 
 "You see," observed Creon, "that men who 
 have charge of our affairs are all men of expe- 
 rience and are familiar with the matters they 
 are handling. In forming the committees, men 
 are placed on those committees that have charge 
 of the things they are familiar with, and their 
 services are of value to the community. How 
 different from your method of dealing with pub- 
 lic affairs. Your people elect to what you call 
 "office," men who have not had any experience 
 concerning the business they are expected to look 
 after. Your people are so particular regard- 
 ing their laws, yet, for the enactment of these 
 laws, they elect men who, in many instances, 
 are unfamiliar with even the ordinary affairs of 
 life and are possessed of no ability as lawmak- 
 ers. I am afraid we may be laying it on a little 
 hard, but you are here for the purpose of be- 
 
The System 147 
 
 coming familiar with our system, and one of 
 the best ways to learn is by contrast." 
 
 "How would you like to look over the farm 
 with me?" inquired Mr. Tweto. "There is 
 some work in progress that I must look after 
 for a time, and I would like you to go with me. 
 The day is fine and it does not seem right not 
 to enjoy it. You will remain until to-morrow, 
 of course. I have an engagement that will take 
 me to the lake to-morrow and nothing could 
 please me more than to journey along with 
 you." 
 
 "I am the secretary to the man who reports 
 to the Grand Council," I replied, "and it is 
 for him to say what we shall do." 
 
 "We will remain, by all means" said Creon. 
 "I believe you have had the idea that your 
 position as secretary is to be what your people 
 call a sinecure, but you will find that you have 
 some duties to perform. You will yet learn that 
 every one here performs his share, and that 
 there are no real idlers under the age of sev- 
 enty-five years, which is not old with us. On 
 account of our sane method of living, and with 
 no worries, troubles, cares and disappoint- 
 ments, we do not grow old as your people do, 
 but retain our faculties and live much longer. 
 How old do you think Mr. Tweto is, — basing 
 your judgment on guessing the age of your peo- 
 ple?" 
 
148 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 1 ' I should say that he is a man between forty 
 and forty-five," was my answer. 
 
 "How is that?" exclaimed our host. "Why, 
 I will celebrate my next birthday by becoming 
 one of the supervisors of this sub-district, and 
 I have never thought I looked young for my 
 age. ' ' 
 
 I did not feel like disclosing my age, and did 
 not. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 WE CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY 
 
 In looking over the place and inspecting the 
 buildings, I found the farm well laid out, well 
 equipped, and in a high state of cultivation. 
 Twelve or fifteen men were engaged in caring 
 for the crops and performing the usual farm 
 work, and I noticed with them the same activity 
 and energy that I had observed the day before 
 among the men working upon the power plant. 
 
 The work-horses, like the driving- and saddle- 
 horses I had seen, were of the best, and showed 
 good breeding, care, and attention. To describe 
 it all, — with its barns, stables, silos, and other 
 outbuildings, — would be to describe a well- 
 regulated, well-kept, up-to-date, prosperous 
 farm in my world. The machinery and equip- 
 ment were identical with ours, with the excep- 
 tion that all the buildings were lighted by elec- 
 tricity, and that electricity furnished the power 
 for operating the feed-mill and pumping the 
 water. Upon expressing my surprise at this, I 
 was informed that the buildings were heated by 
 electricity and the cooking done by the same 
 power, this being furnished from the power line 
 
 149 
 
150 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 which at present conveyed electricity to the 
 village. 
 
 The noonday meal was served soon after 
 twelve, and upon entering the dining-room, I 
 observed that the table had been laid for all, 
 including several young ladies and the work- 
 men who had come in from the fields at eleven. 
 These latter had taken their baths, changed 
 their clothes, and for the rest of the day were 
 men of leisure, — at liberty to amuse themselves 
 as they pleased. The young ladies, I learned, 
 assisted Mrs. Tweto in her household duties, 
 and by her were instructed in the mysteries of 
 housekeeping. They were all a jolly, happy lot, 
 — young and healthy, and without a care or 
 worry to mar their enjoyments of life. In looks, 
 manner, dress, and appearance the men re- 
 minded me of clean young college men, planning 
 their amusements for a half holiday. 
 
 The equestrian dance of the evening before, 
 which nearly all had attended, the music, and 
 the merits of the horses were discussed with 
 much interest. From the conversation of these 
 young people it was plain to be seen that they 
 were well educated, and were interested in the 
 serious and business affairs of life as well as in 
 their sports and pleasures. I soon learned that 
 during the afternoon a ball team from the vil- 
 lage was coming to play against a team made 
 up from among the farm workmen, and that 
 
We Continue Our Journey 151 
 
 there would probably be quite a gathering of 
 people to witness the game. 
 
 Two of the young men at table, while at the 
 village the afternoon before, had examined the 
 plans made for the future development of the 
 district and village, and were very enthusiastic 
 over their future. 
 
 ''Why," exclaimed one, "we are going to 
 have one of the finest districts in the country, 
 and our little village will be a city before we 
 know it! They are soon to commence the con- 
 struction of a new public building. When 
 completed, there will not be many much better, 
 and they tell me the one there now will be turned 
 into a public library. There are to be sawmills, 
 pulp- and paper-mills, box- and furniture-fac- 
 tories, and another plant for the manufacture 
 of almost everything that is made of wood, 
 which will be one of the largest and best 
 equipped of its kind in the country. 
 
 "It appears that there is enough timber tri- 
 butary to operate these mills and factories for 
 a great many years, and there will be power 
 enough from the power plant to operate them. 
 The opera house will be larger than the one 
 in the town at the head of the lake. The archi- 
 tect informed me that they were making plans 
 for another hotel, and that there will be con- 
 structed within the next two years homes 
 enough to accommodate over ten thousand peo- 
 ple. I am going to put in my application for 
 
152 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 a farm right away. One of the young archi- 
 tects is a good friend of mine, and will make 
 the plans for the house just as soon as we are 
 ready. ' ' 
 
 "We are ready?" echoed one of the young 
 men. "Who is it that makes up the we?" 
 
 ' ' That is right, ' ' exclaimed Mr. Tweto. ' ' As 
 soon as you are ready, you can have one of my 
 specimens for your library, and the young lady, 
 whoever she may be, can have one for her din- 
 ing-room. ' ' 
 
 I had noticed that one of the young ladies, — 
 a beautiful brunette, — during this conversation 
 was very much interested in the contents of her 
 plate, but when Mr. Tweto mentioned the pre- 
 senting of a specimen to the young lady for her 
 dining-room, she suddenly looked toward him 
 and seemed about to speak. However, she 
 blushingly resumed her former attitude, while 
 the other young ladies exchanged knowing 
 glances. 
 
 "I shall certainly appreciate them, and I 
 thank you in behalf of the young lady, as well 
 as myself," politely replied the young man. 
 "They will always remind me of the pleasant 
 days I have spent with you here, and of the de- 
 lightful meals I have enjoyed," he added, turn- 
 ing to Mrs. Tweto. 
 
 At my request it was not announced that I 
 was from another world, and remembering the 
 trouble I had experienced at the morning meal 
 
We Continue Our Journey 153 
 
 before that fact was made known, I took very 
 little part in the general conversation, content- 
 ing myself with listening and observing. 
 
 As soon as the meal was finished the young 
 men busied themselves in arranging for the af- 
 ternoon game, and our host, Creon, and I 
 strolled over to the river, a short distance away, 
 and seated ourselves in the shade of a tree upon 
 the bank to enjoy nature in all her loveliness. 
 
 For a short time we sat in silence, under the 
 spell of our surroundings. It was an ideal place 
 for thought and contemplation, — with the river 
 beneath us, flowing onward to the lake below; 
 its pure waters here placid, smooth, and tran- 
 quil, there hurrying, leaping, and sparkling, as 
 it rushed over its more rough and rocky bed. 
 Beyond the river stood the natural forest in 
 all its grandeur and beauty, — the trees, shrub- 
 bery and flowers flashing forth their beauty in 
 the sunlight of a perfect day, — habited by ani- 
 mals and birds, free and happy, living, mating, 
 and rearing, each its kind, according to nature's 
 laws. 
 
 From below the murmur of waters, pouring 
 over some natural falls in its onward course, 
 came faintly to my ear, and, — mingling with the 
 rustling of the leaves, the twitter and song of 
 the birds, and the chatter of squirrels, — seemed 
 to be hymning contentment and peace. 
 
 But with me was a disturbed and busy mind. 
 I was comparing the lives of the farm work- 
 
154 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 men, with whom I had just dined, with the lives 
 of farm laborers as I had seen them in my 
 world. A life of toil, lonesome, monotonous, 
 and hard; without recreation or amusement; 
 with long hours of labor; with little hope of 
 anything better, and with the chance of ever 
 possessing a home growing more and more re- 
 mote as the years roll by. 
 
 Is it any wonder, I thought, that they are 
 sad and discouraged, and grow old before their 
 time? Can one marvel that their minds grow 
 sour and their bodies bent, and that many of 
 them, hoping to escape the monotony of it all, 
 flee to the cities in the vain hope that there they 
 may at least have the opportunity of mingling 
 with their fellow-men, — only to find, in many 
 instances, their lot in life to be even harder 
 than before, or perhaps to be drawn down and 
 engulfed in the many whirlpools of vice and 
 crime! Here the men that I see, — these labor- 
 ers of the fields, — live happy, enjoyable lives; 
 are healthy in body and mind, educated, intel- 
 ligent, and refined ; a home, and a good one, is 
 provided for each of them whenever he may 
 want it, and a farm to go with it. And with 
 it all is the knowledge that whatever these la- 
 borers produce will be shared equally by all; 
 that they are not working to pay interest, taxes 
 and assessments; are not working to support 
 millions who either live in idleness or employ 
 
We Continue Our Journey 155 
 
 their time in doing that which is not only use- 
 less but imposes a burden upon mankind. 
 
 In my mind, joy and sadness mingled. There 
 was joy in the thought that it was mine to see 
 and associate with these people; know them; 
 for a time be a part of them, and thereby be 
 able to benefit my fellow-men. But there was 
 sadness in the thought of the millions in my 
 world who, although striving for the right, are 
 unable to raise themselves above their sur- 
 roundings and are doomed to wretchedness and 
 disappointment; of the solitary toilers in the 
 fields, silently, sadly, and alone bearing their 
 burdens, knowing not whence they come; of 
 the workers in the mills and factories, barely 
 existing upon the wage received for the work 
 performed; of those who, through wars, are 
 made widows and orphans; those whose bodies 
 are torn and limbs severed, made physical 
 wrecks, thereafter to live a life of suffering and 
 pain; of the homeless, miserable and hungry,— 
 all sacrificed that a nation may be extended and 
 the ambitions of its rulers satisfied. 
 
 After these thoughts had occupied my mind 
 for the moment, carrying me back to that world 
 of mine, — that world so beautiful and so re- 
 sponsive to the touch of man, in itself ideal, 
 teeming with richness and plenty, and able, 
 ready, and willing to produce all things neces- 
 sary for man's needs and pleasures, — it oc- 
 curred to me that, nevertheless, it would not 
 
156 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 produce sufficient under the short hours here 
 in operation, and I commenced to doubt if the 
 plan or system in operation here would work 
 satisfactorily in my world. So, turning to my 
 companions, I inquired: 
 
 "Am I to understand that some of your peo- 
 ple work six hours, some five, and others only 
 two or three? I should think that would cause 
 confusion, — even discontent, — among some." 
 
 "We have found after long trial," replied 
 Mr. Tweto, "that this is the most feasible ar- 
 rangement, — gives the best satisfaction, and 
 provides for the comforts and enjoyment of 
 every one. You see, workmen who perform the 
 hardest of manual labor, such as you saw being 
 performed yesterday, workmen in foundries 
 and those engaged in that class of hard labor, 
 work on the two- and three-hour basis. The 
 five-hour class includes farmers, teachers, 
 clerks, and stenographers, and all who perform 
 work of that kind. In the six-hour class are 
 those who oversee the work of others, — who 
 plan and supervise, — professional men, such as 
 physicians, architects and civil engineers, and 
 all who are engaged in light employment ; many 
 of whom, when the occasion requires, voluntar- 
 ily work even longer than the six hours. 
 
 ' ' Then, if any one desires to take a vacation, 
 visit friends, go on a journey, or for any reason 
 wants some days for himself, he can, by work- 
 ing over time, get credit, and lay off for the 
 
We Continue Our Journey 157 
 
 number of days credited. In this way the peo- 
 ple are not bound down to perform just so 
 many hours of labor each day, — year in and 
 year out, — which might become monotonous 
 and be looked upon as drudgery. ' ' 
 
 ' ' But I should think, ' ' I said, ' ' that the short 
 hours you mention would not be sufficient to 
 enable the people to live and enjoy such pleas- 
 ures of life as I see them enjoying. I am sure 
 it would not in my world, although everything 
 appears to be the same here as there." 
 
 "It is," remarked Creon, "simply a matter 
 of consumption and production, — nothing more. 
 All any country has to do is to produce as 
 much as its people consume, and keep a suffi- 
 cient supply on hand for unforeseen contingen- 
 cies. And when it goes beyond that, it is pro- 
 ducing that for which it has no use. With 
 your people, on account of your complicated 
 and unreasonable system, — with your laws, 
 government, money, and private ownership of 
 property, you have a large percentage of peo- 
 ple that does not produce anything, either di- 
 rectly or indirectly, and that has to be sup- 
 ported by others; and the most of these non- 
 producers live better than those that do pro- 
 duce, and it costs more for their support, than 
 for the support of the producers. Just look at 
 those under your system who are non-produc- 
 ers, — and not only of no benefit to the com- 
 munity but are a drag upon it. 
 
158 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 "First there are your navies and your stand- 
 ing armies, and all those who labor in con- 
 structing your forts and battleships and in 
 making munitions, — laboring to construct that 
 which is not only useless and expensive but 
 harmful : things made to destroy life and prop- 
 erty and for no other purpose. Then you have 
 those that are connected with your useless 
 money system, such as bankers, trust compa- 
 nies, and money loaners, and all their vast army 
 of assistants and clerks. Then, under your 
 ownership of property plan, you have real es- 
 tate dealers, brokers, and traders, and all those 
 thousands connected with that part of your 
 system. 
 
 "Next, you may set down in your useless col- 
 umn saloon-keepers, tabacconists, and all who 
 are connected with those 'industries,' as you 
 call them. Then come your judges and lawyers, 
 their clerks and stenographers, court em- 
 ployees, and all those connected with your law 
 system ; many of them hard working, conscien- 
 tious people, but who, since they produce noth- 
 ing, are a burden, — useless and unnecessary. 
 
 "And then I will next mention your politi- 
 cians and office holders ; those who make your 
 laws and try to govern and control the people, 
 the majority of whom go into office without ex- 
 perience and by giving more attention to keep- 
 ing themselves in office than in performing their 
 
We Continue Our Journey 159 
 
 duties, go out not much better qualified for the 
 position than when they went in. 
 
 "Then consider the traveling salesmen, and 
 the merchants you call middlemen, and the 
 thousand and one others who have occupations 
 that produce nothing for the needs, comfort or 
 even pleasures of any one under your insane 
 and complicated system; not mentioning the 
 thousands who do not work at all, — mere idlers, 
 either by reason of their wealth or on account 
 of downright laziness. And again there is an- 
 other class, and an expensive one; your crim- 
 inals : most of them made so by your social 
 conditions and manner of handling them. Think 
 of the enormous loss of time and energy (the 
 expense, you might say) they incur, and which 
 has to be borne by your people. 
 
 "Now, suppose, — instead of having all these 
 millions that I have mentioned living upon the 
 people and doing nothing, in a material way, 
 toward their support, but who are instead sup- 
 ported by those who do produce, — that every 
 one were engaged in an occupation that directly 
 returned something for either the needs or en- 
 joyments of all. Do you not see what an eco- 
 nomic saving there would be? 
 
 "With us we have done away with all these 
 things, and established ourselves upon a true, 
 sensible, and solid economic basis, where the 
 efforts of every one count for something. With 
 your people everything is based upon money 
 
160 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 and ownership of property, and you therefrom 
 have built up a cumbersome, complicated, and 
 burdensome system, — a system of errors. With 
 you, for everything a man does he expects a 
 return in money. If he does a day's work, its 
 value is measured by so many dollars and cents. 
 If he is a farmer and raises a bushel of wheat, 
 its value in money is, in most instances, fixed 
 by some combination, regardless of supply and 
 demand, — of consumption and production. And 
 so it is with other products of the soil, — the 
 bounties of the earth, meant to supply the needs 
 of man. In many instances, I am informed, the 
 producer receives less for his products than do 
 those who handle and deliver them to the con- 
 sumer. 
 
 "Your people, I find, complain a great deal 
 about the high cost of living and your politi- 
 cians blame it upon one political party or the 
 other, depending upon the party to which he 
 belongs. But to me it does not appear that any 
 political party can be blamed, as it is all 
 brought about by the things I have mentioned. 
 And with the complications of your system 
 growing more complex, its toll will increase; 
 it will ever become more burdensome, and the 
 cost of living, instead of becoming less, will con- 
 tinue to advance, until the burdens of the poor 
 and unfortunate will be more than they can 
 bear. 
 
 "Your people have pretty nearly reached the 
 
We Continue Our Journey 161 
 
 limit, and if wars do not crush them all you 
 will certainly extricate yourselves in time. Jus- 
 tice and common sense will surely prevail. With 
 something like seventy per cent, of your people 
 either idlers or engaged in employments that 
 produce nothing, — useless and a burden, — what 
 can you expect? Yes, the system we have in 
 operation would work in your world as it does 
 here. If your useless occupations were done 
 away with, and each performed his share, our 
 hours of labor would be ample to furnish all 
 your people with every comfort and pleasure 
 necessary for the enjoyment of life. 
 
 "Your system fosters the desire in men to 
 take an advantage of others; to get and con- 
 trol all they can, whether necessary for their 
 needs and pleasures or not. It creates a desire 
 to possess and to take away from others that 
 which rightfully belongs to them. This you 
 must admit is wrong, and any system that 
 brings about such results cannot be right in 
 principle, and therefore should be discarded." 
 
 "I am satisfied," I said. "You have con- 
 vinced me that the system you have here could 
 be adopted in my world, and in course of time, 
 as the people become educated and trained, be 
 as successful and bring about the good results 
 that exist here. I did not before realize that 
 there were with us so many useless occupations, 
 — so many people employed in doing the things 
 that are unnecessary. As I understand, every 
 
162 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 one is not required to be employed in produc- 
 ing just the things that are essential to the 
 actual needs of the people. From your point of 
 view amusements are necessary to make life 
 worth living." 
 
 "With us," he replied, "we consider a mu- 
 sician, an actor, an actress, an artist, writer, 
 sculptor, or any one who adds to the enjoyment 
 of life as essential as one who produces the 
 necessities." 
 
 "Do you hear those cheers and applause!" 
 exclaimed Mr. Tweto. ' ' The ball game must be 
 getting interesting. I should be there and meet 
 my friends. I understand the game is thought 
 much of by your people and that there are 
 some players who make it their business, but 
 we have never gone that far. Our young men 
 have so much time they can devote to the game 
 that they are able to give us some pretty good 
 ball. Suppose we go over and see what they 
 are doing. I believe the village is sending down 
 their best team and hope to clean my boys up." 
 
 Upon reaching the ball ground we found some 
 two hundred or more people watching the game, 
 and they were as enthusiastic a lot of fans as 
 one would ever wish to see. 
 
 "This game," observed Creon, as we ap- 
 proached, "is played exactly as it is played in 
 your country. In fact, the first time I visited 
 your world I became so interested in the game 
 that when I came back I introduced it, and it 
 
We Continue Our Journey 163 
 
 has since become very popular. We do not ob- 
 ject to adopting- anything that you have that 
 will be of benefit to us, and I hope your people, 
 when you return to your country and proclaim 
 what you have seen, will use the same good 
 judgment." 
 
 ' ' I hope so, " I replied. But in my mind there 
 arose the thought that the influence of yellow 
 gold was so strong that I could not but enter- 
 tain a feeling of misgiving and doubt. 
 
 The next day we made our journey to the 
 lake in a leisurely manner. At noon we stopped 
 for lunch at a roadside inn, where we remained 
 for some time enjoying the cool shade of the 
 trees on the well-kept lawn in front of the 
 house, and the afternoon was half gone before 
 we resumed our journey. The landlord, — a 
 hearty, good-natured fellow, — and Mr. Tweto 
 were apparently great friends, and after we 
 had finished our lunch he insisted that, if we 
 did not need to rest, our horses did. I could 
 readily see that he took great pride in the place, 
 and well he might, as everything about it was 
 in perfect order, cozy, and comfortable. 
 
 Nearly every one we met knew Mr. Tweto, 
 but whether acquaintances or not, he and Creon 
 exchanged salutations with every one, young 
 and old. This I learned was the usual cus- 
 tom among those people. I remarked upon 
 this to Creon in the presence of Mr. Tweto, 
 who immediately exclaimed : 
 
164 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 "You do not mean to tell me that in your 
 country, when traveling along the road as we 
 are doing now, you would not notice or speak 
 to people you meet, just because you do not 
 know them? I do not understand it. Do you 
 think a man is any better because you happen 
 to know him; or do you think men and women 
 need a recommendation before you can recog- 
 nize them?" 
 
 "The reason you do not understand," re- 
 marked Creon, "is because you do not com- 
 prehend what is thought necessary, in the opin- 
 ion of those people, for a man to possess in 
 order for him to command recognition. With 
 them a man's standing is judged, to a large ex- 
 tent, by his wealth, or by the social position 
 of his family." 
 
 "I should think," observed Mr. Tweto, with 
 a laugh, "that a certificate from your banker 
 showing the amount of your wealth would be 
 a convenient document to carry. Then, upon 
 meeting a stranger, it would only be necessary 
 to show your certificate and by it prove that 
 you are a man worthy of recognition." 
 
 "It does almost amount to that in some in- 
 stances," I replied. "But in my world it will 
 not do to make friends with every one you meet. 
 If you did, you would be taken in very often, 
 even by those who look and appear to be peo- 
 ple of culture and refinement." 
 
 To me our surroundings were new, and as we 
 
We Continue Our Journey 165 
 
 traveled along my questions were many. Thus 
 the afternoon quickly passed. 
 
 Just as the sun was disappearing, as it 
 seemed, into the bosom of the lake, we reached 
 the top of a hill overlooking the town, or almost 
 city, — our destination for the day. 
 
 There below us it lay in all the beauty of a 
 summer evening, with its buildings and homes, 
 here and there just visible through the green 
 foliage of grand old trees; beyond, the broad 
 and expansive lake, across the mirror-like sur- 
 face of which the setting sun reflected back a 
 pathway of purple, crimson, and gold, that 
 rippled, waved and changed, as the many boats 
 plying back and forth disturbed its placid sur- 
 face; in the distant south the snow-white cap 
 of a solitary mountain glittered in the dying 
 sunlight, as the gathering darkness of the com- 
 ing night slowly crept up its forest-clad sides. 
 A picture of beauty and grandeur was before 
 us ; a picture always to be remembered, but im- 
 possible to describe ; a picture in imagination to 
 be framed with the faint murmur of distant 
 voices and the merry laughter of children, 
 mingling with strains of music coming up 
 through the tree tops from below. 
 
 Silent and enchanted, we sat upon our horses 
 while the glittering cap of the mountain grad- 
 ually faded and disappeared and the pathway 
 of purple, crimson and gold changed, vanished 
 and was no more. Like a cloud of war gather- 
 
166 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 ing over a land of peace, the darkness of night 
 was now settling over land and lake. 
 
 "Darkness has conquered the light," re- 
 marked Mr. Tweto. "The only struggles for 
 supremacy we have in this world are those be- 
 tween darkness and light and those of the ele- 
 ments, but instead of causing death and suffer- 
 ing, each in its turn gracefully and beautifully 
 gives way to the other." Then, pausing for a 
 moment, while his eyes rested upon the lake 
 yet outlined below, he added: "This has been a 
 delightful day, but, as I am to spend the evening 
 with some friends, I must bid you good-night. 
 I understand you are to remain in town to- 
 morrow, and I shall certainly see you during 
 the day. You will have no difficulty in finding 
 the hotel, as this highway extends through the 
 town to the lake, and the hotel you will find on 
 its shore, just back from the street." 
 
 "A wonderful man, and such an agreeable 
 companion!" I remarked to Creon, as Mr. 
 Tweto rode down a side street. "I wonder 
 that he should be an innkeeper and farmer." 
 
 "Being an artist of considerable talent," re- 
 plied Creon, "he could, if he desired, so employ 
 that part of his time which belongs to his coun- 
 try; as a writer and naturalist his services 
 would be accepted in work along those lines; 
 but by looking after the inn and farm he is free 
 to do those things as recreation, and un- 
 doubtedly does better work and gets more 
 
We Continue Our Journey 167 
 
 pleasure out of them. The management of the 
 farm gives him an agreeable outdoor occupa- 
 tion among the horses, cattle and in the fields ; 
 as a landlord he meets and associates with his 
 guests, enjoys their society, and takes pride in 
 giving them the best of entertainment. He is 
 widely known, and every one is his friend. 
 What more can any man desire? You will find 
 many like him in this world; men who are 
 living wholesome, useful, and enjoyable lives, 
 performing their share and receiving like share 
 in return, — interested not only in their sports 
 and pleasures, but in their work as well." 
 
 Our way to the hotel led us through the town, 
 and gave me an opportunity for observation. 
 The streets were broad, shaded, clean, well 
 kept, and well lighted. The houses, — as I have 
 since observed in all the cities, towns, and 
 villages, — were located well back from the street 
 and at the same distance, with trees, shrubbery, 
 and flowers in front and gardens and fruit trees 
 in the rear. There is no stint of land in that 
 world, every one having the use of some part 
 of the earth to do with as he pleases. 
 
 As we rode along, we met many people rid- 
 ing and driving, others were sauntering along 
 the walks, with here and there a youth and 
 maiden, oblivious to all except each other; chil- 
 dren were playing upon the lawns; music and 
 merry laughter floated through the open doors 
 and windows of the brilliantly lighted houses. 
 
168 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 We were passing down a street lined with 
 homes, in which peace and joy reigned supreme. 
 Of poverty and want there was none to mar the 
 enjoyment of those who had never been touched 
 by the cold and bony hands of these ghastly 
 visitants. 
 
 At my request we rode slowly, that I might 
 the more fully see and enjoy it all; and yet, the 
 life that I was so interested in observing was 
 being enacted upon every street, within every 
 city, town, and village of that wonderful land. 
 
 In about the center of the town the street ran 
 through quite an extensive park, in which many 
 people were strolling about listening to the 
 music of a band, which, as we rode past, was 
 playing a waltz, and upon a nearby platform 
 several couples were whirling and circling in 
 time to that bewitching music. 
 
 Beyond the park, in a large square by itself, 
 stood the public building of the town, — con- 
 structed of marble and granite, — spacious and 
 substantial, with considerable architectural 
 beauty. All the public buildings, Creon in- 
 formed me, were constructed and under the 
 control of the District Managers. 
 
 ''There is one thing you will find in this 
 world," said Creon, "and that is that every- 
 thing we do, we do well. Our buildings and 
 dwellings are all constructed to last, and the 
 same is true of all our manufactured articles, 
 whether machinery, furniture, or clothing. We 
 
We Continue Our Journey 169 
 
 found long ago that not to do well that which 
 was worth doing at all was poor economy. 
 
 "There are two things we do not have, and 
 those are shoddy clothing and a continual 
 changing in fashions of dress. Poorly made 
 and shoddy clothing can never look well, and in 
 the end is not economical. In style of dress we 
 have a wide range —all along the same general 
 line— and one's taste can be easily satisfied; 
 but radical changes are never thought of. In 
 your world I observed frequent changes in 
 styles, which is a great waste, besides being 
 unnecessary. 
 
 "It seems to me that your people carry it to 
 the extent that it becomes almost a disgrace to 
 wear clothing, a hat, or even shoes that are not 
 of the latest mode. It is a great burden upon 
 you all and the cause of much worry and un- 
 happiness with those who are not able to keep 
 up with the changes. There are many, even 
 among your wealthy people, who would be glad 
 to throw off the burden, but it has become so 
 fixed that it seems impossible. If you will trace 
 the custom to its source, you will find that it is 
 encouraged and fostered by a few sharp trades- 
 people for the sole purpose of money making 
 and for none other. We believe that a style of 
 dress that is becoming to a person to-day will 
 be so to-morrow, or a month, or even a year 
 later. But enough of this, the afternoon's ride 
 
170 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 reminds me of the hotel dining-room, and I am 
 anxious to be there." 
 
 When we reached the hotel, the horses were 
 turned over to an attendant and taken to the 
 stable to which they belonged. They were noble 
 animals and I had become much attached to the 
 one I had ridden, and I was sorry to give him 
 up. 
 
 Hallie had arrived at the hotel that after- 
 noon, and we soon found her upon the veranda 
 overlooking the lake, where many of the guests 
 had assembled to enjoy the beauties of the 
 evening and listen to the music of a band in an 
 adjoining park. 
 
 As she came forward to meet us, I could not 
 but admire the unconscious grace, the natural 
 poise and bearing, and, withal, those laughing- 
 eyes and frank open manner. There was 
 nothing affected or assumed, but a confident, 
 easy manner, — a civility that was charming and 
 engaging. 
 
 "I hope you have enjoyed your ride," she 
 observed, as she welcomed me with extended 
 hand. "It has been a delightful day for 
 riding." 
 
 I found that those people were interested in 
 not only their own sports and pleasures, but in 
 those of others. They lived each day for itself, 
 without any worry or care for the morrow. To- 
 day, to-morrow, and the days to follow they 
 expected to perform their part and receive their 
 
We Continue Our Journey 171 
 
 share in all things, including those that make up 
 the pleasures of life ; and they were solicitous 
 that all others should enjoy life equally with 
 themselves. 
 
 ' ' I hope you have formed a favorable impres- 
 sion of us," she said, as we took some seats by 
 ourselves in a corner of the veranda. 
 
 "How did you know that I came from 'The 
 Planet of Gold,' as I find your people frequently 
 term my world?" I impolitely inquired, instead 
 of answering her question. 
 
 "Why, Father told me, of course," she re- 
 plied. "He informed me before he went away 
 that he expected to bring some one with him 
 from your world when he returned, and natur- 
 ally I have been a little curious. Just as you, 
 no doubt, have been regarding us," she added 
 after a slight pause. 
 
 "Are you sure that you did not determine 
 that fact from my looks and appearance?" I 
 inquired with some concern. 
 
 "Why, certainly not," she answered in a 
 manner that convinced me of her sincerity. 
 
 It had seemed to me at times that it must be 
 apparent to every one that I was a stranger 
 to that planet, and the feeling had given me 
 considerable anxiety. Her answer and her con- 
 vincing manner in doing so immediately put me 
 at ease upon that perplexing question, and the 
 feeling rarely ever troubled me thereafter. 
 
 Creon spent the greater part of the evening 
 
172 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 with some friends, leaving me to be entertained 
 by bis daughter, and I can now recall that 
 evening as one of the most enjoyable that I 
 spent during my sojourn among those delight- 
 ful people. Although since that time it has been 
 my privilege to frequently enjoy her society and 
 companionship, nevertheless her charming and 
 fascinating manner, her vivacity and intellec- 
 tuality produced an impression upon my 
 memory that first evening we were alone to- 
 gether that can never be effaced. 
 
 The portrait upon the wall of our living com- 
 partment in the car had given me the desire to 
 see her, to form her acquaintance, and the meet- 
 ing had produced the hope that the acquaintance 
 would develop into — at least friendship. 
 
 As a being from another world I could not, — 
 I dare not, — hope for more than a friend and 
 mentor during the time I remained upon that 
 planet and associated as an equal with its 
 people. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 AN EXECUTION SALE 
 
 The city at the head of the lake was the first 
 of any size in that world I had visited, and I 
 was much interested in seeing all there was to 
 be seen and in acquiring as much information 
 as possible. Therefore, the following morning 
 Creon procured a pair of horses from the 
 stable and we spent the forenoon in driving 
 about the town. I had hoped that Hallie would 
 join us, but she asked to be excused as she had 
 an engagement to spend the day with some 
 friends. 
 
 I was informed by Creon that this town was 
 a manufacturing center of considerable impor- 
 tance, containing about twenty-five thousand in- 
 habitants, although it had the appearance of 
 being much larger. All the dwellings were sur- 
 rounded by extensive grounds, and there were 
 no tenement nor apartment houses, and I later 
 ascertained that there were none in that coun- 
 try. Another reason for its appearing much 
 larger than a city of the same population in my 
 world was its numerous and extensive parks, 
 which occupied considerable space within the 
 town limits. 
 
 173 
 
174 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 There was no business center and no part of 
 the town was given over to wretchedness, 
 poverty, and squalor. Altogether it had the 
 appearance of a high-class suburb of a large 
 city. It was a city of homes. That portion in 
 which the factories were located had the same 
 neat, clean, and attractive appearance as other 
 parts of the town, for all such works were sur- 
 rounded by well shaded lawns, in which shrub- 
 bery and flowers were growing in profusion. 
 
 As I observed the broad, clean, well-kept, 
 shaded streets of the town; its comfortable, 
 attractive homes and beautiful lawns ; the happy 
 children, full of life and health, — while every- 
 where were peace, contentment, and prosperity, 
 — I could not but compare it all with the average 
 city in my world. A city in which there are 
 a few streets that are wide, well-kept and beau- 
 tiful, upon which dwell in palatial homes and 
 surrounded by spacious grounds those that are 
 possessed of wealth, — those favored few who 
 by chance have received the smiles of Mammon 
 and are enjoying the favors of that much-wor- 
 shipped deity; a few other streets, upon which 
 dwell in comfortable homes those that are pos- 
 sessed of enough wealth to enable them to live 
 well and rear their children in comfort, — some 
 living in ease, and others bowed down with the 
 burden of maintaining the social position to 
 which they are habituated. 
 
 Then there are streets where poverty and 
 
An Execution Sale 175 
 
 want abide ; where the wretched, miserable, and 
 poor exist, linger, and die ; where the child and 
 mother suffer for want of food and clothing; 
 where the struggle is not for gold but for an 
 existence; to live a life without hope, without 
 pleasure, without friends, without anything to 
 make life worth living ; where the child toils for 
 bread that life may be sustained; where crime, 
 poverty, and wretchedness are ever present; 
 where grog-shops and pawn-shops flourish, and 
 all else is dead and in decay. Streets that foster 
 disease and crime, are a menace to the health 
 and welfare of the community, and should never 
 exist in any truly civilized country. 
 
 A city with a business district where the 
 streets are hot and sweltering in summer, and 
 cold and damp in winter, streets lined upon 
 either side with piles of brick and stone, devoid 
 of beauty, and crowded with worried, careworn 
 humanity by day, and silent and deserted by 
 night; a place that tries men's souls and makes 
 them old in looks, while yet young in years; 
 where the struggle for gold is constant by day, 
 and where men stake their health and even life 
 itself in their mad effort to acquire and re- 
 tain it. 
 
 For gold, men there work, conspire, cheat, 
 lie, and deceive, some for the mere pleasure of 
 possessing it, that they may count, handle, and 
 gloat over it; some for the luxury that it will 
 provide, because by means of it they may have 
 
176 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 pleasures that others cannot enjoy; some for 
 the power that by it they may wield over their 
 follow-men and others (the great majority) 
 that with it they may procure the bare necessi- 
 ties of life, that they may live and exist from 
 day to day, and by so doing provide an existence 
 for their families also. 
 
 As the dwellings in the city on the lake were 
 not built and owned by those that occupy them, 
 I had expected they would all be of about the 
 same size and style of structure; but, although 
 there were none of those palatial residences that 
 are owned by the very rich in my world, they 
 showed a great diversity in size, style, and 
 architectural features, ranging from the large 
 colonial mansion to the bungalow and cottage. 
 Some of the grounds were more extensive than 
 the average, but usually they were all of about 
 the same size. While the dwellings were all 
 neat and in good condition, yet it occurred to 
 me that their difference in size and style might 
 cause discord and contention, the occupants of 
 some being able to claim that they were not so 
 well provided for as those of others, and I 
 expressed this thought to Creon. 
 
 "I know," he replied, "that with your people 
 a man's standing in the community is, to some 
 extent, governed by the size and cost of the 
 house in which he resides, and on that account 
 a husband and wife without children often 
 burden themselves by maintaining a home much 
 
An Execution Hale 111 
 
 larger than they need, incurring thus a useless 
 expense; while others with a large family, not 
 being able to own such pretentious residences, 
 live in homes much too small for their needs 
 and comfort. 
 
 "With us that is all done away with. To 
 begin with, a man's standing in the community 
 in which he resides does not depend upon the 
 size and architectural design of the house in 
 which he lives. Here large families live in the 
 larger houses, and small families in the smaller 
 ones. Frequently one of the children after 
 marriage continues to live with his or her 
 parents, and while there is no ownership of the 
 home, — in your sense of ownership,— it is not 
 infrequent that the home is occupied by the 
 same family from generation to generation. In 
 fact, my present home was built for my great- 
 grandfather's father. I know of some that, I 
 am informed, have been occupied by the same 
 family, father and son, for eight and nine 
 generations. I believe it is more usual for the 
 old home to continue in the family here than it 
 is in your world, especially the country homes. 
 
 "With us the home is more firmly estab- 
 lished, — more stable, — than it is with your peo- 
 ple. Here there are no laws, mortgages, taxes, 
 or lawsuits through which the family can be dis- 
 possessed of their home; through which the 
 aged couple, worn, worried, and sad, dazed in 
 mind and broken in heart, are made to leave the 
 
178 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 home of their youth, where they had reared 
 their children and in which they had always 
 hoped to spend their declining years together 
 in comfort and in peace; made to leave their 
 home because they are unable to pay to some 
 cold, hard, grasping money-loaner a few of your 
 pieces of gold; because that which you call in- 
 terest had been their undoing; because your 
 laws as made by man are enforced in the name 
 of justice." 
 
 After pausing for a few moments, Creon con- 
 tinued : 
 
 "I shall never forget an execution sale, — or 
 by whatever law term you call it, — that I once 
 attended in your world, and do not have any 
 desire to ever attend another. By this sale one 
 of your money-loaners was enforcing the colk 
 tion of a mortgage which he held on the farm 
 and personal property of an aged couple. 
 
 "The place sold was one of those delightful 
 New England homesteads, so often seen in that 
 part of your country, and the sale included the 
 stock, farm machinery, and even the old sub- 
 stantial furniture that evidently had been 
 almost a part of the family for more than one 
 generation. It was a small farm located in a 
 beautiful country near a village, and I under- 
 stood that the farm had been reclaimed from 
 the forests and the buildings constructed by the 
 grandfather of the old gentleman who was being 
 sold out of his home and all he possessed. 
 
An Execution Sale 179 
 
 ' ' The buildings were located on the crest of a 
 small hill, well back from the highway, with 
 several large, graceful elms in front, and an 
 orchard forming a background in the rear. The 
 white house, substantial barns, and outbuild- 
 ings, surrounded with the green of the trees, 
 formed a picture of an ideal farm home. 
 
 "The sale took place under the trees in the 
 front yard, and the farm and all the personal 
 property were sold. The farm was bid in by a 
 large, red-faced, pompous man, who, I learned, 
 was a money-loaner in the near-by village. 
 This man had with him papers and decrees 
 made by the court, under which he proceeded 
 to take everything the old couple had. The 
 sale, as I understood, was made by some officer 
 of the court, acting as auctioneer and as most 
 of the articles were sold separately, it occu- 
 pied the greater part of the day. The farm 
 was sold first and after that the personal 
 property ; the furniture being brought out from 
 the house and auctioned off, with many jests 
 and comments made by the auctioneer, evi- 
 dently for the purpose of holding the crowd 
 and inducing bids. 
 
 "But the old couple, feeble and careworn, 
 attracted my attention and excited my sym- 
 pathy. During most of the time the sale was 
 going on they stood by themselves, back from 
 the crowd, each clasping one of the trembling 
 hands of the other, sad, bewildered and forlorn. 
 
180 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 While I stood near, an old, intelligent-looking, 
 gentle family mare was led from the stable and 
 put up for sale. 
 
 " 'Here,' cried the auctioneer, 'is Pegasus. 
 Who wants to buy a horse that can walk, trot 
 and canter all at the same time? How much 
 am I offered for the thoroughbred?' Soon the 
 animal was sold to a rough-looking fellow, who 
 sent her back to the stable with a kick in the 
 side with his heavy boot. 
 
 " *0 mother!' gasped the old man in a 
 trembling voice. 'They have sold Dolly to 
 the village drayman. Poor Dolly! Did you 
 see him kick Dolly? I must go and see how 
 badly he hurt her. In all the time since I raised 
 her from a colt, she never received a blow like 
 that. Don't you think, Mother, that if I asked 
 them for Dolly, they would let us have her?' 
 
 "But the wife did not seem to hear, so in- 
 tently was she watching the auctioneer and lis- 
 tening to what he was saying. Soon, turning 
 her face up to her husband's and with eyes 
 filled with tears, I could just hear her say, in a 
 voice so soft and low: 'Do you see what they 
 are doing, Father? They are selling baby's — 
 our little Bobby's — cradle, and his little pillow 
 and blanket and little shoes are in there. You 
 know, I have always kept them just as they 
 were the last time he lay there just before he 
 was taken from us. Oh, dear! I did not think 
 they could do that,' 
 
An Execution Sale 181 
 
 "And she laid her head upon the old man's 
 shoulder, and he gently stroked her gray hairs 
 with his trembling hand, while the auctioneer 
 was shouting in a voice that seemed to pierce 
 my very soul: 'Here is a chance for some 
 young couple to get a cradle, all made up ready 
 for the little one and a pair of shoes to go with 
 it. How much am I offered? Going, going, 
 gone for fifty cents to the young man with the 
 red face and a necktie to match.' 
 
 "The shouts of laughter that followed this 
 sally brought the old couple erect. But in- 
 stead of further watching the sale, their gaze 
 wandered across the fields that had been theirs, 
 but now had gone from them into the hands of 
 the money-loaner. 
 
 "For fully five minutes they remained silent 
 in thought, with hands still clasped, then, turn- 
 ing to his wife, the old man, in a voice 'which 
 told of the anguish he was suffering,' said: 
 ' Mother, if we had kept our Johnny, our eldest 
 born, with us ; if he had not gone to the war ; if 
 he were here, we would not now be without a 
 home. He was a good boy and would be a com- 
 fort to us in our old age. Those fields would be 
 his and he would care for us, but now we are 
 penniless, old, and alone.' 
 
 " 'But, Father,' replied the old lady, 'our 
 boy laid down his life for his country. Our 
 sacrifice has been great, but the calls of our 
 
182 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 country must be obeyed, and we must not now 
 complain. ' 
 
 ''As with faltering steps they left the place 
 where their household goods were being turned 
 over to others, accompanied with jests and 
 laughter, and wandered down through the orch- 
 ard together to be alone in their grief, I thought 
 of the desolation wrought by war; of the grief 
 and suffering, the misery and anguish that it 
 causes — even years after the war is over, and 
 the graves of the fallen are almost forgotten. 
 
 "It has always given me much satisfaction to 
 know that by disposing of a few stones from my 
 supply I was able within a few days to restore 
 to the old couple their farm and personal prop- 
 erty, together with Dolly, and the cradle, pil- 
 low, blanket, and little shoes; but Johnny, the 
 first born, who should have been their comfort 
 and support, still sleeps in an unmarked 
 soldier's grave, forgotten by all save by the sad 
 and lonely couple, who are patiently waiting for 
 the end to come, hoping, praying, and believing 
 that then they will be united with Johnny, who 
 was a good boy, and baby Bobby, who wore 
 the little shoes. 
 
 ' ' The government had taken their first born, 
 and the law their property ; and, had it not been 
 for a man from another world, they would not 
 have had a place to lay their heads." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 AN INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM 
 
 In driving about the town, I observed many 
 teams loaded with groceries, vegetables and 
 provisions, very similar to those that deliver 
 groceries in my country; and concluding that 
 they were engaged in the work of supplying the 
 people with their daily food, I requested Creon 
 to explain the method of food distribution. 
 
 "That," he said, "is very simple. In small 
 villages, like the one we were in the other day, 
 it is done through the one store, as you saw; 
 but in the larger towns and cities the system 
 is different. In those places there are located 
 warehouses in which are stored the provisions 
 that can be delivered to the consumer in bulk, — 
 such as flour, sugar, and potatoes, — while vege- 
 tables, fruit, and perishable products are gath- 
 ered from the producer and delivered daily to 
 the consumer, and are not handled and re- 
 handled. Thus there is a great saving in time 
 and labor, compared with your system, and also 
 a great saving in the product, — and its quality 
 is much better. 
 
 "Your people do not seem to realize the com- 
 
 183 
 
184 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 plicated and expensive system of handling food 
 products that has been built up in your country. 
 I find that it is usual for the farmer to send his 
 product to what you call a commission man, 
 who in turn sells it to the wholesaler and he to 
 the retailer, and frequently it passes through 
 the hands of a middleman or broker. Each of 
 these add their cost of handling, rent, and other 
 expenses of carrying on their business and a 
 good profit for themselves. Is there any wonder 
 that the consumer is always complaining of the 
 high prices which he has to pay, and the pro- 
 ducer of the low prices at which he has to sell 1 
 That system of yours imposes a heavy burden 
 upon the poor and is one of the many reasons 
 for your high cost of living. 
 
 ''Another unreasonable method you have, — 
 and an expensive one for the consumer, — is that 
 of transporting your raw materials hundreds 
 and even thousands of miles from where they 
 are produced, and after they are converted into 
 manufactured products, transport that, or at 
 least a considerable portion of it, back again. 
 
 ''Your people, I find, pride themselves upon 
 their business acumen, but it seems to me that 
 if they would stop in their mad rush for gain 
 and do a little common-sense reasoning, they 
 would realize that they are simply working 
 against each other and making life as hard and 
 complicated as possible. 
 
 "Your way of doing business, as you call it, 
 
An Industrial System 185 
 
 enables a portion of the people to live and pros- 
 per, while engaged in a worse than useless occu- 
 pation, and also gives the railroads an oppor- 
 tunity of adding a carrying charge on your 
 products. And this charge, of course, is borne 
 by the producer and consumer. 
 
 "I am not blaming the merchant or those 
 connected with the railroads. Your whole 
 people are to blame for tolerating and main- 
 taining a system under which each individual 
 acts independently, selfishly, and alone. 
 
 "Our products are distributed to the con- 
 sumer in as direct a manner as possible, with- 
 out unnecessary labor and without profit to any 
 one. It is not a grab-as-much-as-you-can 
 system, but is simple and is looked after by 
 those who have had experience and understand 
 it." 
 
 Mr. Tweto, with his friend, Mr. Hinton, who 
 had charge of one of the factories, joined us at 
 lunch. With my consent, Mr. Hinton was in- 
 formed that I was from another world, and he 
 at once became much interested. As he had 
 read Creon's book, "The Planet of Gold," he 
 was eager to give me any information he could, 
 and after lunch proposed that he show us over 
 the factory he had charge of. 
 
 The factory that we inspected was a woolen 
 mill, in which cloth for men's clothing was 
 manufactured. It was a long, narrow, two- 
 story building, constructed of concrete, well 
 
186 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 lighted and well aired. In fact, the sides were 
 almost entirely made of glass, and Mr. Hinton 
 informed me that by a system of ventilation the 
 air was continually changing throughout the 
 building. The entire motive power was elec- 
 tricity, and consequently there was perfect free- 
 dom from smoke and cinders. 
 
 The machinery was all of the best, and I 
 noticed that every safeguard possible was used 
 for the protection of those that operated the 
 machinery and worked about the factory. There 
 were no children employed, nor any old 
 and infirm. The operatives were, for the 
 greater number, men, although some of the 
 work was performed by women. But none, 
 whether man or woman, was the dejected, 
 emaciated, pale, and sickly-looking employee 
 that is so often seen in the mills and factories 
 in my world. 
 
 They all had good, fresh air to breathe, 
 wholesome food to eat, — and plenty of it, — short 
 hours of labor, good, comfortable homes to live 
 in, and ample time in which to pursue their 
 pleasures. There were never any cuts in wages 
 nor either strikes or lay-offs. 
 
 Mr. Hinton informed me that four hours con- 
 st! luted a day's work and that the mill was 
 operated eight hours a day, — the first shift go- 
 ing to work at eight in the morning and work- 
 ing until twelve, and the other shift going to 
 work at twelve and working until four. 
 
An Industrial System 187 
 
 "You will find," said Mr. Hinton, "that the 
 goods we manufacture are all up to standard. 
 We work for quality and not for quantity. 
 When a piece of cloth is completely finished, it 
 is inspected before being packed for shipment 
 and nothing is shipped unless it is in every way 
 perfect. Of course we have different grades, 
 summer goods and winter goods, but each piece 
 must be up to grade. We fill orders from the 
 nearest warehouses and thus do not transport 
 goods for any considerable distance. Usually 
 the orders are placed before the goods are made 
 up, and then we make them according to the 
 specifications contained in the orders." 
 
 "I observe," I said, "that you take every 
 precaution to prevent injury to those who work 
 in the factory, but no doubt there are accidents 
 occasionally and people are injured." 
 
 "Yes," he replied, "where there are over 
 five hundred workers employed around ma- 
 chinery in rapid motion, accidents are liable to 
 occur. Last year one of our workmen had one 
 of his fingers so badly injured that it had to be 
 amputated, and three years ago another work- 
 man injured one of his feet and was unable to 
 work for over a month. But during the twelve 
 years I have been in charge there has not been 
 either a death or the loss of a limb by accident 
 in this factory. We not only have all parts of 
 the machinery guarded wherever possible, but 
 we never allow those who operate the machines 
 
188 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 to make any repairs when machines get out of 
 order. We have experts to do that, and no re- 
 pairs, however trifling, are attempted to be 
 made when the machinery is in motion. We 
 hold life and limb too dear to take any chances. 
 Another reason why we have so few accidents 
 is because our workers are never tired and care- 
 worn and are therefore always attentive to their 
 work." 
 
 "And another reason," observed Creon, who 
 had been following our conversation, "is that 
 with us the workers are never either exhila- 
 rated or depressed by drink and in many in- 
 stances unable to use their faculties and 
 properly care for themselves. 
 
 "I have spent considerable time in investigat- 
 ing the conditions under which the employees 
 in the mills and factories in your world labor, 
 and the number who are killed and injured every 
 year is appalling. Among the army of workers 
 in your country many are killed and maimed 
 with almost as little concern as in an army 
 engaged in actual warfare. And the number of 
 deaths and casualties are even greater than they 
 are in some of your minor wars. 
 
 "Many of the deaths and injuries are brought 
 about by the carelessness of the employees. 
 Sometimes it is the carelessness of the one 
 killed or injured, at other times that of a fellow 
 workman ; but many more result from the neg- 
 
An Industrial System 189 
 
 lect of the employer to provide suitable protec- 
 tion and appliances for the employed. 
 
 "Then, the way in which the family of the 
 workman who is killed, or of the workman who 
 is injured and crippled for life, is left to surfer 
 and thereafter sustain life as best it can is cruel 
 and inhuman. If the employer,— usually what 
 you call 'a corporation,' — is to blame for the 
 death of the workman, a settlement for an in- 
 adequate amount is made with the widow and 
 children, or they are left to the mercy of the 
 courts and lawyers. In many instances they 
 are harassed and worried for years before their 
 case, — after going from court to court, — is 
 finally decided, and then they discover that the 
 greater part of the amount awarded has been 
 eaten up by court expenses and attorney's fees. 
 
 "In some of your states, I find, laws have 
 be: 11 r?iacted through which, by the employer 
 making a comparatively small payment in the 
 form of an assessment to the state, the in- 
 jured employee, — or, in the event of death, his 
 family, — is paid a fixed amount. But upon in- 
 vestigating those laws, I have concluded that, 
 while they are supposedly enacted for the bene- 
 fit of the laborer, they are really only beneficial 
 to the employer. 
 
 ' ' In one of your states I found, under such a 
 law, that the greatest amount that can be paid 
 to a workman for the loss of both legs or both 
 arms, total loss of eyesight, or any other injury 
 
190 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 that may totally incapacitate him from perform- 
 ing any work, is twenty dollars per month, if 
 the workman is unmarried. If the workman is 
 married and has no children under the age of 
 sixteen years, the largest amount that can be 
 paid is twenty-five dollars per month, but if 
 there are children under the age of sixteen 
 years, no matter how many, the payment may 
 be increased to thirty-five dollars per month. 
 
 "But no matter how great the injury or how 
 large the family, the disabled workman and his 
 family must in some way live, meet hospital 
 charges, and pay physicians' fees on thirty-five 
 dollars a month. The same law provides that 
 where death results to a workman from injury, 
 the expenses of his burial shall be paid, — these 
 expenses not to exceed seventy-five dollars, — 
 and if he leaves a widow and children, the 
 widow, while she remains such, shall receive the 
 sum of twenty dollars per month and each chilcT 
 five dollars per month until it reaches the age of 
 sixteen years. 
 
 "In one instance that came to my attention, 
 a workman under this law was paid the sum of 
 seventy-five dollars as full compensation for 
 the loss of the eyesight of one eye, although on 
 account of his injury he was unable to perform 
 any labor for several months and the charges 
 of his physician were considerably more than 
 the amount he received. 
 
 i * Under the law of the state of which I speak, 
 
An Industrial System 191 
 
 the state is entitled to retain out of the fund 
 collected from the employers of labor the sum 
 of sixty thousand dollars a year for admin- 
 istering the law and disbursing the funds to the 
 injured workman, or to his family, in the event 
 of death of a workman from his injuries. 
 
 "The workman who is injured by reason of 
 his own negligence receives the same amount as 
 the workman who is injured by the negligence 
 of his employer. The question of who is re- 
 sponsible for the injury or death of a laborer 
 is not looked into. The right or wrong of it is 
 not thought of. The law is followed, and justice 
 to the workman, or to his family, is not deemed 
 worthy of consideration, — is of no importance. 
 The employer has paid his assessment; the 
 state has carried out its part by making the 
 payments, and has received its portion as the 
 law directs. But the crippled workman; the 
 child and mother with no one to earn their 
 bread, or to provide for the injured one, — it is 
 for them to suffer; it is for them to bear the 
 burden. Justice in the name of the law has 
 been done ; why complain I I was informed that 
 the political party and administration that 
 caused this law to be enacted claimed that they 
 were entitled to much credit and consideration 
 for their efforts in looking after the interests 
 of injured workmen and their widows and 
 orphans. ' ' 
 
 Near the factory was the building for baths 
 
192 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 and for the changing of clothing, similar to the 
 one I had seen in the village where the power 
 plant was being constructed. And I was in- 
 formed by Mr. Hinton that those were main- 
 tained at all factories, great and small, and 
 were a part of the system. In going through 
 the building, I found every part clean and in 
 perfect order, and all the workmen attending 
 strictly to the work they were engaged in doing. 
 
 As I observed the men and women at their 
 work, performing their share in this wonderful 
 system, with fewer hours of labor and under 
 more favorable conditions than were ever 
 known in my world, I thought of the workmen 
 in factories of this kind as I had seen them in 
 the past : of the factories dark and poorly venti- 
 lated, greasy, dirty, and foul, in which the child 
 and mother were toiling together for the 
 smallest wage, in order that the monthly rent 
 might be paid and the home maintained. A 
 home bare and uninviting, — hot and suffocating 
 in summer and cold in winter; a home located 
 in a foul and narrow street surrounded by 
 dilapidated buildings, devoid of trees, grass or 
 flowers; a home in which they who call it 
 "home" are too weary from excessive toil to 
 even notice its discomforts. 
 
 Then I thought of the homes of these work- 
 men, as I had observed them in driving about 
 the town; homes comfortable and attractive, 
 
An Industrial System 193 
 
 surrounded by green lawns, shaded by beautiful 
 trees, and situated on wide, shady streets. 
 
 The latter, the homes of workers under a 
 system where all work together and for one 
 another; the former, the homes of workers 
 under a system where each works out life's 
 problem in his or her own way; where chance 
 becomes an important element to success and 
 greed and selfishness do the rest. The one a 
 system where education and training in the 
 right direction, coupled with proper environ- 
 ment, have brought men to the full realization 
 of man's obligations to man ; the other, a system 
 where education and training in the wrong 
 direction, coupled with improper environment, 
 cause greed and selfishness, — cause man's in- 
 humanity to man. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 TRUE CHRISTIANITY 
 
 The next day was to those people the same 
 as the day we call Sunday. Upon this day no 
 labor is performed except that of actual neces- 
 sity, yet it is not a day entirely devoted to 
 recreation and amusements. It is a day of 
 quiet, repose and peace, — a holy day: a day in 
 which the people seemed to act and feel thank- 
 ful that they are alive to enjoy an existence and 
 able to associate and mingle with one another; 
 not a day in which the people appear solemn 
 and sanctimonious, but a day when all are, 
 rather, joyous and happy. 
 
 When Creon informed me in the morning that 
 the day was one corresponding to our Sabbath, 
 I was at once interested in ascertaining whether 
 it was a day set apart for religious worship 
 and, if it were, to what extent the people ob- 
 served it. If it were a day of religious worship, 
 whether that religion were one of mere form, — 
 something laid down and prescribed, — or a re- 
 ligion flowing forth from the soul, — real sub- 
 stantial and responsive, good and helpful to- 
 day, to-morrow, and for all time : not a Sunday 
 
 194 
 
True Christianity 195 
 
 religion to be observed upon that particular day 
 and cast aside during the balance of the week, 
 as a cumbersome thing that interferes with the 
 ordinary affairs of life; not a religion to take 
 with one to church and be disregarded at all 
 other times; not a pretended religion, but one 
 of reality, — believed in, practiced and followed 
 in every-day life. 
 
 ''Our religious belief," said Creon, "never 
 changes, and is a truly Christian religion. A 
 religion that makes men better and happier and 
 life more joyous and worth the living. It is 
 not bound about by rules and regulations laid 
 down by man. Our religion forms a part of our 
 education, and by following its teachings in our 
 every-day life we are, as you will find, a happy, 
 prosperous people. It is the same religion as 
 your Christ taught your people nearly two 
 thousand years ago, and we follow it, live up to 
 it, and are governed by it. 
 
 "By conducting our lives in accordance with 
 its teachings, we deal justly with ourselves and 
 with one another. When all men do that, they 
 are true Christians, and need not worry about 
 this life or the life hereafter. Your people have 
 a religion that is grand and sublime, but it 
 appears to me that they have but little regard 
 for it. 
 
 "Did not your Saviour say that, 'all they that 
 take the sword shall perish with the sword,' and 
 has it not always proven to be a true saying? 
 
196 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 Yet we find in your world vast armies of men, 
 who call themselves Christians, killing and 
 mangling one another in a manner not known 
 among the most savage of beasts. 
 
 "Did He not also say, 'lay not up for your- 
 selves treasures upon earth,' and yet is not that 
 the very thing all your people are engaged in 
 doing? And if there are any who do not 
 succeed in getting and retaining treasures on 
 your earth, is it not because they are unable to 
 get them away from the man who has them ? 
 
 "Did He not tell you that 'where your treas- 
 ure is there will your heart be also'? And does 
 not that mean that if you are seeking gold, your 
 life is devoted to gold, — that you are grasping 
 and selfish and care not for the suffering of 
 others, so long as you gain the object for which 
 you strive? 
 
 "You call yourselves a Christian people, and 
 yet how many are there among you who in their 
 every-day life follow the teachings and com- 
 mand of that Great Teacher? Do not your lives 
 show that, while you pretend to follow His 
 teachings, it is a pretense and nothing more; 
 that instead of following His precepts you live 
 lives that are in direct conflict to them? Are 
 you not therefore subject to greater censure 
 than though you did not make any pretensions 
 whatever? 
 
 ' ' Can a man possessing more wealth than he 
 can possibly have use for, when others are 
 
True Christianity 197 
 
 hungry and in need of money, retain that wealth 
 and be a Christian? 
 
 "You pretend to be Christians and followers 
 of Him at whose birth the angels proclaimed: 
 'On earth peace, good will towards men!' Yet 
 you train your youths to war, to fight, to kill, 
 and destroy one another. You instill into their 
 minds the idea that to be heroes and have their 
 names emblazoned upon columns of marble and 
 granite, or upon pages of history, they may kill 
 and mutilate their fellow-men. Do you not 
 think your soldiers would show greater hero- 
 ism, a more Christian spirit, if they would all 
 throw down their arms, their weapons of de- 
 struction, shake hands with their enemy, em- 
 brace him and then all go home to their mothers, 
 to their wives and children and become peace- 
 ful, law-abiding human beings, men of peace, in 
 a world of peace? 
 
 "Under your pretense of being Christians 
 you even send forth with your armies men, 
 whom you call ministers of the gospel of Christ, 
 to preach and instruct your soldiers in His 
 teachings, while they carry on their awful work 
 of death and destruction. 
 
 "I say to you that so long as your people 
 simulate Christianity, instead of practicing it 
 and following the teachings of Him who led the 
 way, who directed you in the right, just so long 
 will there be strife and bloodshed, — just so long 
 
198 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 will your people be weighed down with the 
 burden of war. 
 
 "You all know that if you would truly follow 
 His teachings, as we do, there could not be any 
 wars, any envy, any hate, any greed, any 
 poverty, any want; yet knowing all that, you 
 seemingly prefer to have those things rather 
 than to live lives in accordance with His 
 directions. You would rather pretend to do 
 than do." 
 
 "You say," I replied, "that if we 'followed 
 His teachings as your people do,' I am afraid 
 I do not understand your meaning. Do I not 
 see your people drinking wine? Do they not 
 dance, have horse races, attend theaters and 
 other places of amusements? Are they not an 
 amusement-loving people? From what I have 
 seen of the people during the short time I have 
 been here, they appear to be very fond of 
 pleasure. I find that they devote much time to 
 sports and amusements." 
 
 "True," he interposed, "and why not? Is 
 there anything in the teachings of Christ that 
 forbids man's enjoying life in a moderate, 
 peaceful, rational manner, — in a sane, common- 
 sense way? Is there anything bad or wrong 
 in pitting one horse against another, so long 
 as they are not overworked and the pastime is 
 not carried beyond the line of true sport? Is 
 the proper kind of a play, or a concert, or a 
 theater, in any way harmful ? 
 
True Christianity 199 
 
 "Did not Christ, when he furnished the multi- 
 tude with loaves and fishes, furnish them with 
 wine also? I say to you that there is not in 
 His teachings anything that forbids the free 
 enjoyment of life. But one of His precepts is 
 moderation. 
 
 "In leading a truly Christian life there is 
 nothing that requires one to be solemn of face 
 or grave of manner. But instead a man that is 
 a true Christian, a true follower of the Great 
 Teacher, should be happy, joyous, and full of 
 life; a man among his fellow-men. He should 
 enjoy life at its best." 
 
 While we were thus engaged in conversation 
 the air was suddenly filled with the music of 
 bells,— music that now flowed forth and lingered 
 in the air, then gradually faded into nothing — 
 now loud, full and strong, vibrating upon the 
 air in tones that carried beyond the city, out 
 over the bosom of the lake. They were the 
 Sabbath bells of old,— bells to memory sweet — 
 telling of calm and peace, of days gone but not 
 forgotten; music that called me back to the 
 days of my boyhood,— of the peaceful New Eng- 
 land village home. 
 
 "Do your people have places for worship?" 
 I inquired. "Those bells remind me of the 
 church bells of my world. To my mind there is 
 nothing more beautiful than the music of dis- 
 tant bells. The full harmony of their mellow 
 
200 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 tones soothes the trouhled mind and creates a 
 feeling of peace and contentment." 
 
 ''Yes," he replied, "we have places of wor- 
 ship, but not the same as with your people. 
 When the weather is pleasant our places of 
 worship are in the parks and groves. There we 
 have music and lectures, or what you might call 
 ' sermons. ' When the weather is unsuitable for 
 outside gatherings, the theaters, schoolhouses 
 and public buildings are used. With us we do 
 not have any difference in creeds to cause con- 
 tention. We have no religious dogmas, formu- 
 lated and asserted by human authority. Our 
 religion is broad, universal, and divine. It is 
 the essence of life, useful and helpful and not 
 a burden. It does not interfere with the pursuit 
 by man of any useful occupation, or with his 
 reasonable enjoyments and pleasures. While 
 we believe that it insures to us a life hereafter, 
 we know that it makes life here pleasant and 
 enjoyable. We know that by living in full 
 accordance with its precepts it has made a 
 whole human race civilized and enlightened." 
 
 "Do I understand," I inquired, "that your 
 people believe in a future life?" 
 
 1 ' Why, certainly we do, ' ' he answered. ' ' But 
 with that we concern ourselves very little, and 
 give our attention to living upright, honorable 
 lives here. We believe that by dealing justly 
 with one another; by recognizing the rights of 
 others; by doing that which is right; by prac- 
 
True Christianity 201 
 
 ticing what we preach (and we do that at all 
 times), we need have no fear of the future. 
 We know that by so living we are the gainers 
 for the present, and that for the future we need 
 have no concern. But, here comes Mr. Tweto. 
 I will call Hallie and then we will proceed to 
 the parks. I do not want to miss the music and 
 services ; and I am sure you will be interested. ' ' 
 
 Upon arriving at one of the nearby parks 
 that bordered upon the lake, we found a large 
 gathering of people already assembled. A band 
 was playing, and the greater part of the people 
 were seated under the trees, listening to the 
 music, although there were some strolling 
 about the grounds engaged in low conversation. 
 There were many children, of all ages, present, 
 and I observed that they were quiet and 
 orderly; that all were well and neatly dressed, 
 clean, and well mannered. 
 
 Just before the band commenced to play the 
 next number after we arrived, the leader 
 stepped to the front of the platform and raised 
 his baton, whereupon all present arose, joining, 
 with few exceptions, their voices with the 
 music of the band ; and I could very readily tell 
 that they were a people fond of music, and had 
 received musical training. 
 
 The program throughout was that of a high- 
 class concert, with a short lecture upon the 
 brotherhood of man, delivered by a gentleman, 
 who, Mr. Tweto informed me, was the Superin- 
 
202 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 tendent of the City Schools. Some of the 
 thoughts that he expressed I shall not soon 
 forget. 
 
 "The brotherhood of mankind," he said, 
 "the doctrine of universal benevolence, is the 
 perfection of human existence. We long ago 
 reached that state of existence, and have ever 
 since maintained it. It may be hard for bar- 
 barians to overcome their warlike tendencies 
 and cast aside their greed and envy, but when 
 the higher state is once attained, it is an easy 
 matter to uphold and continue it. When this 
 perfection of human existence is once reached 
 by a race of people, that race would no sooner 
 return to its former manner of living than 
 would a highly educated, intelligent, upright 
 man fall back to a life of ignorance and crime." 
 
 After having seen these people in all their 
 enjoyment of life I could appreciate and com- 
 prehend the truth of all he said. I could see 
 that it would be impossible for them to engage 
 in war, to deliberately prepare to kill their 
 fellow-men; that it would be impossible for 
 them to cause others to suffer. 
 
 In other parks that we visited there was, as 
 in the first, music and gatherings of people. The 
 inhabitants of a whole city were enjoying a day 
 of rest and peaceful enjoyment ; each the social 
 equal of the other ; none arrogant, haughty and 
 proud, because they chanced to possess that 
 which others do not have. 
 
True Christianity 203 
 
 These people being fond of sports and devot- 
 ing so much of their time to their enjoyments, I 
 had expected there would be ball games and 
 other amusements for their entertainment, and 
 so expressed myself to Creon. 
 
 ' ' No, ' ' he replied ; ' ' our people have so much 
 leisure time for amusement that upon this day 
 they do not need to be amused by games. It is 
 not with us as it is with your people. In your 
 world all are so busy during the week that on 
 your Sunday they feel that they must have 
 their amusements, and therefore neglect the 
 churches. 
 
 "How can you expect your laboring men, or 
 your mechanics, who work hard during the six 
 days of labor, to devote the seventh to attend- 
 ing church where they are usually not wanted, 
 unless they donate a portion of their hard earn- 
 ings to its support? They feel that they must 
 have some amusements and if they have to 
 spend their money, a ball game furnishes 
 amusement, and is more congenial than a church 
 service. Their lives are hard at best, and no 
 one can blame them for their choice. Your busi- 
 ness men and professional men are glad to be 
 relieved from their cares and perplexities, and 
 having been bound down to their offices and 
 stores for six days, are not content unless they 
 devote the seventh to recreation. 
 
 "It is natural for man to seek fresh air and 
 sunshine, for without them he cannot long re- 
 
204 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 main healthy and thrive. A man who does not 
 enjoy the beauties of nature is abnormal and 
 cannot enjoy life as he should. 
 
 "Many of your people are closely confined 
 to their offices and stores, and in their work- 
 shops some eight to twelve, and even more, 
 hours each day, and therefore lead lives that 
 are unnatural to men, and being unnatural, in 
 their everyday living, are liable to acquire arti- 
 ficial tastes and desires. Men who lead normal 
 lives are moderate and temperate, while those 
 who live under conditions that are not natural 
 to the existence of mankind are liable to indulge 
 in excesses, become intemperate, and form a 
 desire for low and vulgar amusements. 
 
 "You must admit that to work long hours in 
 a poorly lighted and badly ventilated factory, 
 or workshop, is not conducive to good health, 
 and does not tend to broaden the mind and 
 fully develop the body. 
 
 "After seeing how many of your people are 
 obliged to live, or, I might say, exist, — I do 
 not think it strange that a large percentage are 
 not fully developed mentally and physically. 
 The mind and body of man cannot be brought 
 to a proper state of development upon poor 
 food, bad air, long hours of labor, and no leisure 
 for proper amusements. Neither am I sur- 
 prised that your people are continually enlarg- 
 ing your buildings for the care of the insane 
 and your prisons for your criminals. 
 
True Christianity 205 
 
 "Your people are fond of making laws, and 
 are continually striving by means of these laws 
 to bring about reform, but they usually go about 
 it in a wrong way. 
 
 ' ' After studying your conditions, I have con- 
 cluded that it would be good economy if your 
 governments, as you call them, would protect 
 and care for those that are unable to provide 
 for themselves wholesome food to eat and com- 
 fortable places in which to live, put them in 
 the way of proper living, and give them a 
 chance. Let them do away with those districts 
 of poverty to be found in all of your cities, and 
 see to it that no one shall be employed in places 
 that are unfit for human beings to work in. The 
 expense, — which is the first thing your people 
 consider, — would more than be saved by the 
 benefits received. 
 
 "In the first place there would be a great 
 saving in the doing away with much sickness 
 and disease. Then, the people as well as their 
 children would become more efficient men and 
 women, better developed mentally and physi- 
 cally, and, therefore, better citizens. The 
 better and more efficient the citizen, the greater 
 asset he becomes to the community. Then, 
 without abject poverty, and all of the misery 
 that goes with it, there would be fewer criminals 
 and less insanity. For poverty is the great 
 breeder of crime, and the mind breaks under 
 the misery that follows in its wake. 
 
206 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 "But suppose that from the standpoint of 
 your cold dollars and cents, the saving hap- 
 pened not to be equal to the expense ; still, you 
 would save much anguish and suffering of 
 human beings, and the child of poverty would 
 have a chance. Its life would not be worse than 
 blotted out." 
 
 Creon was silent, and for some time remained 
 so, occupied in deep thought, his countenance 
 clouded by a shade of sadness. Then, turning 
 to me, he earnestly inquired: 
 
 "Can you realize what abject poverty means? 
 To have food your one thought by day and to 
 see it in your dreams by night ; to eat the very 
 poorest of food and curse because you cannot 
 get more; to be numb with cold; to shiver and 
 shake and have no way in which you can get 
 warmth; to hunt for food, and prowl and 
 crouch like a beast of prey; when to see a man 
 who has the appearance of being well fed, you 
 feel in your envy and hunger that you could 
 tear him open if you but had the strength; to 
 reach the state where you had nothing to eat 
 yesterday or to-day and no reason to expect 
 any food to-morrow or the day after; to feel 
 that your life is slowly leaving your body for 
 lack of food and warmth to sustain it, yet to 
 know that there is food in plenty; that it is 
 growing in the fields; that warehouses and 
 stores are filled with it ; that it is being brought 
 into the city in train-loads; that by some it is 
 
True Christianity 207 
 
 being wasted and thrown away, but for you 
 there is none, because you have not the gold 
 with which to procure it. 
 
 ' ' In order to see and feel what the poverty of 
 your world is like, I once clad myself in rags, 
 and without a dollar in my pocket, let the 
 poverty-stricken district of one of your large 
 cities engulf me for more than a week. Dur- 
 ing that time I fought for an existence side by 
 side with those miserable wretches who there 
 exist from day to day, — they know not how. 
 For the time I became one of them, and know 
 what it is to be one of the poor, despised, and 
 forgotten in your world." 
 
 Then, pausing for a moment, he continued : 
 
 "But of the woman! She who' has been 
 driven to the lowest depth by the injustice of 
 man ; she who is without hope ; for whom there 
 is no helping hand, scoffed at and derided by 
 her own sex and scorned by men, — it is she who 
 drinks to the dregs the cup of despair. 
 
 "The cruel and inhuman manner in which 
 your people treat poor, fallen woman is almost 
 beyond belief. To her you hold out no promise 
 of forgiveness, while the man, upon whom the 
 blame should usually fall is not even censured. 
 
 "Why should the finger of scom always be 
 pointed at the weak woman, when the man, 
 equally guilty, is taken into the home and into 
 the church, without even asking to be forgiven 
 for the wrong done, — for ruining the life of a 
 
208 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 fellow-being? There are in your world to-day 
 thousands of women who, on account of the per- 
 fidy of man, are leading lives of sin and misery ; 
 women who are longing for a different life, but 
 are longing and hoping in vain. But the man, 
 the one who caused the woman's downfall walks 
 with head erect, without shame, and without 
 blame. With us, under our system of educa- 
 tion, training, and environment, — you may call 
 it religious training, if you desire, — that would 
 not be tolerated, and is impossible. 
 
 "In your world, that condition, as well as 
 your large percentage of crime and insanity, is 
 brought about by your idea of personal gain; 
 by your system of training and education-, by 
 the environment in which your people live; by 
 your feeble effort to follow and live up to the 
 rule of life as laid down by Him whom you pro- 
 fess to follow, — an effort in which you so utterly 
 fail." 
 
 For some time we had been seated under the 
 trees in one of the beautiful parks of the city, 
 and while I had been giving my attention to all 
 that Creon had been saying, I had at the same 
 time been observing the people, especially the 
 children, — of which there were many. It was 
 evident that there was no danger of race suicide. 
 With those people there was not the problem 
 of not being able properly to raise the child ; to 
 give it the comforts of life. There the mother 
 need have no worry about its future, and need 
 
True Christianity 209 
 
 not wonder whether or not the boy, as soon as 
 he reaches the age of manhood, when life is at 
 its best, will be called upon to lay down his life 
 in protecting his country from invasion, or per- 
 haps to be maimed and crippled for life. 
 
 "I think," observed Creon, "that we had 
 better return to the hotel for luncheon. I have 
 no doubt there will be plenty of good music, and 
 the afternoon may be passed very pleasantly 
 upon the veranda overlooking the lake. ' ' 
 
 Mr. Tweto took luncheon with us and re- 
 mained until evening, but as he and Creon were 
 occupied with matters of mutual interest, Hallie 
 and I were left to ourselves during the greater 
 part of the time. 
 
 The large and well-appointed hotel was sit- 
 uated in the midst of a well-kept park upon the 
 shore of the lake, and was furnished with every 
 comfort and attraction that one might desire; 
 and I could not but observe that the guests were 
 in keeping with their surroundings. Their 
 dress, manner, and bearing proclaimed them to 
 be persons of culture and refinement, and it was 
 evident that they had never been heavily 
 burdened with the cares and perplexities of life. 
 
 As I observed them, it seemed to me that the 
 hotel could not be of the family class, like the 
 one we had stopped at on the day we came from 
 the mountain after leaving our car, but one for 
 the accommodation of those who were enjoying 
 
210 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 their vacation, or, which seemed more probable, 
 some special privileges. 
 
 Having all of my life been used to seeing 
 people with money enjoying privileges that 
 those without it could not have, and having been 
 one of the privileged class myself, I could not 
 readily get away from the idea that there were 
 people of that class in this world. It was some 
 time before my mind could fully grasp the fact 
 that there all men were truly equal, and that 
 all enjoyed the same rights; that none, by rea- 
 son of wealth or family connection, had any 
 advantage over others or any claim to 
 superiority. 
 
 Creon was familar with my world, and hav- 
 ing made a confidante of Mr. Tweto, I felt that 
 I held his sympathy and interest. I knew that 
 with these two friends any blunders that I 
 might make would be understood and over- 
 looked. But, when with Hallie, the blunders I 
 had made at the breakfast table the morning 
 of our arrival at the Tweto hostelry were for a 
 time constantly before my mind, and I was con- 
 tinually haunted by the fear that I would in 
 some way make myself ridiculous. 
 
 I am now convinced that, observing my em- 
 barrassment and quickly comprehending its 
 cause, Hallie assumed the task of making me 
 feel at ease, and, with a tact and skill so 
 wonderfully exercised that I did not even 
 realize its influence, she soon accomplished her 
 
True Christianity 211 
 
 object. Under the spell of her presence I 
 readily recovered my composure, and for the 
 time forgot that I was from another world. 
 Not once during the afternoon did she do or 
 say anything that would in any way recall to 
 my mind that anomalistic fact. 
 
 During all the time that I remained with 
 those people I could not get away from the 
 feeling that I belonged to an inferior race, or, 
 rather, I should say, a race not inferior in it- 
 self but inferior in its intellectual advancement. 
 That the people of that planet are mentally and 
 physically superior to the people of this world 
 of ours cannot be questioned. The fact that 
 they have advanced to that happy state of 
 existence where there are no wars, nor forms 
 of government by which wars are brought 
 about; no poverty nor an industrial condition 
 under which poverty and want are sure to 
 follow ; no greed and envy nor social condition 
 that is bound to foster and produce them both, 
 are, of course, sufficient to establish their 
 superiority. 
 
 After the evening meal Creon and Mr. Tweto 
 left us to make a call upon some mutual 
 friends, and Hallie and I went for a stroll in" 
 the park and along the shore of the lake. For 
 the time my world was forgotten. I was no 
 longer an alien in a strange land. I was ab- 
 sorbed in the present, with a hopeful glimpse 
 of the future tinted with a rosy hue. I was, 
 
212 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 however, sufficiently observant of my surround- 
 ings to notice that there were many other 
 young couples enjoying the evening and the 
 society of each other. 
 
 After the sun had disappeared behind the 
 western hills, and the twilight was rapidly giv- 
 ing way to the dusk of the early evening, we 
 turned our steps toward the hotel; but at the 
 suggestion of Hallie we went to the theater 
 instead. 
 
 I must confess that I was a little discon- 
 certed when we arrived at the entrance to the 
 theater. My first thought was that I should 
 go to the box office and secure tickets, and I 
 involuntarily thrust my hand into my pocket 
 for the money necessary for the purpose, but 
 instead of money my hand came in contact with 
 the metal check and card given me by Creon. 
 Then my situation dawned upon me, and I 
 wondered just how I should proceed in order 
 for us to gain admission and secure desirable 
 seats. But Hallie at that instant, by producing 
 her card and handing it to an attendant at the 
 door, rescued me from my dilemma, and upon 
 presenting mine also I was handed a couple of 
 seat checks, whereupon an usher directed us to 
 our seats. 
 
 I found the theater very similar to a high- 
 class theater in any of the larger cities in my 
 world. The costumes and stage settings were 
 good; the play, — an allegorical production, — 
 
True Christianity 213 
 
 was well rendered, and the music excellent. It 
 would be useless for me to describe the per- 
 formance in full, as it would only be a descrip- 
 tion of a first-rate theatrical entertainment in 
 my own country. 
 
 From the theater we returned to the hotel 
 and found Creon waiting for us, he having just 
 returned, after leaving Mr. Tweto with his 
 friends. Then, after partaking of some light 
 refreshments that were being served, we re- 
 tired to our rooms. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 HOW CRIMINALS ARE MADE 
 
 The next morning we found Mr. Tweto at 
 the boat-landing to wish us a pleasant journey 
 and to bid us good-by for the present. Hold- 
 ing my hand for a moment in parting, with a 
 look of friendliness and concern long to be re- 
 membered, he said: 
 
 "I cannot express the pleasure I have had 
 in being able to be with you for the past few 
 days. You have yet many things to see and 
 much to learn of our ways and of this world. 
 You are modest enough to say that you are 
 only an average man of your world and that 
 there are many there much better than you. 
 
 "From all I had read about your people, — 
 from all I had learned of the things they do, — 
 I had concluded that they were all a heartless, 
 cruel people, — selfish, greedy and inhuman. 
 But now I am convinced that their hearts are 
 in the right place, and that as a rule they have 
 the desire to rise above their present condi- 
 tions. 
 
 "What they must do is to change their 
 environment and cast aside the idea that gold 
 
 214 
 
How Criminals Are Made 215 
 
 furnishes the only means of happiness and the 
 true enjoyment of life, to do away with war 
 and bloodshed, and to work for peace and for 
 one another. When you return to that world 
 of yours you have much to do. But when you 
 show your people how we live and prosper, and 
 tell them of the happiness we enjoy under our 
 system they will not hesitate, but will at once 
 make the change." 
 
 During the short time I had known Mr. 
 Tweto I had learned to appreciate his worth 
 and had become much attached to him. I was, 
 therefore, pleased when he informed me that 
 he would soon have business that would require 
 him to visit the capital city, — the city of our 
 final destination, — in which Creon resided. 
 
 Our journey down the lake occupied the 
 greater part of the day. Numerous stops were 
 made at the towns and villages along the shore 
 for the putting off and taking on of passengers 
 and baggage. Craft of different kinds were 
 plying back and forth, some for pleasure and 
 others for business. 
 
 I learned that the motive power of all the 
 boats, except the sailboats, was electricity from 
 storage batteries; that mystic and invisible 
 power being more generally understood and 
 used than in my world. 
 
 In speaking of electricity, Creon informed 
 me that their scientists had reached the con- 
 clusion that the power is universal and pos- 
 
216 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 sibly is the great agent that controls the uni- 
 verse, — may even be the energy of which life 
 itself consists. 
 
 " While we understand it better than your 
 people do," he said, "and control and use it 
 more extensively, we realize that we do not 
 fully comprehend what it is, and have much to 
 learn regarding it." 
 
 The shores of the lake were broken in places 
 and covered with timber, but otherwise the 
 surrounding country was well settled and in a 
 high state of cultivation. The land in most 
 places was cultivated to the water's edge. 
 There were orchards and rich fields of grain 
 and grass ; pastures with their herds and flocks ; 
 neat farm buildings, partly visible through the 
 green of their sheltering groves, all forming a 
 picture of rural life, both pleasing and enjoy- 
 able. There were no abandoned farms; no 
 buildings and fences going to ruin; no fields 
 growing to briars and shrubs; no evidence of 
 neglect and decay; no part of the earth idle 
 when needed to supply food for man; no land 
 controlled by individual ownership. 
 
 In viewing from the upper deck of the boat 
 the evidence of prosperity that seemed to be 
 passing before me as we skirted the shore of 
 the lake, I could fully appreciate the wisdom 
 of these people in their plan of settling a new 
 country. Their system of first ascertaining the 
 resources of the country and then getting the 
 
How Criminals Are Made 217 
 
 most there was to be had from them, and, at 
 the same time, providing homes and farms for 
 those who needed them, seemed reasonable and 
 the only feasible and common-sense way of 
 colonizing. 
 
 The plan seemed so simple, and the resulting 
 good, as I there saw it was so apparent, that I 
 could not but wonder why the statesmen of 
 my country had not grasped it when the oppor- 
 tunity was ours, — when we had the lands and 
 the resources. 
 
 "The people living upon those farms," ob- 
 served Creon, "have all the comforts and con- 
 veniences of those who live in the cities. Their 
 homes are provided with telephone, light, heat, 
 and sewers, and their farm-buildings with 
 power. We believe that those who live upon 
 the farms are entitled to the same considera- 
 tion and should enjoy the same comforts and 
 conveniences as do those who live in the cities." 
 
 "I do not understand," I said, "how that 
 can be accomplished. I should think that it 
 would be too expensive, as we would express it 
 in my world, — that the cost of installing those 
 systems throughout the country districts would 
 be too much of a burden. ' ' 
 
 "Of course it would be," he replied, "if our 
 country districts were as sparsely settled as 
 they generally are in your country, and in the 
 same irregular and haphazard manner. You 
 will observe that these farms and highways are 
 
218 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 regularly and systematically laid out. As 
 much so, in fact, as are the streets and blocks 
 in a city. The electric and telephone wires are 
 laid in conduits at the time the highways are 
 constructed, and the country put in proper con- 
 dition for cultivation and occupation. 
 
 "I am inclined to think that our plan of 
 bringing a new country under cultivation and 
 properly fitting it for the occupation of man, 
 considering what we save, is no more expen- 
 sive, figuring on your basis of dollars and 
 cents, than is yours, when your losses in waste 
 of resources and loss of productiveness are all 
 considered. Then think of the results that we 
 obtain as compared with those obtained accord- 
 ing to your method." 
 
 And when I thought of the land idle or only 
 partly cultivated; the destruction of the 
 forests; the water-powers with no wheels to 
 turn; the barren hillsides, and the poorly con- 
 structed highways, — in places almost impas- 
 sable, — I could not but think there was much 
 truth in what he said. 
 
 As we were making a landing at a small town, 
 we observed a crowd of people upon a boat of 
 considerable size that was about to leave the 
 wharf as we landed, and inquired of one of the 
 officers of our boat who they were and where 
 they were going. 
 
 ''Those people," he answered, "are the 
 workers and their families in yonder factory, 
 
How Criminals Are Made 219 
 
 who to-day worked during the forenoon four- 
 hour shift. They are going upon an excursion 
 down the lake to one of the islands called 
 'Beauty Island,' and will spend the afternoon 
 and evening with dancing, tennis and other 
 games, winding up with a picnic lunch in the 
 evening. They will have a merry time. The 
 place is well named 'Beauty Island,' for it is 
 a most beautiful spot and well worth seeing. 
 The members of the band they have with them 
 are also workers in that shift." 
 
 Just then the band struck up a lively air, and 
 with music and laughter the workers in the mill 
 and their families sailed away on pleasure 
 bent. Having performed their work for the 
 day, they were free to spend the afternoon in 
 innocent and life giving amusements. 
 
 As I listened to the strains of music softly 
 floating over the water and watched the boat, 
 with its load of merry pleasure-seekers, gliding 
 gracefully over the bosom of the lake, I could 
 hardly realize that they were mill workers, liv- 
 ing in comfortable homes, with no thought for 
 the morrow; with no worries, no cares, no 
 troubles. Although realizing that such a con- 
 dition of life was the natural one, nevertheless, 
 having all my life been accustomed to a condi- 
 tion so different, I could hardly bring myself 
 to a full realization of what this wonderful 
 system means to a whole human race. 
 
 "It appears to me," I observed, turning to 
 
220 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 Creon, "that those who work in the forenoon 
 have a little the best of it. The afternoon is 
 better fitted for pleasure, since the amusements 
 may be extended into the evening. I can see 
 how there might be some contention among the 
 workers regarding the hours of the day in 
 which they work. ' ' 
 
 "It is quite likely," he replied, "that those 
 people will to-morrow work in the afternoon, 
 so that those who are now working will be able 
 themselves to go on an excursion. It is usual 
 for the workers to alternate in their hours of 
 labor. Those who work in the forenoon one 
 week work in the afternoon during the next. 
 We aim to treat all alike, and place every one 
 upon an equal basis. 
 
 "By going among our workers and farmers 
 or those engaged in other occupations, I do not 
 think you will find any making complaints con- 
 cerning their lot in life. All receive the same 
 education in their youth, except that when boys 
 or girls show they are especially adapted to 
 follow some special vocation, — for instance, 
 medicine, teaching, or music, — or take an un- 
 usual interest in any of the arts or sciences, 
 after they have completed the usual course, 
 they can, if they desire, go to a college and re- 
 ceive special training in the particular line they 
 appear to be especially adapted to follow. And 
 then they make that their life work. 
 
 ' ' The profession of medicine is looked after 
 
Hoiv Criminals Are Made 221 
 
 with special watchfulness, and our physicians, 
 having received the most careful training, are 
 very efficient. We consider the health of our 
 people of the greatest importance." 
 
 "Yes," I interposed, "I have particularly 
 noticed that there are practically none who do 
 not appear to be in perfect health, and I have 
 intended to ascertain the reason, but have been 
 so interested in all that I have seen that I have 
 not made the inquiry. In considering the 
 matter, I concluded that their healthy, robust 
 condition was principally due to the fact that 
 they had no cause for worry, that all had 
 plenty of wholesome food, and that they were 
 never overworked." 
 
 1 'Of course," he replied, "any man or 
 woman who has plenty; whose future in life is 
 assured without question; who has short hours 
 of labor and ample time in which to pursue his 
 or her pleasures and the means of doing so, 
 must necessarily enjoy better health than one 
 who has to work long hours, who has none of 
 the enjoyments of life, and who has the phan- 
 tom of poverty and want for a constant 
 companion. 
 
 "But there are other reasons why they are, 
 as you see, splendid specimens of physical man- 
 hood and womanhood. One of these reasons 
 is that the child is born into this world under 
 the most favorable conditions. Its parents are 
 healthy and well nurtured in body and mind, 
 
222 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 which is of great importance to the health and 
 mentality of the child. Then, during childhood 
 and youth, it is carefully taught to know itself 
 and to refrain from any excesses and indul- 
 gences that will weaken the body or impair the 
 mind. 
 
 "We give as much attention to the develop- 
 ment of the body as we do to the development 
 of the mind, and tireless care, training, and 
 attention are given to both. What we desire 
 and work for are able and efficient citizens, — 
 men and women who can aid and become use- 
 ful to the country, instead of requiring help 
 and becoming a burden. 
 
 "We train women as well as men to the pro- 
 fession of medicine, and the business of the 
 physician is the keeping of the people healthy 
 as well as caring for them when they are sick. 
 Each physician has a certain number of per- 
 sons under his or her charge, and every person 
 undergoes a careful physical examination at 
 least once in each month. If a physician finds 
 upon examination that a person has the least 
 physical defect or ailment it receives immediate 
 attention. A complete record is kept, and of 
 course each physician is careful about keeping 
 those under his charge in the best of health, so 
 as to maintain as good a reputation as possible. 
 The women physicians examine the women, and 
 the men physicians the men. 
 
 "In addition to those who examine and look 
 
How Criminals Are Made 223 
 
 after the health of the people, there are other 
 physicians who are disease specialists, and 
 others who are specialists in the diseases of 
 different parts of the body. As soon as a per- 
 son is taken ill, or found to be affected with any 
 disease, he or she is immediately taken in 
 charge by a specialist, and usually taken to a 
 hospital, of which we have the very best. 
 
 "You see, there are many reasons why you 
 find our people enjoying such splendid health. 
 They work for their country and that country 
 takes good care of them and gives them much 
 in return. This country does not ask its citi- 
 zens to lay down their lives for it, or to become 
 crippled or broken in health. Instead of mak- 
 ing widows and orphans, it prevents, as far as 
 it is possible, the creation of widows and or- 
 phans. Is not that as it should be?" 
 
 "How do you care for the insane," I in- 
 quired. "I can readily see that under your 
 social system insanity would not be as prevalent 
 as it is in my world, as here the things that 
 cause apprehension and worry and induce the 
 mind to wander are eliminated. However, there 
 must be some whose minds are affected, and 
 who require care and special attention." 
 
 "Yes," he replied, "we have a few who, 
 either through sickness, grief over the death of 
 friends, or weakness of intellect, become insane 
 and require attention. For those we have 
 hospitals that are under the charge of expert 
 
224 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 physicians and trained attendants. We also 
 have a few of what you call criminals, and you 
 will undoubtedly be surprised when I inform 
 you that those we treat exactly as we do the 
 insane. In fact, our idea is that a person who 
 appears to be a confirmed criminal is unsound 
 in mind, — that criminality is a form of insanity 
 and that the man or woman so affected requires 
 t reatment, — not punishment. 
 
 "With us there are not the conditions that 
 cause crime such as exist with your people. 
 The different classes and strata of society; the 
 environment, greed, wealth, and poverty all of 
 which are conducive to crime, — we do not have. 
 In your world there are really three distinct 
 strata of humanity : At the top are the wealthy, 
 — able to live without labor and indulge their 
 extravagant desires; next, the middle class, — 
 those who are able to live comfortably; at the 
 bottom, the largest number of all, those who 
 are scorched and blistered in the fierce blasts 
 of the fiery furnaces of life. Indulgence and 
 selfishness, the incessant pursuit of pleasure, 
 weaken the moral sense and physical powers of 
 those of the upper stratum; want, misery, and 
 environment, those of the lower. It seems to 
 be conceded by those who have made a study 
 of criminology that social morals, as well as re- 
 ligious principles, are at their lowest ebb in the 
 upper and lower strata of society in your world. 
 
How Criminals Are Made 225 
 
 It is the middle stratum that largely provides 
 for the other two. ' ' 
 
 "I admit we have the social strata of which 
 you speak, and realize that they exist by reason 
 of what now appears to me to be our peculiar 
 and unreasonable system," I said. "On that 
 account I am sure that your idea that the crim- 
 inal instinct is a disease, and should be treated 
 as such cannot be applied under the existing 
 conditions in my world. While in some in- 
 stances the criminal tendency may arise from 
 a disordered mind, which may by proper medi- 
 cal treatment be remedied, I am sure that is 
 not the case in all instances." 
 
 "That is very true," he replied. "Many of 
 your criminals are made so because of your 
 method of handling those who are charged with 
 crime. 
 
 "Your jails and prisons, and especially your 
 jails, are schools of crime and nurseries of 
 criminals. Into them are hustled indiscrimi- 
 nately murderers, burglars, thieves, prostitutes, 
 drunkards, and all the foul members of society 
 your police and courts can lay hands upon, 
 along with incorrigibles, with detained wit- 
 nesses, and with persons accused of misde- 
 meanors, of crimes not tried. There the pro- 
 fessional criminals and hardened sinners delight 
 to initiate their more ignorant companions into 
 all the mysteries of iniquity, and in return are 
 looked upon as heroes by the youths who are 
 
226 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 just starting upon the downward road. These 
 youths are there given a helping hand, but not 
 a hand that guides and leads them in the right : 
 it is a hand that beckons and leads them on to 
 perdition. 
 
 "Poverty, drink, and environment make 
 many of your criminals, but your method of 
 handling them makes many more. Your jails, 
 prisons, and courts propagate, rather than re- 
 tard crime. As a rule under your system you 
 do not discriminate between the confirmed crim- 
 inal and the novice in crime. When a man has 
 once served a term in prison, he is ever after 
 looked upon with suspicion, and becomes an 
 object of surveillance by the police. He is 
 liable at any time to be arrested and detained 
 in jail upon suspicion of being implicated in 
 some crime that may have been committed; 
 and, even though nothing against him can be 
 proven, he may be ordered and compelled to 
 leave the city in which he desires to make his 
 home. 
 
 "Not being wanted in the community, and 
 without friends among the people with whom 
 he would like to associate, he is driven to seek 
 companionship with those who, like himself, 
 are ostracized from general society. 
 
 "Under your so-called vagabond laws a man 
 found without money in his pocket is thrown 
 into jail instead of being given employment. 
 Those who are down in the nether stratum are 
 
How Criminals Are Made 227 
 
 not given a chance to rise. Their rights are 
 few and their wrongs are many." 
 
 There had been several of Creon's friends on 
 the boat during the day. One of them, a mem- 
 ber of the Grand Council, I was especially 
 desirous of meeting, since, from my point of 
 view, he was a man of importance and entitled 
 to more than ordinary respect and considera- 
 tion. I found him to be a robust, genial gentle- 
 man, with all the mental and physical vigor of 
 a man of fifty; although I knew from the posi- 
 tion he occupied that he must be past seventy. 
 I was somewhat surprised to find that he did 
 not assume to be entitled to any more consid- 
 eration than any one else, — was not, in fact, 
 treated with any more deference than other 
 persons on the boat. This, of course, was en- 
 tirely different from the attitude of my world, 
 where persons who occupy positions of im- 
 portance in public affairs are not only apt to 
 demand but do receive more consideration and 
 are treated with greater respect than are those 
 who do not hold what we term official positions. 
 I called Creon's attention to what seemed to 
 me to be a want of respect for the position, if 
 not for the man, and expressed my surprise 
 that no especial attention was paid to him. 
 
 "No, certainly not," he replied. "Why 
 should there be? He is only doing his part as 
 are all the others, and the position he is occupy- 
 
228 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 ing in looking after the affairs of the country 
 is the same as all others will occupy when they 
 arrive at his age. Here none are entitled to 
 any greater consideration than any one else; 
 no matter what occupation a man may be en- 
 gaged in or what position he may occupy." 
 
 Creon spent considerable time during the day 
 with his friends, leaving Hallie and me to our- 
 selves, — an arrangement that was entirely sat- 
 isfactory to me. The embarrassment I had at 
 first experienced when in her presence had left 
 me ; and as soon as she saw that I was no longer 
 sensitive and did not object to being considered 
 a being from another world, she talked very 
 freely and gave me much valuable information. 
 Later, while in the Capital City, it was through 
 her that I was given the entree into the various 
 clubs and societies that made up the social life 
 of that place. 
 
 At first we confined our remarks to sports 
 and amusements, such as golf, polo, and tennis, 
 and I soon found that she could discuss those 
 games like an expert and that her familiarity 
 with them was that of a player, not an on- 
 looker. 
 
 "I have played polo considerably," I re- 
 marked, while we were discussing the game, 
 "and nothing would please me more than to 
 have an opportunity to play the game while I 
 am here. But, of course, that would be out of 
 the question, as I do not have any polo ponies, 
 
How Criminals Are Made 229 
 
 or the means of procuring them. There are 
 none to be purchased, of course, and if there 
 were, I have no money; so I will have to give 
 up that idea. The only thing for me to do is to 
 procure all the information I can concerning 
 your people in the shortest time possible and 
 return to my world. ' ' 
 
 Her rippling laughter for a moment was 
 rather disconcerting, although I could not but 
 admire the flash of pearly teeth that it revealed. 
 
 "Of course you can play polo," she asserted. 
 "You are one of us, are you not! You must 
 remember that while you are here you own the 
 whole country, and everything there is in it, 
 or, at least you have as much right to it as 
 any one else. You will soon become used to 
 our ways, I am sure, and when you do, you 
 will see how much better it is than your method 
 of ownership. 
 
 "I cannot understand how your people get 
 along with a few owning, or controlling much 
 more than they can possibly have any use for, 
 while there are so many that do not have prac- 
 tically anything, — not even enough to eat, or 
 clothing enough to make them comfortable. 
 
 "I understand that a great many of the 
 homes in which your people live are owned, — as 
 you call it, — by some one else, who has the 
 right, which is often used, to turn out the occu- 
 pants and then close up the houses and not let 
 any one live in them unless they are paid a cer- 
 
230 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 tain amount of what you term 'money.' That 
 seems such a strange and wrong way of doing 
 that I cannot comprehend it. Father has tried 
 to explain it to me from the point of view of 
 your people, but I am inclined to think that I 
 must be very dense, as I cannot understand it 
 at all. 
 
 "That something that your people call 
 'money' is another thing that I am unable to 
 understand. It seems to have such a fascina- 
 tion for most of them. And yet, all of it that 
 I have ever seen is either a piece of colored 
 paper with some figures on it or some kind of 
 metal that your people, with much hardship 
 and labor, dig out of the ground. Are those not 
 strange things to worship and fight over? 
 Father always brings back some specimens and 
 puts them in the museum among the curiosities. 
 
 "No, I now call to mind that there are some 
 kinds of your money that are not made of 
 paper or metal, as father brought back some of 
 it at one time that was made of bone, and also 
 some that was made from rather pretty shells. 
 I presume those kinds are more valuable than 
 the others, as father said they were not so 
 much in general use." 
 
 At first I thought I would try and explain to 
 her our money system and show her how neces- 
 sary and useful it was, how by means of it we 
 carried on our wars, our vast commercial enter- 
 prises, operated our governments, improved 
 
Hoiv Criminals Are Made 231 
 
 our cities, built railroads and educated our chil- 
 dren ; that with it the people could procure food 
 and clothing, houses and lands, leisure and 
 pleasure, as well as servants, both human and 
 brute, to do their bidding. But before I could 
 formulate my ideas to my satisfaction, she had 
 taken up the subject in a manner that convinced 
 me that it would be a useless undertaking on my 
 part, — and perhaps the least said by me the 
 better. 
 
 "I remember," she continued, ''that after 
 Father came back from his first trip to your 
 world, he gave a lecture on your people and 
 their social and industrial systems; and when 
 he took up your money subject and exhibited 
 some specimens and dwelt upon the hardships 
 that many of your people undergo to obtain it, 
 and of the misery, want and suffering that are 
 endured by those who do not possess it, there 
 was hardly a dry eye in that vast audience. If 
 it causes so much trouble T should think that 
 your people would destroy it all. I am almost 
 afraid to touch it. Knowing what I do about 
 it, I cannot but look upon it as dangerous, — 
 even to handle." 
 
 "It is not dangerous for you to handle here, 
 at least," I replied; "although I will have to 
 admit that the handling of it in an improper 
 manner by people in my world has been the 
 cause of much grief and suffering." 
 
 "Another strange thing about it is, I under- 
 
232 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 stand, that in many instances it causes those 
 who do have it to be wretched and unhappy; 
 even causing- children to turn against their 
 parents and parents against their children. 
 How do you account for it? Father never 
 could explain it to me, so I could understand 
 the' reason of it all ; but I am sure you can tell 
 me." 
 
 "I am afraid" I replied, "that I cannot en- 
 lighten you any, as I cannot fully understand 
 it myself. In fact, I had never given the sub- 
 ject any thought until during the few days I 
 have been here. Like the majority of my fel- 
 low-creatures, I had always accepted the use 
 we make of money as a medium of exchange 
 as one of the best evidences that we were really 
 civilized. I had always taken it for granted 
 that there was no other way of conducting af- 
 fairs, and had never looked upon it from your 
 point of view; therefore the ridiculous side of 
 the question had never appealed to me." 
 
 ' ' But you are commencing to view the matter 
 in a different light from what you did I am 
 sure," she observed. 
 
 "Yes, not only are my views changing upon 
 that subject, but upon many others," I replied; 
 ' ' and I am going to rely upon you to act as my 
 principal tutor while I remain in this world." 
 
 "I am certain you will make an apt pupil," 
 she asserted with a smile, "and therefore I 
 shall do my very best. ' ' 
 
How Criminals Are Made 233 
 
 "You will always find me attentive to my in- 
 structor, and eager to learn," I replied with a 
 feeling of elation. 
 
 The sun was low in the west and we were 
 approaching the town where we were to disem- 
 bark and spend the night. The day to me had 
 been of much interest. The stops at the dif- 
 ferent towns and villages had given me an 
 opportunity of seeing the people, busy in their 
 employment and enjoying their pleasures. 
 
 "I have to-day seen a wonderful country," 
 I remarked as we stood for a moment upon the 
 landing before proceeding to the hotel. 
 
 "Which is the more wonderful," inquired 
 Hallie, "the country, or the people?" 
 
 "The people," I replied. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A BAILROAD SYSTEM 
 
 Leaving the next morning by train we trav- 
 eled through a beautiful country to a city over 
 a hundred miles distant. Although the trains 
 of this wonderful people are operated by elec- 
 tricity, yet the plan of operation is very sim- 
 ilar to that in my own world. That is, there 
 are through trains and local ones, fast trains 
 and slow, passenger trains and freight, as well 
 as trains for carrying the mails and fast ex- 
 press. 
 
 I found that their system of handling the 
 mails was very much like the mail system in 
 operation in the world of my birth. And it has 
 occurred to me that, taking our postal system 
 as an example of what can be done by the 
 people for the people, its perfect operation 
 ought to convince every one in my own world 
 of the feasibility of handling and controlling 
 everything pertaining to public utilities and the 
 necessities of life in the same common-sense 
 manner. 
 
 The main lines of their railroads all have 
 double tracks, and many of them have four. 
 
 234 
 
A Railroad System 235 
 
 The construction and equipment are of the best, 
 and every precaution possible is taken to pro- 
 tect both employees and passengers from in- 
 jury. 
 
 The railroads, like everything else in that 
 world, are operated for the whole people and 
 not for the special benefit of any one. There 
 are no railroad magnates to acquire vast 
 wealth at the expense of the many. There are 
 no franchises granted; no special privileges; 
 no laws against the roads nor in favor of them ; 
 no corporations to be bought nor corporations 
 to buy; no legislatures to be used nor courts 
 to control. There are no dividends to be paid 
 nor bonds to draw interest; and manipulations 
 of stocks, freight rates, and rebates are un- 
 known. Strikes, lockouts, and blacklists are 
 impossible. 
 
 The lines are laid out and constructed with 
 great care, in order to meet transportation 
 necessities, — no more; with the consequent re- 
 sult that there are no competing lines, almost 
 parallel to each other and therefore a burden to 
 the railroads as well as to the country through 
 which they are operated. Quite different from 
 what it is in the country from which I came, 
 where the railroads are operated under private 
 ownership, with the result that in many sec- 
 tions where they are needed there are none, 
 while in other sections there are more than are 
 necessary for proper transportation facilities. 
 
236 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 Here there is a prevailing idea that the more 
 railroads there are the better it is for the 
 people and for the country through which the 
 railroads are operated. But the extra cost of 
 construction, the extra equipment and cost of 
 operation, — which must all be borne by the 
 people in excessive freight and passenger rates, 
 are entirely overlooked. 
 
 If two or more railroads are constructed and 
 operated between any given points, when one 
 can handle all of the transportation business, 
 it is plainly to be seen that the extra cost of 
 construction, equipping, and operating the 
 roads not needed is a useless expense and 
 burden. 
 
 Freight and traffic rates are, of course, based 
 upon the cost of construction, equipment, and 
 operation, with interest charges and a profit 
 added. Then, when the people complain that 
 they are being charged excessive rates for 
 transporting their merchandise and products, 
 they are met with the contention on the part of 
 the railroad corporations that they must be 
 allowed a fair rate of interest upon their in- 
 vestment, over and above the cost of operation. 
 And the courts that have been created to adju- 
 dicate disputes that may arise concerning 
 transportation rates usually sustain these con- 
 tentions. 
 
 The high salaries paid to officials, the 
 "watered stock," and the useless and fre- 
 
A Railroad System 237 
 
 quently enormous expense of construction and 
 operation of so-called "competing lines," built 
 into a part of the country already occupied by 
 a rival company, are not usually deemed 
 worthy of consideration. But if they are, by 
 chance, considered at all, it is understood they 
 do not have much influence upon the question 
 to be decided. 
 
 I had never considered these problems until 
 they were called to my attention by Creon in 
 the course of his explanation of their method 
 of laying out and constructing railroads in 
 that country. 
 
 "Every one must understand," he explained, 
 ' ' that the only purpose of a railroad is to pro- 
 vide adequate transportation facilities; to 
 carry passengers who desire to travel, either 
 on pleasure or business, and also to transport 
 with as little delay and cost as possible, such 
 produce and merchandise as may be necessary 
 in their distribution to the people. There are 
 no other legitimate purposes for which a rail- 
 road can be constructed and operated. 
 
 "Taking these facts as to the true basis to 
 work upon, we construct only such railroads as 
 may be necessary and practical. All our rail- 
 roads are systematically laid out by men of ex- 
 perience, — practical engineers, — to meet the 
 needs of the country. It is all a matter of care- 
 ful calculation, after the country proposed to 
 be covered has been surveyed, and its adapt- 
 
238 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 ability for producing, as well as the character 
 of its products, has been fully determined. 
 From that, and a consideration of the size of 
 the cities and towns to be served and the ex- 
 tent and class of manufacturing, it can very 
 readily be determined what transportation fa- 
 cilities will be needed. It is all very simple, 
 and it is the only common-sense way. 
 
 "I find that in your country there seems to 
 be a continual warfare carried on between the 
 people and the railroad corporations over 
 rates, long and short hauls, discrimination, and 
 transportation facilities, — all are brought 
 about by the private ownership of the railroads 
 and the consequent irregular and burdensome 
 system. 
 
 1 ' I fully believe, ' ' he continued, ' ' that, with a 
 proper system of railroads operated upon a 
 scientific and economical plan, your people 
 would save enough of your dollars and cents 
 in cost of transportation in less than ten years 
 to pay for all the railroads that are needed, — 
 at what they are actually worth. 
 
 "For the employees who operate the trains, 
 especially the trains that carry freight, it is, 
 in your country, a most hazardous occupation. 
 Do you know that the number of railroad em- 
 ployees killed and injured is quite beyond be- 
 lief? I am informed that there railroading is 
 an occupation almost as dangerous as being a 
 soldier in a time of war. Yet, so little value is 
 
A Railroad System 239 
 
 placed upon human life by your people, and 
 they have become so hardened to the condi- 
 tions, that very little concern is given to the 
 matter, — it is accepted as a matter of course. 
 
 "It seems almost impossible to make the 
 railroad corporation provide even the most 
 simple appliances for the protection of those 
 in their employ. Life and limb appear to be 
 of little consequence. Time and money seem 
 to be of more importance in their operation. 
 
 "Your people make it a crime to kill human 
 beings under certain circumstances ; and under 
 your laws, in some instances, life is taken by 
 judicial process as a punishment for killing. 
 But you make no provisions for the punishment 
 of the employers of labor, who through neglect 
 cause the death of hundreds and the mutilation 
 of thousands. War and business seem to be 
 placed upon the same plane, with the idea that 
 both must be carried on in a selfish and inhu- 
 man manner, and that to each must be sacrificed 
 life, limb, and happiness, — that cripples, wid- 
 ows, and orphans are necessary. Your people 
 seemingly are unmindful of the fact that a 
 strong, healthy citizen is a valuable asset to 
 your country, while a cripple becomes a burden. 
 
 "If you should compel all employers of labor 
 to support the families of those whose lives 
 are destroyed, and to support those and their 
 families who are crippled while engaged in 
 their employment, you would find that the 
 
240 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 number of killed and maimed would very soon 
 materially decrease. Apparently the only way 
 to make the majority of your people realize 
 a humane sense of responsibility is through 
 their bank account. A bank account is a sacred 
 thing; and the larger the account the more 
 sacred it becomes." 
 
 "Would not your idea of making employers 
 assume such responsibilities place too great a 
 burden upon those who are carrying on the 
 industries of the country!" I inquired. "Could 
 they do that and conduct their business at a 
 profit? Could the railroad corporation con- 
 tinue to operate their railroads if they were 
 required to assume the responsibilities of 
 which you speak \ It appears to me that the 
 burden would be greater than they could bear." 
 
 "I see," he replied "that you are possessed 
 with the same idea that prevails with nearly 
 all of your people: the idea that money should 
 be first considered, — is of the utmost impor- 
 tance; that the misery and suffering, the life 
 and happiness, of those who labor and of those 
 who are near and dear to them, are of no 
 consequence as compared with money, and 
 should be brushed aside as unworthy of con- 
 sideration, when your captains of industry are 
 forcing dividends for stockholders and prince- 
 ly salaries for themselves." 
 
 "Do you think that railroads can be success- 
 fully operated upon humanitarian principles?" 
 
A Railroad System 241 
 
 I inquired. "You must admit that under our 
 system it is essential that the stockholders re- 
 ceive a fair return for the money they have in- 
 vested and it is for those who are in charge, — 
 who are at the head, — to see that they receive 
 it. The officials realize that if they cannot pro- 
 duce dividends and make a good showing in a 
 material way, the stockholders will be looking 
 for others who will." 
 
 "That is all very true," replied Creon, 
 "which all goes to show that your system is 
 wrong, and that the brotherhood of man, the 
 doctrine of universal benevolence, has no place 
 in your business world. If any business can- 
 not be successfully conducted without wantonly 
 destroying or wrecking the lives of human be- 
 ings, — without causing misery and suffering, — 
 the manner of conducting that business should 
 be changed or the business done away with 
 altogether. But there is no necessity of doing 
 away with railroad business, or with any legiti- 
 mate business, upon that account. Any busi- 
 ness can, and should, be conducted with proper 
 regard for the rights of others. That is the 
 way we live and transact our affairs in this 
 world, including the operation of our railroads. 
 Why should it not be the same in yours ? How- 
 ever, I fear that, in your interest in the matters 
 that we are discussing, you are overlooking 
 the country through which we are traveling." 
 
 I had, in fact, become so absorbed in the 
 
242 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 topic we were debating that I had not for some 
 time been paying attention to anything else 
 and had really forgotten that I was traveling 
 in a new world. 
 
 "We are now," Creon observed, "within the 
 old-established and well-settled part of the 
 country, where our system is in full operation. 
 The road over which we are traveling is one 
 of our main lines, and extends across the coun- 
 try for over three thousand miles. The 
 branches, or feeders, extend out on each side 
 and are similar to those called trolley-lines in 
 your world. They are usually run in an open 
 space in the center of the highways and join 
 the main line at the cities and towns. These 
 branch roads can be more economically con- 
 structed and operated than the main lines, and 
 at the same time they give every facility for 
 transportation. The cities and larger towns, 
 of course, are all located upon the main lines, 
 as well as are all of the large manufacturing 
 plants and warehouses. 
 
 "There are only two problems to be solved 
 by the people of any country, great or small. 
 The first is to produce enough for all; and the 
 second is to distribute that which is produced 
 so that none will fail to receive his or her 
 share. Try as you will, you cannot make any- 
 thing else out of it. But this you will always 
 find, — that the more complications you have the 
 
A Railroad System 243 
 
 harder the problem and the more dissatisfac- 
 tion there will be. 
 
 "Any country in which a few are able to 
 procure much more than they have any possible 
 use for, while there are many that are unable 
 to procure enough for their actual needs, and 
 others not even enough to sustain life, is af- 
 flicted with a system that is selfish and bad. It 
 is self evident that when a large percentage of 
 the people is unable to procure the actual ne- 
 cessities of life, while at the same time others 
 live in luxury without effort, something is 
 wrong, — the whole system is bad. 
 
 "Our whole industrial life is given up to 
 the idea of furnishing every man, woman, and 
 child his or her share of the products of the 
 earth and of the hand of man in the most sim- 
 ple and economical way. And, if you will ob- 
 serve the country, cities, and towns through 
 which we are passing, you will gain an idea of 
 the results we obtain. Look at those prosper- 
 ous farms; those comfortable homes; those 
 splendid highways, lined with beautiful trees; 
 the flourishing cities and villages, and above all, 
 the healthy, happy and contented people, and 
 compare it with your world, if you will, — bear- 
 ing in mind that all you see is but a fair ex- 
 ample of this whole country. Is there any part 
 of your world that will compare with it? 
 
 ' ' We have neither idle rich nor idle poor. In 
 any country the one is just as bad as the other. 
 
244 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 Of course any man, rich or poor, after he has 
 reached that age in life when he is entitled to 
 rest,— after he has performed his share, — 
 should no longer be required to participate in 
 the active affairs of life. Pie should be able to 
 retire and rest upon his laurels in peace and 
 comfort. The last part of life's journey should 
 be traveled with ease ; the pathway of life at 
 the end should always be the smoothest. 
 
 "Is there anything more pleasing than to see 
 an aged couple, whose life 's work is over, — who 
 have lived together a life of usefulness, — quiet- 
 ly and peacefully nearing the end together, 
 with no troubles and worries to disturb their 
 declining days? In your world that is some- 
 thing rare and uncommon but here it is quite 
 usual. ' ' 
 
 We were now approaching the city where, at 
 Creon's suggestion, we were to remain for a 
 few days before proceeding to our ultimate des- 
 tination, — the Capital City and industrial cen- 
 tre of the country. 
 
 "About ten miles from this place," observed 
 Creon, as we were entering the city, "is lo- 
 cated the institution for the care of the feeble- 
 minded and those whom your people call crim- 
 inals, and I am particularly anxious for you to 
 visit that institution, for I wish you fully to 
 understand our methods of caring for crim- 
 inals. 
 
 "People are not perfect in this world and 
 
A Railroad System. 245 
 
 there are some who need special care and at- 
 tention, — not punishment. We do not make 
 criminals and then punish them for being 
 such. ' ' 
 
 Hallie decided that she would not stop over 
 with us, as she felt that she should return to 
 her school. Besides, she informed us that there 
 was soon to be a golf tournament in which she 
 was to take part, and that she desired to resume 
 her practice and be ready for the contest. One 
 of the wonderful things that I observed while 
 among those people was the way in which they 
 combined their amusements with their duties. 
 With them it was neither all work and no play, 
 nor all play and no work. There was always 
 a happy combination of the two, — with the 
 result that they seemed to take as much interest 
 in their work, and exhibited as much enthusi- 
 asm about it as they did in regard to their 
 amusements. Of course the reason for this was 
 because with their short hours of labor, their 
 work did not become irksome, but was, rather, 
 an interesting diversion. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 TREATMENT, NOT PUNISHMENT 
 
 We remained in the city last mentioned for 
 several days, and I was shown many things to 
 command comment, but I will only mention the 
 place spoken of by Creon as the institution for 
 the care of criminals and the feeble-minded, in 
 which I became very much interested. 
 
 The method of caring for the unfortunate in- 
 mates of that institution was unlike anything 
 of the kind I had ever before seen. There were 
 no walls of masonary, with guards on the top, 
 armed with weapons of death. There was no 
 attempt to control either by force or fear, no 
 degrading suits of stripes, no lock step, no 
 closely cropped hair, no solitary confinement, 
 and no bread-and-water diet. All the inmates 
 were treated as if they w T ere men, — human 
 beings. 
 
 A large farm, connected with the institution, 
 furnished occupation for many, and others 
 were employed in a manufacturing plant, — 
 also a part of the institution. As a rule the 
 feeble-minded were kept separate from the 
 other unfortunates, and the women were in a 
 
 246 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 247 
 
 building by themselves. The hours of labor 
 to be performed were the same as required in 
 that world of every one doing the same kind 
 of work. The buildings were well ventilated 
 and well lighted, with none of the features of 
 a prison, such as there are in my country. 
 Cells with barred and grated doors there were 
 none, but, instead, each inmate had a comfort- 
 able and well-furnished room. There was not 
 about the place any clanking of chains and 
 clang of iron doors, no rattling of bolts and 
 bars. 
 
 The health, morals, and comfort of every one 
 were carefully looked after. It was a place 
 devoted to teaching, guiding, and directing; a 
 place where men were made better and not 
 worse, — not humiliated, degraded, and bru- 
 talized. 
 
 The inmates were not forbidden to speak to 
 one another ; not obliged to remain silent when 
 with their fellow-men by day, and at night be 
 confined in an iron cell, gloomy and alone, — 
 there to become sullen and morose; to think 
 and brood on the wrongs and injustices inflicted 
 upon them; to feel that the hand of man was 
 raised against them ; that they are outcasts and 
 forbidden even the society of those as unfor- 
 tunate as themselves. 
 
 The inmates, when not performing the duties 
 required of them, were, within certain pre- 
 scribed limits, free to go and come as they 
 
248 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 pleased. So long as they performed the light 
 duties required of them and conformed to the 
 rules and regulations of the institution, they 
 were well fed, well clothed, well provided for 
 in every way, and made generally comfortable. 
 They were treated with consideration at all 
 times; with some restraint, of course, but, 
 nevertheless, they were recognized as human 
 beings and treated as such. 
 
 As there were neither guards nor walls, 
 neither locks nor bolts, it appeared to me that 
 there was nothing to prevent the inmates from 
 leaving the place at any time and I so expressed 
 myself to Creon. 
 
 'Yes," he replied, "there is nothing to pre- 
 vent them from going away. But what would 
 they do if they should leave? They would not 
 have any metal check, consequently could not 
 procure anything to eat, a place to sleep, or 
 any of the necessities of life. Here is the only 
 place in this world where they can live. No one 
 could or would give them anything. When they 
 arrive here their checks are taken from them, 
 and are not returned until they are discharged. 
 Without their checks, there is no way for them 
 to procure either food or shelter. They all 
 realize this, and it is unusual for one of them to 
 try the experiment. Having always lived under 
 our system, they fully realize their situation 
 and how useless it would be to attempt to travel 
 about the country without their checks. 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 249 
 
 "To take away from a person in this world 
 his or her check means more to that person 
 than it would to take away from a millionaire 
 in your world every dollar he possessed. I am 
 informed that many break down entirely when 
 they are obliged to give them up. They realize 
 that they are no longer free; that they cannot 
 live with their fellow-men and enjoy the free- 
 dom and pleasures that others have. Yet, my 
 observations in your world lead me to believe 
 that these inmates live better and have more of 
 the comforts of life than are enjoyed by more 
 than two-thirds of your people. 
 
 ' ' The families of these people, — the wife and 
 children, — are not left without any means of 
 support and required to get along as best they 
 can. The innocent are not made to suffer more 
 than the guilty." 
 
 "What constitutes your code of crime 1 ?" I 
 inquired. "I can very readily see that your 
 criminal code, as well as the offenses against 
 the law must be very different from what they 
 are in my country. There not being any owner- 
 ship of property, there cannot be any theft. 
 Naturally, there are no burglaries, or robberies, 
 or crimes of that nature. The conditions that 
 produce crime are here eliminated. There is 
 no money nor any need of it. For gain men 
 cannot steal, lie, cheat, and defraud. Poverty, 
 idleness, and want, — the great producers of 
 crime, — you do not have. The training and en- 
 
250 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 vironment of your people are such that the 
 excessive use of intoxicants, I believe, is almost 
 unknown. I wonder that there are any crim- 
 inals, — that there are any institutions of this 
 kind." 
 
 ''All that you have said," he replied, "is 
 very true. But the people of this world are 
 endowed with passions the same as they are 
 in yours. Naturally, under the social and in- 
 dustrial conditions here, men of intense pas- 
 sions are not so apt to lose their self-control 
 as they are under the conditions existing in 
 your world. Our people are not nervous, irri- 
 table, and easily excited. Then there cannot be 
 any quarrels over property ownership. With- 
 out money there are no games of chance to 
 cause anger. There are no libidinous resorts 
 and no drunken brawls. Yet there are men 
 here who, not being able to control their pas- 
 sions, must themselves be controlled. 
 
 "We do not allow violence, idleness, or 
 drunkenness. If any person intentionally com- 
 mits an act of violence upon another, or persists 
 in not doing his or her share, or becomes ad- 
 dicted to the excessive use of intoxicants, such 
 person is committed to this institution. But 
 those who are so committed are not looked upon 
 as criminals, — condemned, berated and pun- 
 ished. They are looked upon with pity, much 
 the same as your people consider the insane. 
 
 "Those whom your people call 'criminals,' 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 251 
 
 are either criminals by nature, — born crim- 
 inals, — or are made such by reason of your so- 
 cial condition; by environment, or circum- 
 stances. If they are born criminals they are no 
 more responsible for their criminal acts than 
 are the mentally deranged for their insane acts. 
 If they are made criminals by their environ- 
 ment or circumstances, brought about by your 
 social condition, why should society condemn 
 and punish them for that which it is responsible 
 for producing? 
 
 "We have very few of those whom you call 
 criminals. With all of our millions of people 
 we have fewer criminals and insane altogether 
 than you have in any one of your smaller states. 
 That convinces me that the great number of 
 criminals and insane people in your world is 
 largely due to your social and industrial sys- 
 tem. It can not be accounted for in any other 
 way. Yet your people continue that system,— 
 cherish it; a system that, instead of making 
 mankind better, makes them worse; a system 
 that instead of making so-called Christians, — 
 real Christians, — hampers and prevents them 
 from being such. And, so insistent are your 
 people in sustaining that system that they 
 sneer at and abuse those who are honestly 
 striving to bring about a change for the better ; 
 notwithstanding, there is more war, more 
 crime, more misery and wretchedness in your 
 world to-day than ever before. And why is it? 
 
252 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 Can it be that your people are so engrossed 
 with the struggle for gold, or with the problems 
 of life, that they have no time in which to think 
 of other things'? If so, the conditions in your 
 world are certainly deplorable." 
 
 "That is a question I have been trying to 
 solve ever since I became acquainted with your 
 wonderful system," I replied. "After seeing 
 your people all working together under a sys- 
 tem so simple and natural, and all so prosper- 
 ous, happy, and carefree I have been trying to 
 find the real reason for the unnatural condition 
 that exists in my world. And I must say that 
 up to the present time I have not been able to 
 solve the problem. 
 
 "Your suggestion that the people, in their 
 struggle to carry the burdens that they are 
 obliged to bear, do not have the time to think 
 and ponder over their condition, has given to 
 me a new idea. That may be, and probably is, 
 one of the reasons why nothing is accomplished. 
 It is certain that if the people would only stop 
 and calmly consider their situation and then 
 consider how unnecessary it all is, they would 
 soon find a remedy." 
 
 "If they would organize and study the prob- 
 lem in a rational way, it would soon be solved," 
 he interposed. ' ' They would soon see that war 
 and preparations for war are wrong, and would 
 declare against it for all time. They would 
 ascertain that the earth is capable of produc- 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 253 
 
 ing enough for all and to spare ; that none who 
 are willing to do need suffer for the necessities 
 of life; that a few hours of actual productive 
 labor each day performed by every one would 
 be sufficient to produce plenty for the comfort 
 and happiness of men. A natural condition of 
 human existence, such as you see existing here, 
 would soon be wrought out of chaos. A won- 
 derful change would be accomplished. True 
 Christianity, the brotherhood of man, would 
 soon reign supreme. 
 
 "That there is plenty in your world for 
 every one cannot be denied, and yet, how un- 
 equally it is distributed among the people. In 
 many instances they who live in idleness and 
 produce nothing have the most and best of 
 everything, while they who work and toil the 
 hardest have the least. 
 
 "If a thousand men, women, and children 
 were placed upon an island and from time to 
 time they were furnished with everything 
 necessary for their comfort and enjoyment as 
 needed, would not any one visiting that island 
 a year or a few years thereafter expect to find 
 them all equally enjoying those things that had 
 been so generously furnished? That would be 
 reasonable and natural. But if, instead, it was 
 found that a few had appropriated the greater 
 part of the things furnished for all, and were 
 living thereon in luxury and idleness, while 
 others were suffering for want of suitable 
 
254 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 shelter, clothing and food, would not that be 
 unreasonable and unnatural? But, if it were 
 further found that those who were suffering for 
 the necessities of life were required to gather 
 up and bring to those who were living in lux- 
 ury and idleness the things that were furnished 
 for all, would not that be inhuman and ap- 
 palling?" 
 
 "I must confess," I replied, "that after be- 
 coming familiar with your system the condi- 
 tions in my world, as I contemplate them, fill 
 me with horror and dismay. I believe the con- 
 ditions there existing cannot long continue. I 
 am certain the people will not much longer be 
 driven to war and bloodshed ; that they will cast 
 aside their burdens, peaceably but firmly, and 
 proclaim their rights as human beings; that the 
 war there now raging must end in permanent 
 peace. But let us come back to this institution. 
 I am anxious to learn who commits these peo- 
 ple, how they are sent here, and who fixes the 
 length of time they are to remain." 
 
 "They are not," replied Creon, "sent here 
 by judges, jurors, or lawyers. Those we do 
 not have any use for under our system. The 
 commitment of these people is looked after by 
 the Sub-District Supervisors. 
 
 "When a complaint is made against a per- 
 son, a committee appointed from the mem- 
 bers of the Sub-District Supervisors makes a 
 thorough investigation. The person against 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 255 
 
 whom the complaint is made is first seen and 
 made acquainted with the charges and given 
 every opportunity to explain. If the commit- 
 tee is not satisfied with the explanation given, 
 the investigation is continued until the commit- 
 tee is fully satisfied as to what should be done. 
 During the investigation, the person accused is 
 examined by expert physicians as to his or her 
 mental condition, and if it is finally decided that 
 the person should be looked after, he or she is 
 committed to this institution. 
 
 " Those who are sent here are not sentenced 
 for a term of years, or for any length of time ; 
 and they are discharged whenever it is be- 
 lieved to be for the best interests of themselves 
 and the community. These people are com- 
 mitted to this institution for treatment, — not 
 for punishment. 
 
 "Iii that part of this institution set apart for 
 the feeble-minded there are, — as you have 
 seen, — very few inmates. In this world the 
 scarcity of feeble-minded, — as well as the scar- 
 city of criminals, — is due to what you call our 
 system. And the great number there are of 
 both in your world is largely due to your sys- 
 tem. 
 
 "In this world women are not obliged to 
 overwork, as many thousands do in your world. 
 There many are born defective because their 
 mothers were obliged to toil long hours in 
 nerve-wrecking factories or other places equal- 
 
256 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 ly as bad, up to the time of their birth; and, 
 not only had they to labor under such condi- 
 tions but by such toil were unable to produce 
 from their labor enough to procure sufficient 
 food to provide proper nourishment for them- 
 selves and the child unborn. 
 
 i 'Is there any wonder that there are, con- 
 sidering the conditions, vast numbers born into 
 your world every year who are deficient men- 
 tally and physically? Is it surprising that they, 
 by reason of their defective condition, are un- 
 able to meet the fierce struggle for existence, 
 and become inmates of prisons, or the poor- 
 houses? 
 
 "In this world the mother-to-be is relieved 
 from even performing the easy task of doing 
 her share of labor. We feel that she is doing 
 her share, and doing it well, without added 
 burdens. With us the unborn child is looked 
 after and protected. We take an interest in it ; 
 fully realizing that a child born into this world 
 under favorable conditions is more likely to be 
 strong and healthy, mentally and physically, 
 than is one born under unfavorable conditions. 
 We realize that a healthy well-balanced citizen 
 is a valuable asset, while a degenerate is a 
 liability. 
 
 "Then think of the child: destined to go 
 through life weak in body and mind and prob- 
 ably condemned for a condition over which it 
 had no control, and for which it should not be 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 257 
 
 blamed. Your people seemingly do not feel 
 that they have any interest in the welfare of 
 the future citizen. You are all too much taken 
 up with the pursuit of gold to think of the fu- 
 ture, or of the hereafter. 
 
 "In the matter of your dollars and cents 
 your people would gain much if they would 
 look after and protect the mother-to-be, and 
 thus prevent the bringing into your world of 
 the criminal-born, the feeble-minded, and the 
 degenerate. But the heedlessness of your peo- 
 ple in that regard is only on a par with your 
 whole inhuman social and industrial system. 
 
 ' ' What can be expected of a people that train 
 their young men to fight, kill, and destroy one 
 another; that maintain schools for that pur- 
 pose and spend millions of that yellow metal 
 which they all worship, in maintaining armies 
 and navies; that take pride in their weapons 
 of destruction — weapons made for taking of 
 human lives, for the destroying of homes. 
 
 "What is to be expected from a people that 
 spend their gold for guns, powder, and lead, — 
 for munitions of war, — when millions are in 
 need of that gold, that with it they may be able 
 to procure the bare necessities of life. A peo- 
 ple who, if they took any interest in the un- 
 born child, it would be an interest in its de- 
 velopment as a man of war; so that it could 
 and would, as soon as it arrived at the fighting 
 
258 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 age, go forth to kill and be killed, — to fight and 
 die for its country's kings and rulers. 
 
 "I am informed that one of your so-called 
 enlightened nations protects the mother-to-be, 
 not on account of any special interest the gov- 
 ernment takes in the mother or in the child, ex- 
 cept that if a male it may become a more effi- 
 cient soldier; that it may grow up to be a 
 strong healthy man and thus be the better 
 qualified to kill and destroy his fellow-men. 
 Not that by reason of his vigor and strength 
 he may become a useful citizen and a help to 
 mankind, but that he may be the better able to 
 destroy homes and make widows and or- 
 phans, — to cause misery and woe. Through 
 long years of military training and preparation 
 for war, the rulers of that country have become 
 so obsessed with their superiority and military 
 power, that they have engulfed your whole 
 world in the most cruel and inhuman war that 
 was ever known. 
 
 "If all your ruling classes — those who control 
 your governments, — would give more attention 
 to making men better, the lot of mankind would 
 be easier, and life more worth the living. If 
 all those who have charge of the affairs of your 
 governments would pay more attention to the 
 interests and welfare of the whole people, there 
 would be less bloodshed, less crime, and less 
 poverty and want. And if you had no ruling 
 classes, you would all enjoy greater freedom 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 259 
 
 and be more prosperous and peaceful. You 
 would be free from the burdens and horrors of 
 war. 
 
 "Lack of government, lack of rulers, does not 
 mean chaos, as many of your people contend. 
 We do not have any government, according to 
 your ideas of government, and no ruling classes, 
 yet we have a peaceful happy people. 
 
 "Many of your people, I find, contend that, 
 on account of the perversity of the human race, 
 governments are a necessity; that without the 
 strong hand of control, mankind would degen- 
 erate; that civilization would retrograde into 
 barbarism. To admit that argument as sound 
 is to admit that the human race is inferior to 
 the brute; that men are but mere savages and 
 as such must be controlled and protected from 
 one another. 
 
 "If your forms of government are necessary 
 for the protection of the human race in your 
 world, it is on account of the fact that your sys- 
 tem has brought the race to that state ; that a 
 continual system based upon, greed and indi- 
 vidualism has changed the natural instincts of 
 men. 
 
 'The natural instincts of men are good. 
 Naturally men are kind, loving charitable, and 
 sympathetic. But improper training, educa- 
 tion, and environment may change all that; and 
 with your people I am afraid it has done so, 
 
260 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 and that it is now necessary to bring them back 
 to their natural condition. 
 
 "In order to bring- about that change you 
 must eliminate the necessity for man to keep 
 up a continual struggle for existence. That is 
 unnecessary and is chiefly caused by your wars 
 and preparations for war, and your many use* 
 less occupations. Wars are not only cruel and 
 inhuman but cause wanton and useless de- 
 struction of life and property; cause unneces- 
 sary misery and suffering, not only to those 
 who are actually engaged but to millions who 
 take no part, even for generations after. And 
 your many useless occupations bring added 
 burdens to all; even to those who are engaged 
 in those occupations. 
 
 "These are not all the changes that must be 
 made, but when made they will greatly lighten 
 the burdens now borne by your people and will 
 quickly lead to other changes almost as neces- 
 sary. Your people must and will change to a 
 social and industrial system that will foster and 
 bring forth the natural instincts of man to do 
 that which is good instead of doing that which 
 is bad. Men are not naturally cruel, but they 
 may be made more cruel and inhuman than the 
 most savage of the brute creation. 
 
 ' ' Even the most savage and cruel of animals 
 do not accumulate food which they do not have 
 need of, and retain it from other animals that 
 need it. After they have satisfied their hunger, 
 
Treatment, Not Punishment 261 
 
 they leave any surplus for other animals that 
 may have need of it. 
 
 "But under the system existing in your 
 world, men not only take what they need but 
 strive to accumulate and retain all they can, 
 regardless of the rights and necessities of other 
 men. Yes ! regardless of the necessities of 
 women and helpless children; and, in the name 
 of Justice, their right so to do is protected and 
 enforced under your laws." 
 
 The sun was now low in the west, and the 
 beauties of a summer evening were spreading 
 over the land, proclaiming the close of another 
 day, — a day that had given to me new thoughts 
 and new ideas regarding man's obligations to- 
 ward the unfortunate and incompetent. 
 
 As we turned our steps toward the station 
 from out the extensive park that surrounded 
 the buildings of the institution, there floated to 
 our ears the strains of music from a band made 
 up from the inmates. At the close of the day, 
 instead of listening to the clanking of bolts and 
 bars, the inmates of that institution were 
 soothed with inspiring music; instead of being 
 confined behind grated doors of steel in a nar- 
 row, unhealthy cell, they were enjoying the cool 
 of the summer evening among beautiful trees, 
 breathing health-giving air laden with the 
 fragrance of flowers. They were men, — not 
 numbers. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 A CITY AND ITS PEOPLE 
 
 After one more stop we arrived at the Capi- 
 tal City, — just two weeks from the day we had 
 landed in the pocket of the mountains. Dur- 
 ing that time my ideas of government, my ideas 
 of man's obligation to man, my ideas of life 
 itself, had entirely changed. I looked upon the 
 human race in a new light. I no longer looked 
 upon man as a subject for spoliation; as an ob- 
 ject from whom I hoped to be able to extract 
 dollars and cents, though fearful that he might 
 be successful in abstracting them from me first. 
 I no longer looked upon men with suspicion 
 and distrust. I had absorbed the ideas of those 
 people and was a changed, — a new man. I had 
 seen a whole human race living together as 
 brothers; none striving to obtain more than 
 his or her share. 
 
 It all seemed so natural, — quite as it should 
 be, — that I could hardly realize how any people 
 could have it otherwise. It did not appear to 
 me that there could be any other way. And, I 
 must say there is no other way under which 
 mankind can live and fully realize all the true 
 
 262 
 
A City and Its People 263 
 
 enjoyments of life ; no other way under which 
 man can do justice to himself and to his fel- 
 low-men. 
 
 I found that city to be indeed a Capital City; 
 a city beautiful, and a city of homes. It is also 
 a great manufacturing city, and a city of 
 schools and colleges. It is not only the capital 
 of the country but it is the center of industry 
 and the center of learning. It is the largest 
 city in the country, having a population of over 
 two millions. It is a city of public buildings 
 and schools, of factories and homes. There is 
 no congested business center with its bustling 
 crowd of agitated humanity. 
 
 The public buildings and the schools are 
 spacious and surrounded with extensive 
 grounds. The factories are located amid trees, 
 shrubbery, and flowers, and in their construc- 
 tion the health and comfort of those that work 
 therein are of the first importance. And the 
 homes, — those I have described before. In all 
 that world a home is an abode of beauty and 
 comfort; a place where dwell happiness, con- 
 tentment and tranquillity. And, more than all 
 that, there are homes for all that want them. 
 No citizen of that world is without shelter. Of 
 roof -trees there are enough for all. 
 
 And why should there not be? The earth 
 produces the material for their construction 
 and there are men in plenty to construct them. 
 It is only a matter of gathering the material, 
 
264 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 shaping it, and putting it in place. If the men 
 who are idle and those who are engaged in 
 useless occupations in my world could all be 
 employed in constructing homes from the ma- 
 terial at hand, how long would it be before 
 there would be enough homes for every one? It 
 is very easy to see that under a proper system 
 none need be in want, — none need be homeless. 
 
 After seeing the benefits resulting to man- 
 kind from the system there in operation I am 
 firmly of the opinion that every one that desires 
 work should have it, and any one who is able 
 to work and will not, should be made to do so. 
 A proper amount of labor is beneficial to man, 
 but too much of it is harmful and makes men 
 old before their time. One of the unfortunate 
 conditions in my world is the unequal distribu- 
 tion of labor. Many there are who are mere 
 drones of society, — of no use to themselves or 
 to their fellow-men. A life lived for the mere 
 living is a useless and worthless life ; not only 
 to the one who lives it but to society, country, 
 and all mankind. 
 
 During the time I spent in that city I en- 
 deavored to learn all I could regarding their 
 method of conducting the affairs of state, — the 
 business of the country. I cannot say "the 
 affairs of government," as there really is no 
 government. Neither can I say "political 
 affairs," as there are no politics. There are 
 no political parties with leaders imbued with 
 
A City and Its People 265 
 
 the idea that they alone are capable of looking 
 after the best interests of the country, — ever 
 willing to assume all of the burdens in the in- 
 terests of the people, — their own interests, of 
 course, being of secondary importance. 
 
 Although there are in that world no govern- 
 ments, from our viewpoint of what constitutes 
 a government, and no politics, politicians, or 
 political parties, yet I found those people the 
 most patriotic of any that I have ever known. 
 But their patriotism is that of peace, not of 
 war, — a patriotism that is not so much of coun- 
 try as of humanity; that includes the welfare 
 and well-being of man ; the prosperity and hap- 
 piness of a whole human race; a true and un- 
 selfish love for their country and of all man- 
 kind, not a patriotism that leads to war and the 
 destroying of human life, but one that prevents 
 war and the untold miseries that follow in its 
 wake. Under their system of training, educa- 
 tion, and environment; under their method of 
 conducting their affairs, war is impossible, al- 
 though they have universal training, both male 
 and female, it is not a military training, but a 
 training that properly fits them for the full en- 
 joyment of a peaceful and useful life. 
 
 I was deeply interested in their educational 
 system, and as Hallie was a teacher in one of 
 the schools of the City I had every opportunity 
 to get all the information upon that subject that 
 I desired. And here I must mention the fact 
 
266 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 that there is no illiteracy. Every one receives 
 a liberal and substantial education, — an educa- 
 tion that reaches beyond the ability to merely 
 read and write. 
 
 Both youth and maiden are taught music, lit- 
 erature, and many of the arts and sciences. To 
 know thyself is considered of the greatest im- 
 portance, and hygiology constitutes a part of 
 the curriculum in every school. The science 
 of health, its preservation and the laws of 
 sanitation are thought to be as necessary to fit 
 one for the various functions of life as mathe- 
 matics. They are taught to "know something 
 about everything and everything about some- 
 thing." There education is a development of 
 the body and mind ; it is a physical, mental and 
 moral advancement. Those people believe that 
 "a sound mind in a sound body" makes the 
 ideal man and woman. Upon that theory the 
 child is trained and educated from childhood to 
 manhood and womanhood. 
 
 All are compelled to attend the schools, and 
 during their school period the youths and 
 maidens devote themselves to preparing for 
 their life work ; by furthering their mental and 
 physical development. As there is only one 
 language spoken they do not have to spend 
 their time in studying different languages, — 
 either dead or living. 
 
 Those who intend to become farmers take 
 special courses in agriculture, horticulture, and 
 
A City and Its People 267 
 
 arboriculture. Those who are interested in me- 
 chanics receive special training in the science 
 of the laws of matter, motion, and principles of 
 mechanics. Girls as well as boys receive spe- 
 cial training, so that all upon arriving at ma- 
 turity are fully prepared to assume the duties 
 of life: all are qualified and ready to perform 
 well their part. 
 
 I found that, on account of the care and at- 
 tention given to the training and education of 
 the young, the young men and women are well 
 developed mentally and physically; and, as 
 their habits are carefully looked after, their 
 morals are of the best. The marvelous system 
 of the country is thoroughly instilled into their 
 minds, and they are made to understand that 
 it is the only system under which all mankind 
 can fully enjoy life and do justice to themselves 
 and to one another. This whole wonderful sys- 
 tem is based upon education, training, and en- 
 vironment, producing a condition that must be 
 seen to be fully appreciated. 
 
 In visiting the schools and colleges I did not 
 find the pupils demure and staid, but, instead, 
 a robust, lively lot, full of life and health. 
 When they were at play, and upon the streets, 
 I observed that there was none of the offensive 
 and immoral language used that is so frequent- 
 ly heard upon the playgrounds and streets in 
 my world. 
 
 Those people realize that habit of thought, 
 
268 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 speech, and mind and the moral stamina ac- 
 quired by the young are hard to change and, 
 as a rule, will continue through life. For that 
 reason they devote much time and attention to 
 the training and development of the men and 
 women of the future. Under their system this 
 can be done. Those people are not wholly occu- 
 pied in making a living or in the pursuit of 
 gold. They have time to devote to other 
 things. 
 
 In that world there are no pampered children 
 of the rich; no wretched, neglected children of 
 the poor. There all enter upon life's journey 
 under equal conditions, and while making that 
 journey have the same opportunities. Merit 
 and worth are fully recognized, and it is con- 
 sidered an honor to be known as a superior 
 workman, a good farmer, or to excel in any oc- 
 cupation that a person may be engaged in. 
 Position and honor are not acquired by wealth, 
 but by excellence of character, superior merit, 
 and virtue. 
 
 As those people are fond of healthful sports 
 and have ample time to devote to them, I found 
 that much admiration was bestowed upon those 
 who excel in the popular sports and games, 
 amounting, in some instances, almost to hero 
 worship. 
 
 The games vary with the seasons ; among the 
 most popular are ball, golf, polo, and cricket; 
 and the discussion of these sports by the people 
 
A City and Its People 269 
 
 in their conversation and their attendance at the 
 games indicate how generally they are all in- 
 terested. The papers devote a great deal of 
 their space to the games; and the plays made, 
 as well as the players, are keenly criticized, 
 and, when warranted, their excellence extolled. 
 
 The champion golf player of the City was 
 one of the workers in an iron foundry and the 
 champion polo player a street car motorman. 
 I heard them lauded, and their plays discussed 
 with much interest about the clubs, hotels, and 
 public places. They were the heroes of the 
 hour. I learned that as the workers in the 
 foundry perform the hardest kind of labor they 
 are only required to work two hours each day. 
 I also learned that the shift in which the golf 
 champion belonged worked from eight to ten in 
 the forenoon, and thus he had the balance of 
 the day to devote to his favorite game. The 
 motorman, I ascertained, had a run that re- 
 quired him to be on duty from eight until 
 eleven-thirty in the evening, and during the day 
 he was a gentleman of leisure, who might de- 
 vote his time to the "millionaire's game," — as 
 polo is designated in this world. 
 
 I had the same opportunities to take a part 
 in their sports and amusements as any one 
 else, and after I had been in the city a short 
 time and had become somewhat acquainted, I 
 did not hesitate to take advantage of the privi- 
 leges. I confined myself principally to polo and 
 
270 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 golf, although Hallie and I frequently attended 
 equestrian dances, and at her request I joined 
 a tennis club of which she was a member. We 
 also frequently rode and drove together, and 
 I did not find any difficulty in procuring horses. 
 
 As the people are very much devoted to out- 
 door amusements, and,- — when the weather is 
 not inclement, — spend the greater part of their 
 time in the open, the streets and parks of the 
 city present a holiday appearance, especially 
 since, — on account of the system, as I have 
 before described, of keeping their working 
 clothes at their place of employment, and chang- 
 ing there, there are no shabbily dressed peo- 
 ple about to mar the gala-day effect. 
 
 I made my home with Creon and had a desk 
 in his library, where I worked my allotted hours 
 as his secretary, and soon felt that I was almost 
 a member of the family. My position as 
 Croon's secretary gave me unusual opportuni- 
 ties to investigate the social and industrial 
 systems of that world, and with his assistance 
 and Hallie 's, I progressed very rapidly with 
 my work. 
 
 At first it seemed strange to be without money 
 and to procure whatever I needed as though it 
 belonged to me. But I soon became used to the 
 changed conditions, and after that it appeared 
 to me to be the only rational way. And upon 
 returning to my own world I found it much 
 more difficult to again employ our complicated 
 
A City and Its People 271 
 
 money system than it was for me to adopt the 
 simple method of Creon's country. 
 
 The longer I remained in that world the more 
 I became attached to those people and their 
 systems, and I frequently found myself enter- 
 taining the idea of not returning to "The 
 Planet of Gold." And I am inclined to think 
 that I would not have done so had it not been 
 finally determined that I would only remain 
 here for a certain period and then return to that 
 world and become a permanent resident. That 
 was determined about a month before my 
 departure, and since that time I have looked 
 upon that world as my future abode. 
 
 The reason for my determination to settle 
 in that world and make my future home among 
 those people I do not feel like disclosing at this 
 time, but may conclude to do so later. 
 
 I had become very much attached to those 
 people, of course. Then there was the peace 
 and comfort, the joy and charm of living, as 
 compared with the turmoil, strife, and 
 wretchedness in the world I had left. I realized 
 that the contrast between the two would be so 
 great that I could never again be contented in 
 my world, even with my wealth, which would 
 protect me from the cares and worries that fall 
 to the lot of most persons. I felt that the 
 wretchedness and poverty of others that I must 
 encounter would make me miserable, even 
 though I did not have to share them myself. 
 
272 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 But there was a more potent reason. I had 
 found a new interest in that world, — a new 
 charm that drew me to it as nothing else could. 
 
 The members of almost every craft as well 
 as the workers in many of the factories have 
 their clubs, with spacious buildings well, even 
 luxuriously, furnished. I was a frequent visitor 
 at many of those clubs, and in equipment and 
 comfort found them equal to the club buildings 
 of the well-to-do in the cities of my world. The 
 people, too, that congregate there proved to be 
 as well mannered and as well dressed as those 
 that patronize the clubs of my country, and, I 
 must confess, were as a rule more intelligent, 
 social, and interesting. 
 
 I realize that it will be hard for my readers 
 to believe that laborers, — men who work with 
 their hands, — have the leisure and means to loi- 
 ter in well-appointed club rooms and during a 
 portion of their time play at being gentlemen 
 of leisure. But if these readers will consider 
 the simple proposition that there in that world 
 labor instead of capital represents, — is, in fact, 
 — wealth, it will then be easy to comprehend. 
 
 I learned that while libraries, theaters, and 
 schools, — as well as the parks, polo grounds, 
 golf links, and all other places of public amuse- 
 ment, — are maintained by, and are under the 
 control of, the system, the clubs of which I 
 speak, to a certain extent, are not. The theaters, 
 parks, and all places of public amusement are 
 
A City and Its People 273 
 
 free to all, but the clubs, — like the homes, — are 
 for the use of the members and their friends. 
 
 In my world those that are members of so- 
 cial clubs obtain and maintain their member- 
 ship by the payment in money of fees and dues, 
 but there membership is obtained and main- 
 tained by labor, — extra labor. 
 
 For extra labor a man or woman receives 
 credit, and up to a certain limit extra labor can 
 usually be obtained by those that wish it. This 
 credit can at any time be drawn and used as 
 desired. It may be used for extra vacation, for 
 travel, for visiting friends, or to procure some 
 work of art that pleases the fancy. The work 
 of art, — representing so much labor, instead of 
 money, — can be procured by exchanging labor 
 for it. 
 
 The home and all the necessities and com- 
 forts of life are guaranteed to all who perform 
 their share, but beyond that, the added luxuries 
 are procured by exchange of labor. There is 
 a department of the Sub-District Supervisors 
 that looks after that feature of the system. 
 
 Creon informs me that for a number of years 
 after arriving at maturity the people perform 
 considerable extra labor, but as they advance in 
 life, they perform less, not caring for the ex- 
 tras that can be procured by it. 
 
 The government, or the management, as I will 
 call it, of the City, — as in case of all other cities 
 there, — is under direct supervision of the Dis- 
 
274 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 trict Managers. The general supervision, how- 
 ever, is in charge of a committee made up of 
 men who, — while they once belonged to the 
 army of workers, — have been connected with 
 municipal work, and are therefore familiar with 
 municipal affairs. There are different depart- 
 ments, with superintendents in charge ; each de- 
 partment having its particular work to look 
 after. 
 
 Mayors, councilmen, grafters, and hangers-on 
 are unknown in their city governments. There 
 are no politicians, rounders, or incompetents to 
 be looked after and taken care of; to live and 
 thrive upon the citizens. Neither are there 
 gambling places, dens of vice, nor saloons to 
 be looked after and recognized, — restrained at 
 times and encouraged at others,— to prey upon 
 mankind and to be preyed upon in return by 
 politicians. 
 
 "The incompetent method of governing and 
 conducting the affairs of cities in your coun- 
 try is truly deplorable," remarked Creon, as 
 we were going through the municipal building 
 of the city. "It is a system of spoliation. As 
 a rule the citizens, tax-payers and property 
 owners are plundered, swindled and robbed to 
 a degree almost beyond belief — they are the 
 prey of unscrupulous politicians and office-hold- 
 ers. 
 
 "In many instances vice and crime are open- 
 ly fostered and encouraged, while honesty and 
 
A City and Its People 275 
 
 virtue are treated with contempt and scorn. 
 The money of the tax-payers is misappropriat- 
 ed and wasted, embezzled and squandered. The 
 affairs of your cities are conducted for the bene- 
 fit of those in control and not in the interest of 
 the people. They — the people — are not recog- 
 nized or thought of, except as objects to be 
 hoodwinked and deceived ; subjects for plunder 
 and pillage. 
 
 ' ' That is a condition that, in a greater or less 
 degree, runs through your whole system of gov- 
 ernment and always will, just so long as your 
 present form of government continues. I will 
 say that inefficiency is more prominent than ac- 
 tual dishonesty, but one is almost as harmful 
 and deplorable as the other. 
 
 "But what can be expected when the chief 
 qualification of many of those who control your 
 affairs, — those who hold office, — is their ability 
 to fool the people and get votes! That I find 
 is usually accomplished, either through organ- 
 ization, manipulation of the newspapers or ex- 
 ceptional ability to deceive and mislead. 
 
 "Your people insist upon a government and 
 in having men to govern and control your af- 
 fairs; but you do not train or educate them for 
 that purpose, and men are placed in charge who 
 are without experience or ability and are there- 
 fore incompetent and inefficient. 
 
 "In your world men are trained for war at 
 the expense of the people, and you insist upon 
 
276 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 your professional men being trained for their 
 professions ; but you elect men to manage your 
 governmental affairs who are devoid of train- 
 ing or experience, with the result that your af- 
 fairs of government are in a sad and calamitous 
 condition. I may almost say in a state of chaos. 
 
 "Even under your system of waste and use- 
 less occupations, the people of your country 
 have a total wealth of more than one hundred 
 and forty billions of dollars, which, if equally 
 distributed would give something like fourteen 
 hundred dollars to every man, woman, and child 
 in your country. And yet there are thousands 
 who are in want, suffering for food and cloth- 
 ing, while the few are rich beyond the dream of 
 avarice. 
 
 ' ' Should the people of your world require any 
 further proof of what they should do? Does it 
 not show that they should throw aside their 
 forms of government that have proven to be so 
 pernicious and useless and adopt a rational sys- 
 tem, a system which will provide for all and not 
 make a few millionaires and innumerable pau- 
 pers? They must adopt a system of philan- 
 thropy, of humanitarianism. They must devise 
 a system whereby every man and woman shall 
 enjoy the fruit of his or her labor, and pre- 
 vent one greedy being from monopolizing the 
 toil and making miserable the lives of thou- 
 sands. 
 
 ' ' The people of your country take great pride 
 
A City and Its People 277 
 
 in the wealth of your nation, and boast vainglo- 
 riously of how it has multiplied more than one 
 hundred-and-twenty-five-fold since the organi- 
 zation of your present form of government; 
 but what have they to say of the way in which 
 it is distributed among your people? It is not 
 the amount of wealth that indicates prosperity, 
 it is the way in which it is apportioned among 
 the people that tells the tale. 
 
 "Your cities, your states, and your national 
 government are all loaded down with debts, 
 upon which your people are paying interest. It 
 is rare to find a town, city, or county that is 
 not burdened with debts; and your states and 
 national government are in even a worse condi- 
 tion. And the indebtedness continues to accu- 
 mulate. No one ever stops to think of the day 
 of reckoning; and what the end will be is be- 
 yond the prescience of man. 
 
 "Under our system there is no graft, there 
 are no politicians, no office-holders, no incompe- 
 tents, no debts, no interest, no taxes, and no ex- 
 cessive burdens. Our cities are clean, sanitary 
 and beautiful, — places in which it is a pleasure 
 to live, — to have a home. 
 
 "The street railways, electric systems, tele- 
 phone service, as well as the water works and 
 sewer system, are considered a part of the mu- 
 nicipality, and are looked after and controlled 
 by the District Managers. They are almost as 
 necessary as the streets and sidewalks, and 
 
278 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 should therefore receive the same consideration 
 and attention." 
 
 In our inspection of the municipal building, 
 I noticed that all were attentive to the duties 
 they were engaged in performing. Those that 
 were at work in the various departments did 
 not appear to be working with the idea that 
 they had a pull and could hold down the job 
 as long as their pull lasted, regardless of their 
 incompetency or inefficiency. 
 
 I spent considerable time in the Capitol build- 
 ings, as I will call them, — the buildings used for 
 transacting the general affairs of the country. 
 In my investigation of how those affairs were 
 conducted I found that neither the Grand Coun- 
 cil, District Managers, or the Sub-District Su- 
 pervisors pass any laws, by-laws, or ordinances. 
 When they meet as a body they listen to re- 
 ports of committees, discuss matters generally, 
 appoint committees, either with power to act 
 or with instructions to investigate and report. 
 There is no bombast, no "playing to the gal- 
 leries," no seeking for votes, and no constitu- 
 ents to be looked after and provided for. 
 
 The affairs of government, — as I will call it, 
 — are conducted in a systematic and business- 
 like manner by men of experience, — men whose 
 minds are not occupied with the problem of re- 
 election but bent on the business in hand. In 
 all of their official acts they are not concerned 
 with the thought of how a constituency will view 
 
A City and Its People 279 
 
 their acts, and what effect those acts may have 
 upon their political advancement, — not work- 
 ing for a political party instead of for the coun- 
 try. 
 
 They are not agreeing to support this or that 
 measure, regardless of its merits, in order to 
 secure the support of others on some pet meas- 
 ure that they may have in view; not trying 
 to fool the people that they may thus keep them- 
 selves in office. They are not wasting their 
 time in useless talk against the party measures 
 of their political opponents, while the business 
 affairs of the country suffer and are at a stand- 
 still. They give their attention solely to the 
 business affairs of the country; they work for 
 the whole people and for the system, — in other 
 words, they do not put in their time in ' ' playing 
 politics." 
 
 There the system is simple but firm and en- 
 during, and all that is necessary is to carry on 
 and continue that system, — a system that gives 
 equal rights to all, a system that fosters pa- 
 triotism, — but not false patriotism. 
 
 The more familiar I became with this ideal 
 method of conducting the affairs of government, 
 the more cumbersome and absurd did our 
 method appear. And yet, it is no more absurd 
 and nonsensical than our whole industrial and 
 social system. A system that tends to destroy 
 homes, happiness, and peace; religion, honor 
 and virtue; that makes poverty where there 
 
280 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 should be prosperity; tears where there should 
 be smiles; sickness and death where there 
 should be life and health; want where there 
 should be plenty. A system that retards the 
 human race, — morally, mentally and physically, 
 — that perverts mankind. 
 
 Being the only person from my world who 
 has ever seen a rational system in operation; 
 who has mingled with a people that are living 
 in a natural common-sense way; each enjoying 
 life at its best, and willing and anxious that 
 all others should do likewise, I am better able 
 to see the incongruities of our method than are 
 others who have not had the same experience. 
 I can more readily realize the unfitness of things 
 and understand how unnecessary it all is. 
 
 An immense water power, fully developed 
 and utilized, has made that a great manufactur- 
 ing city, but not a smoky, sooty, and unhealthy 
 one. The manufacturing plants are all oper- 
 ated by electricity, generated from the power 
 plants, and the same system is in operation that 
 I have heretofore described. There are mills 
 and factories for the manufacture of nearly 
 everything for the use of mankind ; although the 
 principal industries are the manufacturing of 
 woolen and cotton goods, boots and shoes, and 
 flour. 
 
 I visited many of the different plants and 
 found them all, without exception, clean and 
 healthful, and desirable places in which to work. 
 
A City and Its People 281 
 
 They are equipped with the best of improved 
 machinery, and in their operation the health, 
 comfort and safety of the operators are consid- 
 ered and carefully looked after. The people 
 who work in those factories are not working 
 to produce dividends for stockholders, regard- 
 less of everything else; not toiling and risking 
 life and limb for a wage hardly sufficient to 
 produce the bare necessities of life. They are 
 not working for wealth in which they can have 
 no share ; they are not required to labor long 
 hours in unclean, ill-ventilated, and unhealthy 
 workrooms, — in order that capital may be re- 
 warded, — under an industrial system that con- 
 siders capital to be of more importance than 
 human life, — the lives of those who toil. 
 
 They are not working under a board of direc- 
 tors that is constantly planning to produce more 
 at a lesser cost; to lower the cost of produc- 
 tion, no matter how, in order that capital may 
 enjoy a greater profit. They are not working 
 under a system that plans to reduce the cost of 
 production at the expense of labor and thus 
 enable the owners of capital more fully to enjoy 
 their palatial homes, their automobiles, their 
 lackeys, and to live, in idleness and luxury. 
 They are not helping to maintain a system un- 
 der which those that labor and support capital 
 receive hardly enough to sustain life, while cap- 
 ital thrives and prospers, — a system of labor 
 with poverty, of idleness with wealth. 
 
282 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 "That capital is better protected than is la- 
 bor under the laws of your country cannot be 
 gainsaid," declared Creon in discussing this 
 subject. "Capital may work its employees in 
 unhealthy workrooms, around unprotected, dan- 
 gerous machinery, and thereby destroy health; 
 may maim and cripple and even destroy human 
 life, without punishment and almost without 
 censure ; but when labor destroys capital, labor 
 is invariably punished, — it is made to feel the 
 strong arm of the law." 
 
 It would be useless for me to again describe 
 the system of distributing the food supply to 
 the people. It is the same simple plan in a city 
 of that size as it is in the smaller towns and 
 cities. Every one has his or her part to per- 
 form and knows how and when to perform it. 
 The necessities of life are not stored and re- 
 tained from the people until a profit may be 
 made by an advance in price. There is not 
 food in abundance for those that have the means 
 with which to procure it, and none for those 
 that are not possessed of that magic thing called 
 money. 
 
 Money! That word no longer appeals to me 
 as the one thing needful for human happiness. 
 Such thoughts as possessed me while Creon 
 and I were on our way down the mountain after 
 our flight through space, I no longer entertain. 
 I have learned to look upon money as worse 
 than a useless thing. I can now see that, instead 
 
A City and Its People 283 
 
 of making men happy, it is the cause of all their 
 wretchedness. It is the great producer of mis- 
 ery and crime, — the incentive to man's inhu- 
 manity to man. It destroys manhood and wom- 
 anhood; it wrecks families and homes; it re- 
 tards the progress and advancement of the hu- 
 man race: it has been well designated as "the 
 root of all evil." 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 FOR MAN" AND HUMANITY 
 
 During the time I remained in that world, 
 summer faded into autumn, autumn into winter, 
 and when I left, spring, with its freshness and 
 glory, was upon the land. The trees were tak- 
 ing on their hues of green, the flowers were 
 blooming, the birds singing, and all nature was 
 as joyous and full of life as were the wonderful 
 people of that wonderful country. 
 
 My principal duty as Creon's secretary was 
 to acquire information and gather material for 
 this book. That work was drawing to a close, 
 and the time was fast approaching when I was 
 in duty bound to return to the "Planet of Gold" 
 and proclaim all that I had seen; to show to 
 those wretched beings who are struggling under 
 the burdens of a miserable and needless method 
 of existence that there is a system under which 
 mankind can live in peace and plenty ; to bring 
 a ray of hope to those who are now without 
 hope, — who have nothing to anticipate but mis- 
 ery and penury. 
 
 There should not be anything to prevent the 
 people of my world from adopting a system 
 
 284 
 
For Man and Humanity 285 
 
 similar to that which I found there in perfect 
 operation, — a system that will do away with 
 war and all causes for war, with greed and ail 
 causes for greed. 
 
 Why cannot as much be done in times of 
 peace for the uplifting of man as is done in 
 times of war for his destruction? 
 
 To maintain war, those in control of govern- 
 ments do not hesitate to confiscate property, to 
 operate railroads, and factories, to control all 
 food supplies, in short, to do anything that 
 they may consider necessary for the carrying 
 on of their awful work of destruction. But in 
 times of peace they would view with horror 
 any attempt to do those things for the better- 
 ment of mankind and in the interests of human- 
 ity. If the rulers of our governments would 
 take the same interest in the upbuilding of the 
 human race that they do in maintaining and 
 extending the governments, we would have 
 more peace and less war, more happiness and 
 less misery. 
 
 In war system is everything; and for the pur- 
 poses of war a system is maintained that is al- 
 most perfect in its operations ; a system harsh, 
 cruel, and unjust, but effectual for the pur- 
 poses; a system that fills the land with un- 
 marked graves ; that buries men in trenches 
 with dead horses; that causes men, wounded 
 and helpless, to lie neglected and uncared for 
 amid the dead and dying, to writhe, shriek, and 
 
286 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 mourn in their agony and despair ; there to die 
 for the want of care and attention, — for the 
 touch of a helping hand. 
 
 I know that in my world there has never been 
 a greater need of a change than at the present 
 time. There never was more poverty, never 
 more wealth, and that wealth was never more 
 unequally distributed. There is in my world to- 
 day more war, bloodshed, and crime than were 
 ever before known. In nearly all of our so- 
 called civilized nations, the tramp of marching 
 armies is constant, and the boom of cannon is 
 heard upon every sea. More men are to-day 
 engaged in the killing and destroying of one 
 another than at any time known in history. A 
 whole world has gone war mad. 
 
 And why is it? Have the people retrograded 
 into barbarism ; do they take delight in the shed- 
 ding of blood, in the taking of life, in the de- 
 struction of homes? Have the people of my 
 world reached that state when they prefer war 
 to peace? 
 
 That cannot be. It is because under the plan 
 of government that has prevailed with some of 
 our nations, the people have had no voice in the 
 affairs of government, — in the things in which 
 they are the most vitally concerned. It is be- 
 cause a few have assumed control of the many, 
 and the people are driven to the shambles as 
 sheep to the slaughter, with no more to say re- 
 garding their fate. It is on account of a system 
 
For Man and Humanity 287 
 
 of wrong training, wrong education, wrong en- 
 vironment ; a system based upon nationalism in- 
 stead of internationalism. 
 
 ' ' Now is the time, ' ' observed Creon in speak- 
 ing upon this subject, "for the people of your 
 world to act. With a large percentage of its 
 inhabitants engaged in a most cruel war, — a 
 percentage greater than ever before so em- 
 ployed in the history of your world, — it would 
 seem as though the people would realize that 
 your forms of government have proven a com- 
 plete failure and should be cast aside as worth- 
 less and as a menace to the human race. There 
 never was a time when a change was more 
 needed than now. Your people, as a whole, 
 were never in a more deplorable condition than 
 they are at the present time. Millions who are 
 lovers of peace are forced to take up arms and 
 fight their fellow-men ; to fight, kill, and destroy 
 men against whom they have no grievance and 
 for what purpose they know not. 
 
 "Want, that grim spectre of death, stalks si- 
 lently throughout the land, pointing its bony 
 fingers to the feeble and infirm, to the child and 
 mother, and man stops not to stay its progress. 
 Schools and churches are being turned into hos- 
 pitals, and men into demons. Munitions of war 
 are of the first importance, and for gain, — in 
 exchange for gold, — they are being furnished 
 to the belligerents by the people of neutral na- 
 tions in order that the work of death and de- 
 
288 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 struction may not be stayed, but be continued 
 as long as possible. Furnished, yes, with the 
 one thought of the profits resulting therefrom ; 
 without regard for the destruction of life, the 
 misery and suffering that will be caused 
 thereby. 
 
 ''The forms of government that have been 
 maintained for so many years in your world 
 have not proven a success, but, instead, have 
 resulted in disaster. They should now end. 
 Under your forms of government, wars have 
 been continuous, one following after the other 
 in rapid succession. Not only have nations 
 been pitted against nations but within nations 
 there have been civil strifes. Revolutions and 
 rebellions, external and internal discord, tu- 
 mult and contention have run riot. Not only do 
 your governments create wars and destroy life 
 and property but they burden the people with 
 debts and cause unnecessary hardships and mis- 
 ery. They are operated at an enormous ex- 
 pense and give little in return but toil and trou- 
 ble to the people who support them. 
 
 ' ' While your forms of government have been 
 a failure, your industrial system has wrecked 
 mankind. Under it men,— without pity, with- 
 out sympathy, and without honor ; who are cold, 
 grasping and greedy; who care not for the 
 rights of others; whose minds are centered 
 upon the acquisition of gold (no matter how 
 they may obtain it, so long as they are able to 
 
For Man and Humanity 289 
 
 keep outside of the walls of your peniten- 
 tiaries), — acquire wealth and honor, and are 
 looked up to as men of worth and ability, while 
 those who have a just regard for the rights of 
 others ; who are willing to live and let live ; who 
 believe in the brotherhood of man, and endeavor 
 to live useful, honest lives, are engulfed in the 
 maelstrom of misfortune, — are made derelicts 
 upon the sea of life. 
 
 " Under it labor must depend upon capital for 
 employment, — for an opportunity to earn bread. 
 He who labors must look to those who employ 
 labor for employment, and even in your coun- 
 try, which is supposed to be the paradise of the 
 workingman, the government census report 
 shows that his income is only about one-half 
 enough to support his family in decency. 
 
 ' ' How long can such things be continued and 
 be borne by man ? How long will mankind suf- 
 fer for the necessities of life, when there is 
 more than enough for all ? How long must men 
 who perform the hardest tasks receive the least 
 in return for their toil? How long must men 
 be required to beg for a chance to work, in or- 
 der that they may sustain life and provide for 
 those who are dependent upon them? How long 
 must men of peace be forced to fight and die 
 to maintain a system of government that brings 
 to them in return hardships, misery, and want? 
 How long will the millions sweat, toil, and die, 
 in order that capital may flourish, grow great, 
 
290 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 and mighty, and through its growth and power 
 become stronger, more domineering, and more 
 arrogant 1 ? How long will they that are in con- 
 trol be allowed to juggle with the rights of 
 men? How long will labor, — that which is the 
 source of all wealth, — be looked upon and 
 treated with disdain? How long will the people 
 of your world continue to grovel and worship 
 at the shrine of Mammon, — that terrible, selfish, 
 troublesome, Syrian god of old. 
 
 "I do not," he said, "advocate an uprising 
 of the people, nor any harsh nor hasty action. 
 In order to bring about a just system, it is not 
 necessary that there should be pillage, plunder, 
 and bloodshed, — not necessary to cause mis- 
 ery and suffering. Those who favor force and 
 violence are not the true friends of the people, 
 or of mankind. Force and violence go hand in 
 hand with anger and hate, with death, destruc- 
 tion, and ruin, which are inimical to the broth- 
 erhood of man. 
 
 "If all men would refuse to fight and kill one 
 another when ordered to do so by their kings 
 and rulers, there could be no wars ; there would 
 be universal peace among men. If the people of 
 your world would refuse longer to continue 
 your irrational system, and firmly but peace- 
 ably declare for a change to the one that you 
 here see in operation, it would soon be brought 
 about. The supremacy of the brotherhood of 
 man would be complete. 
 
For Man and Humanity 291 
 
 "Many of your people who are seeking to 
 throw off their burdens favor an uprising of 
 the people; they try to excite anger and class 
 hatred ; but through that course nothing for the 
 good of mankind can ever be accomplished, and 
 disaster will surely follow. The human heart 
 may be touched by kindness, sympathy, and 
 love, but through anger, envy and hate, never. 
 
 "It is not only the toilers that will be bene- 
 fited by the change, but every one, with possibly 
 the exception of a very few, who, by reason of 
 their wealth and position, are in control. They 
 will of course be deprived of the power that 
 they now wield and of many of their luxuries ; 
 they will be held accountable to mankind as are 
 other men; their gold and treasures will not 
 be taken from them, but will be made worthless 
 and useless, — and of that they cannot complain. 
 They would then be better off than thousands 
 who now, under your chaotic conditions, 
 through war, disaster, or unfortunate specula- 
 tion, lose their fortunes, — they would only be 
 placed upon an equal footing with other men. 
 All they would have to do would be to perform 
 their share, — do well their part; and no man 
 can complain when he is only required to do 
 that. 
 "You can readily see that the bringing about 
 of a change from your system to ours does not 
 mean war and bloodshed. Organization in times 
 of war will accomplish much toward the de- 
 
292 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 struction of mankind. That has been and is 
 being demonstrated in your world to the detri- 
 ment and anguish of the human race. Why, 
 then, cannot organization in times of peace be 
 made to help mankind and bring about a condi- 
 tion such as you find existing in this world? 
 Why is it not possible for men to organize and 
 work for that which he knows to be right, for 
 justice to all, for equal rights, for humanity, 
 for the brotherhood of man, for others as well 
 as for himself? Will the people of your world 
 undergo untold hardships, risk life and limb in 
 the destroying of one another, and not be will- 
 ing to raise their voice nor give either thought 
 or time to the betterment of humanity? 
 
 "If men in your world can be so educated 
 and trained that they will sacrifice their lives 
 for their country, why can they not be so trained 
 and educated that they will act, work, and strive 
 for a condition under which such a sacrifice 
 will be unnecessary ? ' ' 
 
 These questions I was unable to answer. 
 
 When I was in that world, surrounded with 
 all the beauties and comforts that are enjoyed 
 by every one; as I mingled with those happy, 
 care-free people, with prosperity and plenty on 
 every hand, I felt that it would only be neces- 
 sary upon returning to my world to tell the peo- 
 ple of what I had seen, of the benefits to be en- 
 joyed by all under the system there in opera- 
 tion, and that the old system of wealth and pov- 
 
For Man and Humanity 293 
 
 erty, wrong and injustice, would be no more. 
 And, possessed with these thoughts, I returned 
 with Creon to the world of my birth, hoping and 
 believing that my journey to his planet would 
 prove to be of as much benefit to my fellow- 
 men as it has been to me. 
 
 We were favored with a couple of visits from 
 Mr. Tweto, who was much interested in my work 
 and rendered me valuable assistance. He was 
 very confident that when I returned and in- 
 formed the people of my world of the conditions 
 existing on the planet I had visited and of the 
 prosperity and happiness there enjoyed by all, 
 that a change would be demanded, — one that 
 could be no longer delayed. 
 
 But when I think of the greed and avarice 
 that have for so many generations been instilled 
 into the minds of men, of the desire to grasp 
 and retain all things regardless of the needs 
 of others, of the covetous desires of those that 
 have become possessed of the lands, goods, and 
 chattels, I am wont to despair. Still, when I 
 consider the innate good that is born in man, 
 the natural instinct to do what is right, and the 
 inborn desire not to do that which is wrong; 
 when I reflect upon the kindness that always 
 has and always will abide in the human heart, — 
 the humanity of man, — I still have hope; and, 
 like my friend Tweto, I have confidence that 
 there will soon appear a day of sunshine to 
 
294 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 those that have become blinded by the long con- 
 tinued darkness of seemingly endless night. 
 
 I hope that the time will come when the old 
 couple bowed down with years will not be 
 forced to leave the old home, — their household 
 goods sold that interest upon capital may be 
 paid, their first-born taken from them in the 
 whirlwind of war, and the baby's cradle and the 
 little shoes sold, amid jests and unthinking 
 laughter, by an officer of the law. I hope that 
 the time is not far distant when war will be no 
 more, when the energies of men will be exerted 
 in the interests of humanity, when commercial- 
 ism will give way to benevolence, when poverty 
 and want will be unknown, when man's obliga- 
 tions to man will be recognized by all, when 
 the people of my world will no longer worship 
 at a golden shrine. 
 
 Firm in this belief, there are many true men 
 and women in this world who are working for 
 the good of mankind : who are striving through 
 environment and by the proper education and 
 training of the people to bring about a change 
 for the betterment of man. This band of broth- 
 ers is constantly increasing in numbers and in 
 strength; it has, indeed, assumed the propor- 
 tions of a vast army working in the interests of 
 peace. Many of its members are people of edu- 
 cation, refinement, and wealth, by reason of 
 which they can accomplish the best results. 
 This army of peace will continue to increase; it 
 
For Man and Humanity 295 
 
 will continue its work until war, poverty, and 
 want will have become as ancient history, — a 
 mere record of the horrible, hideous, terrible 
 things of the past. 
 
 Mars, that devastating God of War, will be 
 dethroned, and Eros, the gentle God of Love, 
 will reign supreme. Then, and not until then, 
 will there be peace, plenty, and happiness for 
 all — for all who perform well their part. 
 
 When I left that world it was with the under- 
 standing that I should return in six months, and 
 I am more than willing to do so. It was ar- 
 ranged that Creon should come after me, and 
 Hallie was to accompany him. As it is now time 
 for them to be here, I am expecting a message 
 from them any day and must be in a position 
 to return at once. I have disposed of all my 
 property, and in doing so I have provided a 
 way by which it will help relieve the wretched- 
 ness of those that are in need of succor. But I 
 have not yet provided for the publication of this 
 book, and as soon as I can make arrangements 
 for its publication I shall be ready to go back. 
 
 Yes; I shall go back to that happy land and 
 become one of its people, and by performing 
 my share shall receive like share in return. 
 With the people, and as one of them, I shall en- 
 joy life better than would be possible in this 
 world, no matter how much wealth I might pos- 
 sess. And there I shall have the satisfaction 
 
296 Beyond the Horizon 
 
 of knowing that in thus enjoying life I am not 
 preventing others from receiving that which is 
 due them also. I shall not be haunted by the 
 knowledge that there are many hungry and in 
 want, while I have everything in plenty. I shall 
 dwell among a people united in the idea of help- 
 ing one another; a people patriotic and loyal 
 to a high degree, but not warlike, nor spending 
 time and energy in destroying one another and 
 in making the country desolate, — a people en- 
 joying a state of civilization and enlightenment, 
 in which individualism is not paramount to hu- 
 manity. 
 
 During my absence from that world a bunga- 
 low is being constructed and furnished in the 
 Capital City, a dwelling for two ; and when I re- 
 turn it will be ready for occupancy. It will be 
 our home, — Hallie's and mine, — so long as life 
 shall last, unless — unless in the years to come 
 we shall require more room for the needs of 
 our family. 
 
 It has been agreed, that we shall be married 
 here. And then for a flight through space, — a 
 honeymoon trip of millions of miles, from one 
 planet of the universe to another!