Transcriber’s Notes:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
* * * * *
A CITYLESS AND COUNTRYLESS WORLD
AN OUTLINE OF
Practical Co-Operative Individualism
BY
HENRY OLERICH.
HOLSTEIN, IOWA.
PUBLISHED BY GILMORE & OLERICH,
HOLSTEIN, IOWA.
* * * * *
_Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1893, by Henry
Olerich, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington._
W. B. CONKEY CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS, CHICAGO.
PREFACE
One who is not totally blind and insensible to our present conditions
and to the passing events, can see at a glance that mankind in nearly
all its activities is still harassed by detestable friction. It is true
that we have made wonderful achievements in our so-called sciences.
Intelligence as a whole has ever broadened and deepened. We have
photographed stars too remote to be seen even with the most powerful
telescopes. We have weighed the planets and have ascertained their
distances. We have ascended into the clouds beyond the reach of the
naked eye. We have explored the bottom of the sea and have examined the
deep strata of the earth’s crust. Our cities are illuminated with a
continuous flash of lightning. Architectural skill has erected colossal
structures which it has splendidly finished and gorgeously decorated
with the hand of art. By the telegraph and telephone we have almost
annihilated time and space. In the phonograph we have impressed a voice
on the mineral kingdom. On the floating palace of the ocean we can,
in a few days, migrate from one continent to the other. We journey in
comfortable, speedy trains. Wonderful agricultural implements till the
soil. Manufacturing and mining have developed to gigantic industries.
The expansive force of steam and the electric current turn our
ponderous wheels of toil. Everywhere progress is visible. The food,
clothing, shelter and luxuries of the masses are, no doubt, better now
than they were ever before in the history of the human race. Mental
activity is bolder, broader and freer. Fights, quarrels, paternalism
and monopoly are gradually diminishing.
But notwithstanding all this, there is still room for vast improvement;
and one who has the real interest of himself and companions at heart
will not close his eyes against existing evils. He will boldly and
fearlessly face them, and endeavor to diminish them by a diffusion of a
higher and wider intelligence.
A thoughtful observer can not wend his way in any direction but what he
is still confronted by abominable evils which are still preying on the
purity, well-being and happiness of mankind.
In our cities we meet countless men, women and children with pale
faces, who are starving for want of sunshine, pure air and out-door
exercise. Thousands of industrious persons are forced idlers. Thousands
are living in hovels and garrets unfit for a human abode. Thousands
are paupers and tramps. A countless army of men, women and children
are mere machines, working a long, toilsome day in a mill, factory,
or workshop. A large class of women, in order to make a livelihood,
are selling themselves into marriage, or for other vile purposes. Our
farmers are largely spending their lives in country solitudes, toiling
principally for the capitalist and landlord.
A vast multitude, in fact nearly all of our so-called laborers, are
toiling so hard and so long daily, for their mere material subsistence
that little, if any, energy is left for personal cleanliness and
mental culture. Our land tenure monopolizes the earth’s surface.
Our medium of exchange which is rapidly concentrating wealth offers
special privileges to the rich. Our system of education is largely
cruel, unnatural and otherwise injurious. Husband and wife, parent and
child, often quarrel and fight and sometimes kill each other and commit
suicide.
Our government is largely invasive and despotic, and principally run by
politicians, who are grossly ignorant of the psychological principles
of human nature. Children, on the one hand, are neglected and starving,
both physically and mentally; and, on the other hand, they are tyrants
and little more than grown-up babies. Care and sorrow are stamped upon
nearly every brow one meets. Mothers, as a rule, are maternal slaves,
feeble and care-worn. Strife, revenge and jealousy are absorbing a
large share of our best energies. Much of our labor is unproductive
and destructive, and most of our machinery, tools and means of
transportation are manipulated in the interest of the rich. Paternalism
stunts individuality, and monopoly prevents the masses from becoming
prosperous.
It is a well-known fact that a stupid, ignorant person, unlike an
intelligent one, can bear most any burden without being galled by it.
Hence all our present agitations, dissatisfactions and utterances of
discontent are only so many tongues that are beginning to speak by the
force of a rising intelligence and an increasing sensibility, which
causes the victims slowly to become conscious of their unjust burdens.
It is, no doubt, true that, as a whole, we have been and are still
gradually marching toward individual freedom and equity, but, as we
have seen, are still far from having attained them. Some of us have at
last learned that happiness of self includes the happiness of others,
and that our conscious efforts, guided by the highest intelligence,
may be made to count in promoting this progressive march. For these
reasons I have concluded to contribute my infinitesimal part of this
conscious work of progress by outlining, in these printed pages,
a social and economic system from which, I believe, our existing
evils are eliminated; and to still further assist in this labor, I
compare this new system with our present one, so as to make the work
more perspicuous for those who are not much accustomed to think for
themselves. I also name and describe some of the successive steps of
progress which slowly succeeded one another.
In this work I shall further endeavor to show that social and
economic prosperity and harmony can be attained only in a system
which recognizes extensive voluntary co-operation as its fundamental
principle of production and distribution, and which concedes to every
individual the right to do as he wills, provided he does not infringe
the equal right of any other person; for in the harmonious and
intelligent union of these two factors consists the solution of the
social and economic problem.
I am well aware that my work will meet with strong opposition from my
timid contemporaries. I am aware that they will endeavor to spread the
alarm that this book is dangerous, but such a course is nothing new and
nothing strange. Persons whose hearts are cold and full of iniquity
have never been able to see and feel beyond the very limited sphere of
their own activity. They measure all other people by their own crude
and wicked intentions. Cruelty and blind zeal have always led such
persons on unwise paths. Countless examples may be cited in support of
this proposition.
Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth, and was, therefore,
condemned to drink the poisonous hemlock. Jesus, who advocated nobler
and purer principles than His contemporaries, was crucified by them.
Washington, who believed in a republic which concedes a little more
individual freedom than a monarchy does, was branded a traitor by his
monarchical contemporaries. Garrison, who advocated the liberation of
chattel slaves, was denounced a dangerous demagogue. When Luther added
a degree of personal liberty to the inflexible creed of his time, all
Christendom branded him a heretic; a subverter of human well-being.
Haeckel, Huxley, Spencer, Darwin, Buckel, Pentecost, Tucker and
countless others, who have vastly enriched the storehouse of human
knowledge by their genius and industry, have all, in their turn, been
calumniated and denounced by persons who have, perhaps, never read a
line of what these leading men have written.
I do not make these remarks concerning criticism on the ground that
I fear that my work will not bear analysis and examination; but, on
the contrary, I kindly invite the keenest critics to subject the
contents of it to the closest scrutiny. I am keenly conscious that this
book, like all others that have ever been written, contains errors
and shortcomings. To assert the contrary implies perfection, and no
person who is ordinarily well-informed will claim to be perfect or
infallible; but I can afford to invite criticism, for I shall be as
much interested in having my errors and shortcomings pointed out as
my critics are, for I have no creed, no party and no organization to
defend, but am merely searching for truth, and truth needs no other
defense than that of discovering it.
Now let me state right here that I do not wish to be understood that
the masses, who are now living, are suited, as they are at present
constituted, to enjoy and become members of a social and economic
system as pure, high and noble as the one rudely outlined in this work;
but the aim of this work is to _fit_ that vast multitude who are still
_unfit_ for it by having them mentally assimilate some of the facts
expressed and suggested in it, for let us not forget that man-made
institutions are, as a whole, always nearly suited to the mental
capacity of the masses. A comparison of the minds and institutions of
the savage with those of the more developed will substantiate this
great principle. Improve the mind by unfolding it, and the human-made
institutions will improve to correspond.
Let me here advise the reader not to omit any chapter or read them
in any other order than the one given in the book. It is not a fact,
as many believe, that a single topic can be successfully learned
or discussed without having it closely connected with others. For
examples, a change in a locomotive implies or produces a change in the
roadbed, in commerce, in speed, in mercantile business. A change in
the land tenure and in the medium of exchange produces corresponding
changes in all other human institutions and conduct; if not, one land
tenure and medium of exchange would be as good as another. A change in
sex-relations is accompanied with a corresponding change in dress,
food, dwellings, education, modes of travel, amusements, individual
freedom, in the manner of rearing offspring, and in countless other
ways. A system, in order to be natural and harmonious, must be a
connected whole. Hence we can see at once that the very act of
endeavoring to learn or discuss a single topic unconnected with others
is a sign of mental incompleteness.
With these prefatory remarks, I humbly submit the following pages to
the thoughtful consideration and impartial judgment of a continuously
progressing individual.
HOLSTEIN, Ia., March, 1892.
HENRY OLERICH.
INDEX.
PAGE.
CHAPTER I. Character, Description and Locality 13
CHAPTER II. Midith’s Arrival. His opinion of our
Earth 25
CHAPTER III. The Marsian Theory of Creation and
Formation 40
CHAPTER IV. Marsian Home and Family 51
CHAPTER V. Wealth 68
CHAPTER VI. Labor 74
CHAPTER VII. Interior of “Big-house” 80
CHAPTER VIII. Interior of “Big-house” (Continued) 90
CHAPTER IX. Happiness and Truth 101
CHAPTER X. Exterior of “Big-house” 114
CHAPTER XI. Exterior of “Big-house” (Concluded) 126
CHAPTER XII. Commercial and Mercantile Systems 151
CHAPTER XIII. Money, or Medium of Exchange 170
CHAPTER XIV. Some Connections between Wealth, Labor,
Commerce, Intercommunication, and
a Medium of Exchange 215
CHAPTER XV. Ownership of Land 230
CHAPTER XVI. Government 240
CHAPTER XVII. Sex Relations 261
CHAPTER XVIII. Comparison of Our Sex Relations with
Yours 273
CHAPTER XIX. Comparison of Our Sex Relations with
Yours (Continued) 289
CHAPTER XX. Sex Relations (Concluded) 297
CHAPTER XXI. Education 312
CHAPTER XXII. Education--The Different Branches 326
CHAPTER XXIII. Education--How to Teach the Different
Branches, and a Critical Comparison 342
CHAPTER XXIV. How the Transition from the Old to the
New Order of Things was Accomplished 388
CHAPTER XXV. How the Transition from the Old to the
New Order of Things was Accomplished
(Continued) 412
CHAPTER XXVI. Favorable News 430
DIAGRAMS.
PAGE.
Ground Plan of a “Big-house” 52
Wing of a “Big-house,” showing Private Apartments 55
Diagram, showing Communities, Motor-Lines, Railroads, etc. 57
Diagram, showing Sectional View of Parks, Boulevards,
Walks, Garden, Orchard, etc. 60
Diagram, showing Location of “Big-houses,” Warehouse,
Factories, etc. 58
Diagram, showing Enlarged Sectional View of Community,
with Four “Big-houses,” etc. 115
Diagram of Electric Carriage 132
Diagram of a Marsian Money-bill 175
CHAPTER I. CHARACTER, DESCRIPTION AND LOCALITIES.
It is in the pleasant little village of Dozen where Mr. Uwins and
family live. Mr. Uwins is a philosopher by nature, and an author, over
an assumed name, by profession. The family at present consists of Mr.
and Mrs. Uwins; Miss Viola, a daughter of eighteen; Roland, a son of
fourteen; Celestine, a daughter of six; and Rev. Dudley, a brother of
Mrs. Uwins, who is spending the summer with them.
Mr. Uwins is a handsome, well-proportioned man of middle age. He is
about six feet tall, weighing about 180 pounds. His clothes are not
expensive, but always scrupulously clean and tidy. His appearance is
decidedly prepossessing and lasting toward man, woman and child. He
nearly always wears a pleasing countenance, is modest, kind, just and
highly sociable. He is an untimid, original thinker, searching for
truth in all direction. His clear, sincere, lucid and forcible style of
expression makes him a charming conversationalist, admired by all who
know him.
Mrs. Uwins is a little above the medium size, erect and
well-proportioned. She is a few years younger than her husband, and
is almost as handsome and tasty now as she was at sixteen. She walks
with a quick, elastic step; is orderly, skilled and ready in her
domestic and other walks of life. Always kind, and never loses control
of her temper. Revenge and jealousy have no place in her heart. She
is cheerful, even under adversity. She teaches her children to be
independent, kind, just and industrious, and never governs by force.
The faculty of teaching her children to do their respective parts,
their share of the work without a command, is highly developed in her.
She is an acute thinker, a good writer, a pleasing conversationalist,
an accomplished player, and a sweet singer. The social and industrial
problem has been boldly and fearlessly investigated by her,
particularly in the direction of her own sex. Take her in all, she is a
model woman of our present age.
Rev. Dudley is an orthodox minister, spending the present summer, on
account of his health, with his sister, Mrs. Uwins. Rev. Dudley is a
man of ordinary intellectual ability, and he is not enjoying the most
robust health. The brother and sister are very unlike in thought and
belief. The brother was educated in a theological seminary; the sister,
by an extensive course of miscellaneous reading and by an indefatigable
study of Nature by which the Architect of the universe is yet building
worlds, suns and solar systems.
Mr. and Mrs. Uwins’ children all enjoy excellent health; are handsome,
kind, industrious, affectionate, well educated, and highly cultivated.
Viola is a charming young woman with unusual mental powers and personal
charms. She possesses all her mother’s good characteristics. The laws
of health and freedom seem to be her guide. She teaches music with
great success. Her pupils all love her. Sorrow and melancholy disappear
before her presence. She is always ready and willing to do her share of
the domestic labor. She is the belle of the village and has the choice
of all its suitors.
Roland is an obliging youth, full of life and a keen observer of
nature. Celestine is overflowing with activity. It seems as if nature
is endeavoring to see how much she can do with a child, living in a
somewhat favorable social atmosphere. They all seem to have inherited
the noble traits of their parents physically and mentally. The parental
natures seem to be deeply grafted in their very constitutions; we find
no social discord, no commander and no obeyer. All seem to know their
part and act from motives of their own conviction of right and wrong.
The beautiful little village of Dozen, in which Mr. Uwins resides,
is located in the most healthful portion of the fertile Mississippi
valley. The climate is mild and delightful during nearly the whole
year. In this village Mr. Uwins has erected his neat, comfortable,
two-story residence, in which he pursues his philosophizing and
literary work. In this residence Mr. Uwins and family seem to enjoy
more happiness and harmony than any other family I have ever before
seen. All rule and none obey. All is cleanliness, order, affection
and happiness. The courtesies, smiles and continuous sunshine of the
whole family make this home more nearly a heaven than any other place I
have ever experienced on earth. The cat and the dog, the fowl and the
rabbit, the bird and the babe, the stranger and the beau are treated
with equal kindness and courtesy. Such is the bliss of its inmates, of
both man and beast.
While I was collecting material for a biographical publication, it was
my good fortune to make the acquaintance of Mr. Uwins and his happy
family, with whom I received the permission to make my home while I was
collecting, in that vicinity, the biographical material for which I was
in search.
The Uwins family were not in the habit of keeping strangers, but the
cordial treatment, the modest, pleasing, scholarly answers which Mr.
Uwins gave to my biographical questions, and the easy conduct and
familiarity of Mrs. Uwins and all their children, made me persist in
becoming a member of the family during my stay at Dozen. I can say
without exaggeration that the lesson I have learned in Mr. Uwins’ home
can not be learned at the present day in any college or institution
of learning in the world. The lesson how to make ourselves and others
happy underlies all other knowledge and learning; and all the members
of the Uwins family taught--by their words and acts--this great lesson
more conspicuously and more uninterruptedly than I had ever heard or
seen it taught before.
When Mr. Uwins’ family and myself were enjoying the blessings of a
well-supplied, cheerful home, about five o’clock one June evening,
immediately before the beginning of a heavy rain, which continued
uninterruptedly until the next morning, a stranger of extraordinary
physique knocked at the open door. Mr. Uwins rose and asked him in. The
stranger introduced himself as Midith. “I am engaged in canvassing Mr.
Herbert Spencer’s ‘Synthetic Philosophy,’” he said as he sat down on
the chair offered him by Mr. Uwins.
“We have Mr. Spencer’s works in our library, and have studied them
diligently for years,” said Mr. Uwins, “but we are, nevertheless,
pleased to meet you, and extend our hospitality toward one who
endeavors to disseminate useful knowledge.”
Just at the time when Mr. Midith entered the parlor, I was taking
some notes at the further end of the apartment. Mr. Uwins introduced
Mr. Midith to all the members of his family, and then, turning to me,
introduced me as Thomas Fulton.
“Mr. Fulton,” continued Mr. Uwins, “is a stenographer, and is
collecting material for a new kind of biographical publication. If you
have a strange history to relate,” said Mr. Uwins, with a smile, “then
Mr. Fulton is your man.”
“I am sure Mr. Fulton has chosen a very instructive occupation,”
rejoined Mr. Midith.
“It is already beginning to rain, and you might just as well make up
your mind to remain with us for the night,” said Mr. Uwins to Mr.
Midith.
“I shall, indeed, be ever so much pleased to accept your kind
invitation, if I shall not be too much trouble to you and the ladies,”
said Mr. Midith, with an apparent air of satisfaction.
“You are entirely welcome, Mr. Midith,” said Mrs. Uwins, pleasantly;
“try to make yourself at home. We have little formality to offer. We
believe more in freedom and the spontaneous activity of nature than we
do in constrained fashion.”
Mr. Midith apparently enjoys the highest state of health. He is about
six feet tall, weighing about 185 pounds, erect, a model of symmetry, a
handsome face and a graceful form, a full beard and mustache, beautiful
bright eyes, a well-proportioned nose, a massive forehead, a gentle,
easy, prepossessing manner. His complexion is dark, lighted up with an
obliging, complacent countenance, always wearing a smile which seems
to have been stamped deeply into his very constitution by the kindness
of himself and his ancestors. His presence seems to be always highly
agreeable. He knows of no frown. Time has cut no furrows of care and
anxiety in his brow. His general appearance and his soft, pleasing,
affable conversational powers seem to transform sorrow into joy.
Arrogance, revenge and jealousy have apparently been banished from his
heart by the operation of his powerful intellect. His whole structure
and bearing seem to have been modeled by truth and harmony. Discord,
arrogance and rudeness seem to have long been crowded out by higher and
nobler traits.
The style of his costume was such that comfort is considered the first
requisite, and adornment next. His clothes are scrupulously neat, clean
and tidy. Health to him seems to be far more precious than fashion and
conventionality. Experience seems to have taught him that, where a law
of health and a law of fashion conflict, the law of fashion should be
disregarded. He apparently has acted all through life, and perhaps his
ancestors before him, that physical structure and mental attainments
are far more precious than adornments of silks, gold and diamonds.
My profession has naturally thrown me in contact with a large number of
individuals of the human race in various parts of the civilized world,
but I must confess that I have never before met an individual in whom
there appears to be so many good and noble characteristics united in
one person than there appear to be in Mr. Midith. I think he is as
nearly a model of human perfection as the world will probably ever be
capable of producing.
I noticed that the whole family were completely captivated by Mr.
Midith’s charming, prepossessing appearance. Viola, in particular,
seemed to be spellbound for the time being. Her rosy cheeks were
redder than usual; but she soon recovered her usual affableness toward
Mr. Midith, as well as toward all the rest of the company. Celestine
was already leaning against his knee, with his hand resting on her
shoulder; while Roland was continually edging nearer to him.
The rain had been pouring down for nearly an hour since Mr. Midith
entered the house and became a member of this happy family. It is
six o’clock, and Mrs. Uwins announces tea. The table, as always, is
neatly set and tastily arranged. The cooking is excellent. While we
were at the table, as well as after the meal, the conversation grew
more and more interesting. The confidence of one another seemed to
be strengthened by every additional word. The scientific, social,
industrial and domestic problems were ably handled. Mr. Midith
displayed, in an unassuming manner, such a vast amount of information
that he almost held all of us spellbound. His perspicuous, sincere
utterances brought a deep conviction to his hearers. It seemed, at
times, that he was endowed with superhuman power of expression; but
his attention to others was just as perfect and pleasing as his
conversational abilities.
When, after tea, we were all seated in the cosy parlor, Mr. Midith
remarked that his present surroundings appeared more homelike to him
than any other home he had ever before enjoyed on _this_ earth.
“On _this_ earth,” repeated Viola. “Have you ever been on any _other_
earth than _this_ one, Mr. Midith?”
“You were, before supper, talking about strange histories,” said Mr.
Midith. “I am quite sure that my history would seem very strange to
you. Yes, in fact, it would no doubt at first seem incredible to you.
But the strangeness and incredibility do not alter the facts in the
case. My history is a romance in which every event is a reality,” said
Mr. Midith.
“I am sure, Mr. Midith,” said Mrs. Uwins, “that we would be highly
interested in your history, and nothing would please us better just now
than to listen to you.”
“Allow me to tell you, ladies and gentlemen,” said Mr. Midith
unassumingly, “that I have never before given my history to any
one. But as I have always intended to make it known to the mundane
(belonging to the world, earthly) inhabitants when a favorable
opportunity would present itself, after having thoroughly acquainted
myself with your social and industrial institutions, and as this is by
far the most favorable one I have so far had, I shall be pleased to
comply with your request.”
We unanimously requested Mr. Midith to proceed with his narrative,
which he did as follows:
“It will doubtless seem incredible, perhaps almost miraculous, to you
at this stage of mundane development, when I tell you that I was not
born and reared on _this planet_. But let not this deter you. Events
that seem incredible, incomprehensible and impossible in one age, often
become credible, comprehensible and possible in a succeeding age. To
a savage it seems impossible to project a 2,000-pound cannon ball as
far as you actually do project it. To the contemporaries of Columbus,
our modern steamer, which crosses the Atlantic in about five days,
seemed no doubt incredible. Telegraphy seemed impossible to Washington
and his contemporaries; so did a sixty-mile-an-hour train. But _we_
all find them perfectly natural and practicable in this age. We have
divested them of all mystery, and have put them under the dominion of
an inexorable law, whose operation our ancestors did not understand.
It would be highly presumptuous on our part to assume that we know all
what can be known: that all what seems to be impossible to us now must
forever remain impossible to our posterity.
“You, no doubt, are all familiar with Mr. Spencer’s maxim, ‘Not
directly, but by successive approximations do mankind arrive at correct
conclusions.’
“I fear that I shall be taxing your credulity severely by giving you
my truthful history, but, with the foregoing facts in our minds, it
may be worth while to listen to the claims of any person who does not
enter wholly into the field of inconceivability. History proves that
the persons who have been willing to listen fairly to the claims of
others, even if they appeared impossible at the time, keeping what they
believed to be good and rejecting what they believe to be wrong, have
by far been the noblest and the most useful to mankind; to them is due
the progress of the world.”
“All that you have said is true,” said Mr. Uwins, “and I am sure we can
not fail to give you the most interesting hearing.”
“I was born on the planet Mars, about fifty years ago,” continued Mr.
Midith.
“Born on the planet Mars!” I exclaimed with astonishment. “You have,
indeed, a strange history, then.”
“From astronomical studies,” continued Mr. Midith, “you have learned
that a Marsian day is about 38 minutes longer than your day here on
earth. The Marsian year is 687 of your days instead of 365-1/4 days.
The diameter of Mars is about 5,000 miles, while that of the earth
is nearly 8,000 miles. The heat and light of Mars is, of course, not
so intense as that of the earth, because Mars is about 34 million
miles farther from the sun than the earth; and because heat and light
decrease in intensity as the square of the distance increases.
“The earth has one moon, and Mars has two. The smallest one is about
six miles in diameter. It is the smallest heavenly body with which we
are acquainted. The nearest of Mars’ moons is less than 4,000 miles
from the surface of Mars. The nearness of this moon to Mars I would
like to have you keep in mind, for my presence on earth is indirectly
connected with this phenomenon, which I will soon tell you.
“We must bear in mind that one year on Mars is nearly two years on
earth. A person living eighty years on Mars lives about double the
number of hours that a person who lives eighty years on earth does.
“According to your ‘nebular hypothesis,’ which is true according to our
astronomical knowledge Mars was detached from the sun ages before the
earth was born; for Mars is farther from the sun--is located outside
of the earth’s orbit. Mars is also much smaller and less dense than
the earth, in consequence of which it cooled much longer and much more
rapidly. Mars, then, is much older astronomically and geologically.
The crust of Mars, in proportion to its diameter, is much thicker than
the crust of the earth. The water area, in proportion to the land
area, is much smaller on Mars than it is on earth, because the water
is continually being absorbed by the thickening solid crust. We can
readily see, then, that according to these data, other things being
equal, Mars must have an older and more advanced vegetable and animal
life. The Marsian social and industrial organizations must be much more
perfect than yours.
“On account of the difficult dynamical (pertaining to strength or
power) principles involved in my interplanetary navigation, I shall
for the present defer an explanation of my journey. It will, however,
I think, not be out of place here to suggest that the force of
gravitation between two bodies is in proportion to their mass and
inversely as the square of their distance. The earth and Mars, when
nearest together, are about 34,000,000 miles apart. There is a point,
then, somewhere between them, where a body would be equally attracted
by both, would neither fall to the earth nor to Mars. But, if moved
a little toward either one, from the point of equilibrium, it would
fall the whole distance toward that body with continuously increasing
velocity. If the earth and Mars, when in conjunction, were only a
mile apart, a body could easily, even with your present knowledge of
dynamics, be projected out of the reach of gravitation of one of these
planets into that of the other. The actual interplanetary distance,
which I traversed between the earth and Mars, calls in nothing new in
_kind_, but only in _degree_. So you see that in order to be able to
make this interplanetary journey, you need only to _improve_ on what
you already have; and time has given the inhabitants of Mars, on this
point, the advantage over the inhabitants of the earth.”
CHAPTER II. MIDITH’S ARRIVAL--HIS IDEAS OF OUR EARTH.
“You said, Mr. Midith, that you were born on Mars about fifty years
ago. Do you mean fifty Marsian years, or fifty of _our_ years?” asked
Viola.
“I mean fifty of your years,” replied Mr. Midith.
“How long have you lived on earth then, Mr. Midith?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“I have been an inhabitant of the earth a little over ten years. I was
twenty Marsian years old when I arrived on earth, and the ten years
I have lived here makes my age the same as thirty mundane years. You
see a Marsian year to a Marsite is no longer than your year is to you.
Everything on Mars corresponds with its length of year.”
“Did the increased intensity of heat and light affect you much when you
first landed on earth?” asked Mr. Uwins.
“Yes at first I experienced quite a discomfort; but my system and
senses soon adjusted themselves to the new conditions somewhat, the
same as an eye adjusts itself when going from a dark to a brilliantly
lighted apartment. The temperature gave me more and longer discomfort
than the light did.”
“How old does a person on Mars get to be, Mr. Midith?” asked Roland, as
he was edging still nearer to Mr. Midith.
“A person, with the same care of himself, lives as many Marsian years
on Mars as you live earthly years. But as society, on account of the
greater age of Mars, has advanced much further than it has on earth,
people, as they continually learn by experience, live more in harmony
with the laws of life and health, and consequently they get much older.
Many Marsites live now to be over 150 years and are still in vigorous
health,” replied Mr. Midith.
“Did the difference in the atmospheric pressure and the difference in
the intensity of gravitation cause you much inconvenience, Mr. Midith?”
I asked.
“Not very much,” replied Mr. Midith.
“We are going to crowd you with questions,” said Viola with a smile. “I
was going to ask you where you landed when you reached the earth.”
“Miss Viola, to tell you the truth I did not land on a very pleasant
spot. I landed in the Pacific ocean, about a mile from the western
shore of the United States. When I entered the dense atmosphere, very
near the earth, my interplanetary projectile became unmanageable and
out of repair. This landed me in the Pacific. But the Marsites are all
good swimmers, as I shall explain to you hereafter, and so I swam to
the nearest shore.”
“Could you speak the English language when you landed on earth?” asked
Rev. Dudley.
“No; I could not. I could understand no language that I heard spoken
here. There are a few words in the English language that sound
similarly to our words, but they signify entirely different ideas and
things. I had to learn every word of your language that I now know.”
“Do I understand you, then, Mr. Midith, that you have but one language
on Mars?” asked Mrs. Uwins.
“Yes; we have but one language now. Ages ago we had many, just like you
have; but as the families, the tribes and the nations coalesced more
and more, and as intercommunication improved, languages became fewer
and fewer until there was but one left. The survival of the fittest
antiquated all but one. A person can now go all over Mars and speak the
same language.”
“How, Mr. Midith, did you acquire and develop the knowledge which
enabled you to visit the earth?” I asked.
“You recollect that the moons of Mars are very near her surface; the
nearest one is less than 4,000 miles distant. You also recollect that
the specific gravity and the force of gravity are less on Mars than
they are on earth. Under these conditions, a body can be projected with
less force from the surface of Mars than it can be projected from the
surface of the earth. So we first practiced to project bodies to Mars’
moons, then we increased the power of our projectile and directed it to
the earth, which is our nearest older planet.”
“How many of our days did you say, Mr. Midith, the Marsian year
contains?” asked Viola.
“About 687 days,” replied Mr. Midith.
“That is a long year,” said Mr. Uwins. “A person requires a great
deal of food and clothing during such a long year; but he can also
do a correspondingly great amount of work. Can the land, under those
conditions, support as dense a population on Mars as we can here?”
“As far as I can ascertain,” replied Mr. Midith, “a square mile of
land on Mars, under the same degree of civilization, can support just
as many persons as a square mile on earth can support. The amount of
nutriment, the productiveness of the soil, the durability of things,
the longevity, and the labor expended in producing them, are related
in exactly the same proportion as we find them here on earth. The year
is longer, the food more nutritious, the clothing and other things
more lasting, the soil more fertile, and more time for growth and
cultivation during the long Marsian year; so that an acre of land can
support as much and no more life during the same geologic age than the
earth can. These facts we always want to bear in mind when we speak
hereafter of the social and industrial problems of Mars.”
“Is it not a grand, imposing sight for a Marsite to behold the swiftly
moving little moons revolve around Mars so rapidly that the inner one,
called by our astronomers, _Phobus_, completes its orbital revolution
in seven hours and thirty-eight minutes, and appears to rise in the
_West_ instead of the _East_!” exclaimed Mr. Uwins.
“Yes, it is indeed a grand sight to see the one sometimes rise in the
East and the other in the West, and yet both revolve around Mars in the
same direction as your moon revolves around the earth.”
“Where is your ‘planetary projectile’ on which you came here to our
earth, Mr. Midith?” asked Roland with an air of apparent inquiry.
“It lies buried somewhere in the great Pacific, Roland,” replied Mr.
Midith, with a suppressed sigh. “It was swallowed up by the vast
expanse of the deep, when I landed on earth about ten years ago, and
I had to swim for life. It frightens me still when I think of that
dreadful event.”
“Mrs. Uwins, you told me, time and again, that you do not believe in
miracles,” said Rev. Dudley to his sister. “What, then, do you call Mr.
Midith’s visit on earth? Do you call that miraculous? Have I not often
told you, dear sister, that God in His infinite power is as capable of
working a miracle now as He was in ancient times?”
“I do not call that a miracle at all, James. I am sure that if we
understood the dynamics by virtue of which Mr. Midith was enabled to
make his visit, we would no more call it a miracle than we call the
flying of a kite, or the running of a locomotive, a miracle. Is not
that so, Mr. Midith?”
“Yes, Mrs. Uwins, you are right; there is no miracle whatever about my
mundane visit. It was all accomplished by the aid of immutable laws
which undoubtedly hold good alike on the nearest and the remotest stars
of the universe. We want to keep in mind that the miraculous always
disappears just in proportion as we discover the natural laws that
operate the phenomena of nature.”
“But, Mr. Midith, is not the interplanetary space beyond the planets’
atmospheres a vacuum?” asked Viola. “How could you live and breathe
in a vacuum? We are taught by our philosophers that all interstellar
space is filled with an imponderable (without sensible weight), highly
attenuated (made thin) medium called _ether_. But we are not aware that
it will support life. How is that, Mr. Midith?”
“As I have said before, Viola, I should prefer to give you this
difficult explanation after you get better acquainted with our
enterprises. After you have learned more about our mechanical genius,
our social and industrial problems. It will be much more easily
understood by you then, than it would be now.”
“All right, Mr. Midith, just as you think best,” said Viola with a
pleasant countenance. “If we ask you questions out of the natural order
just let us know.”
“Did our earth seem homelike to you, Mr. Midith, when you first looked
around and as you gradually became better acquainted?” I asked.
“Let me tell you right here, ladies and gentlemen, in answering this
question truthfully, I may say things that may not be very agreeable
to some of you. But I believe that nearly all of you are searching for
truth regardless of consequences; and whenever one has arrived at such
a stage of intellectual development, he is at least willing to give
truth a fair hearing, whether it is for the time being pleasant or
unpleasant.”
“You see I have not been educated under any of your habits, customs,
practices and prejudices. It is therefore very likely that I see things
and acts which appear cruel, wrong, superstitious, and even barbarous
to me, which seem all right, kind and humane to you, because you have
been educated and raised to them, and have, therefore, perhaps never
given them a fair impartial thought, a thorough analysis.”
“When I first looked around, and as I gradually acquired more and more
information about terrestrial affairs, some things seemed perfectly
familiar. The land and the water, the hills and the valleys, light and
darkness, heat and cold, growth and decay, hunger and thirst, pleasure
and pain, all seemed to be familiar to me. Water sought its level. The
green grass covered the earth and was kissed by the dewdrop and the
rain; the lofty trees were dressed in verdant foliage and spread their
boughs toward heaven; the gentle breeze raised the little ripples on
the bosom of the lake, and sported with the green foliage and the sere
leaf the same here as on Mars.
“The flight of the bird, the walking of the beast, eating, drinking,
breathing, moving, and the reproduction of organisms were nothing new
to me. They were, under similar conditions, exactly identical with ours
on Mars.
“The rain and the snow, the thunder and lightning, the changes of the
seasons, the germination and growth of plants, the laws that govern
animal and vegetable life are the same here as they are in my native
world, and we have no reason to believe that they are different on a
single one of the countless heavenly bodies of the universe.
“Mars produces coal, iron, natural gas, and the other minerals and
metals in the same abundance and proportion as the earth does. The
chemical compounds are composed of the same elements and in the same
proportion. The water, under the same condition, turns the wheel of
toil and drowns the innocent babe there, as here.
“In fact, I find no difference in things, and in the relations of
things here, and in those of Mars, except in the scientific, social and
industrial worlds. In these fields, however, I find vast differences;
differences so great and so grand that I fear I shall be able to give
you but a faint idea of them. I notice in your current literature and
political economy that not a few of your foremost and well-meaning
economists and sociologists have endeavored to dream out, instead of
working out, a suitable and higher order of things for the people
on earth. But I believe that I can safely say that the reality of
the social and industrial systems of Mars far surpass all imaginary
Utopias dreamed of by mundane beings. The truth of our world in these
directions exceeds the wildest romance that was ever penned by your
most extravagant novelists.
“I have not merely dreamed of this grand, this noble, this happy state
of human affairs, but I have actually enjoyed them for twenty long
Marsian years. I have seen and experienced them in their practical
workings. With countless others, I have even been a tiny link in the
endless chain of development and progress, which has brought us to that
high state of civilization which the Marsites now enjoy.
“As I have said before, everything I met on earth appeared perfectly
natural and familiar to me except the scientific, social and industrial
spheres. It seemed so strange to me when I first arrived on earth that
about half of your population desire to live in comparatively filthy,
crowded, smoky, unhealthy cities and towns, while the other half want
to live a lonely, toilsome, country life, deprived of nearly all the
blessings and enjoyments of a healthy society; and it seemed still more
strange to me that you believed that you could not get along without
the cities and without the country. The evils and needlessness of both
cities and country appeared so plain to me, and yet you are, at the
present age, unable to see the bad effects of them.
“It appeared so strange to me that each small family desired to live in
a small home, located so disorderly that they were almost completely
cut off from any convenient intercommunication. How the agriculturist,
or farmer, fenced his little patch of land, which he worked
single-handed so cruelly and toilsomely with a draught animal--ox,
horse, etc., which require almost as much food and care as they can
earn. How poorly the majority of the little homes were furnished. What
domestic slaves wives and children are when the human hand must do the
work of machinery.
“It seemed strange to me why only so few can distinguish between
_productive_, _unproductive_ and _destructive_ labor. Why millions upon
millions of men, women and children are toiling early and late and are
producing nothing. Why the poor laborer could not see that the rich
parasite appropriates a large portion of the products of his labor. Why
thousands upon thousands of frugal, industrious carpenters have been
building houses all their lives and have no house of their own to live
in. Why a large number of shoemakers have been making shoes and have
no decent shoe to put on. Why a multitude of farmers have toiled year
after year and are now even farther from owning the land they work than
they were when they began their toil years ago.
“I could not see how people could believe that _land_ is _wealth_, and
that _capital_ should be entitled to _part_ of the _products_. Why
people were satisfied with such poor walks, muddy, dusty streets and
roads, slow, irregular trains, clumsy vehicles drawn by weary animals,
such barren gardens, so few flowers, and yet so many forced idlers.
Why you had so many places of business, where goods are spoiling, and
so few customers who have the means to buy what they should have. Why
there are, in certain localities, so many commodities decaying, and so
much food wasted by _some_, while so _many others_ are almost starving.
Why people should be willing to pay _profit_.
“The longer I live on earth and the more I get around, the more strange
and perverted your social and industrial system appears to me. It seems
so queer to me to see every one go to the postoffice, instead of having
the postoffice brought to everyone; to have every one run to the depot,
instead of having a depot in every house.
“It seemed so strange why people could not see that the money you
use--gold, silver, etc.--cost so much comparatively unproductive
labor to get the material out of which you make the money; that in
your monetary system there exists no proportionate relations between
the amount of negotiable wealth on hand and the amount of money in
circulation; there may be an abundance of money and a scarcity of
commodities, or there may be an abundance of commodities and a scarcity
of money; that the persons who really make and earn the commodities
receive very little of the money, while the schemer who actually makes
and earns very little of the commodities receives, as a rule, an
abundance of the money.
“It seemed so very, very strange, so passing strange to me, why people
could not see the evil effects of owning vacant land by _deed_, or
_paper title_; why people are willing to pay _rent_ or buy land; why
individuals that are unable to govern themselves should attempt to
govern others; why, after such a complete failure, you still believe in
a government by _physical force_; why the vast majority believe that a
home or family cannot exist successfully without a boss; why people
believe in compulsory taxation; why a queen or president, as such,
should be more honored than a miner or a washerwoman.
“It seems remarkably strange to me why the imaginary being called the
State should in any way interfere with love affairs; why a man or a
woman is willing to give himself or herself away for life to some one
else; why each does not desire to own herself or himself only; why a
woman should be dependent on a man financially; why women should not
enjoy equal privileges with man in all respects; why you have so many
unwelcome children and unwilling mothers; why the work of rearing
offspring is almost exclusively thrust off onto mothers; why mothers
are not compensated for nursing offspring the same as they should be
for other productive labor.
“It seems so strange to me why parents are forcing their children
to school when they do not desire to go; why a child, which is full
of life and energy, should be compelled to sit silently and quietly
for six hours a day in a school-room when activity is the only thing
that develops body and mind; why a child should be burdened by _all_
school work, and an adult by _all_ physical work; why a child should
not receive compensation _immediately_ for all the productive labor
it performs; why you cannot educate in a pleasant school of activity
and play; why you do not have suitable play-grounds and parks near
every home; why you value fashion so highly and life and health so
little; why you wear such uncomfortable and injurious costumes; why
it does not seem so repugnant to feast on a carcass than on a corpse;
why you always hold up to view what you believe to be good and say
nothing about pointing out and discouraging the bad; why you honor and
respect the laborer who produces the wealth of the world so little,
and the idle, wasteful aristocrat so much; why you can not voluntarily
co-operate under individualism; how you can believe that your ‘God’
wants you to build and erect magnificent churches, and steeples
towering toward heaven, when, not unfrequently in the very shadow of
them, poverty and want wreck the constitution of his highest creatures.
Such are a few of the many things here that seemed and still seem very
strange and very cruel to me.”
“Mr. Midith,” I asked, “why did you not make your history known on
earth before this time?”
“I will tell you, Mr. Fulton; at first I was afraid to say anything
about it. Every one I met on earth appeared to be so cruel and so
harsh, that, very likely, I was as much frightened among you as you
would be if you were accidentally dropped among your American Indians
or among the cannibals. I saw the idle boy sportively fling stones,
with apparent delight, at the joyful birds that were singing their
sweet songs. I saw the teamster strike his beasts of burden so cruelly,
even when they were almost completely exhausted. I saw the hunter, with
apparent delight, project the burning shot into the sensitive nerve
of his game. I saw him beat his dog unmercifully for what the dog did
not know. I saw the butcher not only slaughter, but torture and flay
with satisfaction, creatures which are entitled to life as much as he.
I saw the fisher jerk the hook out of the fishes’ throat, as if fish
have no feeling, and then starve them in an atmosphere of air. I saw
the parent scold, kick and cuff his child with an air of delight and
duty. I saw the politician deceive and defraud his constituents. I
heard the minister threaten his devotees with everlasting hell-fire. I
saw the judge take a bribe. I heard the witness perjure himself, and
the lawyer misrepresent his case. I saw the stockman keep his stock in
small, filthy, cold stables and pens. I saw the rich trample the poor
into the mire of poverty. I saw the editor praise, for the money that
was in it for him, things that he knew were worse than worthless. I
saw the landlord evict his tenant for the only crime of being unable
to pay his rent. I saw train-robbers wreck trains regardless of the
human lives they contained. I saw incendiarism practiced with the sole
object of material pelf. I saw countless women live a life of sin and
shame in order to make a livelihood. I saw the toilers, men, women and
children, on every hand bent and deformed under their burden of toil
and care. I heard the minister preach that the only good and truthful
man your world ever had--your Redeemer--was crucified by a ruling mob
for expressing His honest opinion. I saw the policeman club his victim;
the hangman strangle the fallen. I saw the ‘State’ imprison men and
women for telling the truth and for investigating the so-called laws
of nature. I saw the teacher flog his pupil often only for telling the
truth and for following his inquiring nature. I saw the soldier shoot
his fellowman in countless numbers. I saw the husband subjugate and
otherwise misuse his wife. I saw the ‘State’ compel married husbands
and wives to live together after they did not love one another any
more. I saw people starve, freeze, go ragged and filthy, and have no
home to go to. I heard quarrels, oaths, curses, moans and sighs. I
saw tears of sorrow, frowns; sullen, pouty faces, furrowed brows,
anxious, care-worn countenances, decrepit, emaciated, diseased human
frames; slow, clumsy gaits and countless premature deaths. And I saw
time and again good men and women ostracized, imprisoned and hanged for
expressing their honest thoughts and for giving to the world the fruits
of their honest toil of observation and investigation.
“I think these and countless other cruelties and outrages are enough to
frighten any one into silence who came from such a just, kind and rich
world as I had left only a short time before.
“You may say that it was foolish for me to be frightened under the
protecting hand of your civilization; but you must bear in mind that
the trouble was, and is still more so now, that I can not see your
civilization. The savage would doubtless call you a coward and a fool
for being frightened in his state of society; but you would undoubtedly
not feel at ease with him, while he would enjoy it. So one coming from
a more advanced state of civilization would no more feel at ease in
your world than you would among the savages.
“For these and other reasons, I have never before mentioned my coming
to this earth to any one until I became a member of your kind,
intelligent family, which seems so homelike that I can say what I
desire and what I _believe_ to be true of _your_ world, and what I
_know_ to be true of _our_ world. Of course, my history and my visit
from Mars to your earth is not intended to be a secret by any means. As
I have told you, at first, I was frightened into silence, and further
on, I concluded that I would not say anything about it until I was
quite familiar with all your institutions, and until I had learned
your language so that I could give you a clear, intelligent account of
our world and compare it, in an unbiased manner, with your world, so
that the earthly inhabitants may derive all the benefit possible from
our older and fuller scientific, social and industrial experience.”
“Have you always been engaged here selling Mr. Spencer’s works?” asked
Viola.
“Oh, no! You see at my arrival I was at a great disadvantage. I could
not speak your language, and I knew nothing of your customs, habits,
science and literature. Much pertaining to your science, society and
industry was new to me. I was therefore forced into the field of
the hardest manual labor. But as I learned to read and write your
languages, I found that Mr. Spencer’s philosophical works were well
adapted to give the necessary information essential for a _higher_
social and industrial life. Partly for this reason, partly for making
a livelihood, and partly for being thrown in contact with eminent
mechanics whose assistance I am seeking, I have accepted my present
vocation of disseminating useful knowledge by selling good works; for
I am convinced that _thought_ is the only power that can move the
psychical world in the right direction.”
CHAPTER III. THE MARSIAN THEORY OF CREATION AND FORMATION.
We had been conversing more than an hour, during which time the rain
had not ceased falling, when Mr. Uwins asked Mr. Midith about the
Marsian theory of _creation_ and _formation_. We were all intensely
eager to hear Mr. Midith’s explanation; even little Celestine’s
curiosity was so aroused by the unassuming, clear, forcible style and
manner of Mr. Midith that her countenance wore a more than usual bright
and pleasing aspect.
“I will tell you, ladies and gentlemen,” said Mr. Midith. “As far as
I have been able to learn during the ten years I have lived on earth,
the fundamental laws of nature, as I have said before, are the same on
earth as they are on Mars. The only difference is, that Mars is further
advanced astronomically and geologically. Mars is older and has had
longer time for development. Dynamics, life, thought, society, and
industry are much better understood by the masses on Mars than they
are understood by the multitude here. Science is further advanced.
With these preliminary remarks I shall give you as nearly as I can,
the desired information; and I hope that you will not feel backward
in asking any questions that may suggest themselves to your minds
while I am endeavoring to give you an explanation of the foundation
upon which all knowledge must be built. You can see from the nature
of the question which you ask me that it requires quite an elaborate
elucidation. All growth and change that has ever taken place in
the universe is based on this question--the question of growth and
development.
“Respecting the origin of man and the formation of the universe, two
theories or doctrines were long current with the Marsites. One, the
scientific doctrine of evolution, which is founded on the principle of
growth and change, governed by fixed laws. The other, the theological
doctrine of ‘special creation’ which is founded on revelation. The
doctrine of evolution assumes that the universe has slowly, through
the lapse of millions of ages, been evolved from previously existing
matter by continuous integration of matter and concomitant dissipation
of motion, and that man gradually and slowly _evolved_ from lower
organisms, and has attained his present form and mental endowments by
the influence of his environment, personal and ancestral. It teaches
that man, as a whole, has been, and is still continually rising in the
scale of existence. It is, therefore, also an encouraging and cheerful
belief.
“The long antiquated doctrine of ‘special creation’ assumed that the
universe was _created_ out of ‘_nothing_’ by an external agency; that
man was created _perfect_ out of clay, somewhat after the fashion that
a potter makes an earthern vessel, and that he fell from his state of
perfection to what we now find him. This was a discouraging, a gloomy
belief, which, if continued, must eventually end in total degradation.”
“What evidence suggested the theory of evolution to the Marsites?”
asked Mrs. Uwins.
“Let us briefly consider a few of them,” continued Mr. Midith.
“A good farmer always reserves the best of his crops for seed. This is
_artificial_ selection; that is, the best and fittest is artificially
reserved by man for seed, which is to produce the next year’s crop.
A stockbreeder reserves the largest, strongest, fleetest and most
symmetrical individuals to propagate the race.
“The horticulturist selects seed from the choicest flowers and fruit.
You see all this is selection, but not natural selection; it is
artificial, as you call it, because it is done by man. Man aids nature,
so to speak; but nature unaided makes just such selection during the
lapse of long ages. In the plant and animal kingdoms, especially
in the lower orders millions must perish in order to give room and
opportunity for a few to live. As long as muscle, and not reason,
is the most advantageous weapon in the struggle for existence, the
strongest, toughest, fleetest and fiercest ones survive and reproduce
the race, and in this manner the superior qualities of the parents are
continually transmitted and added to, in the offspring.
“Organs develop by healthful use and become rudimentary by disuse. The
blacksmith’s arm becomes strong by constant healthful use. The eyes of
moles became rudimentary by disuse. The crabs and fishes in the Mammoth
Cave have lost their eyes entirely by disuse, but the sockets remain
as rudimentary remnants. If we should keep the right arm constantly
out of use, and do all our work with the left, that is, beginning at
childhood, there would be a perceptible difference in the size and
function of the two arms in one generation; and, if this practice were
continued for thousands of generations, use, disuse and heredity would
no doubt aid in bringing about a vast inequality between the active and
inactive arms.
“There are vast transformations taking place before our own eyes, on
earth the same as on Mars, which are wonderful proofs of evolution.
For instance, the frog begins life as a fish and then lungs displace
gills. Butterflies, bees and beetles of all kinds start out as grubs
and undergo wonderful transformations.
“Embryonic (pertaining to the rudiments of an undeveloped plant or
animal) growth furnishes one of the strongest, as well as the most
startling proofs of evolution. Each individual passes through all the
successive stages which have preceded in the line of its tribal history.
“In morphological structure, convincing proofs of evolution are found.
We find fossil remains of animals that have gradually developed in size
from a fox to your modern horse.
“Geologists have partially examined the Marsian crust to a certain
depth, the same as you have examined the earth’s crust, but more
minutely and more thoroughly. Fossils (animal and vegetable remains
imbedded in the rock formation of the earth’s crust) of various kinds
are found in this rock formation composing the crust. Remains of the
most lowly organized plants and animals are found in the lowest strata,
and as we ascend the fossils become more and more complex. And the
present generation of organic beings living on the surface of Mars, or
on the surface of the earth, are more complex and more highly developed
than any fossil remains that have ever been buried on the respective
planets.
“The preceding consideration shows that the fossils testify to the fact
that there has been a slow, but gradual development during the almost
immeasurable eons of time that were required for the formation of these
sedimentary strata that contain the precious ‘Revolution written by the
finger of Time on the Rock of Ages, and by the ink of Death.’”
“What a long, long time must have been required to produce such changes
as you speak of. Have you any idea, Mr. Midith, how long the Marsian
crust was in forming?” asked Viola.
“It is not finished yet,” said Mr. Midith. “It is still forming the
same as ever. The crust is growing thicker every moment by internal
cooling and by external accretion of meteoric dust, etc., and fossils
of the present time are now being buried the same as they were during
all preceding geologic ages.
“Let us, in a few thoughts, endeavor to travel back from the present to
that primitive time, when nature imbedded the first organic remains in
the then forming strata. The proportion of water area to the land was
much greater then than it is at present. There were no high mountains,
because the solid crust was thin, and the doubling or folding up of a
thin crust can not produce a high fold, or mountain, and, therefore,
the Marsian crust, or surface, was at this primitive beginning not so
much diversified by mountains and depressions as it is at present.
It was more nearly spherical, and hence all, or nearly all, covered
with water; and what applies to Mars’ crust undoubtedly applies, under
similar conditions, equally to the surface of all other planets.
“Igneous rocks, as you know, are produced by the gradual cooling of
the heated matter of a planet, moon, or sun. They are formed next to
the internal fire, and can, therefore, contain no fossils. Before
fossils could be imbedded, igneous rocks had to be slowly disintegrated
by the action of heat and cold, wind and wave, rain and drought, and
other atmospheric phenomena. Clay, soil, sand, etc., is nothing but a
pulverized igneous rock.
“After the solid igneous rock gradually became pulverized, the wind,
rain, tide, flood and current had to carry this pulverized igneous
rock, or sand, into the lowest ocean and river beds, where the process
of forming _sedimentary_ (deposited by water), _fossiliferous_,
_stratified_ rock began.
“Here we can clearly see, then, how the remains of perished plants and
animals have been imbedded from time to time in this slowly forming
sedimentary rock. The fossils of the lower strata are the simplest;
those nearest the surface, or the most recently formed, the most
complex. The modern wrecked steamer will be a fossil of the future, the
same as the entombed skeleton of antiquity, or the imbedded canoe of
primitive man, are fossils of the present. The fossils, then, are one
of the strongest proofs of evolution. They indicate a slow but gradual
development of plant and animal life; and as time passes, both here and
on Mars, more and more new links, which bind all things into a grand
whole, imperceptible gradations of development, are being discovered.
“Such, then, are some of the most conspicuous signs which undoubtedly
suggested and strengthened, at every step of advance, the evolution
theory; and also correspondingly weakened and discredited the ‘special
creation’ theory.”
“I have never before taken any stock in evolution,” said Rev. Dudley,
“but I must acknowledge that the testimonies cited by you are very
strong; we see them daily transpiring before our eyes right here on
earth. But allow me to ask you, Mr. Midith, what is your theory of
the fathomless abyss of the starry heavens? I think that part of the
question is not so easily handled as that which treats of the formation
of a planet’s crust.”
“I have so far considered evolution only as affecting the Marsian and
earth’s crusts, and the organic beings living upon them. I endeavored
to make the elucidation as clear as possible by beginning at the
nearest, simplest and most conspicuous evidences. But let us bear in
mind that our earth and Mars are only little nooks, insignificant
motes as compared with the visible universe. We are convinced now that
evolution holds good in the formation and dissolution of heavenly
bodies as well as in the formation of planets’ crusts, and in the
development of organic beings. The planets with their attendant moons
are little solar systems, so to speak, with their moons revolving
around them, which were detached from the planets millions of ages
ago. Saturn has eight moons and an unbroken ring. The sun has planets
revolving around him, the same as the moons revolve around the planets,
and our whole solar system revolves around a center with incredible
velocity. From moon to planet, from planet to sun, from sun to Galaxy
we may travel in our imagination and rest on the ultimate axiom--the
‘persistence of force.’
“We have no reason to believe that there is a gap or break anywhere
in the operation of the so-called nature. No one can tell precisely
where the human leaves off and the animal begins; where the animal
leaves off and the vegetable begins; where the organic leaves off and
the inorganic begins. There is a gradual development from the simple
to the complex, from the lower to the higher, from the inferior to the
superior, from the ignorant to the intelligent, from the cruel to the
gentle; a gradual merging or gradation from one into the other; the
transition at any one point is so slight that it is imperceptible to
the human eye. Allow me to say that there never was a _first_ human
being, no more than there was a first threshing machine. The mouth of
the animal was a very primitive threshing machine; then the mouth and
paws together; then the hand; then the flail, then the hand-thresher;
then the horse-power, and now the steam-thresher; thus we see that
there never was a first thresher, nor was it ever _made_, but gradually
developed and improved to its present structure and capacity; so, too,
with man. The lower organism out of which man, through the lapse of
countless ages, evolved, gradually grew more and more _human like_
from the effects of intercourse with his environment; and this process
is still going on. Man is not finished yet. The same forces that have
brought him from his primitively low plane to his present relatively
high one are elevating him still higher. So we see that man _was_ not
_created_, but _is_ still being created, _evolved_; and so with all
else.
“According to what you call the ‘nebular hypothesis,’ the earth once
filled the entire orbit of the moon. The matter composing the earth
was then in a rare, highly-heated state, revolving around the sun,
from which it was detached and rotated on its axis, which caused the
detachment of the matter out of which the moon was formed.
“The number of atoms composing the earth, as well as the number of
atoms composing the entire solar system, was _practically_ the same
then as it is now. Heat, which is the repellent force, kept the atoms
and molecules so far apart that the matter composing the earth formed
a sphere of nebulous matter, filling the entire orbit of the moon. In
like manner did the sun once fill the entire orbit of the earth, and at
a preceding time the entire orbit of Neptune.
“But some time before this, the earth was even larger than the orbit
of the moon. The nebulous matter now composing the earth and the moon,
which are now two separate bodies, was once all in the same sphere.
By the gradual radiation of heat, the volume, but not the mass,
diminished, and the axial rotation increased until a broad concentric
ring detached itself. The impulse of the moon’s revolutionary motion
was given by the earth’s rotation on its axis.
“All plastic bodies, like a planet, etc., assume a spherical form,
because all particles equally distant from the center are equally
attracted toward the center; and a sphere is the only ‘solid’ in which
these conditions can be fulfilled. A sphere formed from the breaking
up and concentrating of a broad concentric ring, like the rings out
of which planets and moons are formed, must necessarily rotate on its
axis, because the particles which compose the concentric ring had an
unequal revolutionary velocity. Those particles of the ring nearest
the center had a less angular velocity than those particles farthest
away from the center.
“Just as these few bodies constituting our solar system of which I have
spoken _were_ and are affected, so, we believe, have been or will all
heavenly bodies--moons, planets, suns and stars--in all parts of the
universe be affected during the lapse of untold ages.
“From this brief explanation, you will readily see that the Marsites’
conception of creation and _your_ evolution theory are almost exactly
identical. Observation and experience have led the Marsites and the
mundane inhabitants to similar beliefs on these points of creation and
formation.
“It is getting late, and I fear that I shall be intruding on our
time which should be assigned for rest and sleep,” said Mr. Midith.
“I believe, as we have learned in our native home, that we ought to
cultivate regular habits and try to live up to them.”
“Mr. Midith, I think you are just an excellent teacher!” exclaimed
little Celestine. “You _must_ surely stop with us while you are in our
town. I am going to ask you ever so many more questions about your
books, animals, towns, playmates and a thousand other things.”
“Yes, Mr. Midith,” said Rev. Dudley; “if you consider all those things
wrong and cruel that you mentioned to us some time ago, I shall be much
pleased to know how you get along without them, and how you got rid of
them if you once had them like you now find them here.”
“To do without them is much more simple than to have them, as you shall
see further on,” replied Mr. Midith. “Of course, we passed through
all the stages of physical and intellectual evolution that you have
passed through and are now in, and we have also gone much farther
than you have thus far. At one time our social and industrial system
was afflicted with all your present evils and cruelty. We were in
succession cannibals, savages, semi-civilized and are now what we call
civilized. What we will be next we can not tell.”
CHAPTER IV. HOME AND FAMILY.
In the evening when we retired, it was still raining, but the next
morning greeted us with a bright, pleasant sunshine. All nature seemed
to be clothed in her best garment. The faces at Uwins’ appeared to be
as pleasing to the sight after a refreshing night’s rest as the verdant
foliage, refreshed by the warm rain and delightful sunshine.
After dinner, when we were all seated in the parlor, Mr. Uwins asked
Mr. Midith about the family-home as it existed on Mars.
“We have no home and no family as you know a home and a family,”
replied Mr. Midith. “We have no home and no family in which one man and
one woman live together with their children as you do here. Our ancient
history tells us that long, long ago, we had homes and families just
like you have them here now.
“It may, at first sight and in your mundane age, seem strange to you
to have no family-home like yours; but it is nevertheless a fact. You
see society on Mars, as I have told you elsewhere, has had longer time
to evolve than it has had on earth. We must expect to find a more
advanced state of society and industry there, or we are no believers in
evolution, in progress.”
“If you have no home and no family like ours on Mars, in what manner
_do_ you live there then?” asked Mrs. Uwins, full of interest.
[Illustration: Diagram 1.
A diagram of a big-house, ground plan.]
“I will tell you, ladies and gentlemen,” began Mr. Midith. “Our
smallest dwellings accommodate about a thousand men, women and
children. These dwellings or Marsian homes are grand, magnificent
structures about eight stories high, the main building 150 × 600
feet, with three wings on each side 60 × 300 feet. (See diagram p.
52.) There is an electric engine in every dwelling, which heats every
apartment; it lights them with soft brilliant electric lights; it
does all the culinary work--cooking, baking, etc.; it pumps the water
to all parts of the building; it does all the laundry work--washing,
drying and ironing, warms the water for the bath-rooms and for all
other apartments; it runs the elevators, heats the conservatories and
green-houses; it runs the sewing-machines, dish-washers and all other
machinery in the building which I can not mention at present. In the
summer it cools departments by creating currents of air.
“See how vastly we economize both in wealth and in labor, by
co-operating just in this one direction. One thousand, more or less, of
us live together in one magnificent building, instead of one husband
and one wife and their children, living in a frail, ill-constructed,
inconvenient cottage. We have one electric engine do the heating for a
thousand or more, instead of having one or more stoves in each little
cottage. Instead of every home like here, having one or more lamps to
fill and clean, our engine lights every apartment as light as day with
an electric light. Instead of each small family having a cook-stove
and washing machine, we run all our work with one engine. We need no
heating-stoves, no hand washing-machine; the bath-rooms are comfortable
and convenient. We do all this and much more with one engine for the
accommodation of a thousand or more members of our large Marsian family.
“The interior of the building is elegantly finished and richly
furnished; each individual, young and old, has a private apartment.
(See page 55.) Then we have public apartments--grand public parlors of
all sizes; a public dining-room; a public hall for games, exercises
and amusements of all kinds; a large, fine library; nurseries with
plenty of toys for children of all ages; public and private baths, an
elegant barber shop, a large, well-filled store, a grand restaurant, a
large, clean, well-ventilated kitchen with plenty of good, handsome,
tidy cooks and helpers--both men and women; public reading and writing
rooms, a scientific department for philosophical apparatus and a
well-filled laboratory including drugs, a tailor and milliner shop, a
vehicle department, etc. The dwellings, notwithstanding their size, are
so well ventilated and cooled in summer, and so uniformly warmed in
winter that an inmate can scarcely tell whether it is winter or summer.
“Let us now leave the interior of the ‘Big-House’ for a few moments and
give a brief description of the surroundings. I shall hereafter call
the Marsian dwelling a ‘_big-house_’ so as to distinguish it from your
family home here. Let me say right here that there are a few general
facts of which I would like to inform you, before I attempt a more
detailed description of the exterior surroundings of our ‘big-house.’
[Illustration: Diagram 2.
One of the wings of the “big-house” with private apartments.]
“You want to bear in mind that we have a family; but that the family
consists of a thousand or more men, women and children, instead of
consisting like your family of from one to six or more. That we
have no cities and towns, and no country; that our day’s manual
labor consists in an average of less than two hours; this you will
readily see as soon as you clearly understand how vastly we economize
both wealth and labor in all directions by voluntary co-operative
individualism. Years ago we had cities and towns, and a country similar
to yours of the present time; but experience gradually taught us
that it is not healthful to live in a crowded, smoky city and town,
and also that we have no particular use for cities and towns, that
they are detrimental to an orderly, well-regulated society. We also
found that a family of husband and wife and their children, living
alone in a country home, are largely wasting their lives socially and
economically.”
“You said, Mr. Midith, that you have no cities and towns and no country
either. I should like to know where you live then?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“All the houses here on earth are either in cities and towns, or they
are in the country. I can see no other place for them. You do not live
on rafts and boats, do you? You seem to have so many strange notions on
Mars that a person can not tell what you might do until you have told
us.”
Mr. Midith laughed as he continued: “Our ‘big houses’ are built about
a half a mile apart all around rectangular fields twenty-four miles
long and six miles wide, containing according to your measurement four
geographical townships, or 92,160 acres each.” (See pp. 57 and 58.)
[Illustration: Fig. 3.
The rectangles represent Communities 6 × 24 miles and are numbered
as above; the black lines represent motor-lines; the dotted lines,
railroads which are about 100 miles apart.]
[Illustration: Fig. 4.
The circles represent “big-houses” about a half-mile apart. The
squares represent warehouses, factories, mills and work-shops about
four miles apart. All the Communities are surrounded by double-tracked
motor-lines.]
“There are double-tracked, electric-motor lines running all around
these large divisions of land, so that every ‘big-house’ is situated on
a motor-line. These large divisions of land, together with the houses
and people that live on them, we call communities. A community, then,
has an area of four townships, more or less, and a perimeter of
sixty miles, on which a big-house, containing about a thousand inmates
is situated at intervals of about half a mile. (See p. 58.) This gives
a community a population of about 120,000 persons. These motor-lines
connect with railroads at intervals of about a hundred miles or more,
as the case may be. Our railroads are nearly all straight and almost
level, with heavy steel composition rails, laid on a solid roadbed, and
the time of many trains exceeds a speed of a hundred miles an hour.”
On page 60, figure 5, I have given a diagram, as described by Mr.
Midith, of a cross section of the land along the motor-lines, extending
from the motor-line to the main field or body of land in the community.
“A represents a hundred-foot wide motor-line. B represents a strip of
park land one-fourth mile wide, on which the ‘big-houses’ are located.
D represents a hundred-foot wide boulevard. C C represents walks on
each side of the main boulevard. E represents a conservatory and
green-house five hundred feet wide. F represents a walk between the
conservatory and the garden G, which is one thousand feet wide. I is
an orchard one thousand feet wide. H is a walk between the garden and
orchard. J represents the edge of the field, etc., which extends clear
across the community.
“These parks, boulevards, walks, conservatories, etc., run parallel
with the entire length of all the motor-lines wherever the lay of the
land will permit it.”
“O, how beautifully you have all this arranged!” exclaimed Viola.
“I suppose you have a great many fine, fast horses on your broad
boulevards. I am sure you have plenty of time to train them if you work
less than two hours a day.”
[Illustration: Fig. 5.
A Motor line 100 feet wide.
B Park on which big-houses are built. One-fourth mile.
C Walks
D Boulevard 100 feet wide
C Walks
E Conservatory & G-H 500 feet wide
F Walk
G Garden 1000 feet wide
H Walks
I Orchard 1000 feet wide
J Field about 5 miles wide]
“We have no oxen and horses, no draught animals of any kind, except a
few the same as you keep elk,” said Mr. Midith. “As I have said, it
seems very cruel to me to use animals the way you do. To beat them; to
hitch them up so unnaturally, and to work and run them so cruelly.”
“How, then, do you farm, Mr. Midith?” asked Roland. “Do you spade the
land like our ancestors used to do?”
“The farming is all done with electric power. A locomotive, which
builds and takes up its own track, does all the plowing, sowing,
harvesting, etc. Instead of fencing each little patch of land, and
turning our weak, tired teams before all those fences, destroying, in
the act of turning, the very crops you endeavor to raise, like you do
here, we hitch up a powerful land locomotive to a set of gang plows and
plow a furrow which is from three to twenty-four miles long, as the
case may be. Our fifty-foot header, propelled by an electric engine,
cuts the heads from the grain and elevates them into a large wagon
rack. This wagon, when full, is taken with an engine to the warehouses,
represented on p. 58, community No. 2; here the cut ears are dumped
into a large hopper. Each header has enough wagons for hauling grain
to keep it cutting all the time. From the hoppers at the warehouses,
elevators take the cut grain, or ears, to drying rooms. In these drying
rooms currents of hot air pass through the grain, and in a few days
it is perfectly dry. Here it is elevated into the thresher, and from
the thresher it passes into drying bins, where it is dried for keeping
or for grinding. Thus you see that in sowing, reaping, threshing and
grinding, not a human hand has touched a straw nor a grain. With our
method of artificial curing, not a grain is damaged by moisture, not a
grain is lost on the land or road. By the aid of electricity we can, if
need be, cut day and night, rain and shine.
“From the foregoing, you see that our system of agriculture, especially
harvesting, has many points of advantage over yours; a few of which I
shall name. You first cut the grain with a little reaper or self-binder
which throws the grain on the ground; here a portion of the grain is
lost by being scattered on the ground; then you shock it, by which
another portion is lost; then you dry it in the sun; by this process
a large portion is lost, and a still larger portion is more or less
damaged by wind and rain in the field. After this you stack it; here in
the stack some more is lost; a portion is lost and damaged by heating
and some by rain. Your little, ill-adjusted thresher, hauled around
over the fields, run a portion of it into the straw-pile; part of it
is trampled into the ground and another part is damaged by rain during
the process of threshing. Next, in your crowded, ill-ventilated bins, a
portion of it is totally spoiled, and a large portion of it is more or
less damaged. Another portion is lost and damaged on the road when the
farmer brings it to market. Then your little country mills only half
grind it. Again, during a rainy season, you can cut only during the
daytime when the grain is dry.
“After all these and countless other losses and damages, you need not
be surprised that so many of your poor people are starving for bread,
or are only too glad to get the bread made of damaged grain. By our
method all our grain is saved and none of it is damaged. We do not
depend for our curing on the immediate sunshine, as you have seen.
“To be sure we, the same as you, must adapt our farming to suit the
land and climate, which are as diversified and varied on Mars as they
are on earth; but the foregoing system is adopted where the land and
other conditions are suited for it. Thus we see that as long as the
changeableness and uncertainty of climatic conditions are not under
scientific control, that system of harvesting, which depends for its
drying and curing on the immediate sunshine of the harvest-time must,
in an average, always be attended with a large portion of loss and
damage.
“You notice that there is nothing new in our system of harvesting.
By extensive, voluntary co-operation you can do the same. You have
headers, engines, elevators, electricity, currents of hot air for
drying, and you can build large warehouses for drying and storing
grain as well as we can. Your main trouble is that you work too single
handed. I may say right here that I am acquainted with an inventor
who resides near Grand Junction, Iowa. This man has a tract-building
locomotive that can pull a heavy load over softer ground than a team is
able to walk on. Of course, this is only a rude beginning, but it shows
the way you are tending.
“On Mars transportation is rapid, cheap and convenient. Manufacturing
is principally done in those localities where it requires the least
amount of labor. Crops best adapted to the locality are raised there
and then transported where consumed. Our freight trains carry 3,000
tons from 40 to 100 miles an hour.
“Here are a few facts that will enable you to understand how vastly
we economize both wealth and labor by our extensive co-operative
individualism, and how easily we can produce with abundance the
necessaries and luxuries of life, so that we are obliged to work but
a few hours daily. Each community is, so to speak, a large family, in
which each member has a personal interest in the community’s wealth.
For this reason every member of the community is keenly interested
in the productive industries of the community. Mars has, therefore,
no wage-workers. Experience convinced us that a wage-worker, having
no direct interest in his productions, is, as a rule, not highly
interested in the quantity and quality of his labor; such uninterested
labor is also toilsome and fatiguing. I have given you this brief
outline of our social and industrial system now, so that you may
mentally assimilate the fundamental plan of it; and on some future
occasion, I will give you a more detailed description of each part of
it. Too much at one time will cause a mental confusion.
“You see there is only one difficult point in the solution of the
social and industrial problem, and that point I shall now endeavor
to make you understand, if you do not already understand it, so that
hereafter you may always bear that point in mind in connection with
social and industrial progress. The difficult point is this: To devise
or outline a social and industrial system in which a large number of
individuals co-operate harmoniously, and yet have every individual free
to do what he believes to be right, provided he infringes not upon the
equal rights of any other person. No man here on earth thus far has
been able to outline such a system.”
“Do you not have many quarrels in your large families?” asked Rev.
Dudley. “I am quite certain that if our family were increased to a
thousand, we would have many quarrels and fights and even murders.’”
“We have neither quarrels, fights nor murders,” replied Mr. Midith.
“You see we have nothing to quarrel about. Whenever the individual
has arrived at such a stage of intellectual culture that he concedes
the right to all of his companions to do as they individually believe
to be right, or conduce most to their happiness, provided they invade
no rights of any other person, there can be no quarrels, fights and
murders. This is the only point we need learn to bring about perfect
social harmony. Quarrels, fights and murders are the results of
ignorance and an ill-adjusted society. When I first got acquainted with
your small family, huddled together in one or a few little rooms, I was
not surprised to find that people here, as a rule, are so cruel and
quarrelsome. The old, the middle-aged, and the young are all crowded
in one little apartment. Their natural inclination, on account of
age, temperament, etc., is very unlike. Yet they are compelled to be
together. With us every man, woman and child has a splendid private
apartment, to which they can retire at any moment. No one intrudes on
them there. Any one can leave any or all his social companions whenever
he pleases.
“With you it is vastly different. How many matured children, when
living in the same house and in the same apartment, make your homes a
dungeon--a battle-field on which the better sentiments of both parents
and children are slain? How many old parents are supported by their
sons and daughters when each other’s presence is no more agreeable? How
many husbands and wives are compelled, by your social and industrial
system, to live together after they do not love each other? How many
circumstances are there not that compel your so-called masters and
servants to remain together after they dislike each other? These and
many other unnatural, disagreeable, social conditions produce your
quarrels, fights and murders.
“Formerly we believed, like you now believe, that a family could not
exist successfully without a ‘boss.’ But experience proved to us
that we were mistaken. We now know that a family ‘boss’ is nothing
but a curse and a creature of discord only. Just in proportion as
we eliminate the vicious social conditions, the ‘boss,’ quarreling,
fighting and murdering disappear.
“I think we have a good proof of that right here in this home. As far
as I can ascertain there is no ‘boss’ in Mr. Uwins’ family. All the
members of the family, as far as I can see, are free to do what each
believes to be right. The kind training, the equal privileges, and the
unrestricted freedom have stamped a pleasant, prepossessing appearance
upon the countenance of parent and child. When the conditions are
right, a thousand can live just as peaceably together under one roof as
two can, and even more so, for the very act of living in small families
like you do, is a sign that the _conditions_ are not right; and as long
as the social and industrial conditions are wrong, there can be no
right society.
“That a certain advanced social state seems unattainable or even
dangerous may not be a sign that it is so. It may be only a sign that
those who think it injurious are not ripe for it at present--that their
intellectual culture is not in tune with such a life. But it may just
suit some who are more advanced than those are who claim that it is
unattainable; or they, in time, may grow ripe for it themselves.
“Perhaps our primitive ancestors both here and on Mars were cannibals,
and they no doubt believed that the desire for eating human flesh
would never be eliminated, and if it were eliminated the world would
then not be worth living in. But we have no desire to eat human flesh.
It would be very repugnant to us. The contemporaries of your ‘Holy
Inquisition’ no doubt believed that society would crumble without the
so-called protection of that ‘Holy Institution.’ But we know from a
retrospective view that it was a very cruel enemy of society. Again,
your civil courts that convicted, imprisoned, tortured and burned
thousand upon thousand of innocent people as witches during the witch
mania, undoubtedly thought that a person’s life and property were not
safe without the protection or intervention of these civil tribunals;
but we now know that the more witches you killed the more rapidly they
increased, and that when you ceased killing them they all soon die of
their own accord. _We_ know that there never was a witch; that this
belief was only a mental illusion, like thousands of your present
beliefs are; and we also know that the human family, with the advance
of intelligence, will gradually adjust itself in the line of the
completest life and greatest happiness.”
CHAPTER V. WEALTH.
“A few remarks concerning _wealth_ will be of great value in helping
you to understand what you requested me to tell you some future time,”
said Mr. Midith; “and if you wish, I will give you in brief the Marsian
idea of wealth, before we proceed to our afternoon work.”
Parents, visitors and children all eagerly desired Mr. Midith to
proceed, which he did thus:
“The Marsites believe that genuine wealth consists: 1. Of
organized-self--a sound _body_ and a healthy, vigorous _mind_. 2.
Of _material_ wealth--food, clothing, shelter, luxuries and the
instruments of their production and distribution--tools, machinery,
factories, railroads, etc. And 3. Of _mental_ wealth--thought, love,
kindness, the so-called morality and freedom.
“We claim that all wealth comes, either directly or indirectly, _from_
the earth, or _out_ of it by the application of labor, and that only
which is produced by labor is wealth, and belongs exclusively to the
producer. To illustrate, the material composing our body was once
inorganic matter. The plant organized it. We eat, digest and assimilate
the plant out of which our tissues are built. The crude material out of
which our clothes are made is produced by the earth. The cotton plant
that grows on the earth produced the cotton. The sheep, on whose back
the wool grows, lives on the grass, etc., which is produced by the
earth. Our books, houses, shoes, hats, and our physical organs, which
perform their wonderfully complex functions, all come, either directly
or indirectly, out of the earth, air and ocean in a crude form. Then
they are shaped by the hand of labor into the proper form and become
wealth.
“By labor we manufacture clothes, write books, raise, gather and lay
up food, build houses, construct railroads, improve land, acquire and
maintain a sound body and a healthy, cultivated mind. The storehouse
of thought, kindness, love and freedom is also filled by labor and
exertion. All these mental acquisitions are therefore constituent parts
of genuine wealth--wealth of the most precious kind, for material
wealth is easily acquired when we are rich in faultless organized-self
and in mental wealth.
“The air we breathe is not wealth, because it is not produced by labor.
The wild apple and plum on the tree are not wealth, because no human
labor has been expended in the production of them. But the picked
apple of the same tree, in the hand of the consumer, or in his cellar
is wealth; he picked or stored it away for future use, which required
labor. Sunshine and rain, native grass and water in its native bed
or channel, are not wealth. Land in its natural state is not wealth,
because it was not produced by labor. There was land before there was
human labor. But all improvement made on land by labor is wealth and
belongs exclusively to the person who made the improvement.
“All wealth, then, organized-self, material and mental, comes
ultimately out of the inorganic earth (air and water), and requires
labor and effort to produce them, and is wealth only so far as they
required labor in their production.”
“Have the inhabitants of Mars always been as wealthy as they now are?”
asked Mrs. Uwins.
“Oh, no; we have steadily been growing richer in all the component
parts of genuine wealth. Ages ago our world was poor in sound bodies,
because in many cases we had ill-health on account of overwork; in
other cases we were burdened with ill-health for lack of proper and
sufficient exercise; in still other cases we did not enjoy good health
on account of poor and insufficient subsistence. Uncleanliness,
irregularity, licentiousness, jealousy, etc., were other causes of
ill-health; and lastly, perhaps, all had inherited a more or less
feeble and diseased constitution, consequent from the constant
violations of the so-called natural laws by our numerous successive
ancestors.
“Under our former monopolistic, social and industrial system, our world
was poor in material wealth--food, clothing, shelter and luxuries.
Thousands upon thousands of industrious people in every county were
forced idlers, and consequently poor or paupers. They were hungry,
ragged, cold and unclean. Want and the fear of want forced them to work
so hard and so long daily that cleanliness and intellectual culture had
become a burden to them. They were merely industrial slaves, earning
the material wealth for the rich who spent their lives largely in
wasteful idleness.
“At that early period, then, in the history of evolution, when our
social and industrial system was as defective as your present one,
when but a single couple lived together in a small house, and when
individual efforts, instead of voluntary co-operation, were the
recognized methods of acquiring wealth, we were poor in mental wealth.
There was then little thought, love, kindness and freedom. We met with
ignorance, cruelty, wrong, superstition and slavery of some kind in
all directions. Our ancestors blindly trampled in the mire the best
portions of bodily and mental wealth, while they were only in pursuit
of gold.
“Under the old social and industrial system there was a continual
fear in all directions; timid thinking, avaricious accumulation of
gold, industrial, religious and domestic slavery, antagonistic strife,
jealous feelings, disease, ignorance, crime and poverty.
“There can be very little true love, kindness and prosperity as long
as one family, sect, party, organization and nation endeavors to build
itself up by tearing down others. Antagonism involves an expenditure
of energy. As a rule your banker’s child is forbidden to play and
associate with the hod-carrier’s. The Catholic disapproves of, and
often despises the Protestant, and the Protestant the Catholic. The
Christian, the Pagan and _vice versa_. The Republican and Democrat
condemn each other. Instead of love, kindness and harmony, there is
almost universal hatred and antagonism.
“Gradually and slowly we learned that, under such conditions, we were
poor indeed! During the lapse of ages, we learned by sad experience
that all good acts contain in themselves a reward of happiness, and
all bad acts contain in themselves a punishment of misery. By a
continual and positive reward of the right, and by a continual and
positive punishment of the wrong did we at last learn to grope our way
from the old antagonistic system to our present system of voluntary,
co-operative individualism.
“From my foregoing remarks you will easily see that your idea of wealth
and that of the Marsites do not correspond.
“You class many things not produced by labor as wealth; for instance,
land and money as such. We call nothing wealth which is not produced by
labor. With us our communities’ average productive labor is the basis
of wealth. Our wealth is a _compound_, composed of three elements,
namely, organized-self, material wealth, and mental wealth. Wealth as
considered by your masses is an _element_ composed of material wealth
only--dollars, houses, books, land, railroads, bonds, etc.
“You call a person rich when he has many dollars, no matter what his
other attainments and surroundings may be. Your so-called rich men
may be the dupes of ignorance, cruelty, slavery and superstition;
they may work themselves and their families to premature graves; they
may scheme the bread out of the mouths of the still more ignorant and
poverty-stricken ones; they may be surrounded by hovels and extreme
ignorance and poverty; they may, every night, be in danger of being
robbed and murdered by their cold, hungry neighbors who may be forced
idlers, and still you call them rich, only because they claim to own a
few dollars. We believe that all men are poor who are not the owners of
a healthy body, a sound mind, and an abundance of material subsistence,
which can be obtained only in a world where all are comparatively rich
in this kind of wealth.
“According to your idea of wealth, _avarice_ is a sin, because the rich
_accumulate_ their millions by robbing the poor. No man can _earn_ a
million dollars. According to our idea of wealth, the most avaricious
person is the best, for he equally works to the highest interest and
good of himself and his fellow-man. No man, in our opinion, can be rich
in a poor, ignorant world.”
CHAPTER VI. LABOR.
“Before I can give you a clear description of the interior of the
‘big-house,’ and the work that is done in it by the inmates, it will
be necessary to give you a brief explanation of our system and idea of
labor,” continued Mr. Midith.
“In the first place you want to bear in mind that our day’s labor, as I
have told you before, is very short, in an average less than two hours
a day; but there is no place in our society for an idler. All sound,
able-bodied persons, men, women and children, are expected to work at
some suitable productive labor. We teach that labor is necessary and
honorable; that idleness is robbery and a disgrace. Our public opinion
shuns an idler or unproductive laborer as much as you shun a burglar.
We believe that a proper amount of physical labor is healthful, that it
is essential for the highest development of body and mind. We further
believe that children should be taught to labor while young, because
labor becomes pleasurable only when the habit of laboring is acquired
during childhood and youth. A child should be taught to be independent,
to support itself by agreeable, healthful labor as early as possible,
for many reasons which I will tell you some other time. I find here on
earth that many parents believe that manual labor is a disgrace. With
us, you will notice, it is just the reverse. We believe that a parent
who does not teach a child to labor while it is young is the child’s
greatest enemy, for such a child will be a slave to labor ever after.
“We classify labor as productive, unproductive and destructive.
When I speak of labor here, I mean that kind of labor only which is
expended in the pursuit of acquiring the material subsistence; and in
the rearing of offspring I include only the _toilsome_ exertions, not
the _sportive_ exercises. Plowing, sowing, reaping, cooking washing,
planting, digging a needful well, mining iron, building a house,
making a coat, writing a useful book, running an engine, holding and
carrying a baby beyond a certain length of time, etc., are examples of
_productive_ labor. Productive labor, then, as here restricted, is that
kind of labor which adds to the aggregate amount of the community’s
material wealth in the form of food, clothing, shelter and luxuries, or
that which is expended in the rearing of offspring. After a productive
day’s labor, the world is richer in material wealth than it was before.
The day’s labor must have produced something. It must have augmented
not only the labor’s individual wealth, but the aggregate wealth of the
world.
“_Unproductive_ labor is that kind which neither tends to produce nor
destroy material wealth. No amount of unproductive labor produces
food for a single meal. To be digging wells where there is no need
for water; to carry a brick to and fro from one place to another; to
plant a potato for the sake of planting; to plow a field and not sow
and harvest it; to build a house and not utilize it; to mine coal and
not use it; to gamble, etc., are examples of _unproductive_ labor. No
matter how much the laborer perspires, how long and how toilsome a day
he makes, how diligent and honest he may be, all his efforts and toil
expended in this manner do not add one iota to the aggregate material
wealth of the nation or of the world.
“_Destructive_ labor is that kind of labor which actually destroys
wealth, which, we have seen, can be produced only by _productive_ labor.
“For examples: A soldier tearing up or otherwise destroying railroads;
a burglar exploding a safe; an army burning a city; a miner mining iron
that is to be manufactured into a gun with which life and property are
to be destroyed; a malicious destruction of a tree or useful plant,
etc., etc.
“We can plainly see that if we should all engage in _destructive_
labor, all the material wealth would soon be destroyed, and the more
industrious we would be in the expenditure of destructive labor, the
less material wealth we would have left. _Idleness_ is a _virtue_ as
compared with _destructive labor_.
“Perhaps more than three-fourths of _your_ labor here on earth is
either comparatively unproductive or destructive. Nearly all your
fencing, banking, mining gold for money, speculating, soldiering,
three-fourths of your so-called mercantile business, your sectarian
preaching and teaching, all your political scheming, manufacturing and
selling liquor and tobacco are unproductive or destructive. Besides
these few cases that I have mentioned there are countless other ways in
which you expend a vast amount of unproductive and destructive labor,
which I can not now make you clearly understand, but which you will see
hereafter as we compare our social and industrial system with yours.
“By the foregoing explanation we see that an _industrious_ person
is not necessarily a _producer_. One may be as industrious in the
destruction of wealth as in the production of it. A millionaire, who
labors to _accumulate_, by some scheme, the wealth that others have
_earned_, to augment his individual fortune, is an unproductive or
destructive laborer, not a productive one. He robs some person and
thereby makes the world worse. His object is not to _earn_, but to
_appropriate_ what _others_ have already earned or produced. It is not
always easy in your system to determine whether a certain kind of labor
is productive, unproductive, or destructive. Intelligence, the basis of
all activity, is the only criterion that can determine it.”
“Do the Marsites all work only at productive labor?” asked Mr. Uwins.
“Yes,” replied Mr. Midith. “We gradually eliminated all unproductive
and destructive labor as our social and industrial system advanced.
“But allow me, ladies and gentlemen, to tell you right here, there is
one other point in connection with labor that I shall have to speak
to you about, in order to give you a clear understanding of our idea
of labor, and that point is this: not all human exertion, whether
performed on earth or on Mars, is considered laborious or toilsome.
For instance, the beating of the heart, eating, breathing, voluntary
conversation, a ride or walk for recreation, pursuing a favorite study
or occupation, shopping as you call it, entertaining a welcome friend,
being engaged in a certain kind of fancy work, are not considered
even by you as toilsome labor. They have either become delightful
exercises, or they have lost their conscious sensitiveness all
together, like the beating of the heart, etc.
“All well organized persons find delight in being _always_ engaged in
some active, physical or mental pursuits, during their waking hours.
Absolute quietude and idleness are very burdensome to them. So, too,
is excessive labor toilsome to them. But by the aid and improvement of
our machinery, by shortening the day of manual labor, by acquiring the
habit of working while young, by receiving a large return for labor,
by laboring in company with pleasant companions, by having all the
necessary and convenient tools, by becoming continually more and more
proficient in our occupation, by appreciating with a keener, esthetic
sense the improved products of an advancing industry, and by laboring
more and more under individual freedom, all exertions tend to pass from
the sphere of toilsome labor into the sphere of delightful, sportive
exercise, and this change will, no doubt, continue until a complete
adjustment is effected.
“You see our machinery and tools are so perfect and easily manipulated,
our conveniences so complete, our day’s manual labor so short, our
return of labor so abundant, our company so pleasant, our choice of
occupation so free, our liberty so unimpaired, our esthetic sense so
keen, that nearly all our work has passed into play, and is almost as
delightful and pleasant to us as activity is to a child.
“With you things are just the reverse. Your machinery is not so
perfect, your tools are not so handy, your conveniences for labor
are very few, your day of manual labor is so long and toilsome, your
returns go largely to the rich idlers or unproductive labors, your
companions are often rival enemies, your occupation whatever you can
get to do, your overseer a cruel, heartless tyrant, your appreciations
for accomplishments have been withered by anxiety and poverty. Nothing
but the bare necessity of acquiring the material subsistence for a
meager livelihood spurs you on to your almost unendurable and endless
toil, which generally lasts until the premature grave entombs the
remains of your worn-out, lifeless body. Under your sad social and
industrial arrangement, it is no wonder that you dishonor labor, that
you endeavor by all schemes to escape that endless tread-mill of toil
to which you are generally hitched for life by the tugs of cruelty,
want of knowledge and superstition.
“It is now time for our afternoon work, and, whenever hereafter I tell
you anything about our wealth and labor, always endeavor to think
of them as they are considered by the Marsites, and not as you look
at wealth and labor here. Always bear in mind that organized-self
and mental wealth are necessary constituents of our genuine wealth,
and that the old toilsome labor has almost completely passed into
delightful sportive exercise.”
CHAPTER VII. INTERIOR OF “BIG-HOUSE.”
After tea, about five o’clock, we were once more seated together on Mr.
Uwins’ beautiful green, shady lawn to listen to Mr. Midith’s pleasing
description of the Marsian “big-house.”
“Do you recollect, Mr. Midith, telling us at noon that you would give
us a more detailed description of the interior of the ‘big-house?’”
asked Mrs. Uwins. “We shall now be pleased to give you our attention on
that subject.”
“Yes; we will all listen to you, Mr. Midith,” said little Celestine,
sitting very near him.
“There is so much to be told that I scarcely know where to begin,” said
Mr. Midith; “and when I draw a clear, vivid picture of those grand,
colossal structures in my imagination, it seems almost as though I once
more enjoyed my native world, my native home, and my native society,
for which, perhaps, in every stage of intellectual development, a
person’s heart, who has been deprived of them, will yearn.
“I have already told you at noon that a ‘big-house’ is about eight
stories high; that it accommodates about a thousand inmates--men, women
and children; that the ‘big-houses’ are located about half-mile apart
on the motor-lines all around, the rectangular communities twenty-four
miles long and usually six miles wide (see p. 115). This arrangement
gives us two tiers of ‘big-houses’ with a motor-line between them. As
these ‘big-houses’ are built opposite each other, two and two, each
of these motor stopping places furnishes a population of about two
thousand. At every ‘big-house’ is a motor-line side-track, which holds
a train of motor cars for unloading. The freight cars are elevated and
lowered with electric power to those stories of the building where
the freight is to be unloaded. All goods used and consumed in the
‘big-houses’ are unloaded here with very little muscular power. Here,
then, we economize a vast amount of human labor, and so in all other
directions. By the time I shall have told you all about our social and
industrial system, you will no longer be astonished that we have such
an abundance of grand things, all with less than two hours of labor a
day.”
“Does not the smoke of your engines sometimes annoy you?” asked Mr.
Uwins. “In our cities it is often very annoying.”
“That is very true, Mr. Uwins,” replied Mr. Midith, “but you see we
have no cities; we have no use for them. We also have no _steam_
engines to create smoke; even the latest steam engines we used burned
their own smoke, and that is nothing new even to your modern mechanics.
Your latest engines do that too. It is a grand step in advance, but
we are now long beyond that point. The Marsites now use electric and
compressed air engines. The power is furnished by the wind. Our present
engines, then, require no fuel and produce no smoke. Hereafter I shall
tell you much more about our engines and other motive power. Our engine
and engine-room, as well as all other departments, are kept as neat
and clean as any parlor. We have learned that it pays to be clean and
orderly. Each particular work is done by a particular man, woman, or
child, who pride themselves in doing it promptly, orderly and well.
“The main edifice of the ‘big-house,’ as I have said, is about eight
stories high, and sometimes higher. There are electric elevators in
different parts of the building. Some of them run vertically from the
bottom to the top, and some of them run horizontally from end to end of
the building. The kitchen is a large, clean, well-ventilated apartment
with plenty of first-class cooks and bakers. The cooking and baking is
all done by electric heat, generated by the engine. The cooks can put
on as much or as little heat as they desire. We can boil potatoes in
closed vessels in less than five minutes of time.”
“Is not your kitchen work of handling those large kettles that hold
sufficient to feed a thousand persons or more, too laborious for a
feeble, sickly woman?” asked Viola.
Mr. Midith laughed and said: “Viola, you must understand in the first
place, that we have no feeble, sickly women in our world. Feebleness
and disease are the consequences of antecedent causes, and as soon as
the causes are removed, feebleness will turn into strength and disease
will disappear. We have long ago eliminated those social and industrial
evils that enfeeble and that fade the pallid cheeks of your women, and
especially of your mothers. And in the second place, the kettles and
all other cooking utensils are lifted and adjusted by machinery, which
is so convenient that a child can easily operate it in most cases.
Helping to prepare one meal in such a pleasant, convenient kitchen
constitutes a day’s work for a cook, whether man or woman. Other sets
of cooks likewise prepare the other meals of the day.
“Each division of the kitchen, as well as all other departments of
labor, has a foreman, who holds his position by the common consent of
his co-laborers in the same division, and by virtue of his superior
fitness in his own work and in directing the labor of all in the most
productive, harmonious and delightful channel. The foreman labors just
the same as any one else. He receives no higher pay. He is only foreman
in so far as his co-laborers are willing to acknowledge him or her as
such.
“Here, again, you see how we economize material wealth and labor by our
voluntary co-operation, and you further see that our work is little
more than sportive exercise. Instead of being laborious as you thought,
a cook with us, whether man or woman, does nearly all her work by
machinery, run by electric power. This she can generally do by sitting
in an easy chair in her elegant kitchen, which is kept scrupulously
clean by a set of dusters and wipers who have chosen that as their
favorite occupation. She has no black, sooty kettles to handle, because
the heat she uses to cook with does neither blacken her kitchen nor her
kettles. She is always neatly dressed, can even wear delicate gloves
most the time if she so desires, and has all the pleasant companions,
both male and female, whose company she can enjoy as she is doing her
short day’s work. With men cooks it is, of course, the same.
“Compare this short, easy, pleasant day’s work of our cooks with the
long, toilsome, unpleasant drudgery of your women, who must prepare
_all_ the meals, often out of the very poorest material; who, besides
preparing meals, must bear and nurse all the offspring, and work at
other drudgery, generally from ten to sixteen hours a day. And this
is very often not all. Many mothers, besides doing all this physical
drudgery in a little penned-up house, in which an invigorating breath
of wholesome air seldom enters, are called upon to please and satisfy
an overworked, cranky ‘boss’ of a husband, and sometimes ignorant,
uncultivated sons and daughters. This overwork is _one_ of the many
causes that enfeeble your women, and that spread the robe of pallor and
disease over their countenance. I say this is only _one_ of the many
causes that produce feebleness and disease, but besides this one there
are countless others. To some of the most conspicuous ones I shall call
your attention as we proceed with our explanation. Now, I do not mean
to say here that your _men_, as a rule, are not overworked, for they
are very much so; but not so much so as the masses of mothers who are
raising families.”
“Now, Mr. Midith, will you give us a description of your dining-room?”
asked Celestine.
“Oh, yes. Our dining apartment is spacious, richly finished and
elegantly furnished. It is large enough to seat at once all the
members of the family and a considerable number of visitors besides.
Each table accommodates from two to eight persons, and the tables
are tastefully arranged in tiers alongside of horizontal elevators,
that carry the victuals from the kitchen all along the row of tables
to the further end of the dining-hall, where they are served by the
waiters. On the center of each table is a tiny fountain, playing its
cool liquid treasure on an exquisite assortment of gorgeous bouquets.
This chemically pure, fresh, cool fountain also supplies the drink for
the table. The tableware is of the finest pattern, and everything is
kept scrupulously clean and in good order by those in charge of the
dining-hall.
“We are purely vegetarians, eating no flesh meat of any kind. Of course
our primitive ancestors, like yours, were cannibals; then meat-eaters
like you are now, but this habit of killing and eating flesh meat has
long since become antiquated, and eating flesh meat or a dead carcass
is perhaps as repugnant to us now as eating a corpse would be to you.
We also use no coffee, tea, tobacco, nor any kind of intoxicating
liquor as a beverage. Experience has taught us that no benefit is
derived from the use of them; but often a great deal of evil.
“Our cooking is all of first-class order; none but expert cooks of the
community make cooking their profession. The tables are loaded, winter
and summer, with the finest soups, vegetables, fruits both cooked and
raw, and all kinds of nuts. Some of the eatables are shipped in from
tropical countries and some are raised during the winter months in
our large conservatories and green-houses, of which I shall tell you
hereafter. Our baking is of endless variety, and of the finest quality
the genius of man can produce.
“All meals are served promptly on time, and no provisions are made for
any one who is not on time for his meals. Every one is supposed to eat
at whatever big-house he happens to be during meal-time, for he can buy
a meal as cheap in any big-house where he may be, as he can at his own
table.
“The victuals at each table are served in common dishes, which are
passed, and each helps himself the same as you generally do in your
family home. We have no hotels, because we have no use for any. A
traveler, while he is traveling, eats in the dining car; and when he
gets off he stops at a ‘big-house,’ for they are the only stopping
places we have, and when there he can either eat a regular meal in
the dining-hall, or he can at any time order anything he wants in the
restaurant.
“Every single meal is paid for, and each one pays for his own meal,
whether he be a man, woman or child, whether a visitor or a member
of the same family. After every meal, each individual deposits the
price of the meal into his pay-dish--a little dish which is kept at
each plate for that special purpose. After meal-time, the waiters,
who, like the cooks, do nothing else but waiting on the tables, take
charge of the pay which is deposited in the pay-dishes. The pay-dishes
automatically register every meal deposited, and at the close of the
year, or at any other time, we can tell by the common register just how
many meals have been eaten in the dining-hall during the year.”
“You said, Mr. Midith, that every man, woman and child pays for his
own meal. But how can a little child that has no money pay for its own
meals?” asked Roland.
“That is very easily done when you understand how it is worked. You see
our financial world is altogether different from yours, which I will
explain to you when we get to our system of money or medium of exchange.
“Let us, in a few words, compare our dining-hall with yours. With our
system there is no food wasted by leaving it on side-dishes, for we
do not use them in the same manner as you do. We object to them on the
ground that the eater--the only person who knows what he likes and
what he wants--does not do the dishing up, when side-dishes filled by
the cooks are used. In your so-called first-class hotels, there is
perhaps as much, if not more, good food left in the side-dishes on the
tables as is eaten. Your bill of fare system is also very wasteful.
When it is used, cooks must prepare a great variety of articles, for
some of which, perhaps, no one calls; for others there are more calls,
but there is a tendency of great waste. In our system of eating there
is also very little waste of food from cooking too much at a meal.
The cooks know about how much is needed at each meal for the family,
and that is about all the family cooks for, unless a considerable
number of visitors have ordered meals there. Visitors, as I have said,
always pay the same price for a meal as a member of the family does.
Every able-bodied man, woman and youth believes in, and practices
independence and self-maintenance. We all detest assistance and
protection from others.
“Much of the food cooked in your hotels is also not eaten because the
expected number of guests did not eat there at that meal. There is no
way for a hotel-cook to know how much to cook. The eating at hotels
is all uncertainty and irregularity. There may be many or there may
be none for dinner. We have no rich idlers who live upon the labor of
others, and who waste more food than they eat; and we have no starving
poor who would be glad to get the leavings. With us all able-bodied
persons must earn their meals by productive labor. No amount of
speculation and scheming in our world will ever secure a meal for any
one.
“In our system of eating and cooking, as compared with yours, there
is also an immense saving of labor and food on account of our being
purely vegetarians; for the production of flesh meat requires in an
average much more land and labor than the production of the same amount
of nutrition in vegetation. You waste annually more than a thousand
million dollars worth of labor, even as low as your wages are now, in
the production of tobacco and intoxicating liquor, which, according
to your own most distinguished physiologists, is far more injurious
than beneficial to the human system. Right here, I believe, is another
of the great causes which is instrumental in the production of your
crimes, cruelty and disease.
“Our manner of eating is considerably different from yours, which I
will explain to you when we get to our system of education. We endeavor
to build all our habits and customs on the so-called laws of life,
health and happiness. Every act that conduces to the fullness of them
we consider right, and every act that detracts from the fullness of
them we consider wrong.
“Every ‘big-house’ contains a large, magnificent restaurant, which is
artistically embellished by the hand of art, and splendidly furnished
with elaborate counters, fine tables, easy chairs, grand mirrors and
all other furniture that conduces to the ease and comforts of man. It
is lit up, when dark, with brilliant electric lights, which almost
rival the brilliancy of a cloudless noon-day sun. In this gorgeous
apartment all kinds of eatables, from the daintiest to the coarser that
our world produces, can be bought there at cost by all individuals
who may wish them, during any hour of the day and evening. Our regular
meals, as I said before, are served promptly on time; but, by the
aid of this restaurant, no one need go hungry for a single minute.
In our world no one pays for meals that he does not eat, except to
the helpless, and no one gets anything for nothing, unless it is
voluntarily given to him. As our day’s labor is only about two hours,
so the cooks and waiters change off about that often.
“After meals the dishes of both the dining-hall and restaurant are put
into a dishwashing machine, through which a powerful current of steam
and hot water containing chemicals pass for a few moments; then a
current of hot air passes through it, which dries the dishes in a few
minutes. Our ladies never put their hands in water to wash dishes. Our
_large_ families can have such conveniences, but your _small_ families
can not afford to have such dishwashers.”
CHAPTER VIII. INTERIOR OF THE “BIG-HOUSE.” [_Continued._]
“I think I shall take my supper this evening in your elegant
restaurant, which you have just described, if I can find some one to
take me!” exclaimed Viola. “I am only too sorry that it is so far off.”
“But let me tell you, Miss Viola, in our world you would not wait for
some one to take you, if you desired to go anywhere. You would start
whenever you felt like it, either alone or in company with others, just
as it happens. A woman in our world is as free and independent to go
any and all places as a man is. She earns as much with her day’s labor
as a man does, and is therefore not financially dependent on any man,
as you will readily see by an explanation of our monetary system some
future time.”
“How do you do your laundry work?” asked Mrs. Uwins. “I suppose that is
done on the same large, easy scale as all your other work.”
“Our laundry contains a powerful steam washing-machine, which is
capable of washing the garments of the whole family in less than an
hour’s time, and almost without the aid of a human hand. It contains
a drying room, in which the wash is dried in a few minutes. Electric
irons do the ironing. To wash, dry and iron the garments of a thousand
men, women and children requires the labor of only a few persons for
a very short time. Every one pays for his own washing, and can get as
much of it done as he wants. The laundry work is all done by experts.
We wash every day, for every day we bathe and change clothes after our
day’s work is done.
“In this laundry department we economize an immense amount of labor
by co-operation, and doubtless conduces vastly to our average health,
which is with you very often impaired by overwork, and by contracting
cold when an overheated washer hangs out the clothes. Here, with you,
each small family must have a washing apparatus, even if it is nothing
more than a sickly woman’s hands. Each has a clothes-line, on which
the clothes wear perhaps nearly as much by drying as by bodily wear.
Each keeps a number of flat-irons, which are mostly operated by the
muscles of an over-heated woman, many of whom are engaged in hard work
for more than twelve hours a day. In your society a washer-woman is
looked upon as an inferior. In our society she stands equal with the
highest. No wonder that with you all try to avoid the profession of
being a washer-woman. No wonder that many of your women prefer to live
a life of shame and degradation, which brings them a hell during life
and a premature death. Hard, hard work and little pay! It is easily
seen why it is considered a hard, degraded position here. It is easily
seen, too, why so many filthy garments are worn in your society, when
we contemplate how few of you have water fit to wash with; how many
of the poorer classes who are too poor to buy the necessary soap; how
inconvenient your laundry and drying apparatus are; how laborious your
ironing. It is no wonder that many wear undergarments for a week, two
weeks, and even three weeks, without changing them.
“Next I may give you a description of our store, which is located
in a convenient place in each ‘big-house.’ It is a very capacious
department. Everything is kept as clean and orderly as the finest
drawing-room. All commodities that an individual might want to buy
are kept for sale there. The different classes of goods have each a
certain division of this department. All the financial business of
the members of the family is either directly or indirectly transacted
in this department. Meal tickets, barber tickets, restaurant tickets,
etc., are sold in this store-department. Of course, you understand by
this time that everything in our world is sold at cost. The clerks
receive pay for their work the same as an engineer or miner. We have no
_profit_, as you will see when we get to our mercantile system. Profit
results from _monopoly_, and we have no monopoly and hence no _profit_.
The profit system is one of the greatest evils of your industrial
world. Some of your economists condemn your competitive system. But
competition is as natural, necessary and beneficial to the welfare
and progress of mankind as the unobstructed natural law of supply
and demand is essential for an economic regulation of production and
consumption. By profit a person may be able to live an idle life; may
have others produce his food, clothing, shelter and luxuries for him.
By competition, a person must always work. Monopoly, from which all
profit, etc., accrues, and not competition, is that great enemy of the
human race.
“On some more convenient topic I shall endeavor to show you that your
profit system does not only enable certain persons to live from the
labor of others, but it also tends to make them dishonest and cruel.”
“I have long ago arrived at the same conclusions about our profit
system,” said Mr. Uwins. “I am pleased to find that I am right in this,
for I have already written considerably on this subject and intend to
write much more. I know it is not a very popular subject to write on,
for it cuts down the extravagant income of our so-called best society.”
“Mr. Midith, you said a short time ago that all of you bathe at
least once a day. Will you be kind enough to describe your bathing
conveniences?” I asked. “I have always been fond of water, and before
I go to Mars--that is if I ever shall be able to go--I would like to
know whether there is still plenty of water left on the surface of that
planet to enjoy a good swim.”
“In the first place, Mr. Fulton, we have large, beautiful, artificial
lakes for swimming and bathing purposes, which I will describe to you
more fully when we get to the park and other out-door descriptions, and
also under the topic of education.
“Besides these artificial lakes, which are largely used during warm,
pleasant weather, we have a plentiful supply of splendid bath-rooms,
supplied with hot and cold water; large mirrors and other convenient
furniture and toilet articles.
“We have one _large_ parlor with a seating capacity far exceeding
all the members of the family--men, women and children. This is the
grandest and most imposing apartment in the ‘big-house.’ In the center
of this apartment plays a cool, refreshing fountain, which ascends its
water to the high, artistically decorated ceiling; and as it descends
again, the brilliant electric lights reflect its iridescence in all
directions. The walls below are largely composed of windows and grand
mirrors, from which hundreds of mirthful, happy faces are reflected.
The furniture is of the most elaborate style. The chairs, sofas,
couches, etc., are models of ease and comfort, as well as elegance.
This grand parlor also contains an almost perfect electric orchestra
of more than a thousand pieces. This grand band of instrumental music
sends it sweet, soft symphonies, to which those of your Beethoven and
Mozart can scarcely be compared, to the ears of all who are seeking
comfort and happiness in this magnificent drawing-room.
“Then we have various smaller parlors and sittingrooms of different
sizes, all of which are richly furnished. Each individual has also a
private apartment. This arrangement affords each person an opportunity
to be with a large collection of individuals in the large parlor,
or with a smaller group in the various sized smaller parlors, or be
all to himself in his private apartment. To be sure, two or more
may room together, if they like, but this is rarely ever practiced.
Under health we have no physical compulsion, no master, other than
we desire, no slave, and no ‘boss.’ All the public domestic work is
performed by specialists, both men and women. The public parlors are
kept clean, ornamented and in tasty order by individuals of the family,
who have selected that as their daily occupation. Each individual
keeps his private apartment to suit his own taste. Cleanliness, order
and regularity are taught, practiced and esteemed such high virtues
that all persons, male and female, pride themselves in keeping their
private apartment as clean and enticing as possible. You see we have
an abundance of time for it. Our regular day’s labor consists of but an
hour or two. Each individual sleeps in his private apartment. The grand
folding beds are always clean and neatly folded by each individual
owner. Every person furnishes his private apartment to suit himself.
In them we have fine carpets on the floor, elegant furniture, costly
curtains, elaborate paintings, rare ornaments, a complete toilet, an
ornamental register for electric heating, brilliant electric lights,
a few choice books and pictures, likely some musical instruments, and
many other conveniences of which I shall tell you under different
topics.”
“What is generally the size of a private apartment?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“They are about twenty feet square, including closets and a wash-room,”
replied Mr. Midith.
“Now, let me tell you,” continued Mr. Midith, “in another part of
the ‘big-house’ is a large, richly furnished hall for all kinds
of amusements, games, lectures, athletic sports, gymnastic and
calisthenical exercises, singing, walking, speaking, music, bicycle
riding and all other amusements and sports in which Marsites desire to
engage.
“Several nursery apartments for children and babies are abundantly
supplied with toys. The floors of these apartments are composed of a
smooth, hard composition, scrubbed or flooded several times a day. The
seats, which are along the walls, are all stationary, and hundreds of
children, even if left all by themselves in these departments, could
do no damage to the building or furniture. Here adults can bring and
amuse the babies and little children. Further on I shall describe the
out-door nurseries.
“The barber department, which I have referred to before, is in charge
of skillful barbers, both ladies and gentlemen. Little or no shaving is
done, for nearly every man wears a full beard. Men, women and children
have their hair cut short, dressed and arranged in various styles,
which we found more convenient and more healthful. You must always bear
in mind that as man slowly but gradually reaches a higher state of
intellectual culture, he makes his habits, customs and fashions conform
more and more with the laws of life and health. Because his esthetic
faculties continually unfold more and more in the direction of greater
well-being, the pursuit of happiness becomes a continually increasing
incentive. We have many other apartments, which I shall describe under
the topic to which they belong.”
“Oh, what beautiful, pleasant homes you must have!” said Celestine.
“Yes; and how short a day’s labor is there!” exclaimed Roland. “Nearly
all work is done with machinery.”
“I wish we could all go and live there!” ejaculated Viola, who had
been intensely interested in Mr. Midith’s description of the Marsian
“big-house.”
“Why, we could live here on earth just like it, if we only knew a
little more,” said Mr. Midith. “There is nothing miraculous in what I
have told you, and in the way we live. All you need to live, labor, and
co-operate as we do on Mars, are good, fair, intelligent, industrious,
orderly men, women and children, who foster no revenge, prejudice and
jealousy, who know and are willing to do their respective parts from
the promptings of inward sentiments. All you need in addition to what
you already have is a little more intelligence for the masses--a little
more experience which teaches them that right acts _only_ can bring
happiness. Additional intelligence, as a whole, strengthens virtuous
traits and weakens vicious ones.
“As soon as your masses can plainly see that you can live a much
happier life the way the Marsites live, you will certainly live that
way; for it is undoubtedly true that all sentient beings are in
pursuit of what they believe to be the greatest happiness, immediate
and remote. You require nothing _new_ in _kind_; nothing that lies in
inaccessible regions; nothing that is not in the nature of things to
develop the mundane inhabitant so as to live a Marsian life.
“You, as well as we, can build one large family residence better than
a multitude of small ones. You can build your residences and other
buildings certain distances apart, and around a rectangular tract of
land which we call a community, with much less labor than huddle them
together in crowded cities and towns or isolate them in the country.
You can build and operate railroads and motor lines, and have them
pass through big-houses as well as having them pass through a lonely
country. You can run pumps, electric lights, elevators, churns,
laundries and all other machinery by electric power. You know how to
construct, furnish and maintain grand, clean kitchens, dining halls,
restaurants, stores, halls, barber shops, nurseries, parlors and
private apartments. You can, if you only knew it, derive far more
happiness by voluntary co-operation, by being kind, cleanly, orderly,
not jealous and free, than you can by single-handed effort, by being
cruel, filthy, disorderly, jealous and in slavery and superstition. No
doubt the same evolutionary forces that have brought the human being
above the manlike ape in the past will slowly elevate him to a still
higher and nobler plane in the future. I believe that thousands of the
foremost intellectual men and women of the United States, and other
countries of your world, would now be ready to live a Marsian life, or
one nearly like it, if they were not prevented by the less intelligent
ones. Intelligence is the motive power which determines our course of
action.”
“Is there not a great noise and confusion in your ‘big-houses’ on
account of so many of you living in one dwelling?” asked Viola. “So
many running in and out, up and down. One singing, one crying, and
one screaming. A collection of a thousand persons here always causes
considerable bluster and sometimes a great tumult.”
“It is very true, from the very nature of things, that a collection
of a thousand individuals in your society causes a confusion, not
unfrequently a tumult, and sometimes even a riot. You are not commonly
prepared for such large assemblies, and we are. With you there is a
rush and a scramble for the few best places, and all the rest must
accept what is left. We provide first-class accommodation for _all_,
and have even more places than persons to take them. This puts an end
to all rush and scramble, for men and women scramble only for things
that are scarce.
“Everything in our ‘big-house’ is quiet and orderly. All one hears
on ordinary occasions is a soft, pleasing tone of conversation, and
oftentimes music intermingled with songs and mirthful laughs. We do
not delight in such noisy, boisterous conduct as is often practiced by
a collection of your people, who think they can not enjoy themselves
without freely indulging in the use of intoxicating liquor and tobacco.
This pernicious practice often puts the drinker under the influence of
liquor, and the smoker poisons the air his companions have to breathe.
We have learned that we can reap the greatest amount of happiness
ourselves by not infringing upon the equal rights of others. With but
one invader in the world, the world is not as good as with no invader
in it.
“You see we are never all doing the same thing at once except,
perhaps, eating and sleeping. The cook does his work in the kitchen,
the barber in his shop, the engineer in the engine-house, the duster
in the parlor, the clerk in the store, the waiter in the dining-hall
and restaurant, the farmer in the field, the miner in the mine, etc.
Some are spending their leisure time in walking, some in the parlors,
some in riding on trains and motors, some by visiting, some in riding
bicycles, some in plays and games, some in their private apartment, and
some in countless other engagements. Some of the children are in one
nursery and some are in another; some are in the house and some are out
doors; some are bathing and some are playing; some are at mental study,
others at physical work, and so on in endless variety. There is a rush
nowhere, for there is plenty of room everywhere.”
“How grand, and yet how simple, does all this appear after we hear it,
father!” exclaimed Viola. “It seems that the inhabitants of all worlds
ought to have sufficient intelligence to live such kind, free, rich
lives. Is it not wonderful, mother?”
“It is, indeed, wonderful,” said Mrs. Uwins.
“I think it is now time for retiring,” said Mr. Midith. “To-morrow
evening I shall give you an explanation, as you have already requested
me, of the _exterior_ of the big-house--the out-door surroundings.
I can assure you they are as grand to look upon as the _interior_.
Thrifty, clean, straight, orderly, symmetrical. Everything is in charge
of experts, who pride themselves in the agreeable taste and arrangement
they effect by their skill and labor.”
CHAPTER IX. HAPPINESS AND TRUTH.
The next evening, when we were all seated together in the cool,
refreshing shade of a large tree which was planted by the hands of Mr.
and Mrs. Uwins during their honeymoon some twenty years before, we
requested Mr. Midith to proceed with his explanation of the exterior of
the “big-house.”
But before Mr. Midith had an opportunity to begin, Rev. Dudley
requested permission to ask Mr. Midith a question.
“Certainly,” said Mr. Midith. “It is one of our principles that we
allow all persons to ask all the questions they desire to ask.”
“The question I want to ask you is this: I have heard you speak about
_happiness_ and _truth_ several times. What do you understand by
happiness and by truth? What is your idea of them? Will you be kind
enough to give us a brief explanation of them before you proceed at
your announced topic? I would like to know how your idea of happiness
and truth coincide with our theological view of them.”
“Very well,” responded Mr. Midith.
“_Happiness_, or _pleasure_, is a feeling which we seek to bring into
consciousness and retain there, while _misery_, or _pain_, is a feeling
which we seek to get out of consciousness and to keep out. Hence all
sentient beings of which we have any knowledge are in pursuit of the
greatest happiness. Happiness is the aim and end of _all_. One plainly
sees, then, that all activity and quietude of sentient organisms,
whether man or beast, have for their ultimate end the acquisition
of the highest attainable state of happiness. Health, wealth and
intelligence are intrinsically worthless. They can only be the _means_
by which we can attain the _end_--which is always happiness, and the
principle remains the same, whether the duration of this happiness is
but for a moment or for an eternity; whether the receiver intends to
enjoy it in this life only, or in some supposed life to come also.
“If I myself and my fellow-beings were just as happy, it would be of
no consequence to me or to any one else whether I were blind or had
excellent sight, whether sound or diseased, whether intelligent or
ignorant, whether kind or cruel, whether honest or dishonest, whether
rude or polite, whether truthful or untruthful, whether rich or poor,
whether praised or scorned, whether master or slave.
“It is, however, the nature of blindness, disease, ignorance, slavery,
etc., to produce _misery_, and _therefore_ we call them _evils_.
When we are not afflicted with them we seek to avoid them; when we
are afflicted with them we seek to cure them. From the foregoing
conclusions we are forced to admit that, _as a whole_, acts causing
pleasure or happiness are conducive to life, while on the other hand,
those causing pain or misery are destructive to life as a whole. Under
no other conceivable conditions is it possible for a race of sentient
creatures to evolve, maintain and perpetuate itself; for if, as a
whole, acts destructive to life were more pleasurable than those which
conduce to the fullness of it, the race of sentient beings, even as it
now exists, would soon become extinct; for pleasure, or happiness, is a
feeling which we seek to bring into consciousness and retain there.
“To eat gives us more happiness than it does to starve; therefore we
eat. To wear clothes gives us, as a whole, more happiness than the
efforts to obtain them cause misery. To live in society gives us, in an
average, more pleasure than the social discord causes pain. This, then,
is in brief our idea of general happiness. Now for _truth_.
“Truth is the exact correspondence between the subjective order of our
conceptions and the objective order of the relations among things. All
things in the universe, as far as we know and have reason to believe,
are related to one another in one or more ways. The sun attracts all
the planets, and all the planets in turn attract the sun. All the fixed
stars are attracted by one another, no matter in what remote region
of the universe they may be located. If the matter of only one of the
countless stars of the heavens would be annihilated, all the remainder
would seek a new position.
“The sun radiates heat and light. The radiated heat and light
strike the earth. Heat causes evaporation. Absence of heat produces
condensation, and condensation causes rain, etc. Rain, heat and light
are favorable to vegetable growth. The vegetable assimilates the
inorganic into the organic. The animal lives on the vegetable directly
or indirectly. Our environment acts on us, and we in turn react on the
environment. So we find everything, from the mote to the furthest
star, bound together by endless relations.
“When I look at the pen which I hold in my hand, it produces an
impression on my mind. This mental picture produced on the mind by the
attributes of the material pen in my hand, we call an _ideal_ pen.
So you see that all things that we know exist in a double form--the
idea, or mental picture, of the thing and the thing itself, or the
attributes of it, which produced the idea, or mental picture. The
material pen in my hand possesses the properties of matter and weighs
something; the ideal pen in my mind possesses the properties of mind,
or consciousness, and weighs nothing.
“When the mental picture of the ideal pen exactly corresponds with the
material pen in my hand in _all_ its relations, then I have the whole
_truth_ concerning the pen. But, when I know that a pen will write and
that the point is split, but do not know that the point of it, when
brought with violence against the hand or other parts of the body,
will also penetrate the flesh and cause pain, I have only a _partial_
knowledge of a pen. That is, my subjective conceptions do not _exactly_
correspond with the subjective relations among the pen and other
things. In this case I would not know the exact relations between the
pen’s point and my own organs. I would therefore be partly ignorant
on this subject, and my ignorance, on this as well as on all other
points, would not unlikely lead me into acts that are attended with
pain or misery--acts that are not in tune with facts and relations of
the things in the universe; and for the very reason that such acts are
attended with pain, we call them _wrong_. There would be no right and
no wrong, if there was no happiness and pain.
“All truth must be found by experience. Some is easily found, while
some lies deeply buried from the superficial human view. Some truth
is so conspicuous and universal that all mankind believe and know it.
Some is so obscure and hidden that no man has yet found it, unless we
claim that we know all that can be known, and no well-informed person
will make such claims. It is often said that such and such a thing
cannot be done because there are too many different opinions. But the
fact is, that we all agree as far as we have found the truth. Men
in their opinions are likely to differ only concerning those things
about which they have not yet acquired the truth, but they will always
agree as far as they have discovered the truth. Thus the concerted
action of mankind becomes more and more harmonious, in proportion as
we discover new truths and as the number of individuals clearly seeing
these truths increases. The action of a hundred persons, each knowing
a thousand truths, or facts, would be more harmonious than would be
the actions of a hundred persons, fifty of whom know each a thousand
facts and fifty know only seven hundred each; or than if each of the
hundred individuals know only eight hundred facts each. Let us further
illustrate this agreement and disagreement of mankind; also let us
exemplify how conspicuous some truths are and how obscure and complex
others are.
“All mankind are in pursuit of the greatest happiness, either
consciously or unconsciously, whether that happiness is to be
enjoyed here or in some supposed unknown world. But all believe in
this fundamental axiom. Perhaps all men of mature age agree that
fire burns. Our experience of fire has established quite an exact
correspondence between the subjective order of our conceptions and the
objective order of the relations among things and our nervous system.
All sane persons believe that food is necessary for the sustenance
of the human body. We all agree here. We all know of some relations
existing between water and the human organism; we know that we cannot
breathe it like air.
“The truth, or the relation existing between a drowning man and the
altitude of Mt. Everest, is not so conspicuous as the example cited
before; yet there is a relation between them. The man falling in the
ocean from the shore, tends to raise the water of the ocean in a
similar manner as a turnip thrown in a pail partly filled with water,
raises the water in the pail. Mountains are measured from the sea
level. A _high_ sea level makes a low mountain, and a _low_ sea level
makes a high mountain. This relation is truth, but we do not all see
it.”
“But why do we not all know this truth the same as the truth that fire
burns?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“It seems to me that this is easily accounted for. One, or at least a
few burns, is generally sufficient to convince us that fire _always_
burns; and when we are burned we always find it out, for the pain is
directly communicated to the nervous system. But there are many reasons
why we do not all know the relations between the drowning man and the
altitude of Mt. Everest. In the first place, the rise of the water
in the ocean is so slight that no human eye can see it. No direct
observation can ascertain it. Again, there are not many men drowned.
Again, nobody is watching for the rise of the water. We can only know
it by reasoning up to it from a general principle; and you know that
reasoning, in your present intellectual stage, is, as a whole, not
very agreeable to the minds of the masses who are only seeking to keep
the fierce wolf of poverty away from their door. Those are some of the
reasons.
“There is a relation between the _size_ of Ireland and the length of
the earth’s day. The centrifugal force at the equator increases as
the day is shortened. If the day were half as long as now, the water
would tend to accumulate at the equator by virtue of the increased
centrifugal force. Ireland is situated not far from the North Pole, and
with increased centrifugal force at the equator, the water would recede
from its present shore, which would increase the size of Ireland. If
the day were _lengthened_ to forty-eight hours, Ireland would be,
perhaps, entirely submerged.
“Let us take another example where the truth is still more obscure.
There exists a relation between the size of a growing plum in the
Selvas (the luxuriant forest of the Amazon) and the _direction_ of the
earth’s rotation. The earth rotates from _west_ to east, causing the
trade winds to blow _always_ from the _east_. The Selvas is situated
in the zone of trade winds, which brings abundance of moisture from
the Atlantic ocean, because no mountains intervene. But, if the earth
rotated from east to west, would change the direction of the trade
winds from east to west. And then the Andes mountains would not let the
moisture, which the trade winds would bring from the Pacific, pass over
them, which would make a large part of the Selvas a desert instead of
being the most fertile land in the world. So the plum would be very
small or no plum at all.
“Let us take one more example. There exists a relation between the
amount of red clover and the number of cats; but we do not all see
this truth or relation. Let us see if we can trace it. Red clover is
fertilized here only by the humble bee. Field mice destroy humble bees
by eating their honey; and cats catch mice. To have much red clover,
then, we must have many humble bees; to have many humble bees, we must
have few field-mice; and to have few field-mice, we must have many cats.
“There is a relation between the garden _soil_ and a _thought_. Soil
is assimilated into a potato, etc. The potato is eaten, digested, and
built into a brain, and the brain is the organ of thought.
“So we find a relation existing between the whole course of nature;
between star and planet; the body and the food we eat; the soil and our
life; the male and the female; the residence and our health; labor and
our garments; truth and happiness.
“With these preliminary remarks in our mind, let us see whether we
can trace and combine the two great phenomena--happiness and truth.
Happiness may be represented as being the power which initiates and
guides our course of action; and an organism which is at rest would
never move again, if, by remaining quiet, it found from time to time
greater happiness. _Truth_ may be represented as being a path which
leads a sentient organism in complete harmony with the facts of the
universe. There are countless other paths besides the path of Truth,
which a sentient being may travel, but there is only one--the path of
Truth which rewards the traveler with the greatest happiness, while all
the countless others punish him with more or less misery, and sometimes
with instantaneous death.
“If it be true, then, that all sentient organisms are in pursuit of
the greatest happiness, and that happiness can be attained only by
traveling on the path of Truth, all sentient creatures, whether human
beings or inferior animals, would be traveling the path of Truth
only, if they possessed sufficient intelligence always to ascertain
that path. For, traveling on any other path, would sooner or later be
attended with pain; and would therefore be a contradiction in terms to
the proposition that all sentient beings are in pursuit of the greatest
happiness, which is only realized completely when all the desires of
the organisms are satisfied. If, then, the foregoing conclusions are
true, and they have stood the test of the keenest scientific inquiry
on our globe for ages, all misery, pain, wrong, evil, or whatever we
may name it, must be ascribed to ignorance; and this proposition is
substantiated by the application of every known psychological fact. To
illustrate:
“A little child may be actuated to put its hand against a red hot
stove, because it is ignorant of the relations existing between the
sensitive hand and the hot stove; but after it has learned the true
relations, it will not do it any more. A savage may attempt to stop a
running locomotive, by standing on the track; but after he has learned
its immense momentum, he will cease trying it. A people, during a
certain stage of intellectual culture, may live in cities; but after
they have learned the evils and uselessness of cities, no one will live
in them. With a certain amount of intelligence, man endeavors to make
himself happy by antagonizing the happiness of others; but as soon
as he discovers that a greater happiness can be attained by building
our own happiness on the happiness of our fellowman, all antagonism
disappears. Some of these truths we can see conspicuously with a little
intelligence, while others are very obscure and require a vast amount
of it. But no matter how conspicuous or how obscure, just as soon as we
learn that we derive greater happiness by doing right, or by following
Truth, we will follow it, for its own reward, wherever we see it, and
just that far all persons agree.”
“But, according to your theory, Mr. Midith, does it not necessarily
follow that a hog, wallowing in a mud puddle, enjoys as much happiness
as a philosopher, or as a Marsite enjoys in the grand parlors of his
big-house, or sporting on his brilliantly lighted boulevard?” asked
Rev. Dudley. “You say that an organism is completely happy when all
its desires are fully satisfied; and it seems to me that all the hog’s
desires may be as fully satisfied as those of a Marsite.”
“I fear, Rev. Dudley, that you do not understand our position at all,”
replied Mr. Midith. “But let us see if I can make this plain to you.
“You know that as we ascend in the scale of animal creation, the
faculties, as you call them, of each organism increase in number and in
complexity. The hog, of which you speak, has more and higher faculties
than the snail. The ape has more and higher faculties than the hog. The
savage has more and higher ones than the ape. And the highly cultivated
person has more and higher ones than the savage. Each additional
faculty, as we ascend in the scale of animal being, brings also new
and higher desires, so that a being which is endowed with many and
with complex faculties, has also many and high desires to satisfy. But
we must remember that the _ability_ to satisfy desires increases in a
greater ratio than the desires increase in number and in complexity.
“Now, then, we get to the main point, which is: Each satisfied faculty
contributes its amount of happiness in proportion to its complexity of
the desire; so that a being which has numerous and complex desires,
and has them all satisfied, is immeasurably happier than a being which
has but a few and simple desires, which are also all satisfied. Each
faculty, then, is a track, so to speak, on which loads of happiness of
different value are coming into consciousness.
“Now, I think we can easily see why it is that a highly enlightened
person, other things being equal, is happier than an ignorant,
superstitious one. The enlightened person has several advantages
over the ignorant one. First, the enlightened person understands the
phenomena of nature better, which enables him to march more in harmony
with facts, by which he escapes the natural penalty of discord, and
reaps the reward of harmony. And, secondly, the informed person lives
in a vast mental world, bounded only by telescopic stars located in the
remote regions of the universe. His extended world contains countless,
admirable things, the admiration of each of which brings him a flood
of happiness; while the unenlightened, superstitious person lives in a
very contracted mental world bounded by superstitious fear, over which
boundary he dares not pass. His small world contains only a few things
from which he receives happiness by admiring them, and even these few
things he understands so imperfectly that he is continually punished by
nature for running cross-grained with facts. The foregoing conclusion
is also confirmed by the evolution point of view. For if the greatest
happiness is our highest aim and end, a complex being could not have
evolved from a simpler one, if the complex organism were not enjoying a
greater happiness than the more ignorant or inferior one.
“After the foregoing contemplation, we can easily see that each
organism, according to its degree of development, has a particular
environment in which all its desires can be most nearly satisfied. A
savage, with his mental constitution, would find no delight in living a
civilized life in an elegantly furnished residence; his position would
not correspond with his faculties and desires, and before he could
enjoy a splendid parlor, his desires will have to be changed. An ape
would find no happiness in following the habits of a hog; and a hog
could not live in the environment of a fish, neither could the masses
of your people, with their present desires and amount of intelligence,
if transferred to our world, enjoy the free, kind, and rich society
of Mars. They would feel as awkward there as the savage would feel in
your parlor. Intelligence, personal and ancestral, determines the whole
course of animal activity. Every animal and every man acts just as
good, and no better, as the amount of his intelligence compels him to
act. And no one’s course of action, whether considered good or bad, can
be changed permanently without the mental assimilation of additional
knowledge. A clear and thorough knowledge of this important truth by
all would forever banish every vestige of human cruelty from the face
of the earth.
“In conclusion of this topic, let me say that I am very glad that
you requested me to give you our idea of truth and happiness. But,
in order to avoid being misunderstood, allow me to explain one other
point. I told you that an organism is completely happy only when
all its desires are fully satisfied; but, as a whole, our desires
can never be _completely_ satisfied. This, I think, can be best
understood by bearing in mind that the higher beings according to
the doctrine of evolution have been evolved from lower organisms by
the pressure of environment, by competition, by the survival of the
fittest. Our environment is continuously pressing us, by the survival
of the fittest, etc., into higher and higher planes, which require
a continuous adjustment of ourselves with our environment, and this
continuous adjustment and pressure involves incomplete satisfaction.
There will, then, always remain abundance of scope for our healthful
ambition, both in the direction of physical structure and mental
powers. No matter how physically perfect a person may be in bodily
structure, strength, endurance and agility, we can conceive of one who
is still his superior. And no matter how learned a person may be, his
field of thought is always bounded; and this boundary always implies
a region outside of the sphere of his thought, which can never be
co-extensive and identical with infinity.”
CHAPTER X. EXTERIOR OF THE “BIG-HOUSE.”
“Now, I shall endeavor to give you a description of the exterior of the
‘big-house,’” said Mr. Midith, as he began to draw a neat outline, on
which he located four “big-houses” and a cross-section of a community,
as shown on page 115.
“Before I give you a detailed description of the different parts
of this outline, I shall have to refer you to the diagram I drew
for you the other evening. (Page 58.) You will there notice that
our communities are all numbered, as Community 1, 2, etc. Hence, a
country as large as the United States, containing nearly 3,500,000
square miles, divided up into communities like ours, containing about
four townships, or 144 square miles each, will make about 25,000
communities. I told you, in brief, that the ‘big-houses’ are situated
along the motor-lines, on the perimeter of the communities, and are
about half mile apart, as indicated by the dots in Community No. 1
(page 58). The ‘big-houses’ of each community are also numbered, as
indicated by the figures 1, 2, 3, etc., in Community No. 1 (page 58).
“It is not strictly true that the ‘big-houses’ are located a half-mile
apart, for about every four miles or closer, as indicated by the
square dots in Community 2 (page 58), we have a large warehouse or
factory instead of a ‘big-house;’ but these warehouses, etc., are very
similar in structure to a ‘big-house.’ Now, we want to bear in mind
that the communities are numbered, so that when we know the number of
a certain community we know in what particular part of the country it
is situated; and we also want to remember that the ‘big-houses’ of each
community are numbered consecutively from 1 to about 135, including the
warehouses, factories, etc. The number of a ‘big-house’ also indicates
its location in the community.
“From what I have already said, then, you have learned the following
facts:
“1. Our countries, or grand divisions of land, are divided into
rectangular communities, about 24 miles long and 6 miles wide. 2. Each
community is surrounded by 60 miles of motor-line. 3. Railroads are
about 100 miles apart, running both north and south and east and west.
4. Each community under ordinary conditions contains about one hundred
and twenty ‘big-houses.’ 5. The inmates of each ‘big-house’ generally
number about one thousand. 6. The inhabitants of each community, then,
are nearly one hundred and twenty thousand. 7. Each community has
about fifteen or twenty warehouses, mills and factories. 8. Both the
communities and the ‘big-houses’ are numbered.
[Illustration:
This diagram represents a cross-section, somewhat more than half mile
wide, and extending across from the motor-line to the field.
A is a park one-fourth mile wide, extending from the motor-line to the
boulevard all around the community.
1 represents a double track motor-line.
2, 3, 4 and 5 represent “big-houses.”
6 represents a hundred-foot wide boulevard.
7 and 8 represent foot-paths.
9 represents a hundred-foot walk leading through and around the
“big-houses” from one to the other.
10 are two outdoor nurseries for little children.
11 and 12 are two artificial lakes for bathing and swimming.
13 represents a 500-foot wide conservatory and green-house.
14 represents a walk between the green-house and garden.
15 represents a 1000-foot wide garden.
16 represents a walk between the garden and the orchard.
17 represents a 1000-foot wide orchard.
18 represents a walk between the orchard and field.
19 represents the field, extending clear across to the opposite side of
the orchard.
20 represent walks extending across park, green-house, garden, etc.,
from the “big-houses” to the field.]
“Now I think we are ready to give you a description of this outline or
diagram, and the different parts it represents. Number 1 represents a
double-tracked motor-line passing through the connecting wing of the
‘big-houses.’ Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 represent four ‘big-houses.’ Two and
two are located just opposite each other, with the motor-line between
them. This enables our motor-cars to stop at points only where two
thousand persons reside. Nos. 2 and 4 belong to one community and Nos.
3 and 5 to another. No. 6 represents a hundred-foot wide boulevard
fringed with the finest shade trees that nature and art can produce.
This boulevard, of course, the same as all the other walks and strips
of land which are numbered on this diagram, run parallel with the
motor-lines all around the community. The floor of this boulevard is
composed of artificial granite, cast on top of a solid foundation. It
is clean, smooth, and more durable than natural granite. In the evening
this boulevard and other walks are lighted with brilliant electric
lights generated by the electric engine. On this smooth, shady,
brilliantly-lighted boulevard, thousands of men, women and children
spend part of their plentiful leisure time in healthful exercise. Some
are riding elegantly-finished and highly-geared bicycles with which,
under favorable conditions, a speed of 100 miles an hour can be made
on this smooth, level track. Some are riding on splendid, convenient,
electric carriages, which may be open or shaded, or entirely enclosed
and heated with electricity from within during cold weather.
“On each side of the main boulevard Nos. 7 and 8, is a foot path shaded
and floored the same as the boulevard. On these walks men, women and
children take much of their walking exercises. The men and women wheel
and carry the little babies in the fresh air on these fine walks.
“Each individual man, woman and child that can manage a bicycle, a
carriage or other vehicle own one or more. Sometimes we go out alone;
sometimes in company with a gentleman; sometimes in company with a
lady. Of course, this is left entirely to the choice and taste of each
individual.”
“It must be a splendid sight to see these fine bicycles, carriages and
other vehicles swiftly gliding along this fine, endless boulevard!”
exclaimed Mr. Uwins.
“It is indeed grand and cheerful,” responded Mr. Midith. “I wish it
were possible that we could all spend an hour there about this time of
a June evening.”
“But how can every one afford to buy all these nice things of which you
speak?” asked Viola. “And you say, too, that ladies and children have
them as well as gentlemen?”
“Certainly,” replied Mr. Midith. “A lady’s day’s work is worth just as
much to us as a gentleman’s, and so it is to you; the only difference
is we pay for it all it is worth and you do not. When you speak of
affording to buy so many nice things, you must remember that we can
afford to buy even much more than we actually do. By working together
on such a large scale and _only_ at productive labor, by having such a
complete division of labor that we are all experts, and with the aid of
the grand machinery, which are operated for the benefit of _all_ and
not for the benefit of a _few_ as you do, our economy of wealth and
labor is so immense, and our production so abundant, that we receive
each according to your time and pay over $10 a day, which consists in
an average of less than two hours of physical labor. So you see if you
individually received more than $10 a day, besides the dwelling, fuel,
light and all other public interests, you could buy all the luxuries
and do all the traveling you desired and still have plenty of ‘money’
left for old age. After I have told you all about our social and
industrial system, I hope you will be able to see why we are able to
produce so much wealth with so little labor.
“But let us now go on with our description. I hope you will pardon
me for the slight digression I made. A is a park one-fourth mile
wide, extending from the boulevard to the motor line. In this park
the ‘big-houses’ are located, as shown on diagram. No. 9 is a granite
walk 100 feet wide, passing _through_ and _around_ the ‘big-houses’
from one to the other. No. 10 are nurseries 400 by 600 feet. Part of
these nurseries are covered with glass and artificially warmed when
necessary, and part of them are open. In these outdoor nurseries, the
little children who are unable to care for themselves are playing part
of their time.
“Nos. 11 and 12 are two artificial lakes for bathing and swimming
purposes. They are fenced in with a high fence, so that no very little
children can get in unattended. These lakes are each 100 by 300 feet
in size, with a large fountain in the center of each. The water is
supplied and the fountain fed by the engine in the ‘big-house.’ One of
these lakes is fitted for children who can not swim, and is so shallow
that they cannot drown in it. The entrance is guarded by a self-closing
gate, which is so difficult to open that a child who is too young to
help itself can not open. In this shady, crystal, clear lake, supplied
with all bathing and swimming conveniences, our little children daily
bathe, swim and play when the weather is favorable. Our children are
so independent, so well taught, and things are all so convenient that
a child two or three years old needs no assistance in dressing and
undressing. They go where they like and do what they please. The other
one of these lakes is similarly fitted up, but is much deeper and is
used by grown persons. The entrance is guarded by a self-locking door,
and no man or woman who does not carry a key can get in alone. This
prevents little children from getting in, for they are not supplied
with keys. By means of these artificial, as well as other natural
bodies of water, every man, woman and youth is a good swimmer; we learn
it in childhood and practice it all through life.
“This beautiful park, which is the pride of every member of the
family, is adorned with closely shaven lawns, dense shade trees, rare
ornamental trees, all varieties of beautiful odoriferous flowers,
play-grounds for all kinds of out-door games, and all apparatus for
amusement which men, women and children desire to use. The park and
everything in it is kept in order by our most experienced men and women
we have in the family.”
“Are your wives always attended by their husbands when out in the park,
on the boulevard, etc., or do they sometimes go alone?” asked Mrs.
Uwins.
“Mrs. Uwins, your question clearly shows that you do not yet understand
our social conditions. We have no husband and wife at all as you know
them here. But this I will explain to you further on under the head of
sexual relations, because it does not belong to the present topic.
“No. 13, right along the boulevard, is a conservatory or green-house,
500 feet wide and almost entirely surrounded by glass, which we
manufacture very cheaply and which is very inflexible and yet not
brittle. This gives each family a very large green-house. It is
nearly a half mile long and 500 feet wide, which gives us an area of
nearly 30 acres of conservatory to each ‘big-house.’ We heat it with
electricity generated by the house engine or by natural gas. To obtain
the necessary moisture for this vast green-house, we have capacious
reservoirs or cisterns, to which we attach a large hose sprinkler and
let it rain when and where we please within its walls. This green-house
furnishes all the flowers and green vegetables we want during the whole
winter. It is under the immediate management of our most skillful
horticulturists.
“No. 14 is a 50-foot walk immediately back and parallel with the
conservatory.
“No. 15 is a garden 1,000 feet wide. It is all laid off in geometrical
beds by professional gardeners, who work in the garden during the
summer and in the immense green-house during the winter. This garden,
with its countless variety of beautiful, fragrant flowers, and its
endless clean paths, serves not only as a field for the production of
all kinds of edible vegetables our world produces in that climate, but
it serves as a park as well. During our long leisure hours, hundreds
of ladies and gentlemen are strolling in its paths, eating what they
like. This garden is so well worked that there is scarcely ever a weed
in it. The soil is kept very rich; if not by nature, it is made so by
fertilizers, which we manufacture abundantly. About midway across our
garden is a subterranean tube supplied with water, to which hydrants
are attached at short intervals. To these hydrants hose are attached
for sprinkling purposes. So you see, we can raise an abundant crop in
our garden in spite of the greatest drought. We do not need nature to
moisten the thirsty soil to germinate the seed when planted, nor do we
need her to kiss the verdant foliage with her liquid treasure from the
clouds, nor from the dewdrops of a quiet night. The hand of art, in
the form of a gigantic sprinkler, can produce the necessary shower, in
which the tiny rainbow plays in the sunbeam, when and where we want it.
“No. 18 is a fifty-foot walk between the orchard and the main field,
which extends clear across the community from orchard to orchard.
“No. 17 is an orchard 1,000 feet wide, although the width of it varies
according to climate and adaptation for raising fruit. In this orchard
we raise all varieties of fruit adapted to the climate. The trees
are not crowded on the ground, and the lawn beneath them is always
kept green and mown short by lawn mowers driven by an engine. Our
tables never feel the effect of winter. What our orchard, garden and
green-house can not successfully produce is shipped in from tropical
regions in refrigerator cars, which are cold in the summer and warm in
the winter.
“The Nos. 20 are boulevards and walks leading to and from the
‘big-houses’ across the park, through the green-house, across the
garden and orchard. They cross all the longitudinal boulevards and
walks. You will notice that there is such a cross walk on each side
of the ‘big-house.’ The one is used when going _from_ the house, and
the other when going _to_ the house. This arrangement prevents all
collision and confusion in going to and coming from the ‘big-houses.’
“The farming is all done with electric motors or engines, as I have
already told you. The work is mere play. Everything is done with
machinery on a large scale; hardly any muscular power is required. Our
land is all well fertilized. The plowing is done by huge gang plows
and rotating harrows. The harrowing and sowing is done by a machine
over fifty feet wide, which harrows, sows, and then harrows again all
at the same time. The harvesting and threshing I have already explained
to you some time ago.”
I then asked Mr. Midith whether the Marsites raised corn and potatoes,
and if so, what kind of machinery they had for that purpose, to which
he replied:
“We raise corn and potatoes similar to yours; the only difference is
that we have improved them more by cultivation, because we have had
longer time. We have superior varieties than you now have; but as your
botanical knowledge becomes more and more perfect, you will keep on
improving the same as we have done.
“Our corn and potatoes are all planted with machines, which plant from
four to ten rows at once. We have a corn husker that snaps the ears off
from four to six rows and elevates them into a large wagon or car as
the engine moves it along. The corn is of course not entirely free from
husks when picked with this husker. When the car, or wagon, is full, it
is taken to the warehouse, where the corn, the same as the other grain
of which I have already told you, is dumped into a large hopper, from
which elevators carry it to the curing bin, where daily thousands of
bushels are cured. When the remaining husk is thoroughly dry, the corn
passes through a machine, or husker, which breaks up all the dried,
brittle husk, and here a powerful current of air separates the silk and
broken up husk from the ears, which are again cured and then shelled
and stored away for future use. Not a grain is thus wasted, spoiled, or
damaged.
“Our potato-digger is almost perfect too. With it two or three persons
and an engine can dig more than a thousand bushels a day. The digger
is made something like this: A kind of incline plane plow runs under
through the row, raises the soil and potatoes on the plow, which drops
the whole on a wire elevator which lets the soil pass through it, and
elevates the potatoes in a car back of the plows. In this manner one
engine draws from two to four plows.
“Hay and other feed for cattle is not much needed; for as I have
told you, we keep cattle only for dairy purposes, sheep for wool and
poultry for eggs. The stock is raised on land not so well adapted for
agriculture. The feed is nutritious and well prepared; the stabling is
all of the very best and most convenient kind, warmed by electricity.
The hay is cut with large mowers, which elevate the cut grass into the
large wagon racks used with the headers. It is cured by artificial
means the same as the grain.
“By this method we have always first-class hay highly nutritious. None
of it is left on the field. None of it blows away; no waste, and not a
particle of it is spoiled by rain, because it is always hauled in and
cured as fast as it is cut.
“I notice that your method of hay-making is very slow, uncertain and
wasteful, because much of it is totally spoiled by rain before it is
stacked; a part of it is spoiled in the stack, and a large part of the
remainder is more or less damaged in various ways.
“I may say here that our poultry is all hatched by steam incubators,
and is as well housed as we are ourselves. In the winter we have large
areas covered with glass, under which they enjoy the warm sunshine and
even temperature almost the same as in the summer. By these means we
get abundance of eggs during the whole year.
“Do you see how vastly we save wealth and labor by our extensive
voluntary co-operation, as compared with your single-handed, slipshod
industries? How much disorder and inconvenience you experience? How
often, when working your little farms, you are obliged to turn your
weary, half-dead teams, which are trampling under foot the very crop
you are trying to raise? How much land all along your fences and other
division lines produces nothing useful? How many fights and quarrels
over your division lines? How often, in order to do a little work, you
have to go back and forth with your little narrow machinery, drawn
by animal flesh? and how often do you have to go over the same place
before you have your crop scarcely planted? How much labor and land you
require for the production of feed for your draught animals? You have
to do almost as much for them as they do for you, and that is indeed
very much. How poorly, as a whole, you feed and shelter your stock
from the cold and other inclemency of the weather. Your little straw
sheds are full of filth and snow. Your stables are not unfrequently
one thickness of inch boards, with large cracks between the boards.
Your sheep often have no other shelter than a fence or a little grove;
their wool is torn out by the snow and ice that is frozen in it. Your
poultry, during a winter’s storm, is sometimes frozen fast to the
perch, and have often not a foot of bare ground, where they can procure
the sand and gravel necessary for their digestion. How much more food
your animals, that are so poorly sheltered and cared for, require to
keep up the animal heat which should be kept up by proper care and warm
shelter.
“How densely your population huddles together in your cities and
towns, eking out a bare existence in garrets and tenement houses which
are totally unfit for an abode of a human being; and how lamely and
single-handed your agriculturist toils, early and late, for the support
of himself, his so-called family, and the army of city unproductive and
destructive laborers. What a slave a wife is who has to live either
in a city garret or tenement house, or in a lonely country home! How
little intellectual culture she can attain! How financially dependent
she is on her ‘master’--the so-called husband! How his children are
working themselves crooked, stiff, and otherwise deformed from the
long, heavy day’s toil! How little room there is for intellectual
development under such social and industrial burdens! All is toil,
slavery, and obedience. No parks, no fine walks, no pleasant rides, no
greenhouses where a flower or green plant can be picked during the cold
winter day when something green cheers the heart and delights the eye.
Your gardens are rudely laid out, and mostly full of weeds and poultry,
and sometimes hogs and cattle. Your orchards are planted with a few
varieties of trees which often bear a better crop of caterpillars than
fruit; your shrubbery is largely choked to death in some fence corner
or under some larger trees, for want of sunshine and moisture. Your
lawn is often an ash-pile, and not unfrequently a rubbish-heap.”
CHAPTER XI. EXTERIOR OF “BIG-HOUSE.” [_Continued._]
“Now, I do not wish to be understood that I am ridiculing your social
and industrial institutions, or that I blame any one for these poor,
pitiable conditions we find existing here on earth. We passed through
the same woful stages. Every well-informed person knows that your
world, as a whole, is better to-day than it ever was before. You enjoy
more security, more kindness, more intelligence and more freedom than
you ever did in any preceding age. The conditions which we find on
earth are, as a whole, undoubtedly nearly in tune with your social
and industrial culture; and the only known power in the universe that
can substitute a higher and nobler order of things is additional
intelligence. Acts, as we have seen, are always in harmony with the
intelligence of the actor.
“We can not hope to find much good work done in a world where the
division of labor is so imperfect as it is here with you. Your
so-called farmer is, as a rule, at the same time agriculturist,
horticulturist, stockbreeder, butcher, dairyman, shepherd, carpenter
and poultry raiser. On the other hand, your city laborer must
frequently be idle, or accept any kind of labor he can get, whether he
is proficient in it or whether he is a bungler at it.”
“There must be a great difference between our institutions and yours,”
said Mrs. Uwins.
“In some respects there is,” replied Mr. Midith. “Just compare the
appearance and conditions of our social and industrial world with
that of yours. Think of our magnificent residences--grand edifices,
furnished on the interior with all the domestic conveniences that
human ingenuity can contrive. The outer appearance is very imposing;
numerous large windows through which are seen the rich curtains and
through which the blitheful laugh of the inmates can be heard, and the
healthy countenances of free, rich men, women, and children can be
seen. Think how all these fine dwellings are located in the grandest
parks that nature and art can produce; how all varieties of flowers
and ornamental trees may be seen in all directions. Think of the
green, closely-mowed lawn; the cool, refreshing fountain playing on
the bosom of the artificial lakes in which men, women and children are
sportively swimming and bathing. Think how the odoriferous, life-giving
breeze enters every apartment of our palatial homes, which are neither
crowded in populous cities nor isolated in a lonely country. Think of
the smooth, shady boulevard on which numerous men, women and children
are seeking healthful, sportive exercise. Think of the spacious
conservatory and green-house, surrounded by glass, and containing
luxuriant tropical plants, whose foliage is as green, even when the
snow is two feet deep, as it is in its native climate. Think of the
productive garden, bearing the choicest vegetables that evolution
through the hand of the horticulturist has been able to produce; of
the enticing orchard with its endless variety of fruit trees and
shrubbery, its green lawns, and clean walks. Think of the ease with
which our farming is done, and the immense amount of agricultural work
we can do in a short time. Think how all our labor has turned almost
into play, and how much leisure time we enjoy. And lastly, think of the
intelligent free, rich, healthy inhabitants who have all learned that
the happiness of self includes the happiness of others. Such, upon a
brief, superficial contemplation, are a few of the more conspicuous
differences existing between our system and yours. Yet you should
always bear in mind that we have nothing on Mars but what you can have
right here on earth with a little additional intelligence, a little
more knowledge of yourselves and your fellowman. A little more kindness
and a little less cruelty. A little more peace and a little less
discord. A little more freedom and a little less jealousy. A little
wider and more voluntary co-operation and a little less single-handed
effort. A little more individualism and a little less paternalism and
co-operative coercion. A little more confidence in the operations and
uniformity of the so-called laws of nature, and a little less trust in
the pretended virtue of superstition. I, therefore, repeat again that
thousands of your foremost cultivated men and women here on earth are
already prepared to live a Marsian life, if they were not prevented by
your existing institutions and by the masses who are not yet ready for
such a harmonious life.”
“You have not told us anything about your mining,” said Mr. Uwins. “I
presume you do that with as much skill and facility as you do your
other work.”
“Yes; we mine on the same large plan as we do our other work,” replied
Mr. Midith, “Our mining machinery is very much improved, and we
need but little muscular power in the occupation of mining. We are
continually sinking more and deeper shafts, whereby we increase the
quantity and quality of our mining products. Every few communities fit
out a ‘prospecting’ gang, who are constantly employed in ‘prospecting’
for better mines in those communities which they represent; and
wherever we find the most productive ones, we work. In this manner we
find the most productive mines, and the best iron and other useful
minerals. We have also discovered how to manufacture aluminium
successfully and cheaply. This metal, on account of its cheapness and
advantageous properties, is now very largely used for mechanical,
architectural and other purposes.
“Much of our mining is done in the winter. Many of those who work on
the farm during the summer, work in the factory and mine during the
winter. Some of the agriculturists also work in the green-house during
the winter. In this manner, you see, our work of the whole year is
divided nearly uniformly. That is, we have as much work to do one
season of the year as another; and whenever we are in need of more
help in one occupation, for instance, such as harvesting, we can get
all the help we need from the factory and the mine. By this change,
we are never crowded in any work, nor are we ever out of work. These
conditions are highly conducive to human well-being. The body is not
burdened with overwork at one period of the year and stupefied on
account of inactivity at another.”
“Do you have many accidents in your mines?” asked Rev. Dudley, who
became more and more interested in Mr. Midith’s narrative.
“Very rarely one loses his life by accident in our mine. We value life
so highly that, if things are not very secure, no one will go into the
mine. We are not driven by a ‘boss’ and by poverty, like many of your
miners are, who have to go or lose their position. We go when and where
we like. No one has the power to throw us out of employment nor to make
us poor.
“There is still another important mining feature which I have not
explained to you, and that is this: The more we prospect the more
evenly do we find the mining products distributed on our world. Nearly
every community can now work a mine of some kind with advantage.
“From what I have said, you no doubt understand by this time that
we have long ago abandoned the use of coal for heating and lighting
purposes, and also for the generating of motive power. We use
electricity and compressed air for all this. We employ wonderfully
simple and powerful storage battery cells, which we charge either with
wind power, water power or with compressed air engines. Is it not
strange that the people of earth are already imitating us in these
fields? Your Paris, in France, is already using the storage battery
cells for lighting purposes. I notice in your _Scientific American_
of Jan. 30, 1892, that Niagara Falls and Buffalo, N. Y., are about to
utilize the waterfall power at that place for generating electricity
and compressing air. This is what the _Scientific American_ says:
“‘After the completion of the great tunnel works now in progress at
Niagara Falls, there will be nothing to hinder the rapid rise and
growth of that interesting town into a great and wonderful city. Its
dwellings and factories will be supplied with light, heat and motive
power at an extremely low cost, and useful industries of every kind
ought there to flourish with unwonted vigor. Domestic life will be
attended with many comforts and conveniences. The cook will only
need to touch a button, and presto! her electric stove be in full
operation, the pot will boil, the oven bake, the turkey roast, the
pump move, the washing machine turn; while the electric refrigerator
will freeze the water, preserve meat, vegetables, milk, butter, eggs
and other supplies. No coal, no wood, no dust, no dirt, no oil, no
gas. The lady of the house will be relieved of care. She presses a
button, and every nook and corner of her dwelling glow with cheerful
light. Touch another, and the electric fire glimmers in every room,
diffusing genial warmth. The electric lift takes her up or down stairs
in a jiffy. The telephone conveys her orders to market and distributes
her social commands among friends and neighbors. Niagara is in a fair
way to become famous as the great electrical city of the world. At any
rate, it will possess in a great degree the means for economic electric
generation and supply.
“‘Near to Niagara, only twenty-five miles distant, is Buffalo, already
a large and prosperous city, the head center of lake navigation. The
simple extension of conductors over the short distance above mentioned
will bring to the people of Buffalo a direct share in the economic
and other advantages of the new and great enterprise. Light, heat and
motive power for streets, vehicles, work-shops, factories, stores,
churches, dwellings can be supplied from the dynamos at Niagara, more
economically, probably, than by any other means. Local steam engines
may be dismissed; their occupation for Buffalo will be gone. Even the
steam fire engine may retire. The electric pump will beat them out of
sight.
“‘We look toward Niagara and Buffalo with hopeful interest, expecting
soon to witness these many novel applications of electricity for
industrial, domestic and municipal purposes. In the latter category
the promotion of the public health and the expulsion of disease by
electrical agencies seem to be among the reasonable possibilities of
the near future.’
[Illustration]
“The _Scientific American_ of Jan. 9, 1892, also shows a cut of an
electric carriage propelled by storage battery cells,” said Mr. Midith,
as he showed the cut of it and began to read as follows:
“‘The graceful vehicle illustrated in the accompanying picture is
interesting, as being undoubtedly the first carriage propelled by
electricity built in the West. It is the invention of William Morrison,
of Des Moines, Ia., and was built by Morrison and Schmidt, of that
city. It is intended for operation on ordinary city and country roads
and will carry twelve people comfortably.
“‘The power is furnished by 24 storage battery cells placed beneath
the seats.... This motor is of four horse power.... The steering is
attached to the forward axle and is controlled by a hand wheel in
front of the carriage. Mr. Morrison claims that his carriage has been
exhaustively and successfully tested in Des Moines, and that it has
been run continuously 13 hours, attaining a speed of 14 miles an hour.
He thinks that a much higher velocity can be attained if desirable.’”
Mr. Midith continued: “I noticed in the _Western Electrician_ of Sept.
17, 1892, that J. B. McDonald, president of the American Battery
Company, Chicago, purchased this electric carriage and is creating
quite an excitement with it on the streets of Chicago.
“From the foregoing articles appearing in your _Scientific American_,
we clearly see that the earthites (people living on earth) are closely
following the Marsites in their mechanical, as well as in their other
lines of progress. Of course all your electric apparatus and work is,
as yet, but the rude beginnings. All it needs is improvement. There is
an inexhaustible amount of electricity, and all you need do is to store
it up for use. Formerly we, like you now, used coal, wood and gas for
lighting, heating and motive purposes. But all of these were slowly
supplanted by compressed-air engines and electricity.
“Our large warehouses, factories, and mills built along the motor-lines
at short intervals, have on their large flat roofs, powerful windmills
which continually pour a strong current of electricity into a capacious
electric reservoir, or they are charging storage battery cells.
“In some localities on Mars, we still use compressed air. The powerful
windmills are always compressing air for the compressed-air engines.
Our compressed-air engines are almost similar to yours, but with you
the compressed-air engine is not a success on account of your limited
storage room for the compressed air, and also on account of occasional
local calms, during which time your supply of compressed air becomes
exhausted.
“We have overcome these difficulties. The communities of a large
area of country are all connected by large air-tubes, into which
the windmills are compressing air. At certain intervals along these
air-tubes are capacious air chambers for the reception of air. These
air-tubes are all around the communities the same as the motor-lines,
passing through all the ‘big-houses,’ warehouses, factories and mills,
where they drive compressed-air engines, which furnish all the motive
power for generating electricity and do all the other motor work. Thus
you see by this arrangement, we have a vast supply of air on hand, and
there is always a local wind somewhere over this extensive district of
communities which are connected by these air tubes.
“Where electricity is generated and stored directly by wind power,
which it is most places, the electric currents are led through all the
buildings, ‘big-houses,’ warehouse, factories, mills and barns. Here
it is used for heating, lighting, and motive power for loading and
unloading and for running machinery. Waterpower is also largely used
for the generation of electricity. Our carriages, farming machinery,
and all other movable vehicles and machinery, are propelled by the
electric storage battery cell. These cells are with us now very simple,
powerful and lasting. Every community has a large supply of them
stored for reserve, the same as you have a supply of coal on hand,
and our model windmills and waterfalls are charging them faster than
we need them. The force which manifests itself in the current of air
which drives the windmills is stored for future use, and this storing
is being done just the same, whether it is winter or summer, whether
we work or sleep. The _irregular_ motion of the wind is thus changed
into a perfectly _uniform_ motion of electricity and then applied to
machinery.
“Thus you see, we do not, like you, need water and fuel to run our
engines, nor do we need draft-animals to draw our plows and other
vehicles. Some communities, in order to charge their storage battery
cells, ship them to great waterfalls. Electricity is also led by wires
for long distances, and everywhere you are following us step by step.
It is true that your mechanical appliances are still very rude, but
you are improving them very rapidly, and, no doubt, you will before
long make wonderful achievements in the electric and other lines of
discoveries. In order to show your progress in the field of electric
science, let me read to you another article from the _Scientific
American_ of March 12, 1892.” Then Mr. Midith read as follows:
“‘_One Hundred Miles an Hour by Electricity!_
“‘The latest electrical scheme is for an electric railway between
Chicago and St. Louis. The following is from the prospectus of the
Chicago & St. Louis Electric Railroad Co., working under the patents of
Dr. Wellington Adams:
“‘The proposed road will be operated from one central station, located
at the mouth of a coal mine somewhere near the center of the road. The
railway company will operate this mine by means of electric mining
locomotives, electric drills, electric cutters, and electric lights,
which will greatly cheapen the present cost of the ordinary system of
mining coal. The possibility and economy of this method of mining has
already been established beyond dispute. The company will sell the good
coal that is mined at a handsome profit, and use only the waste, dust
and slack to run the engines which develop the power for operating the
mine and road, in connection with its distributing system of light
and power for consumers along the line of road. At the present time
such dust and slack is not only valueless, but has to be hauled away
at the expense of the mining company. The road will be divided up
into twenty-five sections of ten miles each, which will constitute a
complete block system, making it impossible for any two cars to run
at a high speed upon any single section at the same time, thus making
collisions impossible. There will be a complete block signaling system
by means of incandescent electric lights, with telephonic communication
between cars upon the same section, whether running or standing still.
The road will be illuminated by incandescent electric lamps for one
mile ahead and one mile behind every car while running. It will be
built in a practically straight line, and as far as possible will avoid
grade crossings of other roads. At all grade crossings, whether wagon
or railroad, a red electric light will be displayed and an electric
bell rung for two minutes before it is time for the train to pass. It
is intended to ultimately construct four tracks--two outside tracks
for local traffic and high class freight, while the two inner tracks
will be used exclusively for through passenger traffic, mail and high
class express. The through cars will not stop anywhere between the two
terminal cities between which they run. Spurs or branches will be run,
connecting the large cities along the line of the road with the main
through tracks, and from these cities to St. Louis and Chicago without
stop. Ultimately a street will be run along the sides of these tracks,
along which dwelling houses and stores will be built. On both sides
of these avenues the land will, ultimately, be laid out in building
lots one hundred feet front by two hundred feet deep, giving an area
of half an acre to each lot. These lots will be bought by people
from town seeking the healthy air of the country and pleasant homes
within quick and cleanly access of the city. Back of them they will
have the open farm lands, and in front of them the boulevard with the
electric railway, telephone and electric light; practically uniting
Washington avenue, St. Louis, with Michigan avenue, Chicago, by one
grand electric highway or boulevard, along which the farmer may secure
electric light and power for pumping, plowing, thrashing, chopping and
mixing fodder, shelling and grinding corn, and harvesting at night in
case of emergency; and the rural resident may secure electric lights
for the illumination of his dwelling, and electricity for heating and
cooking, and electric power for domestic purposes. Along this road
there will ultimately be a constant stream of travel. The population
will be scattered out into the country, and the centers of trade and
business relieved of their surplus, leaving more room for business
establishments near the great centers of trade, taking out of the
great bustle and crowd of the city those who are not immediately
engaged in trade, and leaving room for those who are. The result will
be of incalculable benefit to the whole population and land holders
throughout the district through which the proposed road will traverse.
It will bring into use and market a large amount of real estate
hitherto of but little value.
“‘Either of the three routes which this road proposes to take between
St. Louis and Chicago will be at least thirty-three miles shorter than
the shortest of the existing steam routes. The standard schedule time
of all through cars will be one hundred miles per hour. The trip from
St. Louis to Chicago can, therefore, be made in from two and a half to
three hours. It will be unnecessary to travel at night, therefore no
through passenger cars will be run after nine o’clock P. M., the tracks
being reserved at night for high-class freight, express and mail.
This does away with the necessity of running Pullman cars, and the
expense to the company attendant thereon, as well as to the traveling
public. No man will care about traveling at night when he can travel
in the daytime over a cleanly road which will land him so quickly at
his destination. Farmers along the line can build cheap side switches
with light rails, which will enable cars to be run directly to the
doors of their barns and granaries, to facilitate the transportation
of the produce of their land, thus rendering them largely independent
of the condition of the ordinary wagon roads, which, by the way,
have become very poor through neglect since the inauguration of the
railroad system. Thus will the large markets of St. Louis and Chicago
be practically at the door of every farmer throughout this district,
for the sale of his perishable produce. The moment the proposed road
is completed and put in operation, all lands throughout the district
traversed by the road will be increased in value from one to two
hundred per cent. and ultimately, and that at a day not very far
distant, the land immediately contiguous to the road will be selling by
the front foot instead of, as at present, by the acre, with very little
demand for even this.
“‘It will, of course, be to the highest interest of this company to
build this road and get it in operation in time for the World’s Fair,
so as to secure the immense traffic incident thereto. It is entirely
practicable, says the prospectus, to build such a road within the time
allotted. Steam roads of a much more difficult character have been
built much more rapidly; for instance, the Texas & Pacific extension
was built a distance of 615 miles in twenty-two months, four hundred
miles of which was through a region entirely destitute of railroads and
even of population, the cattle men at that time having failed even to
penetrate the greater portion with their herds. The country was of a
rough and hilly character, many summits being as high as three and four
thousand feet, with such modifications of climate as to make a trip
across the country a series of continual surprises. For a great portion
of the road a rate of two miles for every working day was maintained
for several months. Ties, fuel, and bridge timber had to be transported
from East Texas, a distance of from four to six hundred miles; rails
from Pennsylvania, seventeen hundred miles; and water from wherever it
could be gotten along the line. The present proposed road will have
none of these difficulties to contend with. It will have a practically
level country over which to build its road, which will be crossed at
intervals by steam roads, which can be utilized for the transportation
of its materials. An interesting fact may be stated in this connection,
that contracts can be made for the delivery of rails for the entire
road within six weeks from the day of giving the order.
“‘The electric carriage or car that will be run upon this proposed
electric road is a long, low, compact, light but strong car, having
two pairs of driving wheels, each of which are driven by a separate
and distinct electric motor. The whole weight of the car, with its
passengers, and of the two electric motors, comes upon these two pairs
of driving wheels, and is, therefore, all available for traction, or
adhesion between the rails and the wheels, through the agency of which
the car is propelled. The top of the car stands only nine feet from
the rail, which is three feet lower than the ordinary street car.
This brings the center of gravity very low and near to the track,
which decreases immensely the danger of jumping the track. It has a
wedge-shaped nose or front for cutting the air, which has the effect of
decreasing the air resistance and of helping to keep the car down upon
the track. The motor man stands immediately back of this wedge-shaped
front, and between his department and the rear wheels is the
compartment for the accommodation of passengers. In the rear of this is
a separate compartment for mail and high express. The driving wheels
are six feet in diameter, and are capable of making 500 revolutions in
a minute. The weight of the entire car, with its motors, is but ten
tons. It maybe interesting in this connection to state that a steam
locomotive, to make the same speed, if it were practicable, would have
to weigh in the neighborhood of one hundred tons, and the present
locomotive weighs from sixty to ninety tons. These electric carriages
or cars will be illuminated and heated by electricity, and will contain
all the modern appointments for the comfort of passengers. There will
be no conductors and no brakemen. It will be possible to stop the car
within half a mile by means of the motors themselves and auxiliary
electric brakes.’
“This is a grand scheme for the people of earth. I have read this
article to show that you are not so far behind the Marsites in
the science of mechanics as the masses of the common people seem
to believe. This article clearly shows that what I have told you
concerning our mechanical science is not a dream, but can by a little
improvement, by a little more genius, and by a little wider voluntary
co-operation, be applied equally well right here on earth. You need
nothing new, but only improve on what you already have. I believe that
the proposed enterprise is the grandest lesson in transportation and
intercommunication that the people of the earth have so far conceived.
There are still many monopolistic features in it as far as the social
and economic principles are concerned, but this proposed railway with
its lines of boulevards is a kind of a rude, primitive community, which
will no doubt grow in regularity, freedom and equitable prosperity.”
“How, Mr. Midith, do you conduct your manufacturing industry?” asked
Mrs. Uwins after Mr. Midith had finished speaking. “I suppose you
manufacture a great many nice things.”
“Our manufacturing is, of course, done on a large scale, and mostly
in those localities where the natural resources are best adapted for
it. The advantages of manufacturing on a _large_ scale are many and
important. Let us exemplify this more fully. When every individual had
to make his own garments and his own house, like primitive people do,
both clothes and houses were scarce and poor, for several reasons which
you undoubtedly understand. It is necessary, in order to manufacture a
good article with little labor, first, to be a skillful workman, and,
second, to have good tools and machinery to work with. The same person
cannot be skilled in all trades, and, even if he could, he should
still manufacture on a large scale; for it would require far too much
needless labor for every person to own as good machinery and tools as
many men can afford to own _together_, and the better the tools and
machinery, the _more_ and the _better_ goods can be manufactured with
the same amount of labor. Every individual can not own a good tailor
shop, a convenient shoe factory and a large watchmaking establishment.
‘Division of labor’ should be as complete as possible, not only among
individuals, but among communities as well.
“For instance, we have very large flouring mills, which have all the
latest improved milling machinery in them. This machinery is very
costly, and it would not be wise to have such a mill in each community.
Therefore, one community manufactures one article and another community
manufactures another, and some do not manufacture much at all.”
“Do you manufacture extraordinary fine cloth, jewelry, dress goods,
etc.?” asked Viola somewhat inquiringly, as she glanced at Mr. Midith.
Mr. Midith smiled with apparent satisfaction and replied: “Indeed, we
make fine cloths, some elegant jewelry, but we manufacture no dress
goods. You see we have no use for dress goods, because our ladies do
not wear _dresses_ like you do.”
“Do your ladies honestly wear no dresses!” exclaimed Viola
astonishingly. “What a strange world! a world without a dress in it!”
“Yes; our ladies wear no dresses,” responded Mr. Midith; “but we are
digressing from our subject. Some other evening I shall fully describe
our costume of both ladies and gentlemen.”
“Does not, then, manufacture and mining give a denser population to a
community than a community has which is engaged almost exclusively in
agriculture?” asked Mr. Uwins.
“Yes; they have a tendency to increase the density of population in a
community above the average. But a mine or factory which employs 10,000
hands is quite large; and an increase of ten thousand in a community
having in an average a population of 120,000 is not a large increase.”
“There is one feature in your system, Mr. Midith, I can not yet see
into, and I should like to have you make that a little plainer if you
can,” said Rev. Dudley, “and that feature is about the density of
population. I may be dull in comprehension, but it does not, in my
opinion, figure out well. You say that a square mile of land can, under
the same conditions, support as many, and no more, human beings on Mars
than it can on earth. You further say that your communities contain
about four townships; have, in an average, about 120,000 inhabitants.
Four townships contain 144 square miles. This gives a population of
over 800 to the square mile, while Belgium, the most densely populated
country on earth, has only a little over 500 to the square mile;
and political economists, I think, unanimously agree that, without
importation, the land of Belgium can not raise sufficient products to
support its own population.”
“Rev. Dudley, I think that I fully agree with your political economists
on the Belgium question of population. It is very likely true that
the land of Belgium can, under _your_ social and industrial system,
not support, without importation, its own inhabitants; but that does
not argue in favor of the fact that the Marsites, under a _different_
social and industrial system, can sustain, in superfluity, a population
nearly twice as dense as that of Belgium. I said _under the same
conditions_ the earth can sustain as dense a population as Mars can,
but the conditions are not the same. With a little patience and close
attention, I think I shall be able to clear up this question for you
satisfactorily.
“Let us take an illustration. If the American Indians, who formerly
lived a hunter’s life on the present area of the United States, had
been questioned before the discovery of America about the density of
population of their country, they would, no doubt, have said that
their country was more densely populated at that time than it had ever
been before, and that it would be utterly impossible for the land
area comprising the present limits of the United States to support a
population of over sixty millions of people who eat and waste so much,
who wear so many good clothes, and who live in such good wigwams as
the people of the United States actually do at the present time. Those
Indians would undoubtedly have further argued that they had better
weapons and tools, better wigwams, better clothes and better food than
any of their ancestors had enjoyed, and that therefore the earth would
be unable to do much better than it is already doing. But you, the
white man, actually showed the Indians differently, when you settled
among them. You changed the system of making a livelihood, to something
of which the Indians had never thought; and very likely if one could
have propounded a system similar to your present one, he would have
been branded a traitor to his country, and a heretic to his religion.
Instead of leading a hunter’s life, which requires a large territory
and a sparse population, you partially live on agricultural products,
and partially on _domestic_, instead of wild, animals. The Indian
lived almost exclusively on a flesh diet--game, while you cultivate
the soil and raised stock. Your industrial system is able to support a
population vastly more dense than the Indian’s system was capable of
supporting. So you see, the error was not that the earth is unable to
sustain a denser population than the Indian’s, but that the Indian was
not living under _that_ social and industrial system which _is_ capable
of sustaining a dense population. The Indians’ mistake was, that they
measured the possible maximum density of population by the standard of
_their_ social and industrial system. They knew that thousands of their
companions were in want, and that they were frequently pressing on
subsistence in all directions.
“Just so it is with you at the present time. You are apparently always
figuring on what can be done under your present system. You, by
adopting a social and industrial system which is capable of sustaining
a denser population, showed the Indians that they had not reached the
maximum density of population. Now I want to show you that you are as
mistaken on your present density of population as the Indians were on
theirs.
“We have seen that the Indians subsisted almost exclusively on animal
food--_game_, while you gradually became more and more a vegetarian,
and lived on the flesh of _domestic_ animals, instead of _wild game_.
Your system is capable of sustaining a denser population than the
Indian system is, but the Marsites have continued to change the system
which you began still further; therefore we are capable of supporting
a population of over 800 to the square mile, in superfluity, while you
are sometimes pressing on subsistence with a population of much less
that 100 to the square mile.
“Now let me briefly enumerate a few of the most conspicuous differences
existing between your system and ours, which enable us to sustain a
population so much denser than you can. A vegetarian requires much
less land area than a flesh eater, and we are almost exclusively
vegetarians, while you are partly vegetarians but largely carnivorous
(flesh eaters). We are wasting no land for the production of tea,
coffee, tobacco, intoxicating liquor, opium, etc., which we claim
contain very little if any nutriment. Much of your crops is spoiled
and damaged by curing it out doors; we do all our drying and curing
artificially, and not a particle is lost, spoiled or damaged. Our
clothing is not made and worn so wastefully, and our fashions are not
so changeable as yours. Our manner of cooking and eating is not half
so wasteful as yours. We save an immense amount of land by not fencing
it off into little lots and farms like you do. In this manner you,
first, waste the land occupied by the fences; secondly, you require
an immense amount of additional land on which to produce the fencing
material--posts and lumber; and thirdly, fencing requires labor which
involves a physiological waste that must be repaired by additional food
raised on land. We get our building material nearly all _out_ of the
earth, while you use largely lumber, etc., which are grown on the land
surface of the earth. Many of us live together in one house, and it
requires much less labor and material to build and maintain one large
residence than it does to build and maintain many smaller ones. By
extensive voluntary co-operation, we are enabled to do much work with
machinery which you have to do by hand; for instance, such as digging
potatoes, unloading corn and other grain, heating and lighting the
apartments, etc. We, who work on a large scale, have also much work for
each machine, while you, under your single-handed system, require many
machines, and have but little work for each; for example, a self-binder
owned by a farmer, who has perhaps no more than 50 acres of grain to
cut with it, while the machine is idle and decaying all the rest of the
year.
“You have a vast amount of wealth employed in an army and a navy. The
cavalry horses require feed; the man-of-war requires timber for its
construction; your fortifications, your arsenals, your guns, your
navy, etc., all require material which is largely produced by the land
surface. Their construction requires a vast amount of unproductive
labor--a physiological waste which must be repaired by food. Then,
again, you often destroy by war countless millions of wealth; in fact
you sometimes devastate whole countries. We have no war, no armies and
navies to support, no destruction of wealth by war. You have to raise
food for the reparation of the waste caused by your immense amount
of unproductive and destructive labor. You, as well as we, require
an immense amount of power to do the work: to build the houses, to
plow, sow, and harvest, to heat the apartments, to run the train and
factory. You raise and feed thousands and millions of draft-animals,
horses, oxen, and mules, which draw the plow, wagon, etc., for you;
they all have to be fed with feed which is raised on the _surface_ of
the earth, and which requires land area for its production. We have no
draft-animals to feed--no hay and corn to raise for them. We receive
all our motive power from the atmospheric current and water power.
Thus man, during his different stages of physical and intellectual
advancement, employs different motive power. Let us illustrate.
“In his primitive beginning, man carries his few burdens for
transportation on his back. Then he makes his slaves do it. Further on,
he uses the back of his domestic animals, which have to live from the
vegetable products of the earth; this, as I have said, requires land
area, and man by his labor must also aid in the successful production
of this feed. A little further on he uses the _direct_ wind power for
propelling his clumsy ship and for running his primitive mill. Now he
had power when the wind blew and none when it was calm; it was all
uncertainty and irregularity. To overcome these, he invents a powerful
steam engine which runs his ships, trains, factories, etc. But these
engines require an immense quantity of water and fuel. This water
is often difficult to get, and the fuel has to be raised on the land
surface in the form of timber, or it has to be mined out of the earth;
either method requires millions of days of labor. Still a little later
on, man learns how to store up electricity and successfully compress
air by the action of the atmospheric currents and water power. He
lays up a large supply of this motive power for future use, and for
unforeseen emergencies. This laid up motive power in the form of stored
electricity and compressed air, he can, at his pleasure, convert
into uniform mechanical motion. He applies it to his ships, trains,
factories, land engines, vehicles, and all other machinery. He uses it
for heating and lighting purposes, for drying and curing his grain and
hay, and for countless other things too numerous to mention.
“All this vast motive power which he now stores up by the aid of
evaporation and the atmospheric circulation involves scarcely
any waste. There is an inexhaustible quantity of it. Millions of
horse-powers are daily going to waste on every square mile of land
and sea. Thus the burdenless man begins to walk more erect and with
an increased elasticity in his step. His slave is emancipated. His
draught animal, which required feed and care, is extinct. The pride of
his mechanical genius, the steam engine for which he had to mine the
coal in the damp mine, has also disappeared from the stage of action.
And now the Marsites receive all their motive power from the present
sunbeam without being first organized into a vegetable or animal, or
without extracting it from the coal which was buried millions of ages
ago.
“Is it not marvelous how the human mind, with its limited experience,
has discovered such complex relations existing between certain
phenomena? For examples, how a tiny sunbeam, after having traversed
the abyss of space intervening the sun and our planets, warms the
atmosphere in certain localities; how this produces atmospheric
currents; how the windmills, driven by these currents, charge the
storage battery cells, and fill other electric reservoirs; and how
these cells and reservoirs of stored power furnish the motive power
for train, ship, aerial projectile, factory, carriage, plow, elevator,
etc., etc.; how they heat and light the factories, houses, stables,
cars, vehicles, roads, etc. What a grand accomplishment when one
contemplates this! What a display of human ingenuity; and yet we think
that with all these marvelous achievements, even the Marsites are only
living in the dawn of an approaching day whose effulgent brilliancy no
human intellect has thus far contemplated.
“The foregoing, as you no doubt comprehend, are a few of the many
reasons why we can support a denser population than you can.”
CHAPTER XII. COMMERCIAL AND MERCANTILE SYSTEMS.
The next time we met to listen to Mr. Midith’s interesting narrative
and to his vivid description of the Marsian world was on a pleasant,
calm Sunday afternoon. All nature seemed to be glad and animated. The
earth was covered with green grass. The flowers were blooming. The
ripe strawberries were painting the hillside with their red cheeks.
The verdant foliage was dressing the trees and shrubs with its richest
garments. The clear little brook, not far from Mr. Uwins’ residence,
was sending its water over its pebbly bed toward the mighty ocean. The
birds were singing their songs and building their nests, regardless of
its being Sunday.
“Would it not be pleasant to take a ramble along the running brook,”
said Mrs. Uwins, “and after we find a pleasant, shady place, sit down
on the green grass and have Mr. Midith tell us about their commercial
and mercantile systems. I would like to know how the Marsites carry on
their commerce and mercantile business--how women and children buy and
sell, etc.”
We all agreed to Mrs. Uwins’ proposition of spending some time in
taking a ramble among the trees.
“Mr. Midith, I believe you told us some time ago that the ladies on
Mars enjoy equal privileges with the gentlemen in all respects,” said
Viola with a somewhat mischievous smile. “So we will play just for
this afternoon as though we were Marsites; and as you are not as well
acquainted along the shores of our little brook as I am, I shall take
the liberty of asking you for your company instead of you asking me
for mine. You know it is not fashionable with us for a lady to ask a
gentleman for his company. But, as you say, if you are used to it, it
will not appear rude or forward to you at all.”
“I shall certainly be proud of your kind, guiding hand, for you, no
doubt, have often before strolled in the shade of those trees and are
well acquainted with the lay of the country.”
With this, we all started for the shady brook; even Rev. Dudley seems
to have forgotten that it is Sunday. After wandering for some time,
gathering strawberries, and making bouquets, we came to a fine shade
tree, under which we sat down on the dense matting of grass. After
being seated, Mr. Midith was requested to proceed with his explanation
of the Marsian system of commerce, and how they buy and sell there.
“In order to give you a clear idea of our commercial and mercantile
systems, it becomes necessary to begin at the bottom. Along the
motor-lines, about four miles apart, as stated before (diagram p. 58,
Com. 2), a side-track passes through a large warehouse, store-house,
and factories in which the farm products of the community are stored
away for safekeeping and for transportation. All products from the farm
are hauled into these store-houses with land engines, and from the
store-houses it is taken either to the depots for exportation, to the
mill or factory, or to the kitchen of the ‘big-house’ for consumption.
In these store-houses the land-engines and farming implements are also
kept. The railroad depots are located generally wherever a motor-line
crosses it. The railroads communicate with sea-ports and with all
other parts of the country. Fast electric vessels carry on the foreign
commerce. But foreign commerce is not so extensive now as it formerly
was. Nearly every country now produces its own commodities with
advantage. Domestic commerce is also greatly simplified. There are no
populous cities to which the agricultural products must be shipped; and
from which the agriculturists and inhabitants of country places, under
your system, receive the agricultural implements and other manufactured
commodities. The population, as you see, is almost evenly distributed
over the productive land area from which they obtain their material
subsistence.
“The motor-lines are built, equipped and run by the contiguous
communities between which they are located, except the freight cars,
which each community furnishes and operates for itself. No passenger
fare is charged on a motor. It is presumed that the transportation
between the several communities is nearly equal. For instance, a person
from Community No. 5 rides on our motor-line, and a person from our
community rides on the motor-line of Community 5. So a passenger can
ride on any motor at any time and to any place in his own country at
least, free of charge.
“Our railroads are built and equipped by voluntary subscriptions. When
a certain scope of country wants a railroad, the inhabitants, who feel
so inclined, of the adjacent communities which are interested in the
road will advance the money. A few communities, each subscribing 75,000
days’ labor, can build quite a piece of road. Of course each individual
advances as much as he wishes. The community, as such, takes no part in
it; all such is left to the individual’s own choice.
“The work of building railroads is done by gangs of men, who make
that their profession, and who are provided with the very best tools,
graders, and everything necessary to produce the best results with the
least amount of labor. After the roads are built and equipped, they
are operated at 10 per cent. above cost until all the subscriptions
have been paid back to those who advanced them, after which they are
always operated at cost. Every one who rides on the train pays fare,
the same as you do. The only difference is, that we ride at cost on an
economically operated railroad, while you are paying the stockholders a
large dividend on an extravagantly operated one.
“I think I have already told you that the motor-lines and railroads are
brilliantly lighted with electric light when dark.
“So we notice briefly that the products from the farm are hauled with
land engines to the warehouses; from these warehouses it is conveyed
by motors through every ‘big-house’ on the line, where it can be
unloaded for use, or can be transported to a depot for exportation. At
these depots, of course, we receive also the imported goods brought by
the railroads. As the motor-line passes through every ‘big-house,’ a
passenger is enabled, without going out doors in the rain or snow, to
step on a motor, which will take him to a depot where he can board a
fast train, by which he can reach any part of the country in a short
time. All our motor cars and other vehicles are almost noiseless. The
boxing never heat and wear for years under the highest speed.”
“Your commercial department is, indeed, very perfect and convenient,”
said Mr. Uwins. “Every person in your whole country, or even in your
whole world, can travel to the abode of any other person without going
out doors or in the dark.”
“Yes, papa,” said Roland, “and one can ride on the motor all he likes
for nothing; that strikes me very favorably.”
“Now let me tell you how our mercantile business is conducted; how we
buy and sell,” said Mr. Midith.
“But the mercantile business we shall not be able to understand _fully_
until you are acquainted with our monetary system, or medium of
exchange.
“We have _three_ kinds of parties that do business: 1. The collectivity
which we call the community. 2. The collectivity which we call the
family. 3. The individual.
“_One_ ‘big-house’ of every community, we call, in short, the ‘Com,’
meaning in our language a common business place; a place where the
community’s business is transacted, such as selling the products of the
_community_, which are not needed for home consumption; issuing money,
receiving the remittances from all families’ and communities’ sales,
paying all the families’ and communities’ bills, doing the printing
for the community, etc. Under the head of government, I shall further
describe its function.
“Each family of a community buys for its own use whatever it needs,
such articles as dry goods, groceries, furniture, etc., and the
individuals buy at the family stores. The storekeeper buys for
the store what he thinks the people may want. So we see that each
individual buys and sells with his own money, such articles as
clothing, meals, railroad tickets, barber and laundry tickets,
furniture for his private apartment, private luxuries, and all other
things that he appropriates for his private use. The individual has no
dictator; no censor.
“We have no such a thing as profit in our mercantile system, or any
other of our systems. Every article is sold at cost, including, of
course, the cost of buying and selling; and nothing but _productive
labor_ will buy it. Profit is wrong because it is always _paid by_ a
person who receives nothing for it; and it is paid _to_ the person
who does nothing for it. Of course, we have no _law_ prohibiting the
taking of profit, but under a _healthy, free_ competition, profit is
gradually and entirely eliminated by the practically equal opportunity
enjoyed by each individual and by each community. No individual or
community holds any monopolistic advantages over another. A stranger
can buy as cheaply in any family store as a member of the community
can. Prices, including transportation charges, are nearly uniform, not
only all over the same country, but all over the surface of Mars. You
also want to bear in mind that under keen, _free_ competition and a
comparatively uniform supply, prices rarely ever fluctuate. Thus you
see we have no place for a speculator and a schemer. He would not make
enough, with his profession, in ten years to buy a meal. Nothing less
than a fair, honest share of productive labor receives the approval of
one’s companions; and no person would want to bear the burden of public
contempt in order to avoid his fair share of the labor, when a day’s
labor is so short, the labor so easy and pleasant, the compensation so
abundant.
“Every ‘big-house’ has a mercantile department, as I have already
explained, in which nearly all kinds of goods, such as an individual
wants, are kept for sale. The men, women and children who work in the
sales department receive wages, or pay, the same as a miner, a farmer
or a conductor. They are not interested whether they sell or not. They
derive no benefit from misrepresenting goods. It is the same to them
whether they sell a cheap article or a high priced one. They derive
no benefit from lying, from suppressing the truth, or from otherwise
deceiving or persuading a customer to buy an article he really does not
want.
“If an individual wants a knife or a watch he buys it, whenever he
sees fit, either in the store of his own ‘big-house’ or in some other
‘big-house’ of his community, or in any other community or country
where he may be when he wants the article. If he wants an article of
furniture he does the same. If he wants a suit, he can either buy it
ready-made, or he can select the cloth and get the tailor to make it.
Nearly all suits are tailor made, for an expert tailor in our own
house can make it as cheap as it can be made anywhere. When a lady
wants a garment, she either gets it ready-made, or she selects the
goods and gets it made by a tailor or seamstress, who have all the
conveniences, who are proficient in their work, and who can do the
work in much less time than an inexperienced person who wants the
garment. Each laborer works with advantage in his own sphere. This may,
I think, be abundantly verified by noticing the fit of your ladies’
garments, which are often made by the wearers, who are inexperienced
seamstresses, who, as you term it, are too frequently compelled by
the force of your social circumstances to be ‘jack of all trades and
master of none.’ Your incomplete division of labor, your single-handed
efforts, and your inconveniences resulting from them necessarily
produce a small return for the labor expended; and the products which
it does produce under such conditions are rude and unfinished. Think,
if every one had to make his own watch, how long it would take one, and
what a watch it would be after one had it completed.
“At the crossings of the motor-lines we have large motor depots erected
and maintained by the four contiguous communities who use it as a depot
for shipping and as a storehouse.
“Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen, for telling you that I feel unable
to give you a clear idea of our commercial and mercantile system,
without giving you first a brief description of our system of
intercommunication.”
“I am sure we would enjoy that very much,” said Viola. “It will indeed
be interesting for us to know how and with whom you travel, to whom you
write, etc.”
“Very well,” said Mr. Midith as he began: “All apartments of the
‘big-house’ are connected by telephone with one another, with all the
‘big-houses’ and other buildings of the community, and with all the
other communities of the whole country. By this system an individual
in his private apartment, or any other apartment or building, can
communicate with any community, or with any individual of any
community. This enables any man, woman, or child to talk with any
other man, woman, or child of the whole nation; or, one person may
communicate a message to millions at the same time by all listening.
“Telegraphy is now rarely used. Owing to the double tracks of railroads
and motors, little use is made of it there. Our improved noiseless
telephone is much superior. Our phonographs have been wonderfully
improved. They speak, sing, play, etc., as loudly and distinctly as the
original voice or instrument. An author can read his production in its
presence, and the phonograph will repeat it clearly and distinctly as
often as the machine is set in motion. They largely perform the work of
stenographers.
“The mail is carried _to_ and _from_ the ‘big-houses’ on the
railroads or motors. From there the railroads carry it rapidly
to its destination. When the mail arrives at the ‘big-house,’ it
is immediately distributed by mail carriers to each individual’s
apartment, where the mail carrier drops it through an aperture in the
wall into a letter box on the inside of the individual’s room. And
the inmate drops his out-going mail likewise to the outside of his
apartment for the mail carrier to take. In this manner a postoffice
is located in every individual’s apartment. Instead of having every
individual run to the postoffice, often for nothing, as you do, we have
a few mail carriers carry the mail to every individual who receives
any. Mail arrives and departs at least four or five times daily. You
can, no doubt, see what an immense amount of labor we save, and what a
promptness and convenience we insure.”
“That is, no doubt, a grand system, Mr. Midith,” said Rev. Dudley, who
seemed almost ready to start in pursuit of a similar system. “It seems
that all your social and industrial departments fit so well together
that one can find no break in it anywhere. Everybody has a postoffice,
a telephone and a motor-line in his own house, and yet no one lives in
a crowded city nor in a lonely country.”
“But, Rev. Dudley, you know as yet only little of the freedom and
harmony that prevails in our social and industrial world. You will find
as we go along with our explanation, that all of man’s career, from his
genesis until his death, is a comparative history of kindness, freedom,
harmony and happiness.
“On the first of every year an invoice and census are taken by
each ‘big-house,’ and from these a community invoice and census is
summarized. The summarized invoice exhibits the total commodities on
hand of the whole community. It also exhibits the increase or decrease
of any particular kind of goods, as well as the total increase or
decrease of wealth and capital during the last year. By the aid of this
invoice the individual, the family and the community can ascertain
in what direction their labor can be advantageously increased or
diminished during the current year. If we find by the invoice that the
wealth of the community is diminishing, we have to lengthen our day’s
labor so as to produce more; and if the wealth increases faster than
we desire, we shorten the day’s labor. Now do not forget here that all
wealth must be produced by the application of labor to land, and that
anything which is not produced by labor is not wealth.
“The annual census which is taken by each ‘big-house’ reports the
population of the family, male and female; the number of births and
deaths; the commodities consumed, raised, manufactured, mined,
transported and bought and sold. The number of inventions; the books
written and printed, and all other useful items. The census of the
families are summarized like the invoices. The invoice and census of
each community contains an estimate of the current year’s production,
consumption and transportation, beginning with the first of the year.
“Each community prints annually about 30,000 or more copies of its own
invoices and census, and sends a copy to those communities, both in and
out of its own nation, with which it is most likely to do business.
In this manner each community receives about 30,000 census pamphlets
from that many other communities from all parts of the world. Each one
of our grand divisions of land or nation, as you call them, has also
a Fa-no, which, in our language, means a continental business place.
This Fano is a magnificent line of buildings, located somewhere near
the center of the ‘nation.’ In this Fano _samples_ of all merchantable
commodities are kept on exhibition, and the price given on the sample.
This capacious Fano is divided off into grand departments. For example:
In the carpet department all communities that manufacture carpets have
samples of all their grades of carpets on exhibition there; and every
sample bears the name and grade, the selling price and the number of
the community which has it for sale. Similarly are there departments
for all other commodities--lumber, books, clocks, sugar, oil, sofas,
vehicles, shoes, plows, wheat, iron, aluminium, engines, etc., etc.
“Thus, you see, we have a continuous national exhibition in the Fano.
Every community of the ‘nation,’ and even of foreign ‘nations,’ has one
or more representatives, called Fa-no-ers, there. These Fanoers are
at the Fano only for the commercial interest of their community. As
stated before, no commodities other than the mere samples are kept in
the Fano. Those who make purchases from a community’s samples kept at
the Fano, have the commodities purchased, directly shipped to them from
the community of whose samples the goods were purchased. The purchasing
individual or family, or community, can order them, or they can get the
selling community’s Fanoer to attend to the ordering.
“Now let me tell you how we make our purchases at the Fano. When an
individual, a family or a community desires to purchase an article,
say, for instance, a piano, and cannot procure the desired article for
a suitable price near at home, the purchaser informs the ‘Fanoer’ what
he wants, and directs the Fanoer to make the purchase, or he informs
the purchaser where such an article can be purchased to the best
advantage. The ‘Fanoer’ now visits the piano department, where he finds
prices, and sample pianos of all description, also a description of
each piano. From all of these he makes his selection, and informs the
purchaser of the price and in what community they are manufactured and
kept. The purchaser then orders it from the ‘Com’ of that community,
if the purchase was not ordered to be made directly by the ‘Fanoer.’
And just so with every other article of commerce. Thus you see every
individual, family, and community get the benefit of the best goods,
the latest inventions and improvements, and the lowest current prices.”
“Are the masses of the Marsites well-informed on the current market
prices, and the latest improvements and inventions?” asked Mr. Uwins.
“Yes, the Marsites are all well informed commercially,” continued Mr.
Midith. “Our intercommunication is so practicable and expedient that
every one is well informed on current prices, and especially on the
prices of those articles one wishes to purchase. Besides the means
of travel, telephone, phonograph, invoices, correspondence and oral
communication, we have a daily newspaper or price list issued at the
‘Fano.’ This price list quotes prices and names and briefly describes
every new sample that is brought in and taken out of the ‘Fano.’ You
must remember that, under _free_ competition and a _healthy_ supply
and demand, prices, with us, do not fluctuate arbitrarily like they do
under your _monopolistic_ laws, which create an unreliable market and
fictitious values. Hence we can be and are all well informed on market
prices.
“But the above are not the only advantageous means of our commercial
transactions. Just as we have a ‘Fano’ in each grand division or
‘nation’ to adjust and facilitate the national commerce, so do we have
a world’s business point which we call ‘Mo-da-no,’ meaning in our
language _world-wide_. The ‘Modano’ is a series of massive buildings,
in which a never-ending World’s Exposition is conducted. It is managed
on the same principles as the ‘Fano,’ and is to the whole of Mars what
the ‘Fano’ is to its grand division.
“The ‘Modano’ is the grandest structure on Mars. Its architecture
is too massive, too esthetic, and too grand to be accurately and
adequately described in terms of any of your languages with which I
am familiar. One who has seen no better architectural skill than the
earth now furnishes, can form no accurate conception of the magnitude
and grandeur of our magnificent ‘Modano.’
“It contains samples of all human skill and industry, not only of
modern commodities, but of the ancient and antiquated as well. Large
departments for the receptions of new commodities and inventions are
from time to time erected. All communities of Mars are represented
there by ‘Modanoers.’ Samples, prices, and generally quantity and
quality, of all commercial goods are on exhibition at the ‘Modano.’ And
everything is kept as clean as a parlor. I may say that the ‘Modano’
is the pride of every Marsian heart, and more wealth is voluntarily
offered for its erection and maintenance than can possibly be expended.
Nearly every youth and adult annually visits a number of ‘Fanoes’ and
the ‘Modano.’ The visitor almost universally records his name in the
donation-book, and drops into a box a sealed envelope bearing his name
and containing the sum donated, which corresponds with the sum opposite
his name in the donation-book. This is voluntary taxation, of which I
shall tell you more under the head of Government.
“Thus you see at once that we require no traveling salesmen, whose
wages and expense are taxed to the goods they sell, and this sum, in
the United States alone, is perhaps nearly equal to the value of your
entire wheat crop of the United States. By our almost complete system
of transportation and intercommunication, it is easy to buy and sell,
and to receive and send news. We all want to buy of that community
which sells the _best_ goods for the least pay.
“The floating palace of the ocean, the powerful and safe trains;
the motors which run through every ‘big-house,’ warehouse, factory,
mill and depot; the electric farm engines, the various bicycles and
carriages, the safe and rapid transit of mail, the universal use of
telephone and phonograph, the exchange of invoices and censuses, the
Fanos and Modano, the price lists and newspapers, etc.; all aid and
combine in making it an almost perfect system of transportation,
intercommunication and business transaction. Such in brief is our
commercial and mercantile system.
“Let me here again remind you that it is not _competition_, like some
of your economists try to make your people believe, but monopoly which
makes your earth such a cruel, poor world to live in. _Profit_ is one
form of monopoly in trade and commerce. You will notice that in our
social and industrial world there is a keen competition everywhere. One
community, family and individual endeavor to do better and more work
in the same time than another. But a competitor is always a laborer,
winning his race by his superior merit. He always earns his own living,
besides giving the benefit of his superior merit to the world at large.
“But notice the difference in the profit-taker. He receives something
for which he does nothing, and the person who pays him the profit,
pays for something for which he receives nothing. For this reason
a profit-taker may grow rich by living an idle life, by being a
social parasite, like all your profit-takers are as such. He simply
appropriates what others have already earned. A competitor never lives
from the labor of another. The community which makes the best and
cheapest shoes, sells the most, and this is just what it should be, for
every one should be allowed to buy as cheap as he can. Those competing
communities in the shoe business, of which there are, of course many,
must either devise means of making better and cheaper shoes, or they
must engage in other business for which they are better adapted.
Under this keen competition every community will naturally drift into
those occupations for which it is best adapted and in which it is
most proficient. Just as it is with the community, so it is with the
family and with the individual. The profit-taker endeavors to achieve
his victory by monopolistically tearing down his neighbor, while under
freedom a competitor relies on the superiority of his own merits
without interfering with the race of his neighbor. Competition is the
only power of which we know that can gently shift every person, family,
community, etc., into that social and industrial sphere for which each
is best adapted. A competitor, under freedom, is never robbed of what
he produces; he always possesses at least as much wealth as he would if
he were the only inhabitant of a world. Monopoly, in its various forms,
is the thief and robber.
“Let us in a few words compare your commercial and mercantile system
with ours, not with a view of fault-finding, not with a view of casting
reflections, but with a view of instruction. We all need all the
information we can get; if it is not in one thing it is in another.
Nobody knows it all. Very likely there is much more that we do not know
than the little we do know. Perhaps there is no better evidence of
mental narrowness than our ostentatious pretention of knowing it all.
With this view in mind let us proceed.
“You either live in the country, almost cut off from trade and
commerce, or you live in a crowded city or town where the smoke and
offensive odor enters every crevice, door and window, and where you
are more or less starving for want of wholesome air. Where scarcely
a vegetation opens its mouth to exhale the life-giving oxygen and to
inhale the excessive carbonic acid which impairs the health of animal
life. Where a portion of mankind are living an idle, wasteful life in
a palace built by the labor of the poor, and another large class of
industrious persons are eking out a miserable existence in a poor,
filthy hovel. Under your profit system each must grab all he can or
he must starve. In order that a few may amass comparatively worthless
fortunes, many are trampled in the mire who can never rise again under
the burden of your social and industrial system. Perhaps from one-half
to three-fourths of your commercial and mercantile work is unproductive
and destructive labor.
“Your railroad corporations not unfrequently receive large public
donations of land, etc., to build the roads with, and after they are
built they become the gambling stock on which large dividends are paid
by the hand of labor. You have so many places of business where goods
are spoiling for want of customers; and with your monopolistic profit
system, every merchant is trying to freeze out his neighbor. We have
no ‘middle-men’ who have to live from profit which must be taxed to
the goods when sold to the consumer or producer; no army of mercantile
schemers, the successful ones of whom live and grow rich from the labor
and wrecked fortunes of others; no traveling salesmen; no countless
warehouses and elevators, in which the rich speculator stores the grain
and other commodities in order to create a fictitious market. Each
one of our communities buys and preserves what it needs for its own
consumption directly from some other community; and so each community
also sells what it has to spare to some other purchasing community.
Thus each purchase and sale is a wholesale, even if it amounts to only
a nickle’s worth. With you a business man must live from the profits of
his sales. He must sell or become impoverished. Under such a condition,
in order to save himself from bankruptcy, he is tempted to lie, to
misrepresent on the one hand and to suppress the truth on the other; he
is tempted to persuade customers by deceptive means to purchase things
they do not really want. He must strain every nerve and muscle to keep
want from his door. His wife and children in many cases, where the
business place is remote from the residence, scarcely ever see him. In
the morning he leaves early and in the evening he returns late. Many of
your business men have lost nearly all their social qualities and are
little more than mere business worms with the shadow of death hovering
on their countenances. Your business man is a mental slave also. In
order to be successful in his business he must either be ignorant and
superstitious himself, living in a little narrow, mental world, or he
must tacitly, and sometimes even avowedly, sanction the ignorance and
superstition of his customers. For, very likely, if he expresses his
honest convictions concomitant with a higher state of culture in all
directions, he offends some of his customers from the _profit_ of whose
purchases he must live, and financial ruin would be the result.”
“These are all facts,” said Mr. Uwins; “they are no exaggerations, and
many of our foremost thinkers have seen them more or less clearly for
some time; but no one thus far seems to know how to make the proper
adjustment with our present amount of intelligence.”
“I think it is now getting to be time to direct our course toward
home,” said Mr. Midith.
At this we all rose to our feet, and prepared to stroll homeward.
“When we started from home you asked me for my company, Viola,” said
Mr. Midith. “You claimed that you were better acquainted in the woods,
and would, therefore, according to the customs of Mars, volunteer to
be my guide. But now, in returning, I shall ask you for your company;
of course, you can accept or reject, just as you desire. This is also
according to the customs of Mars.”
“Why, Mr. Midith, I am sure I shall accept your company with the
greatest of pleasure,” said Viola, as we started toward home.
CHAPTER XIII. MONEY, OR MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE.
“Mr. Midith, will you please give us an account of your monetary
system?” asked Mr. Uwins, as the whole family were enjoying the green
lawn, after our first stroll.
“With the greatest of pleasure,” said Mr. Midith, apparently enjoying
a high sense of satisfaction. “But, before I proceed with the monetary
account, allow me to say that this door-yard picture, as we are here
now, reminds me of a miniature Marsian family. All appear healthy,
happy, intelligent, clean, amiable and courteous. I can not help
feeling grateful toward you for your kind hospitality, and shall always
remember you, whether I shall ever be able to return to my beloved
native home or not.”
“Mr. Midith, you owe us no debt of gratitude; but, on the contrary,
we owe you,” said Mrs. Uwins. “I have never before been so intensely
interested in anything as I am in your Marsian narrative. Your social,
industrial, and domestic arrangement seems to be so perfect, and yet
there is nothing miraculous in it. It is all human. With a little more
intelligence of the masses, we can easily do what the Marsites have
already done. With a little additional knowledge, we ought to be able
to live in large families and build our houses in lines, and the rest
will naturally follow.”
“Now the account of your monetary system,” said Viola with a pleasant
smile on her countenance. “I am anxious to know whether the Marsites
are in pursuit of money as eagerly as we are, and how _ladies_ and
_children_ get their money.”
“Before I shall be able to give you a clear understanding of our
money, or medium of exchange, I shall have to give you a description
of another public apartment in the ‘big-house,’ for this commercial
apartment, as we call it, is intimately connected with our monetary
system; in fact, it is so closely connected with it that you can not
understand our money system without a knowledge of the function of this
apartment.
“The wall and partitions of this commercial apartment are all furnished
with fine book-shelves. The shelves are set off so closely by vertical
partitions that only one large blank book fits in each division, which
are numbered consecutively. Every man, woman and child of the family is
represented in this commercial apartment by one of these time-books, in
which each records the time of his or her labor performed. On the back
of each book is the owner’s name, and a number corresponding to the
shelf-division. In this manner each individual has his own book, and
each book its own shelf-division.
“Let me tell you right here that we have no surnames, as you call them.
We have only what you call Christian names; such as John, James, Mary,
Viola, etc., the philosophy of which you will see hereafter. But, in
our system of naming, every individual can be so described that it can
mean no other person than the one intended. For instance, Mary, B 4,
F 23, C 84 of Goben. Mary is her name; B 4 means that she keeps her
record of labor in book No. 4 in the commercial apartment; F 6 stands
for family number 6 of a certain community; C 84 stands for community
number 84 of the country of Goben. There can be but one person in our
world that answers to this description.
“This commercial apartment contains all the conveniences for
book-keeping, fine desks, counters, chairs of all kinds, writing
material and everything one may want to keep a neat, first-class record.
“As I have said, each individual keeps his own record in his own book,
of all the labor he performs for the community; also the kind (the
labor census is compiled from this record) of labor, and the date
when he performs it. The record-books are large enough to contain the
labor-record of a person’s whole lifetime. This labor-record, kept in
this commercial apartment, is the basis upon which we issue our money,
or labor checks, or medium of exchange, or whatever else you may call
it. We have seen that all wealth is produced by productive labor,
and a day’s, or an hour’s, or a minute’s productive labor produces,
in an average, so much wealth; and the individual who performs the
labor should receive _all_ the money or labor checks, which represent
the wealth he has produced. I might say right here that we have no
coin; this fact, stated in the beginning, might aid you in better
understanding of what follows, for as a rule the vast majority of the
people seem to think that coin is absolutely necessary to a successful
medium of exchange, but this you will find to be an error.
“There is one other point to which I must call your attention before we
proceed with our main subject, and that is our method of keeping time.
If we issue our money only for productive labor performed, it naturally
follows that we should have a good method of measuring the time of this
labor, and this we have.
“Our clocks divide the day on the decimal scale, but I shall not
confuse your minds with our division of time. I shall always interpret
our time in terms of yours, and content myself by just giving you a
brief description of our method of keeping it.
“Every apartment, public and private, is furnished with one or more
time-pieces. All the clocks in the ‘big-house,’ as well as all the
‘big-houses’ in the whole community, are connected by a subterranean
electric wire, which causes the pendulums of all the clocks to vibrate
simultaneously. The wires of the communities within certain degrees
of longitude are likewise connected. By this method all the clocks
within that longitude of the country keep exact time with the central
regulator, which is regulated astronomically.
“Now we are prepared for the main financial question. In business, when
you say I want so many dollars, cents and mills for an article, we say
I want so many _days_, _hours_, _minutes_ and _seconds_ for it. Of
course, our working day, as I have told you several times before, is,
in an average, less than two hours, or less than one-fifth as long as
your day, which is generally more than ten hours.
“Now let us see if I can make you understand our money system, or
our medium of exchange. It is indeed extremely simple for one who is
familiar with it.
“We have seen that each individual man, woman and child, keeps a
time-book in the commercial apartment; and at the close of each month
each individual closes his own book account of the labor he performed
during that month and makes a copy, a fac-simile of it, on paper
provided for that purpose. This copy is at the close of each month sent
to the mint department of the ‘Com.’ Here, in order to avoid error, the
labor records are carefully examined by expert accountants. If they are
found correct mathematically, the amount of money, or time bills, for
each individual, are issued and put in a kind of pocket-book, sealed
and addressed to the individual owner who receives the pocket-book in
his mail box. Thus we notice that each individual man, woman and child,
practically issue their own money; that is they can work as much as
they like during the month, and at the end of the month they report to
the minter or money stamper at the ‘Com’ the amount of labor performed.
For their labor performed in the community they receive labor checks,
or money as you call it, on the negotiable wealth of the community; and
as all communities are highly reliable, every community will take the
labor checks of any other community. This enables a person to buy in
any community he desires. The laborer, in an average, always produces
the wealth before he receives his money for it. Hence failure, under
ordinary conditions, is impossible.
“Let us notice, then, that the ‘Com’ issues the money; that every
person who handles money for the family or community remits it daily
to the ‘Com,’ where all the bills of the families and community are
paid. A _family_ never remits the money for the bill of goods it has
purchased. When a family buys a bill of goods for its store, etc.,
the selling community makes out a duplicate bill, one of which the
purchasing family sends to the ‘Com’ as soon as the goods are found
satisfactory and the bill is correct. If the bill is not correct, it is
first corrected by the purchasing family. The ‘Com,’ immediately upon
the arrival of the bill, remits the money to the selling community. You
want to keep in mind then that the family buys _what_ and _where_ it
pleases, but that it daily remits all the money taken in to the ‘Com,’
which pays all the bills for the community and for all the families of
the community.
“Our money, or labor checks, or medium of exchange, or whatever else
you may wish to call it, consists of stamped paper bills of different
sizes, according as they represent _days_, _hours_, or _minutes_ and
_seconds_.
[Illustration: (Fig. 4.)
C 24 stands for community No. 24. 6 D stands for six days’ labor. 23486
is the number of the bill. Goben is the name of the country.]
“Figure 4 represents a bill of six days’ value (called six days),”
said Mr. Midith as he outlined a Marsian labor bill. “Besides the
ornamental stamp which the bill contains, it bears the date of its
issue, the number of the community which issued it, the country, or
grand division, in which the community is located, its number, and its
representative value of six days’ labor. We have bills of three sizes:
One size representing _days’_ labor, one representing _hours_, and one
representing minutes and seconds.
“Now let us see whether we can understand the circulation of our
labor-money. We have seen that every person, at the close of each
month, sends his own labor-record to the ‘Com,’ the only place in
the community where money is issued, and money is _never_ issued on
anything else than these individuals’ monthly labor-records. So that
all the money that is ever issued goes directly to the individual man,
woman, or child, who labored for it, who produced the negotiable wealth
which the money represents.
“Now let us follow a bill in its circulation. We have seen that the
individual can buy where he wishes, in his own family store, in his
own community or out of it; he can also buy of another individual, or
of a family, or of any community. We will say, for illustration, that
Mary pays out one of her bills in any of the family stores of her own
community. The family storekeeper, at the close of his day’s business,
remits the bill to the ‘Com’ of his own community. Here it was issued
and paid to Mary for labor performed; and here it is also canceled when
it returns by stamping it on both sides, which is a mark of redemption,
after which it is filed away. This bill is canceled because Mary drew
the negotiable wealth which the bill represents out of the community’s
storehouse. That is, she took her actual wealth she produced by her
labor. When she received the money at the end of the month she took
only the _representative_ of her wealth. Bear in mind that bills are
canceled only at the ‘Com,’ not at the ‘big-houses.’
“Now let us go on further. Perhaps Mary paid out her bill in some other
community than her own. Then the bill is sent to the ‘Com’ of that
community where the purchase was made by the family which sold Mary the
goods, but the ‘Com’ of that community does not cancel _our_ bills. The
‘Com’ of each community cancels only its _own_ bills. The community
which gave Mary the commodities for her bill uses that bill the same
as it uses its _own_ bills to buy of other communities; and these
communities to buy of still others; so the bill keeps on circulating
from one community to the other until it again reaches _our_ community,
where it will be canceled, for we can not get the bill unless we redeem
it with wealth, and all bills redeemed, as we have seen, are canceled
at the ‘Com.’ Hence we may receive the money of any other community,
and all other communities will accept our money.
“Whenever the ‘Com’ needs more money to purchase with, or to pay bills
of purchase with, than what it receives as remittances from its own
families, it sells the products of the community just like your farmers
sell their wheat, etc.; but the community, as a community, can never
issue money for the purpose of paying for the community’s purchases.
Money can be issued only on the labor-records of the _individual_. This
fact we always want to bear in mind.”
“Well, Mr. Midith, how, then, do you support disable-bodied persons who
have no labor-record to send in?” asked Viola.
“They keep a book in the commercial department the same as the sound
ones, and send a monthly statement of how much money they wish and the
money is sent to them the same as to others; and they spend it just
as freely, too. We treat our cripples in every respect as equals, and
they do not feel any sense of inferiority and dependence as you make
your paupers feel. We let them manage their own affairs, draw their
money and hire all the assistance they need. In order to make this a
little plainer to you, I may say that our communities are very large
families, and that we, as members of a community, find, no doubt, even
more pleasure in caring for our disabled persons than a kind family
here on earth feels in caring for a disabled son or daughter. But you
must not forget that disabled persons are very few with us. Disease and
accident have been minimized, and monstrosities (unnatural productions)
are almost unknown.”
“But you have not yet told us how little children and babies get their
money to buy with,” said Mrs. Uwins.
“I shall give you an explanation of that under the head of sexual
relations, where you will be better able to understand it clearly,”
said Mr. Midith. “But I will say right here that every man, woman, and
child has money to buy with, and no one can buy without it.
“We have no _credit_ system, and no _interest_, as you can see at once.
For in a world where every one has all the money he wants, or can
earn all he wants at any time by an agreeable amount of manual labor,
_credit_ is unnecessary; and _interest_ is the result of monopoly, and
as we have no monopoly, we can have no interest. In our world, natural
opportunity is equally open to all individuals, all families and all
communities. Every person can work all he wants, and gets all he
actually earns. Our money can be gotten only by productive labor, or
by voluntary gift; and you must always keep in mind, too, that it is
issued directly to the man, woman and child who earned it by productive
labor, or who has it voluntarily given to him, as in the case of an
infant or disabled person.
“I have given you a brief explanation of our money system before
I pointed out any defects in _your_ system, or, before comparing
it with yours. I have adopted this mode of procedure all through
my explanations for the reason that the masses of your people, or,
at least, those who have but a narrow mental view, always accuse a
person who points out some defects of their institutions as being a
destructionist. They say he tears down, but does not build up; he is
considered _de_structive but not _con_structive. For this reason, as
well as for the fact of following the natural method of instruction, I
have first built up, constructed what I believe to be an immeasurably
more just and simple monetary system than yours is. In contemplating
a system of money, or medium of exchange, let us always keep in mind
that money, as such, is not wealth; but that its only function, its
only usefulness is to facilitate commerce and trade. Now let us compare
our money with your money. Let us put aside as much as possible of our
prejudice while we are making this comparison. First, then, let us
enumerate the several features that a _just_ and _convenient_ medium
of exchange (money) must possess, and upon what basis such a system of
money must rest.
“1. It must be made out of the cheapest, most convenient and durable
material.
“2. It must afford the greatest security to the taker.
“3. It must eliminate all credit from trade and commerce.
“4. It must maintain the most unvarying uniformity in its purchasing
power.
“5. It must least be obtainable by any other means than by productive
labor and by voluntary gift.
“6. In volume, it must be always practically equal to the value of the
negotiable wealth which it represents, and must increase and diminish
in the same ratio as the wealth does.
“7. It must not admit of being monopolized so as to make the drawing of
interest possible.
“8. It must be least liable of being counterfeited.
“9. It must give the person who possesses a large quantity of it, no
advantage or special privileges over him who has less of it.
“10. The money must be such that the _payee_ (the person to whom money
is to be paid) may _accept_ or refuse the _money_, instead of the
_actual wealth_ which the money represents.
“11. It must, in its circulation, preserve a financial equilibrium
with other parts of the world, and in proper quantities must naturally
return to its place of redemption.
“12. It must be most directly issued to the individual--man, woman,
and child--who performs the productive labor which produced the wealth
which the money represents.
“I am well aware from the experience of my sojourn on earth that the
people of earth, as a rule, are yet very superstitious, uninformed
and fanatical on the money question. The masses of your people,
as I have said before, are worked so hard, and they therefore have
very little time and desire for philosophical thought of any kind;
but notwithstanding all this, I shall attempt briefly to examine and
compare our and your money systems with the above essential features of
a just and convenient medium of exchange. Of course we all understand,
when we think for a moment, that any system of money that possesses the
features of _justice_ and _convenience_ in the highest degree is the
most perfect. Let us then begin the examination.
“1. As to material, our money or medium of exchange, as I have told you
before, is made out of paper which costs comparatively nothing, which
is very convenient commercially, and which is sufficiently durable;
while you make your money largely out of metals, the production of
which costs you an immense amount of comparatively unproductive labor,
and furthermore _coin_ is very bunglesome to handle. Two hundred
dollars in silver is almost a load to carry. Thus most of your money is
_costly_ and lacks _convenience_.
“2. As to security, our money is always secured and backed by the
immense negotiable wealth of a strong, peaceable community, and in an
average we never have more money in circulation than there is actual
negotiable wealth on hand to redeem it with, while your national
security is often very uncertain. Thousands of people lost by taking
Confederate money during the American Civil War; and if the South had
been victorious, the greenback would have been worthless. Your security
is thus very faulty.
“3. You have seen that we have entirely eliminated all credit from our
financial world. No individual, family, or community buys on credit;
all have plenty of money to buy with, while the volume of your money is
often so small and so monopolized that perhaps most of your business
is transacted on time, which involves a great deal of uncertainty and
injustice. In the first place, the business man under your credit
system is not certain of his pay; he must always be on the look-out not
to sell to poor payers, and in the second place the annual losses which
the business man sustains by failure to pay, must be taxed to the goods
he annually sells and must therefore be paid by those who _do_ pay. In
this manner a person who pays must _indirectly_ pay for the goods the
delinquent fails to pay for _directly_.
“4. As to uniformity of purchasing power, our money is nearly perfect.
The basis of its issue is a day’s productive labor, which, under free
competition, in an average, produces nearly the same quantity of
negotiable wealth at all times, taking it all over the world, while the
purchasing power of your dollar is very fluctuating. For instance, the
discovery of a rich gold mine makes the gold dollar worth less, because
it can be obtained with less labor. If silver would now be discovered
as plentifully as lead, and if you had free and unlimited coinage of
silver, a silver dollar of the present weight and fineness would have
but little purchasing power; first, because a laborer could obtain many
of them from the rich mine with a day’s labor, and secondly, because
laborers would be attracted _to_ the _mine_, and _from_ agriculture
and other productive industries, which would produce a scarcity of
commodities and raise them in price.
“Let us take another example that will clearly show the great varying
purchasing power of your dollar. In making this examination, we want
to keep in mind that the only material wealth after which we are in
pursuit is food, clothing, shelter, luxuries, and the instruments
of their production and distribution; that all material wealth is
produced either directly or indirectly by the application of labor to
land; that is, the crude material must be yielded by the earth. All
debts must ultimately be paid with material wealth, and money, or the
dollar, serves only as a medium to facilitate the exchange of material
wealth. Where there is no material wealth the dollar becomes useless.
You do not work for the dollar, as most of your people seem to think,
nor can a dollar add one iota to your physical comforts and happiness.
It is the material wealth which the dollar represents which gives
the comfort and happiness. If all the money in your world would be
annihilated or sunk in the ocean at 12 o’clock M., none of the world’s
aggregate physical comforts and happiness, other than an experience of
inconvenience of making exchanges, would be diminished. There would be,
after the destruction of all the money, just as much food, clothing,
shelter and luxuries as there was with all the money in the world. Your
meals would be just as good, because we do not eat money. Your houses
would be just as light, warm and cheerful as before. Your couch would
be just as soft and comfortable. Your land just as productive. All
your luxuries would be just as charming and agreeable. Your trains,
telegraphs, telephones and electric lights would operate just the same.
Your books would contain the same information. The only inconvenience,
as a whole, that you would experience from the destruction of your
money, would be, that you would find it more inconvenient to make your
exchanges of commodities; and to obviate this inconvenience is the only
function and use of money. Now let us exemplify a little further the
injustice of the varying purchasing power of your dollar.
“Since I came to live on earth, I got acquainted with a very
industrious and frugal person, who, in 1869, purchased, on credit, in
the state of Wisconsin, a _$6,000_ farm. It is now over twenty years
since he began to pay for it, and he has succeeded in paying about
$4,000 of the principal and over _$6,000 interest_. He, therefore, owes
still $2,000 of the principal.
“Now let us not forget right here that wheat in 1869, or thereabout,
was worth about $2.50 per bushel, and, as a whole, all other things
in proportion. This man, then, bought the farm on the basis of $2.50
wheat. At this price, it would have required only 2,400 bushels of it
to pay for the farm. But soon after he bought the farm, wheat began
to decline in price, until, in 1890, it was worth only about 60 cents
or 70 cents. Now, as I have said, in 1890 this man owed still $2,000
on his farm. To pay $2,000 with 70 cent wheat requires about 2,700
bushels, 300 bushels more than it did to pay for the whole farm in
1869. So you see this man raised wheat for over twenty years. During
this twenty years he raised and sold over 6,000 bushels of wheat, the
proceeds of which he paid on his farm. Now if the contract for the farm
had read 2,400 bushels of wheat, instead of reading $6,000, he would
have the farm paid for _two_ or _three_ times over. But as it is, it is
more difficult to pay for now than it was when he began paying in 1869.
It required more bushels of wheat, more bushels of oats and potatoes,
more pounds of cotton or pork, more kegs of nails, more tons of galena,
to pay the balance of $2,000 in 1890 than it would have taken to pay
the whole $6,000 in 1869. But that is not all the loss he sustained.
His land, under your system of farming, is probably not as productive
now as it was twenty years ago. His orchard and buildings have decayed
also.
“Now before I give another illustration on the varying purchasing power
of your dollar, I must clear up one other point concerning money. From
what I can learn, it seems that the majority of your people, when
they consider the financial question, believe that the purchasing of
commodities is the whole of a commercial transaction; but this is
only half of it and the last half, too. Let us illustrate: A farmer,
before he can pay his mortgage, his taxes, or his notes, must _buy_
his _money_ to pay them with. The mortgagee, the tax collector and the
banker do not deal in commodities--wheat, pork, wool, cotton, etc.
The first half of the transaction is to _purchase_ the _money_ with
_commodities_, and _after_ you have purchased the money, you can pay
the mortgage, taxes, notes, etc., with that money, which is the second
half of the transaction. In 1869, money was cheap because a bushel of
wheat would buy about $2.50 worth of it; in 1890, a bushel of wheat
buys but 60 cents; hence money was dear. The farmer must buy his money
with the products he raises on his farm; he must have _commodities_
before he can buy _money_. The laborer buys his money with labor, etc.
A farmer, who, in 1869, raised and sold 600 bushels of wheat, by his
annual labor, received $1,500 for that labor; while, in 1890, for
raising and selling an equal quantity of wheat, he received only about
$400.
“I am well aware that there are fluctuations of prices caused, in
your industrial world, partly by natural and partly by monopolistic
supply and demand; but of these I am not here speaking. I am here
simply endeavoring to illustrate the evils and injustice of the varying
purchasing power of your dollar. There is no injustice in the fact that
a bushel of wheat will buy $2.50, or that it will buy only 60 cents, or
that it will buy $10. It would make no difference to any one whether
you would get 10 cents or $10 for a bushel, provided all other things
correspond in price, and provided further that the purchasing power
of the money does not vary practically. The injustice consists in the
fact, as we have seen in the case of your Wisconsin farmer, that he
purchased his farm on the basis of $2.50 wheat and other farm products,
and that he had to pay for it largely with 80 or 90 cent wheat.
“Now let us be candid. Can you tell me who got that $10,000, or all
that wheat which this Wisconsin farmer raised during these twenty years
when he tried to pay for his farm? _He_ has nothing to show for it. His
farm is not as good now as it was twenty years ago, and, as we have
seen, he has to sell more products now to pay the $2,000 than he would
have had to pay the $6,000 in 1869. Some one ate all that wheat, and as
this man received nothing for it, those that ate it must have gotten it
without _actually_ paying for it. This is a truth, but not many of the
people of earth have thus far discovered it.
“I am aware that some of your zealous people will say that this
Wisconsin farmer was not a wise and prudent man for buying that
$6,000 farm on time when he had nothing to pay for it. I fully agree
with them; for, as I claim, no system of money is good which does not
eliminate all credit. It is this unwiseness which I am here endeavoring
to show, but these zealous people who condemn this Wisconsin farmer
have helped to make still worse contracts. Let us see what they are.
“In 1866 the national debt of the U. S. was $2,783,000,000; and in 1890
it was about $1,183,000,000. About the year 1866 wheat was worth about
$2.50 a bushel, and if the national debt had been contracted to be paid
in _wheat_ (instead of dollars, remember), it would have required,
in 1866, about 1,008,000,000 bushels (one billion, eight millions).
In 1890 wheat was worth about 60 or 70 cents, and the national debt
was $1,183,334,688. At that price it would have required about
1,900,000,000 bushels. Thus you see that you owed about 90,000,000
bushels more in 1890 than you owed in 1866.
“In making this comparison, I use wheat because I believe it to be one
of your foremost staples, but you can use beef, pork, oats, corn, wool,
kegs of nails or any other important staple. You will notice, then,
that it is not a scarcity of any particular commodity in 1866 and an
‘over-production’ in 1890, but that it lies in the varying purchasing
power of the dollar. In 1866 a farmer could purchase $2.50 with one
bushel of wheat (remember that the buying of _money_ is the first half
of a commercial transaction); money was cheap then. In 1890 he could
purchase only 60 cents for a bushel. The capitalists who hold the money
made money scarce, so that they could receive a large quantity of
_commodities_ for a dollar of it. Thus you see that your capitalists
are not only robbing the masses by charging interest, but also by
increasing the purchasing power of the dollar. You see, he holds the
dollar; the poor man has no dollars.
“One more brief comparison on this point: Suppose that in 1866 a farmer
stores away $1,000 worth of wheat at $2.50 a bushel, which would amount
to 400 bushels. His brother banker also puts in his safe the same
amount of property, a thousand dollars, in _dollars_, not in wheat or
any other _commodity_. Now, they have stored away an equal amount of
property. Let us see now how they stand in 1890. The farmer has his 400
bushels of wheat, which is worth about 60 cents a bushel. If he turns
his wheat into cash, he has $240, while his brother banker has $1,000
in cash. Here you see that the farmer, or any other laborer, ‘comes out
of the small end of the horn.’ Now let us see how they stand when both
turn their property into wheat. The farmer has 400 bushels. The banker
has $1,000, for which, at 60 cents a bushel, he can buy 1,666 bushels;
1,666 bushels minus 400 bushels leaves 1,266 bushels, that the banker
is ahead of the farmer, after they have converted their property into
wheat.
“I am well aware that in a few cases the varying purchasing power of
the dollar gives an advantage to the laborer instead of the capitalist.
But this advantage to the laborer is as unjust as if the advantage were
to the capitalist; and the injustice of this advantage, whether to the
capitalist or to the laborer, is what we are here considering.
“These are all _truths_, but they lie so deeply hidden that the masses
of your people do not yet see them. _Our_ medium of exchange does not
possess this grave injustice; the unit of value is based on a day’s
productive labor, which varies very little, if any, and all share an
equal part in this slight variation.
“5. As already stated, the Marsites issue money only directly to the
_individual_ on his monthly _labor-record_, that is, if the individual
is able-bodied and old enough to work; if he is disabled or a child,
he receives money in a similar manner on a _gift-record_, instead of
a labor-record. No person can get a penny by profit, interest, etc.,
because the goods are sold by the _community_ at cost, and nobody
pays interest, because everybody has, or can earn all the money he
wants. You see there is no room for a speculator and schemer in our
world, even if a person were disposed to be one; while your system
is just the reverse. With you a gold miner in a rich mine may take
out $200 worth of gold with one day’s labor; and he has produced
comparatively nothing, if the gold is coined into money; for paper is
even more suitable as a medium of exchange, if issued on the right
basis, than gold. A merchant under your system may grow rich on profit
by doing nothing. A money lender may receive a thousand dollars a
day as interest by living an idle life. He may be growing richer by
the interest he receives, so that his posterity, for generations yet
unborn, can live an idle life by living from the labor of others.
You have also seen that a capitalist may grow rich by changing the
purchasing power of the dollar in his favor. Your money system, then,
is very defective, because it is largely obtained without productive
labor. The persons who perform nearly all the productive labor have,
as a rule, very little of it, while many of your schemers, or
unproductive laborers or idlers, have, as a rule, an abundance of it.
“6. We have seen that we issue money once a month for labor performed,
and that this money is issued only at the ‘Com;’ that the money is
issued directly to the individual, who can make his purchases wherever
he likes, and that all money taken in by the families for commodities
sold is daily remitted to the ‘Com,’ where the communities’ own money
is canceled when taken in; and that the money from other communities,
for which we have given wealth, is used by the ‘Com’ to pay bills with.
Each community, then, has always a quantity of money in circulation
equal to the salable wealth on hand. If the wealth increases the
volume of money increases, for money is issued on productive labor,
which produces wealth. If the wealth diminishes the volume of money
diminishes, for as soon as the wealth is given to the producer for the
money, the money is canceled.
“The basis upon which you issue and redeem money is entirely different.
You may have a scarcity of money and an abundance of commodities, or
you may have an abundance of money and a scarcity of commodities. A
rich gold mine tends to increase the volume of money, and tends to
decrease the quantity of commodities. The more you monopolize money,
the more it conduces to the interest of the wealthy--the higher the
interest will be and the more the stored-up dollar of the capitalist
increases in purchasing power. The volume of the Marsian money, which
is based on a day’s productive labor, is always practically equal to
the quantity of negotiable wealth. Money, based on a day’s productive
labor, where opportunity for labor is always open to all, can never
be scarce. This is the case on Mars, and, therefore, we never have
a scarcity of money. With you things are vastly different. All your
institutions are partly warped by your unjust medium of exchange.
“7. Our money can not be monopolized so that it draws interest.
“Before we can intelligently discuss this feature, I shall be obliged
to make a few statements concerning our social and other economic
conditions. An earthite uses money for many purposes where a Marsite
uses no money at all. For example, a Marsite does not buy and sell
land. The individual on Mars needs no money for the construction of
his dwelling. Our dwellings are erected by the collective labor of
the members of the community. A Marsite needs no money for his tools,
his machinery, his implements, his garden, orchard, park, boulevards,
motor-lines, railroad, light and fuel; all this is furnished
collectively by the members of the community, because we found that
by co-operation it can be done with much less labor than it can be
done by single-handed effort. Above the public wear and tear and
improvements, all the labor that a community needs expend is for the
purpose of keeping its store-houses well filled. Thus you see that a
Marsite, on account of his co-operate production, never needs a large
sum of money at once. _Our individual_ buys his meals, his clothes, his
private luxuries, the furniture for his private apartment, his railroad
ticket, etc., etc.; but all this requires no large investment at any
one time. And as he can go to work at any day and earn a sum equal to
the purchasing power of ten of your dollars, he is not very likely to
borrow money and pay interest. No individual can expend $10 a day for
these _private_ purposes only, unless he becomes wasteful.
“Your social, and therefore your financial, conditions are vastly
different. Your _individual_ buys land. He builds a large factory, he
erects his own dwelling, he constructs a railroad, runs a store, builds
a ship, keeps a dairy, etc. Under these conditions your individual
needs a large sum of money at a time. Your natural opportunities are
not open to all. Thousands of your industrious men and women are forced
idlers, and millions of them have no fair opportunity to labor. In
the United States alone there are probably two millions more laborers
than there are places for labor. Thus an opportunity is offered to
monopolize money, to compel him who needs it pay _interest_, and
every cent of interest that the payee receives gives him additional
opportunity to collect _more_ and _higher_ interest, while it makes
the payer more and more dependent; for interest is money for which the
taker _gives_ nothing and the payer _receives_ nothing. All these evils
are so conspicuous and so destructive of human welfare, and yet only
a few of the earthites see them clearly; and it will, no doubt, be a
long time before the masses of the people here on earth will become
thoroughly informed on them.
“8. As to counterfeiting, I may say that in a community or world
in which a sufficient quantity of money can easily be obtained by
an agreeable, healthful amount of productive labor, money is not
liable to be counterfeited. There are causes for counterfeiting, and
whenever these causes are removed counterfeiting ceases. By making the
conditions of earning money easy and pleasant to all, we have removed
the causes.
“In a social and financial world, like yours, where so many industrious
persons are prevented to labor, where so many are pinched by poverty,
where the dollar is the highest aim of nearly all, where productive
labor is looked upon with contempt by your ‘best society,’ where money
offers special privileges to the possessor of it, where want and the
fear of want are wrecking countless constitutions, and where the poor
have to work the treadmill of toil from early youth until feeble old
age, money is liable to be counterfeited by some, who endeavor by this
means to escape these disagreeable burdens. It is no use to deny it; we
all become dishonest, as you call it, if we are only pinched severely
enough by poverty and want. This is the reason why you have so much
counterfeit money.
“9. The next feature of a just and convenient medium of exchange is,
that it must give the person who possesses a large quantity of it, no
advantage, or special privileges over him who has a less quantity of it.
“I have already told you that a Marsite, as an individual, does not use
money for many purposes that an earthite, as an individual, uses it.
We, as individuals, use it only to purchase our private personal needs.
The family and community use it for purchasing articles for public use,
both family and community. Thus an individual, as we have seen, never
needs a great amount of it at any one time. All of us have an equal
share in the public property, and are all served with like courtesy
under similar conditions. All can work as much as they like, and all
receive equal pay for a day’s productive labor; and this labor yields
more wealth than any one can spend without willful waste, if one works
from one-half to three-fourths of the days in the year. We have no
best places in our world, because they are all as good as the best,
and that is as good as human skill can make them. We have no favorite
place in our community which can be bought with money. The places in
our dining-room and parlors are all the very best, and no one place
presents a particular preference over any other. In our spacious hall
during an operatic play, lecture, or other entertainment, we take the
most suitable place _vacant_. All public apartments are equally open
to all without pay. In the location of private apartments, there is
also no particular advantage and choice other than results from mere
personal fancy. Those private apartments located on the lower floors,
for instance, are perhaps more conveniently located to the dining-hall,
but more inconvenient for the exercise-hall, etc. Thus all the private
apartments are so located and arranged that the aggregate convenience
they bear to all the public apartments are nearly equal, so that there
is no particular choice; and if there was, money could not buy it.”
“Well, Mr. Midith, I cannot see that a rich man in a republic like that
of the United States has much, if any, advantage over a poor man; at
least _I_ cannot see any such advantage or special privileges, and if
you know of any I would like to have you explain them to us,” said Rev.
Dudley as Mr. Midith finished speaking.
“Well, Rev. Dudley, if you like to have me point out some of the
advantages and special privileges the rich man has over the poor man on
earth, I shall oblige you by giving a brief explanation of a _few_ of
them. I say a _few_ because there are a countless number of them.
“With you money makes money, as you call it. The rich man receives
interest for which he gives nothing, and the poor man pays interest
for which he receives nothing. With us, nothing but productive labor
produces wealth, and on that wealth money is issued.
“Here on earth a person who has the most money can buy the best seat
in the theater, the finest pew in church. He can often buy to a
certain extent his election to go to Congress or to the Legislature,
put a ‘corner’ on wheat so as to create fictitious prices. The rich
man is honored; his word is law, and if not, he not infrequently buys
enough votes to make it a law. His employes, in order to keep their
position, are often compelled to vote according to his dictates and
his interests. By monopolistically clogging natural opportunity he is
enabled to collect profit, interest, rent and taxes. He manipulates,
as we have seen, the varying purchasing power of the dollar in his
favor. He wears the best clothes; eats the tenderest meat; lives in
a fine residence; goes to entertainments; makes pleasure excursions,
and does countless other agreeable things. While, on the other hand,
the poor man is compelled to toil early and late, live in a small,
ill-ventilated, poorly-heated, screenless house or hovel, wear coarse
clothes, eat the tough meat and small potatoes; by his toilsome labor
his step has become slow and clumsy, his form is bent, his head droops,
his shoulders stooped; his brow is careworn; he has little or no time
for amusements, education, ethical culture and personal cleanliness.
All his vitality is expended in acquiring the mere material
subsistence. He sits down on an uncomfortable chair. He has little
furniture, a bare floor, small, curtainless windows, a poor bed, a
sooty stove, and not infrequently an unclean dooryard.
“From the foregoing explanation you can clearly see that the rich man
has the advantage _everywhere_. He, by some roundabout means, which
the poor and often less-enlightened person does not understand, charms
away the products of the poor man’s labor; and the more the rich
monopolize the land, the medium of exchange and other necessary means
of production, the better his charm works.”
“You say that the rich man has the advantage over the poor man
_everywhere_, but on this point I feel quite certain that you are
mistaken,” said Rev. Dudley. “With our present system of paying taxes,
the rich man pays nearly all the taxes. On this point then, if on no
other, the poor man has the advantage over the rich. This, I think, you
cannot deny or successfully refute, Mr. Midith.”
“It may seem to you, Rev. Dudley, that I cannot successfully refute
or consistently deny this proposition; but it is the very point I do
emphatically deny,” said Mr. Midith, in a soft tone of voice. “I hold
that the rich pay scarcely any taxes. This tax question seems to be
regarded by the mass of the people on earth in nearly the same light
as the war question. The ‘praise and honor’ of victory is generally
bestowed on the _general_, who is generally at a safe distance, while
the private soldier, who does the _actual_ fighting, is scarcely ever
thought of. Just so it is with the tax question. The one who really
pays the taxes rarely ever receives credit for it. Let us exemplify
this:
“I suppose that you will agree with me that a robber, who forcibly took
$10,000 yesterday, and is assessed on that $10,000 to-day, cannot
be said to pay taxes; for by the act of robbing he has not produced
anything, and it is plain that one who does not produce anything
cannot really pay anything. We have seen that all material wealth is
in the form of food, clothing, shelter, luxuries, and the instruments
necessary for its production and distribution, and that this wealth
must be produced either directly or indirectly by productive labor
applied to land. Now your rich men, the same as the robber, are, as
a rule, not engaged in actual productive labor, and can, therefore,
not really pay taxes. As a rule, they have acquired their millions by
appropriating, in a roundabout way, the wealth of the actual producer,
and on this wealth, so appropriated from the products of the laborer,
he, instead of the actual producer, pays a certain amount of this
_appropriated_ (not earned) wealth into the treasury as taxes.
“Let us make this principle plainer by additional examples. No doubt,
you can plainly see that a burglar, who has just taken $100,000 from
the vaults of the United States treasury, cannot be said to pay taxes,
even if he gives part of this money back to the United States in the
form of taxes.
“When a saloon-keeper pays a $1,000 license for the privilege of
selling liquor, he pays this license with the money he receives into
his money drawer, for, as a saloon-keeper, he can pay it with no other
money, because that is the only means by which he receives money, and
the drinker who pays him the nickles, if the drinker earned them, pays
the license; all that the saloon-keeper does in this matter is, that
he takes the money out of his money-drawer and gives it to the license
collector.
“If each person actually produced all, or an equivalent of what he
consumed, then the consumer would ultimately pay all cost of goods,
_including_ taxes; but this is not the case. The Marsites have _two_
classes of persons who consume and do not produce, namely, _infants_
and _disabled persons_; you have _four_ classes, namely, _infants_,
_disabled persons_, _idlers_, and _unproductive and destructive
laborers_. We can easily see that all those who do not actually earn
or produce wealth cannot pay anything without they receive it in some
way from the _actual_ producer. Hence we see that the productive
laborer--the actual producer--has produced _all_ the wealth and must,
therefore, ultimately pay all cost, taxes included.
“I have already told you how many persons here on earth get wealth
without producing it; but I shall here give you a few additional
examples.
“An earthite may, by gambling at the Board of Trade, become a
millionaire without producing a single mouthful of food, and if he is
a millionaire, he may also become a pauper. A sudden rise or fall of
25 cents in the price of a bushel of wheat will make some rich and
others poor; but there is no production of wheat in these transactions,
and the transactions are more than useless, as you can easily see
by examining our commercial system. All there is in such useless
transactions is that one set of schemers succeed in fleecing another
set of schemers without producing any wealth.
“Some of your people grow rich in dollars without labor by buying a
lot, keep it for a few years, and then sell it for a thousand or ten
thousand times as much as they paid for it. You may grow rich by a
patent and a copyright; but no matter how you grow rich without labor
it is always by profit, interest, rent, taxes, gift, or the varying
purchasing power of your dollar.
“Now let me give you a few more examples showing that the rich man, as
a rule, pays little or no taxes.
“A duty on goods is paid by the consumer as far as he actually earns
what he consumes or an equivalent thereof; but, if the consumer, like
an infant or social parasite, does not earn what he consumes, or an
equivalent, the producer, the laborer, pays that proportion of it which
the consumer does not actually earn or produce.
“Now let us take a merchant and see who pays his taxes.
“Every person who buys at his store pays part of it. The price on his
goods must be such that after paying all expenses--fuel, oil, damage
of goods, insurance, interest, taxes, etc.--he must have some left
for his labor, or else he cannot continue business and live. Now,
we can all see, even the dullest, that if there were no taxes to be
paid this merchant could reduce the price of his goods and still have
as much left for his labor as when he paid taxes; and if he, under
these conditions, would not reduce the price, _others_, by means of
competition, would. Thus, you see that every person, even the poorest,
who purchases at his store pays part of the taxes on the merchant’s
goods and on his lot and store building--that is, if the purchasers
produce what they consume; if not, the actual producer pays it, for an
infant, a disabled person, a pauper and a social parasite have only
that which they have received from the actual producer. The hand of
productive labor pays for all, and that hand, as a rule, belongs to the
poor man.
“Thus you see, upon examination, that your present belief that the rich
man pays most of the taxes is as much an illusion as the belief in the
‘divine right of kings,’ the right to hold slaves, the remission of
sins by fasting, etc., formerly was, and still is to a large degree.
The fact is, that no one but a _producer_ can pay, and, as a rule, your
producers are not rich. Therefore, nearly all the taxes, as well as all
other costs, are ultimately paid by the comparatively poor persons. So
on this point, too, the poor man is ‘left,’ as you term it.”
“I know,” said Rev. Dudley, “there is a great deal said and preached
about poverty, toil and poor people nowadays. I am also fully conscious
of the fact that there are many industrious persons pinched by poverty,
but, after all, I think there is a great deal of imaginary grievance.
I personally know of a large number of foreigners who had scarcely a
dollar when they came to this country, but who are now millionaires
several times over; and I think that most any steady, frugal,
industrious person can become quite wealthy in the United States, if he
wants to be, and manages it properly.”
“I suppose you are honest in your convictions, Rev. Dudley,” said Mr.
Midith, when Rev. Dudley ceased speaking. “It is true that most _any
one_ can get rich, but not _all_ can get rich under your present social
conditions. If I throw _three_ apples into the grass for _five_ boys
to get, _most any one_ of the five boys may get an apple and some one
may even get two, but _all_ of them cannot get an apple. So it is with
your people; as long as you have two million more laborers than places
for labor, _most any one_ may become rich, but _all_ cannot be rich.
Now, Mr. Dudley, will you kindly give me the history of a particular
individual case of which you know, where a man was once poor and is now
rich? By following up his individual case, we shall be more able to see
_how_ he acquired his wealth.”
“Why certainly, Mr. Midith, I will give you the particular case of
Mr. Bremmer, a German, who had only $20 when he landed in America,
and who is now a wealthy banker. I remember his case so well because
Mr. Bremmer has often told me all about his hard labor, his judicious
management, his frugality, and how he passed from one occupation to
another as he gradually acquired more and more wealth.
“To begin with, Mr. Bremmer is a German by birth. When he landed he was
a stout, healthy young man; had a wife and two small children and only
$20 to go on. His appearance was prepossessing. He began his labor as a
section hand on the railroad, receiving $1.25 a day. During the winter
when he was not employed on the railroad, he would work at whatever
he could get to do. If he could not get $1.25 a day, he would accept
75 cents or 50 cents a day. Thus, even if many others were out of
employment, he would nearly always find work.
“After thus working and saving for three years, he had saved enough to
buy a small hundred-dollar house, with two little rooms in it. After
having his own house he could accumulate a little faster, for he was
rid of paying rent. After three more years of industry and saving,
he purchased, for $200, a small piece of land which he turned into
gardening. With his garden he made much more money than he had been
making as a section hand. In a few more years he purchased a small
store, which he continually enlarged. Now he began to pile up his
money faster and faster. A little later he purchased a factory; then he
became a land dealer; and now he is a banker, worth several millions.
This shows what industry, frugality, and judicious management will do;
and I believe that many, if they would work for the wages offered them,
could do the same as Mr. Bremmer did.”
“Well, now, Rev. Dudley, let us honestly, candidly and impartially
examine Mr. Bremmer’s case and see what he really did and _how_ he got
his millions,” said Mr. Midith.
“You say that he had $20 when he landed. That he secured a position as
section hand, earning $1.25 a day, and during the winter he accepted
other labor at from 50 to 75 cents per day. You say that it took him
about three years to save the first hundred dollars with which he
bought his little house. Just think of it, three years of toil and
saving for a little house which was hardly fit for a human family of
four and five to live in!
“You say further that Mr. Bremmer, as he gradually acquired more and
more wealth, successively changed his occupation from section hand to
gardener, from gardener to merchant, from merchant to manufacturer,
then to land speculator, and from that to banker. Of course, we all
know why Mr. Bremmer did not at first engage in manufacturing and
banking: Simply because they require a large amount of money which
Mr. Bremmer did not have. We also all know why he quit the section
business: there was too much work and too little pay. Once more, we
also all know that a section hand, _as such_, can never become rich.
You say that Mr. Bremmer saved a hundred dollars the first three
years. At this rate a section hand, as such, by his labor can never
lay up as much as $2,000. His life is too short even if he spends the
whole of it in toil and saving. Mr. Bremmer saw this and changed his
occupation as soon as possible.
“After three years of toil and saving he had saved enough to buy
a one-hundred-dollar house; after three more years, in the same
occupation, he had enough laid up to buy a two-hundred-dollar garden
spot.
“Now do you not see the inequality and injustice in your money system?
How slow and hard the section-hand acquires it, and how easy and
abundantly some manufacturers, land speculators and bankers acquire it?
What vast advantages they have?”
“But,” said Rev. Dudley, “has not every sound person an equal
opportunity for acquiring money, and then engage in those advantageous
occupations of which you speak? You see the United States is a free
country. No one is forbidden to engage in any business.”
At this Mr. Midith smiled and said:
“I beg your pardon, Rev. Dudley, but allow me to tell you that you
are widely mistaken on these points. 1. All persons have not an equal
opportunity to acquire money. 2. The United States is by no means
a _free_ country. 3. A countless number are forbidden to engage in
certain business. To illustrate this, let us take Mr. Bremmer’s case.
You said that he had $20 when he began work and that he acquired wealth
faster after he owned his house than he did when he rented. It is true,
then, that the $20 person, other things being the same, has an _equal_
financial opportunity with all other _$20 persons_; but he has not an
_equal_ opportunity with the $100, or $1,000 or $100,000 person. He
is at a disadvantage with all of them, in proportion as they have more
dollars than he has. _Before_ Mr. Bremmer, who was a $20 person, could
get rid of paying excessive rent, he had to have a $100 to buy a house
with. Now, if Mr. Bremmer, with like economy, as a section hand, could
save more money when he owned his house than he could when he rented,
either somebody must have robbed him when he rented, or he is robbing
some one now, for his income was the same in both cases.
“But mark you, now we get to the point of inequality and injustice.
If the $100 person who owns the house has a financial _advantage_,
there must be some other persons, then, who are under corresponding
financial _disadvantage_; for an advantage consists only in getting
something at the expense of another. A teamster with a heavy load can
not give one of his two horses an advantage by lengthening the end
of its doubletree, without at the same time giving a corresponding
disadvantage to the other one, by making the end of its doubletree
relatively shorter. But there are several ways by which the teamster
may make it easier for both of his horses. First, he may improve the
running capacity of his wagon. Secondly, he may unload part of his
load. Thirdly, he may improve the road; and, fourthly, he may increase
the number of his horses. Just so may your _productive laborer_
make his load of production easier. First, by improving the social,
industrial and financial system. Secondly, by unloading your burden
of superstitions. Thirdly, he may improve the road of advancement
by consciously disseminating useful knowledge. And, fourthly, by
continually refusing more and more to produce the wealth for the
social parasite, so that the social parasite must put himself into
the harness to produce his own commodities. If every person receives
exactly what he earns, or produces, or an equivalent of that, there can
be no advantages or disadvantages to any one, and a person as a section
hand could, under the same conditions, lay up as much as a gardener,
merchant or banker. But there is not a single case on record in your
entire industrial and financial world where a section hand, _as such_,
who has a family of three or four children, has ever acquired property
to the amount of $2,000. The mystery to me is, how do such large
families live from such a small income? But you all know that there are
many merchants, manufacturers and bankers that acquired millions, even
if they had large families. Why should not your social and industrial
conditions be such that a section hand can acquire wealth as easily,
rapidly and abundantly as a banker? Is his labor less useful and less
productive?”
“Well, why does he not become a banker, then?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“But if _all_ were bankers, there could be no section hands; and we can
not do without section hands, therefore, _some must_ be section hands
and must be always poor as such, while _others may be_ bankers. The
secret is, as in Mr. Bremmer’s case, _only_ those who have a hundred
dollars can own a house; _only_ those who own $200 have the privilege
of owning and working a garden spot; _only_ those who have a $1,000
can own anything of a store; _only_ those who have more than $10,000
can be manufacturers of any considerable extent; and _only_ those who
have $50,000 can engage in national banking. These are all financial
privileges and advantages then. The owner of the house is able to
collect exorbitant rent because there are too many who are unable
to buy or build houses, and too few who own houses. In this case,
gardening is more profitable than working on the section because _only_
those who have $200 can engage in it, and there are not enough people
who have $200, and so on, with the other business.
“Thus we see at a glance that _only_ those who have an equal amount
of wealth have an equal financial opportunity. All who have more have
an advantage, while all those who have less have a corresponding
disadvantage. What the Marsites contend for and what justice demands
is, that all persons shall have an equal opportunity in _getting_
the $50,000. To a Marsite, it appears much wiser, more just and less
ridiculous, to have a people make and obey a law and custom which would
vest all persons with certain advantages and special privileges who are
born with a wart on the end of their nose, claiming that such a law and
custom is just on the ground that all persons in their pre-natal state
have an equal opportunity to compete for the possession of the wart. In
this case probability would be the factor of success, while with your
money system thousands of children _are by their parental assistance
born_ with the $50,000 advantages, while millions of others are born
with the corresponding disadvantages; and while the disadvantaged poor
person is trying to get the $50,000, the advantaged rich persons, who
are already in possession of the $50,000, are by some roundabout way
charming it away from the disadvantaged almost as fast as they can earn
it, so that the poor can gain only little of nothing in the acquisition
of the $50,000.
“Now let us look at the evils of your money system under this point
from still another aspect.
“We have seen that in an average there are probably about two million
_industrious_ unemployed persons, or forced idlers, in the United
States alone, who can, as a rule, have little, if any capital or money
on hand; but who, in order to get employment, are all severely pressing
for a position in those occupations, which, as wage-workers, require no
capital, such as working on a section, mining, and all other similar
occupations. This industrial pressure, or monopolistic competition,
for a job in those occupations, which requires no capital, reduces the
wages vastly below what the laborer actually earns.
“But, as I have already shown, there can be no financial _dis_advantage
to one class of persons without a corresponding _advantage_ to another
class. From this unjust advantage and disadvantage two great evils are
produced, which cause your world to reek with poverty, crime, cruelty,
dissipation, disease, and premature death.
“The first one of these great evils is, that the advantaged class have
the power to clog up natural opportunity by monopolizing land, money,
tools, means of transportation, etc., so that the _dis_advantaged class
are forced to accept the wages which the advantaged class offer, or the
disadvantaged must starve, rob, steal, or sell themselves in some form.
Hence, under these conditions, no person in your world can ever hope to
secure himself against _want_ and the _fear of want_. They may come at
any time in spite of all his industry and providence.
“The second one of these great evils is, that too many, as soon as
they have saved a little wealth, are continually pressing into those
occupations in which, by the aid of monopolistic privileges, wealth
is made to produce wealth, as you term it. This, then, tends to
crowd too many persons into those occupations which require more or
less capital to run them; such as farming, manufacturing, mercantile
pursuits, banking, commerce, speculation, etc. And as measured by the
highest ideal, social and economic standard, it also tends to create
a vast army of not only useless, but positively injurious, persons
and occupations; such as middlemen, the gambler, the speculator, the
insurance agent, the traveling salesman, the priest, the lawyer, the
option dealer, the rumseller, the confidence man, the courtesan, the
scheming politician, etc.
“Thus you see that your occupations and professions, which require
capital, offer a premium on comparatively unproductive and destructive
labor or on idleness; and they impose a fine on productive labor--the
fine that the laborer is being robbed by the capitalist. All thoughtful
persons know that all human beings must subsist on the material
products of the actual producer, and that the day’s labor of the
actual producer, in order to produce sufficient for all--producer and
non-producer--to live on, must be lengthened in proportion as the
number of idlers, unproductive and destructive laborers increase, and
also in proportion as they become consumers or as they destroy and
waste wealth.
“To illustrate these evils more plainly, let us take an example which
will aid the ordinary mind in grasping the principles.
“Let us suppose that on an isolated island, having only twenty
inhabitants, these twenty inhabitants or islanders, the same as the
vast majority of the present inhabitants of your earth, are yet
sufficiently unenlightened to see the true principles and fundamental
aim of human conduct, and so enact human-made laws, which monopolize
land, money, tools, machinery, means of transportation, etc. On
account of these monopolistic laws, or capitalistic privileges, let
us suppose that _eight_ of the twenty islanders are idle landlords,
and _six_ comparatively unproductive bankers. Then there would be only
six productive laborers left who must perform all the productive labor
which is performed on the whole island. These productive laborers
must build the residences of the idle landlords and then keep house
for them. They must erect and maintain the costly banks and safes
for the bankers. They must raise and manufacture the food, clothing
and countless articles of luxuries for the idle landlord and the
comparatively unproductive banker. The production of all this wealth
for the social parasites by the productive laborer requires so much of
his time and energy that the poor laborers have scarcely any time and
vitality left to supply their own needs. Hence the laborers themselves,
as a rule, must remain unenlightened, live at best in small houses, or
in filthy tenements or in squalid hovels.
“Now every thoughtful person can clearly see by this illustration
that the more these twenty islanders would become non-producers, the
more toilsome the burdens of the producers would become; and if the
monopoly was so complete and effective that only the _least favored
one_ had to produce all the wealth for himself and for his nineteen
social parasites, the social and industrial conditions would be in
a very deplorable state to both the producer and the non-producers,
as compared with those conditions which would exist if the whole
twenty persons would be industrious producers, intelligent thinkers
and judicious actors. So it is with your society. The producers must
support themselves and the vast army of non-producers, which gives but
a miserable support to both classes.
“But do not understand me here that the Marsites laud and preach
poverty like many of your people do, especially the orthodox, who
claim that the poor will get their reward in heaven. The Marsites
detest poverty and its evil consequences--ignorance, crime, cruelty,
dissipation, disease and premature death. Poverty would be an
intolerable burden for a Marsite to bear. If the consequences of
poverty were as agreeable and produced as much happiness as the
consequences of plenty, then poverty would be as good as abundance, and
very likely all worlds would always remain poor.
“A Marsite then, does not object to the wealth of your wealthy class,
but he would strenuously condemn the _method_ by which they acquired
their wealth--the method of appropriating it from the products of the
productive laborers, because this vicious, unjust method, leaves the
greater portion of one’s companions and associates poor, ignorant,
uncultivated, narrow, cruel, superstitious, unjust, slavish, slovenly,
dissolute and generally invasive; and a cultivated person can feel no
safety and find no happiness in living a life under such lamentable
conditions; for this reason each Marsite finds pleasure in doing
his part in the promotion of universal prosperity, intelligence,
broadmindedness, freedom, kindness, culture, justice, order and
neatness, purity and non-invasiveness.
“This advantage, then, that the rich man has over the poor man, is the
point which we are here considering; and, no doubt, all whose sense
of equity has not been totally destroyed by vain selfishness, as you
call it, and avaricious strife, can easily feel and see this great evil
which your unjust system of money entails on the inhabitants of your
world on this point.
“10. The tenth feature of a just and convenient system of money is,
the money must be such that the _payee_ may _accept_ or take the money
instead of the actual wealth which the money represents.
“On Mars, in a country the size of the United States, there are over
20,000 communities, if all the land is settled, but which it never is,
in each of which money is issued and redeemed.
“We have seen that the only source by which an individual receives
and can receive money, unless given to him, is on his labor record.
Whenever the individual wants money he labors to get a labor record,
on which money is issued only. This he can do or not as he wishes, so
that he is free as an individual to accept the community’s money or
not; for he is free to leave the community at any time and begin to
work for himself single-handedly, as you largely do on earth; for there
is plenty of first-class land unoccupied, of which he can cultivate as
much as he pleases without paying for it. The individual may or may
not accept the money of any other individual or community. So may one
community, as a commercial body, accept or refuse the money of any
other community. Of course we are always glad to receive the money of
all other communities; but there is no compulsion about it. All who
handle money judge for themselves whether it is ‘legal tender’ or not.
There is no _fiat_ about our money. Hence our money possesses the tenth
feature in a high degree.
“On earth things are altogether different. Your ‘national government,’
a body of politicians, control the manufacture, circulation and
redemption of money. The individual has to accept that kind of money
which Congress makes legal tender. By this fiat thousands of people are
robbed on account of the varying purchasing power of the dollar.
“11. The eleventh feature of a just and convenient system of money is,
that it must, in its circulation, preserve a financial equilibrium
with other parts of the world, and in proportionate quantities must
naturally return to its place of redemption.
“From what I have already said, you are aware that the Marsites have
numerous places of issue and redemption, so that there are thousands
of fountains, one in each community, from which the money is monthly
issued to each individual in proportion to his labor performed. From
these fountains of issue, it circulates to all parts of Mars, and
the money of all other communities comes to our community; so that,
in an average, one community has as much money of all the other
communities in the world as our community has in its possession of all
other communities. Thus, in our system, an almost perfect financial
equilibrium is established and preserved.
“Here on earth, in a large country like that of the United States,
there is but one place where money is issued and redeemed. From this
one center it must reach the masses of the people. On the whole earth
only from a few centers money is issued and redeemed. This enables the
capitalists to monopolize the money, as the money is passing from this
central fountain of issue to the masses, as we actually find it is on
earth; and the facility of redemption is equally bunglesome.
“12. The twelfth feature of a just and convenient system of money is,
it must be most directly issued to the _individual_--man, woman and
child--who performs the productive labor which produced the wealth
which the money represents.
“I have already explained how, on Mars, every man, woman and child who
labors get their money issued on their labor-record at the close of
each month. Also how the disabled person gets it similarly issued on a
_gift_-record. Hereafter I will tell you how an infant gets it.
“With you, the man, or at least the husband, in general takes in all
the money the whole family produce by their united labor. Under such
an arrangement, whenever the wife or child wants any money, they are
obliged to ask the _man_ for it. This tends to make beggars and slaves
of the wife and child, and a tyrant of the man. Here the poor man is
probably as much of a monopolist over his family as a capitalist is
over him. There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule. A few
of your husbands give their wife and children free access to their
money. But it is generally expressed by you that the _husband_, the
_man_, _supports_ the wife and children, even if the wife labors
twelve or fourteen hours a day, cooking, washing, darning, nursing,
keeping house, etc. All such labor as the wife performs is, as a rule,
considered worth little or nothing by the _men_; because the man has
so shaped his financial system that the woman cannot take in any of the
money she earns by her domestic labor. Such is your financial system
on this point, the justice and convenience of which I shall leave to
any candid, intelligent person to judge for himself. But ages ago our
ancestors were just as cruel, unjust, unthoughtful, and inconsiderate
on the financial problem as you are at present, and, no doubt, just
as soon as you learn that your world will be happier by using a more
_just_ and _convenient_ system of money, which will measure up to all
of the foregoing features, all financial slavery will disappear from
your world; and all your efforts in that direction will then be crowned
with justice, success and universal happiness.”
CHAPTER XIV. SOME CONNECTION BETWEEN WEALTH, LABOR, COMMERCE,
INTERCOMMUNICATION, TRADE AND A MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE.
“But, if each individual keeps his own record of the time he has
labored, and the money is issued to him or her according to that
time-record, is not an individual tempted to make false entries in his
time-book?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“I will tell you, Rev. Dudley; we must always bear in mind that man’s
conduct, as a whole, always nearly, if not exactly, corresponds to
the social and industrial system under which he voluntarily lives. We
must take into account the conditions, and his culture. To illustrate
this, let us take an example: Cattle, after breaking into a cornfield,
sometimes kill themselves by eating too much corn. Some children, as
well as some grown people, on certain holidays, eat themselves sick
on sweetmeats and other dainties. But neither the people nor the
cattle would eat too much, if they always had all they wanted of those
eatables. A clerk in a candy store seldom eats candy. So in our kind,
rich world, where men and women work less than two hours a day at some
choice labor which is almost play, and where their short pleasant day’s
labor yields, by the aid of economy, co-operation and machinery, a
return of more than $10 worth of your purchasing power, the temptation
for false entries must indeed be decidedly inconsiderable.
“In a world where the social and industrial conditions are so
favorable, and where the contempt for idleness and dishonesty is such a
burden to bear, the degree of temptation for making false entries, for
the purpose of unjustly gaining a few hours’ labor, is vastly different
than it would be in your world, where thousands upon thousands are out
of employment, where they are severely pinched by poverty, where the
laborer is nothing but an industrial slave, where the wife and children
depend upon the income of the man, where the sense of justice has been
calloused by continual infringements of rights, where want and the fear
of want are continually staring them in the face, and where fraud,
accomplished by avaricious shrewdness, is applauded instead of being
condemned as it is in our world.
“And, furthermore, one could scarcely be dishonest in making his
entries if he wanted to be, without being discovered by his companions
and co-laborers, who have as much right to examine his time-book as
the owner has himself. You see the time-books are kept in a public
place and may be examined by anyone. Labor, with us, is honorable, and
we have also learned that in order to develop most completely, and
enjoy the most vigorous health, about two hours of physical labor
is daily necessary. This, alone, would be a sufficient incentive to
perform the labor, even if we required no material wealth to live
on. But if one, notwithstanding all this, would still persist in
making false entries or do any other acts that are grossly against
the well ascertained harmony of society, we would care for him as an
insane person, giving him the greatest freedom possible or consistent
with his mental derangement, and always treat him with the greatest
kindness and courtesy. Such a person, of all our millions, might and
does occasionally appear, but it is a rare occurrence. This treatment
is perfectly consistent with the greatest liberty of the case, for
all wrong, as we have seen, is the result of ignorance or insanity,
whatever you may call it. This fact becomes very plain when we recall
that we are all in pursuit of the greatest happiness, and that we can
attain this greatest happiness only by living most completely in tune
with the fact of the universe.”
“Some labor,” said Mr. Uwins, “such as mining, etc., is more
disagreeable than clerking, etc. You say every one receives equal
pay for a day’s labor; how, then, do you get laborers in these more
disagreeable occupations if all are free to go in any occupation?”
“Yes, every one can go in any occupation he desires, and all receive
equal pay for a day’s labor, which is put down in the time-book, and
at the close of each month every person receives an amount of money or
labor-checks equal to the number of days he or she labored. But the
_length_ of a day’s labor varies according as the labor is, as a whole,
agreeable or disagreeable. A clerk works more minutes a day than a
miner. So you see that we make the proper adjustment by the _length_
of a day’s labor. If we get too many laborers in a certain field, we
lengthen the day, this will drop out some; if too few, we shorten the
day, which will bring in some more. But you must also bear in mind
that there is very little difference in the kinds of our labor now.
Nearly all the disagreeableness disappears as we do the work more and
more by the aid of improved machinery. Our mining is now nearly all
done by machinery which is easily manipulated by the miner; and so in
all occupations. Co-operation continually creates a greater demand
for better and larger machinery, which is operated for the benefit
of all. Nearly all our labor can also be done by the piece, so much
constituting a day.”
“But, Mr. Midith, do you think it is just to pay everybody alike for
a day’s labor, when some are much stronger and more apt workers than
others, when some are skilled and others are not? Does this not tend to
throw nearly all the laborers in the _common_ field of labor, instead
of being skilled?” asked Rev. Dudley. “Of course you have seen the
practical results of it, but for my part I do not understand how you
overcame this apparent or real difficulty.”
“It is really no difficulty at all,” said Mr. Midith. “To illustrate:
You have a small family and we have a large family. Your _parents_
pay a 200-pound son or daughter no more for a day’s labor than they
pay a feebler one. They even pay the totally disabled one the same. I
presume that you think such a course is all right in your family, but
why should it not be equally right in our family and in our community?
But that is not all. A person weighing 200 pounds, as a rule, eats
more than a 100-pound person, but pays the same price for his meals.
The large person receives more cloth in his suit. He buys a larger
hat for the same price. On account of his greater weight he wears out
more carpet, more furniture, etc. So you see that a large, strong
person may sometimes produce a little more by a day’s labor, but he
also often receives more for the same pay, so that the two nearly or
altogether balance each other. But this is not all. You remember me
telling you that in a state of high culture, in which all are free,
intelligent beings, and in which natural opportunity is equally open to
all, there can be very little physical and mental difference between
the individual members of the same community, because none of them have
been dwarfed by heredity, none have been stunted by vicious training,
and none have been prevented from giving full scope of activity to
all their faculties. And furthermore, with our excellent facilities
for intercommunication, there is even little physical and mental
dissimilarity existing between members of remotely located communities.
“Your idea as to our skilled labor is also entirely erroneous. Every
member of our _large_ family, the same as a member of your _small_
family, can engage in any occupation he desires, whether man, woman
or child. It costs nothing with us to learn a trade. A person who is
learning a trade receives just as much the first day he begins as he
does when he is the best mechanic in the world. A day is a day. But to
excel in our work is the aim and ambition of all. We look upon honesty,
kindness and physical and mental ability with even greater approval
than you look upon mere dollars and cents in this unjust, cruel age
of yours. An apprentice with you receives at first little or no pay,
and sometimes he must even pay the ‘boss’ for taking him. For this
reason he must, further on, receive higher pay than a common laborer.
As a whole, the apprentice’s efforts are as valuable as the skilled
man’s, for we can not get skilled men and women without first being
apprentices. But our family and community recognize the fact that
we must have laborers for all trades, and therefore we pay them the
same price when learning as we do after they have learned their trade.
You see, skilled labor, under these conditions, is worth no more than
common labor, as you call it. It not only does not cost anything to
learn a trade, but we receive as much for learning as we do ever after.
Our ambition is to excel--to receive the approval of our companions and
co-laborers. Our individuals, families and communities are even much
prouder of excellent sons and daughters than your parents or families
are here. We do all we can to raise the standard of excellence and
proficiency in every member of the community by letting each receive
the good and the bad consequences of his own conduct. Intrinsic worth
is our highest aim, because without it the greatest happiness can not
be attained.”
“Does it require much labor to stamp your money, and could a person who
has charge of the money press be dishonest, if he chose to be?” asked
Mrs. Uwins.
“Our money press is run by electric power, and requires only a few
days’ labor per annum to stamp all the money we need. It is all done by
the press; no human hand is needed only to set it going. It would be
impossible for the minter to be dishonest, or for any other person to
use the money-press. Each community has but one money press, and every
press is different. The press automatically registers the number of
bills, and the total amount of _days_, _hours_, _minutes_ and _seconds_
that it stamps. At the beginning of each fiscal year the press is set
at _bill_ No. 1, and the amount issued, at cipher. This setter is
guarded by a time-lock, which can be opened only one hour during the
whole year when the machine is set for the next year’s work. The press
can by no possibility be turned backward, and the time-lock permits it
to be operated forward only just two hours a month, during which time
the minter stamps the monthly bills. So you see that neither the minter
nor any one else can be dishonest if he tried to be. This precaution is
not so much taken against fraud as against accidental error. We should
always bear in mind that the simplest business system that allows
the fewest intentional or accidental errors to creep in and remain
undiscovered is the best system. At the end of each month all the labor
records received at the mint are booked and footed up, and the total
monthly amount of money issued. In this wise the minter always has two
sets of figures, the one on his book and the other on the register
of the money press. These two sets of figures must indicate the same
amount of money issued.”
“That is a grand scheme,” said Rev. Dudley. “But how is it with your
other business? Is that sealed with the same unavoidable honesty and
correctness as your money making is?”
“All our business is done on nearly the same principle. Besides the
individual who transacts his private business to suit his own taste,
there are two collectivities that do business--the family and the
community. These two always check each other. The family’s annual
invoice shows the goods on hand. Its daily remittances to the ‘Com’
show all the money it has taken in, in all its departments--store,
dining-hall, barbershop, restaurant, etc. The warehouses, which keep an
account of all the commodities they receive and send out, check it up
with the goods it receives from the community, and the ‘Com’ checks it
with the bills the ‘Com’ paid for it to other communities for goods
the family purchased.
“In a similar manner, the ‘Com’ of the community checks with all its
families and with all its warehouses. Under such a system it is hardly
possible that an error can be passed unnoticed.”
“But I see no opportunity in your economic system for capital to earn
anything,” said Rev. Dudley.
“Capital never does earn anything,” responded Mr. Midith. “Labor earns
all. This idea of yours that capital earns something is an illusion.
We have seen that all material wealth which immediately satisfies
man’s wants, consists of food, clothing, shelter and luxuries, and
that all these can be actually produced only by productive labor. The
physical molecules, as such, composing a plow are not wealth, but the
plow is wealth no farther than it required productive labor in its
production. For all we know, there is an inexhaustible amount of iron
and steel waiting for us to be mined, and an inexhaustible opportunity
for raising the wood necessary in the manufacture of plows. The tools
with which the plow is made were also all produced by labor. In a just,
economic system every laborer, whether man, woman, or child, should
receive exactly all he earns, no more and no less; and, if they do
that, there will be nothing left for capital, for all wealth must be
produced by labor.
“Let us take an example to illustrate this. We will say that our
community owns a machine for boring artesian wells, a machine which
is not owned by _every_ community. Now, we first do our own work with
it; then some other community desires us to sink a well for them. Our
community sends a gang of men with the machine to sink the well for so
much per foot. We have expended so much labor in the production of the
machine; it requires so many men to operate it; it wears so long, and,
the average work will be so much. According to these factors, which
have been ascertained by long experience, we make our charge per foot,
so that every person who labored in the production of the machine, as
well as those who operate it during the whole existence of the machine,
just receive their day’s wages and no more. Free competition determines
this price per foot. We have no profit. You see if our community is
not well adapted for boring wells, it will not engage in it; and, if
it should do so, it will soon be crowded out by those communities who
are better adapted for it. All the communities are free competitors
in all fields of industry. This free, non-monopolistic competition
has slowly eliminated all _profit_. Every community has an immense
amount of capital in its ‘big-houses,’ warehouses, and depots; but this
capital earns nothing; no interest and no profit; it is even slowly
decaying--a loss which must be repaired by the labor of the members of
the community. For this reason all communities are eager to sell their
negotiable commodities, so as to hold the money of other communities,
instead of holding their own commodities. From what I have already
said, it is scarcely necessary to say here that money is not capital,
but that it is only a representative of capital. We are not working
for money but for the material wealth, food, clothing, shelter, and
luxuries which the money represents. In this manner, I think, you can
clearly see that labor earns all, for all the money is issued to the
laborer, and that free competition, founded on a non-monopolistic
supply and demand, determines the price of all commodities and
regulates the amount of their needful production.”
“But,” said Viola, as she took hold of Mr. Midith’s hand, “if a laborer
receives exactly all he earns, who, then, pays for the wear and tear of
your property?”
Mr. Midith smiled and said: “The laborer does. We are all laborers, and
the laborer produces everything and pays for everything. Let us see
if I can make this point clear to you; if not, I shall have to take
you with me to Mars as soon as I shall be able to go. But let that be
as it may, the point is, that the individuals of the community must
perform so many days or hours of productive labor per annum to keep up
the supply of wealth and make all needful _repairs_ and improvements.
We have painters that are always painting new things and old things.
We have boulevard and motor-line repairers. We have a gang of builders
that are always building, rebuilding and repairing. We have laborers
to work in the park and other places. There is a constant wear on
everything--furniture, machinery, cars, trees, etc., etc. Just as
any one would keep the same orchard for any length of time by always
planting a new tree as soon as the old one dies, so we keep on making
new things and repairing and improving old ones. This, of course, makes
our day’s labor longer than it would be if there were no such wear
and tear. Every day’s labor, in an average, then, must be long enough
to include the production of the new things we need and the repair of
the old ones. When a babe is born, it has always a home waiting for
it in which it can live all its lifetime. It enjoys, in all respects,
the same privileges that any other member of the family enjoys, and
the first hour’s work it performs, it begins to pay for its home and
other public conveniences, and continues to pay for them every day it
works. So you see that a day’s labor must be long enough to cover all
production and all wear and tear. Thus, if a member of our community
should go to work for any other community which could advantageously
employ more labor, he would receive all he actually earned and pay for
all his actual wear and tear on the property of the community in which
he is working. In this manner, a person can go wherever he desires and
generally work when and where he likes. He pays the same price for his
meals as he does at home. He receives a private apartment where he
is ‘lord and master’ and in which he does his own chamber work, the
same as at home. He pays for all his washing the same as he does at
home. When he works the wear and tear of the public property he uses
is included in his day’s work. If he does not work, he is considered a
visitor and pays the same price for things he pays at home.”
“How plainly,” said Mr. Uwins, “can we see now how all the Marsites’
machinery is operated in the interest of the people instead of being
operated in the interest of a few rich monopolists, as is largely the
case here. Still our laborers, as a class, think that we can not get
along without capitalists or millionaires. They always seem to imagine
that capital is the greatest factor in the production of wealth. That
the productive industry of the world would be fatally crippled or
totally destroyed if there were no millionaires to keep it up. But how
conspicuous the error of all this becomes as we become more familiar
with your just system. In order to avoid being misunderstood, let me
state here that by the foregoing remarks you plainly see that we highly
esteem capital or wealth. But we believe that no one can be really
rich without all being rich, or at least all being above _want_. What
we condemn is the _system_ which enables _some_ to become capitalists
or millionaires by appropriating the wealth produced by others by
monopoly. We do not even particularly condemn the millionaire. He is a
creature of circumstances, a product of a system.”
“But does not your social and industrial system, in which all are
equal, kill ambition and high aspirations?” asked Rev. Dudley. “It
seems to me that a person would have little incentive for work if he
could not lay up something for a rainy day.”
“Things in our world actually prove to be nearly the opposite from what
you seem to imagine them to be, Rev. Dudley. People once believed that
the earth was flat; but a wider range of information proved it to be
round. So in every field of thought and inquiry.
“In the first place allow me to inform you that there are very few
rainy days with us. We live so strictly according to the laws of life
and health that disease is almost unknown, and hence nearly every
person keeps his bodily vigor almost unimpaired until he dies of old
age. Our constitutions are not wrecked by anxiety, toil, exposure,
anger and debauchery. Nearly all of our old people find pleasure in
doing a certain amount of physical work for healthful exercise. Work to
them has become very agreeable, because they were never burdened with
it like nearly all of you are or have been. It is the burdensomeness of
work that makes it disagreeable.
“You say there would be no ambition to labor if a person was unable to
lay up something for a rainy day. I thoroughly agree with you on that
point. We all lay up more than we need for our rainy days. If we work
three-fourths of the time we can travel and visit the other fourth,
spend all we want, and are still able to lay up one-fourth of our
entire earnings; and when we do work our work is almost play. These
favorable conditions ought to inspire us with a high average ambition.
Every man, woman and youth has his purse full of money. They are all
independent and self-reliant. Each is a little savings bank for himself.
“Now let us look with a just and unbiased eye at your conditions.
Nearly all your women and children have to beg what little money they
get from a man, who, as a rule, handles the money. Do you think,
Rev. Dudley, that such a condition inspires a woman and a child with
great ambition to work? Our women and children draw their own pay at
the end of each month. A person’s ambition always corresponds to the
brightness of a person’s present and future outlook; and does the
future look bright to the multitude of your laborers? Look at the
millions of men--day laborers--who have a family, who are sometimes out
of employment, who are cursed and driven like slaves by their bosses,
who have want staring them in the face, who are unable to give the wife
and child money when they ask for it, who can plainly see, that under
the present conditions, they can never lay up anything from the $1.25
they receive for their day’s labor, and not infrequently during old age
they land in the poor house. Do you think that this vast army of poor
laborers can, under such dependent, pitiful conditions, be inspired
with great ambition for labor, and order, and honesty, and kindness,
and truthfulness? The vast majority of your productive laborers are
working for others, they having no direct interest in the production
of their labors. We are all working for ourselves; the more we do the
more we get. On account of your monopoly, there are more laborers than
there are places for laborers; this makes wages low and creates an army
of forced idlers. Do you think that such conditions are conducive to a
high ambition, and that a model industry can flourish under them?
“Now let us extend our comparison a little further. I have already
remarked several times that, in our world, there is a _sharp, free,
never-ending_ competition for the highest plane of perfection between
individuals, between families and between communities. We settle all
advancement by free competition, in which every one is invited a
competitor, to stand on his or her own merits. Some of us have talents
and aptitudes for one thing and some for another. We are by no means
all inclined the same industrially. We are all endeavoring to push
forward to the highest possible plane in our respective fields of
aspirations. But, on the other hand, on account of so much extreme
poverty, and wretchedness resulting from poverty, the people of earth
have scarcely any other ambition than the accumulation of dollars and
cents, in order, on the one hand, to occupy your best so-called social
positions, and on the other to keep want and the fear of want from your
door. We have learned that dollars and cents are easily gotten after
other things have been adjusted harmoniously. We fundamentally seek
for higher and nobler aspirations. After having obtained them the
dollars and cents will easily come. We seek to learn how to co-operate
most harmoniously; how to allow each individual the widest range
of individual freedom; how to acquire the greatest and most useful
information about the phenomenal universe; how to do our respective
parts well, and how to build our happiness on the happiness of our
fellow-man. Such are some of our aspirations, the field of which, no
doubt, is so vast that it can never be completely explored by the power
of human wisdom.”
CHAPTER XV. OWNERSHIP OF LAND.
“There is another fundamental question, Mr. Midith, that I have been
wanting to ask you for some time,” said Mr. Uwins as we were ready the
next evening to listen to Mr. Midith’s Marsian narrative, “and that
question is the _ownership_ of _land_. I have thought and written quite
extensively on that subject, but have thus far not been able to solve
it to my entire satisfaction. We would undoubtedly be very much pleased
to have you give us an account of the Marsian theory and practice of
owning land. It is certainly a fundamental question, for, as you said,
all wealth comes _from_ or _out_ of the land by the application of
labor.”
“That is very true,” said Mr. Midith; “it is one of the fundamental
problems of economics, and, when once solved, it is apparently the
simplest.
“Land is not produced by labor, and, therefore, we do not consider
land wealth like you do. Of course the improvement made on land is
wealth and belongs exclusively to the producers. We recognize the right
of owning land only by _occupancy_ and _use_, not by deed, or paper
title, as you pretend to own it. _Vacant land_ is as free with us as
air and sea, because there is much more highly productive land now,
and probably ever will be, than the human inhabitants of _any_ planet
can utilize. At least, I believe, no one can produce trustworthy
evidence to the contrary. By vacant land I mean all that land which is
not worked at all, and all that which, under monopoly, is worked for a
landlord, by renters or by wage-workers. For example: A vacant farm or
town-lot, a rented farm or town-lot, and a farm or town-lot worked for
a land-owner by wage-workers under monopolistic laws like the laws of
owning land by deed or paper title. In short, by ‘vacant land,’ I mean
all unoccupied land, and all land that would not be utilized by the
present owners if all monopolistic land privileges were removed.
“Our communities consist of about 120 families, or 120,000 persons
each, and contain about 144 square miles of land, populated nearly
twice as densely as Belgium, the secret of which I have already told
you. Yet there is plenty of highly productive land left unoccupied for
additional communities or individuals, should they ever desire it. We
never entertain any fear of over-population. It is highly probable that
a highly-intelligent, well-adjusted human society will never be pressed
with over-population, as we shall consider more fully under the head of
sex relations.”
“But did the Marsians always own land only by occupancy and use like
you now do?” asked Mrs. Uwins.
“Oh, no; our ancestors owned it by deed like you own it now. But in
time, the most thoughtful men and women began to feel that it is wrong
to own and control the whole or a portion of the earth’s surface by
virtue of a deed, or paper title. They reasoned something like this: If
a person has a just right to own, by deed, forty acres of the earth’s
surface and all what is beneath that surface to the center of the
earth, for that is the depth a farm is claimed to extend downward,
then he has an equal, just right to own, in a similar manner, any
amount of it.”
“Upon what principle, Mr. Midith, do you claim that it is more wrong to
own land by _deed_ than to own it by _occupancy_ and _use_?” asked Rev.
Dudley.
“The principle of the one is entirely different from the principle of
the other. When an individual or collection of individuals own land by
occupancy and use only, he makes his own physical powers the measure of
the amount he can occupy and use, which can cover only a small area;
for man’s physical powers to occupy and use land are very limited. He
can use but a very limited area to stand on, to lie on, to build his
residence on, and to use for agricultural and sportive purposes. He
can occupy and use only so little of the earth’s surface that there
will be more left than all the rest of the human race can similarly
utilize. Under these conditions there could be no land monopoly, and
with the disappearance of land monopoly nearly all other monopoly would
disappear; for all wealth comes from the land by the application of
labor, and if vacant land were free all could apply their labor to land
and produce their necessary wealth. No one would be out of employment.
No one would work for less than he actually earned. With vacant land
free no one would be the industrial slave of another.
“By _deed_, under certain conditions, an individual, or a small
collection of individuals, may own the _whole_ land area of the earth
or of any other planet or world. There is no further limit to the
amount of land an individual may own by deed. This causes land monopoly
and industrial slavery, because if a few own large tracts of land by
deed, there is not enough left to supply all the remainder of mankind.
This causes land monopoly, and land monopoly causes either directly or
indirectly nearly all other forms of monopoly. Let us illustrate this a
little more fully:
“A person who claims to own a forty-acre farm by virtue of a deed he
holds of it, claims to have a legal right to remove forcibly any and
all human beings from the same if he chooses, and, if he cannot remove
them as an individual, the government from which he bought the deed
must assist him in making the removal or eviction.
“But if one has a legal right to own 40 acres by deed, he has an equal
legal right to own 40,000 acres, or the whole United States, or the
whole earth. Under this condition, the individual or individuals who
own the earth would be masters, and all the rest of the human race
would be slaves.
“The owner or owners of this land, composing the United States or the
earth, would have a perfect legal right to demand all his or their
fellowmen to vacate the land. But he (if one owns it) owns all the dry
land, and nothing but water surface is left for the non-landowners.
And, if the non-landowners are loyal and true to their government and
to the landlord, they must immediately vacate all dry land, which
implies that they must all drown in the water area not covered by the
landlord’s deed, whenever the landlord demands it; if they refuse to do
so they are rebels and a deed becomes a legal farce.
“There is one other important point to be considered under this head;
the point is, that if we trace the abstract of a deed back to the first
pretended owner, whether individual or nation, we find him to be a
fraud, a thief, or a robber; that is, he obtained the land by fraud, or
by force, or by robbery, or by conquest, or by discovery. He did not
create it by labor, nor was the deed given to him by the Creator. Such
is the condition of ownership of land by deed.
“All wealth, as we have already seen, organized-self, material and
mental, comes ultimately from the earth, and requires labor for its
production. The man and the land must be permitted to come together or
the man must starve.
“Under the deed system, the landlord has _first_ the right to fence the
poor off from the land, and then make a bargain with him for his labor;
the laborer is bound to accept what the landlord is pleased to pay him,
or the laborer must starve, since the laborer is prevented to apply his
labor to land from which all wealth is produced. Land is monopolized
by deed. To illustrate: The present population of the earth is about
one-and-a-half billions, and the total land area of the same is about
fifty-three millions of square miles. Hence, each individual born on
earth is by nature entitled to a proportionate share of this land; and
his fair share of this land is far more than a person could utilize, if
land were owned only by occupancy and use. Hence, if any person is in
need of land, somebody has robbed him of his birthright.
“Thus is the laborer at a great disadvantage, when the land is owned or
monopolized by deed. But now notice the difference when vacant land is
free. If the landlord had to make the contract with the laborer for his
work, _before_ the landlord had the legal right to fence the laborer
off from the vacant land, the laborer would work for no less than he
actually earned; if the landlord would not pay him that amount, the
laborer would work land for himself wherever he would find some vacant,
and receive the full benefit of his labor.
“Thus if one person owns the whole surface of the earth, or other
planet, by a deed or paper title, and all the remainder of the
inhabitants were living on it by his _permission_, the conditions of
the world would be the worst conceivable as regards owning land. If
ten individuals owned it similarly, the conditions would be bad, but
somewhat better than they would be if one owned it, and so on up.
“So the Marsites gradually came to the conclusion that no one ought to
be prevented from using and occupying, without paying for it, as much
land as he wants wherever he finds it vacant; because there is, as I
have already stated, more highly productive land than can be utilized
for all practical purposes now and perhaps for all future ages. And
further because when a person is born and can utilize land for the
maintenance of his existence, he is entitled to his proportionate share
of the earth’s surface without paying for the permission of living on
earth.
“By experience, personal and ancestral, which always constitutes the
entire stock of intelligence, we slowly learned that the monopolization
of vacant land is doubtless the principal cause of a vicious social
and industrial system. 1. Because it produces an army of forced idlers
who are prevented by the landlord from applying their labor to land
from which all wealth proceeds, and toward which all industry must be
directed. 2. It practically forces the laborer to accept the landlord’s
offer whatever it may be. And 3. It affords an army of rent-takers who
are enabled to live an idle life by appropriating the earnings of the
laborers. Hence nearly all other social and industrial evils may be
traced directly or indirectly to the monopolization of vacant land.
“In our system vacant land is perfectly free to any one who
wants to utilize it; no one pays for living on Mars, and there
is, notwithstanding the dense population, more land than all the
inhabitants can utilize, the same as here if vacant land was free. With
us no one can, or desires to monopolize land, and therefore no one pays
_rent_. We have, by the economic arrangement of freeing vacant land,
completely eliminated rent. We have then, as far as I have explained
our social and industrial system to you, neither _profit_, _interest_,
nor _rent_.”
“Would you, then, take the land away from the landlord and give it to
others, perhaps to some who have always lived an idle life?” asked Rev.
Dudley.
“I would by no means do any forcible or legal taking or giving as you
call it. Vacant land will never become free by physical force or by
statute law. It will be monopolized by law as long as the people, both
landlords and landless, do not clearly see the evil of owning it by
deed. But just as soon as the landless man and woman begins to see
that the landlord lives from the products of his or her labor, which
necessitates the masses to remain poor, cruel, ignorant, and as soon
as the landlord clearly sees that this poverty, cruelty and ignorance
caused by the monopolization of land endangers his life and property,
and prevents _him_ from living in a world of refinement in which all
can be rich, kind and intelligent, vacant land will become free,
and not before. Just in proportion as man will clearly see and feel
this, vacant land will become free, like the _chattel_ slave who was
gradually set free from the bondage of _chattel_ slavery. At one time
they sold for more than a thousand dollars apiece; now they are not
worth 15 cents a dozen financially. So with vacant land. In my opinion
there is no escape from the conclusion, that the masses of your people
will soon see, that there is something very wrong in owning vacant
land, for thousands of your foremost thinkers see it already more or
less clearly.
“Under the head of ‘How the transition from the old to the new order of
things was accomplished,’ I shall explain how vacant land on Mars was
set free.”
“I think I clearly see the effects of it now,” said Mr. Uwins. “If
vacant land were free for all, the servants and hired help would
work land for themselves, unless the rich paid them just what the
laborer actually earns, under which condition the employer can not
grow rich from the labor of others. Men and women can grow rich, as
you call it, only by the monopolization of land or some other natural
opportunities--by appropriating the earnings of some one else. I
must confess your land system appears very just and simple when once
explained.”
“Now let us see,” said Mr. Midith as Mr. Uwins had finished speaking,
“if we can summarize the most important points of the Marsian social
and economic system, as far as I have told you about them.
“To begin with, the Marsites, as I have explained, have no cities
and towns. It is a well-known fact that, in the lowest stages of
savagery, even among your _present_ savages, man has no cities and
towns and no particular fixed habitation. A single individual, or
at best a few, roam together with no permanent residence; but as
civilization advances, the individuals form a closer union and choose
a more permanent place of residence. From this closer association
and co-operation, man, like the gregarious animals, reap advantages
and these advantages continue to unfold man’s social nature; and in
order to satisfy this social nature to the fullest extent, during a
certain stage of civilization, he builds large cities. At this city
stage of intellectual development, he feels the need of association
and co-operation, but he does not yet see and feel the disadvantages,
the uselessness, and other evils of cities and also of a lonely
country. But as man’s intellectual powers continue to unfold, as his
sensibilities become more acute, and as he employs more and more
machinery to perform his manual toil, he slowly but gradually discovers
the evil effects of dividing the population into cities and country;
for both are faulty, both are unhealthy, both are inconvenient, and
both are useless.
“After man has discovered this, he begins to locate his large buildings
in beautiful parks, at short intervals, in straight lines, on the
perimeter of a rectangular community. (See p. 58.) The large size
families and the nearness of the buildings satisfy his social nature;
the arrangement of buildings, in straight lines, gives commercial
and mechanical advantages; the large families give him social and
domestic advantages which greatly conduce to his health, prosperity
and happiness. The _form_ and _size_ of our communities give us the
greatest commercial and agricultural advantages. We all live right
on the edge of the agricultural land from which all wealth must be
produced, either directly or indirectly. With us a farmer need not come
to town to sell his produce, nor need a townman go into the country to
farm.
“Thus you see that some labor and some commerce is managed exclusively
by the individual, such as keeping his private apartment, buying his
own meals, clothes, etc. Some by the family, such as buying the goods
for the family store, etc. Some by the community, such as agriculture,
mining, etc. Some by the neighborhood, such as railroading, etc. Some
in the Fano and some in the Modano. All is justice, equity, order,
kindness and harmony. Everybody and everything has, by the force of
free competition, drifted into that for which each is best fitted.”
CHAPTER XVI. GOVERNMENT.
After Midith and Viola had returned from the postoffice on their
bicycles the following evening, Mr. Uwins requested Mr. Midith to give
us the promised explanation of the Marsian government.
“How does your _government_ fit with your perfect social and industrial
world?” asked Mr. Uwins. “Are all its functions in harmony with all
your industrial and social functions? Do or can the politicians
hoodwink the ignorant? Are not the governmental functions sometimes
exercised barbarously at times by cruel, incompetent men?”
“I fear by your remarks that you have an entirely erroneous opinion of
our government,” said Mr. Midith. “Let us see now if I can give you a
correct idea of our government.
“You have already learned that we live in families of a thousand
or more in ‘big-houses.’ Our large family is just like an orderly,
well-adjusted family with you, only ours is larger. For instance, let
us take Mr. Uwins’ family here, as far as I can see has no superior and
no inferior, no commander and no obeyer, no ‘boss.’ We want to bear in
mind that it is as painful, if not more so, for a highly cultivated
person to command his companions as it is for him to obey a tyrant. A
command always involves a hindrance to order and progress. It makes
the obeyer less self-governing and less self-reliant, and it makes the
commander more tyrannical and more ostentatious.
“In a well-adjusted family every adult has learned his part as a social
and industrial being, and he does that part without being commanded;
he does it because it gives him more happiness than to act otherwise.
Our children know of no physical compulsion. They are exhorted and
pleasantly taught, by precept and example, that the right course of
conduct is the easiest and brings the most happiness, which they soon
learn by experience as they grow in years and in wisdom, in a world
where the adults set no bad examples. The old idea that a family cannot
exist without a ‘boss’ is nothing but a relic of barbarism. Mr. Uwins
cannot command Mrs. Uwins in her work, for Mrs. Uwins understands her
work better herself than her husband can tell her, and _vice versa_.
His command would therefore be a disadvantage, would cause discord,
ill-feeling, and unproductive labor; it would take up his time which
ought to be devoted to his own work; would make a master and a tyrant
of the man and a slave of the woman and child.
“From the foregoing remarks you will see at once that every sane
individual man, woman, and child of our large family enjoys perfect
freedom. They do what they believe to be their equitable part without
being commanded by any one. Our internal motives and promptings are
the only recognized standard of Marsian conduct. But, in order to
avoid being misunderstood, let me tell you right here, that we can
certainly not expect the same kind of conduct from a child, which is
full of life and activity, that we do from an older person. The child
requires constant activity to develop body and mind; and we must make
due allowance for that. One who does not make that allowance cannot be
successful in orderly government.
“We always construct and arrange our things and institutions to
suit the purpose they are intended to serve. We do not, like you,
endeavor to make, with a rod, a sage out of an infant in a few days.
For example, if we have a door or a gate that we desire to have
always closed, when not in use, we make it self-closing. If we have a
department in which little children may hurt themselves, or unknowingly
destroy delicate things, we have a self-closing door that cannot be
opened by a _little child_.
“We keep our infants and little children, who are unable to swim,
out of the deep lakes in our parks by fencing the lakes with an
impassable fence, and by guarding the entrance with a self-closing and
self-locking door, which can be opened only by swimmers who hold a key
for it. The _little children_ go in the shallow lake. If we do not wish
our children to play certain games all over the green park, we fit up
grounds more suited for the game, and they will always play on that
ground, because it is most suitable for that purpose.
“If we, as older people, do not find it delightful, on account of our
older and more inactive age, to be always and immediately surrounded by
the more active children, we build and fit out nurseries’ play-grounds
and other apartments in which the child-nature can be best gratified;
and the children, during their active intervals, never fail to go there.
“If we wish to create self-reliance and a desire for laboring, we make
the labor agreeable, by making it easy, by esteeming it honorable, and
by creating a system of money under which every man, woman and child
draws his own pay at the end of each month; and the amount of his pay
is in proportion to the time each worked or to the wealth produced.
If we desire to educate our children in a certain direction, we first
learn that lesson ourselves, and from our practicing it the children
will learn it without any formal teaching.
“To govern our children in the practice of eating, we always keep
before them, as well as before ourselves, more than we want of
everything; consequently the appetite is the safest guide, so that
neither the child nor adult ever eats too much, and just so pleasant,
harmonious and successful is our governing power in all directions.
“The foreman of any branch of industry whether of the family, such as
storekeeper, barber, cook, etc., or whether of the community, such as
head agriculturist, head painter, head builder, etc., always elects
himself to his position by his own deeds, by his superior ability
of doing work in his occupation, by being kind and pleasant, by
directing the labor of his or her co-laborers in the most productive
and agreeable channels. Our foreman is leader only just so far as his
co-laborers are willing to acknowledge him as such; and when a person
of greater ability appears in his branch of industry, the former
leader naturally resigns his position to his superior, because such
a resignation is agreeable to the former leader as well as to his
co-laborers. Hence the leader always does the most and best work and
receives no more pay than the commonest laborer. All our officers are
elected, then, by the tacit or avowed ballot of superior ability and
agreeableness, but never by a _paper_ ballot. Hence you can plainly
see that we acknowledge universal suffrage in its true and full sense,
because every man, woman and child is a voter as well as a candidate.
“Some of our family leaders, or officers as you would call them, are
foremen in the following departments: Store, restaurant, kitchen,
bakery, dining hall, parlors, engine room, tailor shop, barber shop,
halls, bath-rooms, commercial apartment, vehicle apartment, the
departments of ushers, painters, house cleaners, laundry department,
representatives in the ‘Com,’ Fano and Modano, etc., etc.
“Now let us briefly glance at the government of the community. The
business of the community is transacted at the ‘Com,’ as I have already
told you. Every family has one or more representatives in the ‘Com,’
who are daily laboring there, in some department, as paying bills,
making money, examining labor-records, printing, receiving money from
the families, canceling the community’s own money when it arrives,
inventing, etc.
“The family representatives who work at the ‘Com’ nearly always
return to their own family after the close of their day’s work. By
this arrangement every family, and every person in the family, is in
constant personal communication with the ‘Com.’ Any one who desires
information concerning the business of the community can get it orally
from the family representative, or, he can get it from the daily
community’s newspaper, which contains all the business and which is
taken and read by every one who is old enough to read it.
“Some of the community’s and family’s foremen are in the following
departments: Printing, money making, paying, money receiving, selling,
building and repairing motor lines, agriculture, stock raising, mining,
manufacturing, warehouse, roads and boulevards, electric light, parks,
conservatory and greenhouse, garden, orchard, inventor, etc., etc.
“The foregoing is a brief description of some of the most important
features of our government, by which you will see at once that we have
no government by physical force against man, woman or child; that we
have no parties, no politicians, no election frauds, no political
boodle, no vast armies and costly navies; no generals who lead the
people to death and destruction; no guns and cannons; no swords and
sabres; no pensions and crippled soldiers; no impoverished widows and
uncared for orphans; no burning of cities and tearing up of railroads;
no kings, queens, and presidents; no political congresses, parliaments,
and legislatures; no crowns and thrones; no high-salaried officers, no
national debt which often gets larger by paying on it; no compulsory
taxation; no tariff involuntarily wrung from the people; no prisons and
reform schools; no so-called courts of justice and an army of lawyers
and judges who have to live from the ignorance and quarreling of the
people; no political patriotism; no statute laws which monopolize
natural opportunity in favor of the rich and against the poor; no
hangmen, and no policemen. Our political congress slowly changed into
an industrial one.”
“I must say that your government seems to be an admirable one, if it
could be _enforced_,” said Rev. Dudley, “but I cannot see how a people
can do without all those things you have just named.”
“Why, uncle,” said Viola, “it seems to me that we would be much better
off without those relics of barbarism than with them, and I shall do
all I can to elevate the mind of man high enough so that he feels no
need for them.”
“It is doubtless true,” said Mr. Midith, “that those who have always
lived in a world where a certain class of people have always ruled,
or at least have tried to rule, the remainder of mankind by physical
force, it may seem that no family, community or nation can do without
a ruler backed by physical force. In primitive times the force process
begins soon after birth and continues until death. First the child
is scolded, cuffed and flogged by the parent and nurse, then by the
teacher and preacher, then by his playmates and street-ruffians;
when he wants to marry, the church and state begin to interfere; the
policeman clubs his victim into submission, the hangman hangs him, the
tax-collector forces him to pay taxes, and finally the landlord compels
him or his friends to pay for the little patch of earth in which
he is buried. Consequently all but a few of your foremost thinkers
believe that the ruler and the force system is absolutely necessary to
the welfare of an orderly society. But when we examine the pages of
your history, as well as our own ancient history when our ancestors
practiced the same despotism as you now practice, we find that the
_ruler_, either directly or indirectly, has played all the cruel
mischief that ever was played in the human family.
“The ruler calls the soldier to war to shoot his neighbor. The ruler
instituted the practice of suttee, and exhorts the slavish widow
to practice it. The ruler induces the Hindoo mother to throw her
newly-born babe in the Ganges, by which the mother becomes a ruler
over the child, to satisfy the ruler’s created Deity, who is supposed
to be the supreme ruler. The ruler tortured and killed every so-called
heretic--the cream of the mental world, during the dark ages. The
ruler kindled every witch fire that consumed thousands and millions
of innocent persons supposed to be witches. The ruler did all the
wife and child flogging. The ruler gave all the unjust decisions that
were ever given in any court of so-called justice. The ruler made all
the millions of laws that have already been repealed, and are now
considered wrong and cruel. The ruler had every national building and
monument built and erected with the life and labor of his ruled. The
ruler is the author of every battle. The ruler has been the suppressor
of all liberty and freedom. The ruler has drafted every soldier, and
forced him to burn and kill. The ruler has preached all superstitious
doctrines, whether religious, industrial, social, political or sexual.
The ruler has grown rich without productive labor, on profit, interest,
rent, taxes, and the varying purchasing power of the dollar. The ruler
has compelled children to attend school in which they were forced to
act in direct opposition to the known laws of life and health. The
ruler, whether individual, state or nation, has committed every murder.
The ruler is the author of every ravishment. The ruler has received all
the boodle. The ruler has so far, in your world, made slaves of women
and children, and has thereby indirectly made a slave of himself. The
ruler has committed every theft, robbery and burglary. The ruler has,
in many cases, demanded prayer and shrine cure, instead of resorting to
sanitary measures. The ruler has caused every quarrel and fight. The
ruler has, in countless cases, commended the infamous and prohibited
the virtuous. The ruler is the invader of all personal right and
personal liberty. The ruler has done all this and much more. He has
caused all the social and industrial discord. Why, then, should the
ruled pay the ruler for ruling them, after having made so many errors
and committed so many crimes? What guarantee have the ruled now that
the ruler will not err in the present and future as he has done in the
past?”
“No doubt,” said Rev. Dudley, “the ruler, under the various monarchical
forms, has done a great many wrongs; but the monarchies of the world
are fast passing away, we are living in a republic in which the
_majority_ rule.”
“I find that the vast majority of your citizens, like you, believe
that the majority rule in your republic, as you call it, but this is
an error. The majority do not rule, but only a small minority do. To
illustrate:
“The population of the United States is about 65 millions. Of these
about 13 millions vote. If these 13 million voters all belonged to
two parties--say Democrats and Republicans--one party would require
but one majority to let it in power--say the Republicans. 6,500,001
is a majority of 13 millions. The 6,499,999 Democrats would have
nothing to say as far as their principles differed from the principles
of the Republican party. Under these conditions, which are about as
we actually find them, all the Democrats, all the women and all the
children have nothing to say civilly. Now you want to remember that
many of the children, the same as the adults, support themselves. We
see, then, that 6,500,001 is ten per cent. plus of 65 millions. Hence
one-tenth rules nine-tenths. Your boon of universal suffrage is nothing
but an illusion when it is analyzed.
“We have now seen that the majority do not rule, as is generally
supposed by you. But if the majority instead of the minority did
rule, the question would arise: What right has a majority to rule a
non-invasive minority? Who gave them the right? How long have they had
it? Did your ancestors a thousand years ago give this right to each
other? If so, are bargains that were made a thousand years ago binding
on the present generation? Must you be cruel and unjust to one another
because your ancestors were? Does not culture make justice the basis
of human conduct? But this is not all. If the ballot in the hands of a
_man_ is such a great boon, why is it not equally great in the hands of
the _women_ and _children_? Are they not entitled to the same welfare
and happiness that the man is?
“And furthermore, I suppose that all of you are ready to acknowledge
that money, intimidation and fraud greatly influence the result of
your ballot elections. The individual or party that spends the most
money and does the most scheming generally triumphs with _you_. _Our_
acknowledged leader (we have no political officers) of any branch of
industry in our families and communities is elected by actual universal
suffrage, solely upon his or her superior fitness for the position.
“Let us notice a few other points of difference between _our_
government and _yours_. Your officials receive, as a rule, high
salaries, and as it is generally difficult here for a person to acquire
wealth by productive labor, on account of monopoly, all are rushing for
the well-paying offices. With us the highest officer in the community
receives no more pay for his day’s labor than a washerwoman does. Here,
in a world where money is _necessary_ and _scarce_, a person can stoop
to most anything, if he thereby gains his election so that he receives
the high salary and not unfrequently some boodle; for in a world where
money is necessary and scarce, a victorious person can _buy_ his
_honor_, _fame_, and _distinction_ with _money_. But in a world like
ours, where money is not monopolized, where it can be easily obtained
by every one, money has lost the power of purchasing honor, fame and
distinction. In such a world nothing but personal worth, fitness and
noble attainments elevate a person to a higher position where he enjoys
approbation and admiration of his fellowmen. Notice here that the
Marsites have removed the _causes_ of corruption, while you are still
endeavoring to make a person _good_ under _bad conditions_.
“Your government, as now constituted, also tends to concentrate wealth.
Rev. Joseph Cook, in Tremont Temple, Boston, Feb. 3, 1890, said: ‘Two
thousand capitalists own more than all the rest of the sixty-five
millions of our population. Two hundred and fifty thousand rich men
control seventy-five per cent. of the national wealth. The American
republic is, therefore, practically owned by less than one-quarter of
a million of persons. If present causes which produce concentration of
capital continue, the republic will soon be owned by less than fifty
thousand men.’
“We all know, then, that some have amassed immense fortunes of material
wealth, while the vast majority under your present conditions are
doomed to life-long toil, to poverty. But, by what means or power
did these rich men accumulate their immense wealth? Not by personal
industry, for the industrial powers of an individual are too limited.
Not by economy, for if he had saved everything he ever _earned_, he
would have but a small fractional part of what he has _accumulated_.
Not by any particular personal superiority, for the personal powers to
produce material wealth are nearly equal in all sound men and women;
but he accumulated and appropriated it by _monopoly_. You have enacted
many laws by your much prized ballot, and these rich men used those
laws to monopolize natural opportunity so that they are continually
growing richer on _interest_, _profit_, _rent_ and _taxes_, without
productive labor. You see if all monopolistic statute laws, which
include nearly all statute laws as such, were repealed and disregarded,
all would stand equal before natural opportunity. Profit, interest,
rent and taxes are produced by monopolistic laws. If there were no
monopolistic laws, no person could accumulate or appropriate wealth
without productive labor.
“Let us take an illustration: You have a few men that have over a
$100,000,000 of wealth as you call it. You can figure up in a few
minutes that they can not have _earned_ or _produced_ that amount
of wealth in one or even in two generations. But some of these men
have accumulated this immense fortune in twenty or thirty years.
Let us figure a little on this. Suppose that a man has accumulated
$100,000,000 in fifty years of three hundred working days each. This
would require an average accumulation of nearly $7,000 for every
working day. Now you all know that a man cannot, by any human power,
_earn_ or _produce_ $7,000 worth of wealth--wheat, corn, coal, books,
houses, clothing, or whatever else it may be. But we know that he has
the wealth, or your representative of wealth--the dollar; and if he
has not _earned_ it himself by productive labor, by which all wealth
must be produced, he must have appropriated it from the labor of others
in the form of profit, interest, rent or taxes, for which the receiver
_does_ nothing and for which the giver _receives_ nothing.
“Our government has no statute laws and has, therefore, no profit,
interest, rent and taxes. Your government monopolizes land by the
deed system, hence your _rent_. Our government has nothing to do with
the ownership of land; every one may occupy and use all the vacant
land he wants. Your government monopolizes the making of money, which
makes money scarce, hence your _interest_; in our government, each
individual gets his money made at the end of each month, and as much
as he has produced wealth; money is plenty, and hence no interest.
Your government enforces compulsory taxation, whether the individual
wants it or not; we have no compulsory taxation. From the foregoing and
other monopolizations your profit results. Your government has enacted
laws for the collection of debts, hence your many failures and unpaid
accounts. Our government has no need of such laws, because we have
always plenty of money and, therefore, always pay cash. Your government
endeavors to enforce its mandates by an _external_ agency of soldier
and policeman, while our governmental force resides in the internal
promptings of the individual. The desire of the non-invasive individual
is the highest authority on Mars.
“Of course we all understand that your government, as a whole, is
better now than it ever was before. The government of the United
States, in many respects, is perhaps better than any of its
predecessors or any of its contemporaries. But you must remember that
all ages had a _best_ government. The question is not whether it is
the _best_ that ever was, but whether it is faultless. _Best_ is not
good enough unless it is _faultless_. Can we find any faults? If so, we
should labor to remove them.
“I do not desire to have you understand me that I blame your government
or your rich men for what they have done, or for what they are now
doing. Under the same conditions the Marsites did the same things. With
the _present_ amount of intelligence, human conduct, in your world,
is just about what it should be; and the only force in the universe
that can ever change that course is additional intelligence. All your
labor for advancement, then, should be most economically directed in
the diffusion and assimilation of this additional intelligence. As long
as a person is ignorant enough, he does not feel the burden unjustly
imposed upon him by others; but as he grows in intelligence, the bearer
of the burden becomes continually more sensitive to its weight, and
the imposition becomes continually more repugnant to the imposer. Let
us remember, then, that all wrong and injustice arise from ignorance.
Intelligence is the only motive power that can move the physical world
to higher and nobler planes.”
“Do you have insane asylums, Mr. Midith?” asked Mrs. Uwins.
Mr. Midith smiled and said: “We have no use for them. Insanity, like
everything else, is produced by causes, and when the causes are removed
the effects disappear proportionately. We have almost completely
removed the causes of insanity. In the first place our medical science
is far in advance of yours, and in the second place, in a world where
everybody is rich, sound, intelligent and free, insanity, like crime,
is almost unknown. Not one in a thousand million ever feels any traces
of it; and if he should he would almost certainly be cured in a short
time. Should there be an isolated case of insanity, the insane person
would be gently cared for the same as a child.
“Now let me show you one other great advantage of our government over
yours. You have one Congress and one President in a country, who make
laws by which you endeavor to govern the white man and the black man;
the agriculturist in the North and the agriculturist in the South; the
miner and the manufacturer. But their interests are in many cases very
unlike, still all must be governed by the same national laws. Your
government is so extensive that the President or Congress cannot be
so well informed on the needs of the people of every locality, as we
can be on the needs of our own community. The needs and interests of a
community in the North, on account of climate, are very unlike those of
the South. So each community with us attends to its own business, and
lets every other community attend to theirs. We have no interference,
no antagonism. We believe in _non-aggressive_ competition. In this
manner, a sharp, healthy, commercial competition springs up between the
communities, which naturally throws every community in that line of
industry for which it is best adapted on account of climate, soil, and
other natural resources.
“Now let us contemplate for a moment how vastly we economize and
produce by our kind, peaceable government of the individual, and what
an immense amount of unproductive and destructive labor you expend in
the maintenance of your cruel, criminal government of force as it would
appear to the Marsites.
“You build and maintain costly statehouses and spacious legislative
halls. You have a vast army of national, state and municipal
politicians who are supported by the productive laborer. You have
an army and a navy to equip and maintain. You have guns and cannons
to mine and manufacture, arsenals to build, and fortifications to
construct. You have ammunition and soldiers’ clothes to manufacture.
You have vast libraries to build, filled with countless volumes of
law books, over the contents of which a large army of judges and
lawyers wrangle and sometimes even fight. You have an endless number
of courthouses to build and maintain, and a swarm of policemen to
uniform and support. You have the country dotted with prisons, jails,
penitentiaries, scaffolds, poorhouses, asylums and reform schools.
“Your armies and navies in time of war destroy an immense amount of
wealth by burning cities and family houses, by destroying the growing
crops in the fields through which they march, and in which they fight,
by blowing up ships and bridges, by tearing up railroads, by cutting
down fences, orchards and forests, by killing the brute animals which
come in the line of their march, and by maiming human bodies and taking
human life itself. Your government in time of war makes sound men
diseased and crippled; it makes mothers helpless widows, and children
poor orphans, and then it forcibly taxes the sound ones who live a
generation later to pension the cripples it made itself.
“Besides the crime of class legislation, which produces an aristocracy
of social parasites who appropriate the products of the laborer in the
forms of profit, interest, rent and taxes, your government is guilty of
graver and more direct crimes, a few of which I shall name. Under the
cloak of capital punishment, it legally murders its so-called criminals
on the pretext of protecting society. In the field of intemperance, it
licenses the manufacturing and selling of intoxicating liquor, thereby
indirectly sanctioning, for a consideration, the evil of intemperance.
In the licentious world, it actually sells to certain fallen women
the privilege of selling their own persons for lewd purposes, thereby
becoming a participant in the crime of impurity, which is caused
directly or indirectly by the government’s own monopoly. By its
marriage interference, it often compels married men and women to live
together when they do not love each other, when they quarrel and fight.
As a self-righteous censor of its so-called morality, it has in all
ages, countries and climes tried to suppress freedom of speech and
freedom of the press. The foregoing are only a few of the countless
number of evils, wrongs and cruelties which a government, by physical
force, imposes on its own people. I mean which the rulers impose on the
ruled.
“What a vast contrast! Our family representatives, who go daily to the
‘Com’ to work, are all engaged in productive labor, and the person,
man or woman, who can add the greatest number of columns quickest and
surest is the person who goes there for that purpose. The national and
world representatives do the same. No strife, no monopoly, but complete
individual freedom, which has eliminated every vestige of government by
physical force against all non-invasive persons, and has established
the highest social harmony.”
“But if you do not elect your officers by paper ballot, how do you
determine who shall be your Fanoers and your Modanoers?” asked Rev.
Dudley.
“I have already stated, Mr. Dudley,” replied Mr. Midith, “that we
have no officers in your sense of the word. We elect a Fanoer and a
Modanoer on exactly the same principle and by exactly the same process
as a cultivated, orderly family here on earth elects its members to
do each a certain portion of its work. That is, if you call such a
mutual choice or assignment of work an election. Our election, then, is
altogether by mutual consent. The process is the same as the process by
which Mrs. Uwins is elected by Uwins’ family to do a certain part of
their domestic work. By the same process by which Mr. Uwins is elected
to do most of the scientific writing of the family. Once more, by the
same process by which Viola is elected to do the parlor work, etc.
Always by mutual consent based on fitness.
“Thus you see, if you call Mr. and Mrs. Uwins and the other members
of Mr. Uwins’ family officers because each performs a certain portion
of the aggregate family labor, then our Fanoers and Modanoers are
officers; but if you do not call your members of a family officers
because a certain kind of work is voluntarily performed by them,
or mutually and often tacitly assigned to them on account of their
peculiar fitness, then our Fanoers and Modanoers are similarly elected
to their respective work by a _large_ family, the same as you elect
by a _small_ family. In a state of culture we can generally judge
ourselves and others quite accurately. You see the secret of our
election, under freedom, consists in this: A laborer is nearly always
proficient in that vocation which he likes _best_.
“Of course the harmony of this election in our communities, the same
as that of your families, depends on the state of culture of its
members. In some of your families one will not do his fair share of the
aggregate work without he is _ordered_ or _driven_ to do it. But I am
not here speaking of such of your families. I am speaking only of the
cultured families in which each member finds delight in doing his part
so as to make it easy and pleasant for all. Thus you see that some of
your families are able to do what some of them are yet unable to do.
“It is certainly true that our families and communities were not always
as peaceable, just and harmonious as they are at present. We, like you,
passed through all the stages of progress from a savage to that state
of culture which we now enjoy. Hence you see that our elections have
not always been as harmonious as they are at present. Neither have your
family elections ever before been as high as they now are.”
“I can see plainly how a few persons, having a common interest in each
other’s labor and conduct, like our _small_ families, can have each
individual glide into his most proficient sphere of labor without much
friction,” said Rev. Dudley, “but I cannot see how so many individuals
as compose your _large_ families and communities can do so.”
“I will tell you, Rev. Dudley; it certainly requires a certain state
of culture before we can mentally assimilate the essential material
for a thought of a given degree of complexity and range. An individual
of a little horde of savages would no doubt be unable to see how so
many individuals as compose the United States could all live under one
flag as you call it; and that almost without war, too. But we all know
that it is done, and it does not seem impossible to us either; and if
progress continues in the future as it did in the past, your posterity
will be able to see things that are entirely hidden from your present
view.
“You see those acts which will conduce to the welfare and happiness of
man will continually more and more commend themselves to the thoughtful
consideration of humanity; they will be gradually accepted for their
intrinsic worth.”
“If I understand you correctly, then,” said Rev. Dudley, “you have no
compulsory taxation, but only voluntary taxation.”
“No,” replied Mr. Midith, “we have no compulsory taxation. No Marsite
is forced to support any institution he does not wish to support. As to
voluntary taxation, I may say, if you wish to call those gifts which
visitors to the Fanos and Modano usually give voluntary taxation, then
we have a kind of voluntary taxation; but if you do not call that
taxation, we have no taxation at all.
“Just as your former baronage was gradually superseded by your national
militancy--the compulsory state--so was our militancy superseded
by industrialism--our voluntary state, if you wish to call it so.
Our Comers, Fanoers and Modanoers are no generals, no lawmakers, no
statesmen and no politicians. They are solely business men. They aid
in the advantageous distribution of wealth and live from the fruits of
their own productive labor. Hence, we need no taxes for their support.”
“But do you think, Mr. Midith, that we could do away with compulsory
taxation without any bad effects of it at our present age?” asked Rev.
Dudley.
“I fear that you do not fully comprehend this subject,” replied Mr.
Midith. “You see you can not possibly do away with compulsory taxation.
It is always a concomitant of a certain mental condition, and the
element of compulsory taxation can be weakened only in proportion as
the mental condition is strengthened by the discovery of new truths;
and the discovery of new truths implies time. Therefore it is as
impossible for you to do away with compulsory taxation instantaneously
as it is for you to produce instantaneously a ripe apple from an
unfolding blossom. There is only one known agency which can do away
with compulsory taxation, and that agency is the acquisition of a
higher and broader intelligence.”
CHAPTER XVII. SEX RELATIONS.
“Mr. Midith, will you please give us an account of your relations
between parent and child, and between husband and wife?” asked Mrs.
Uwins as the whole family, including Rev. Dudley, were seated in the
cool, refreshing shade on the following Sunday afternoon. “We are not
quite able to settle those questions to our satisfaction.”
“Certainly,” said Mr. Midith, “with the greatest of pleasure.
“But allow me to tell you before I begin this subject, that I am
well aware that I am here treading on treacherous ground. My ten
years’ mundane experience and observation convince me that of all the
superstitions there is none so wide-spread, none so deeply rooted in
the minds of the masses of your people, as the sex superstition. It
is more barbarously cruel, more blindly superstitious, more grossly
prejudicial, and more intensely jealous than any other superstition
on earth, whether it be religious, political, social or industrial.
The masses of your people seem to hug with the same fondness the sex
superstition, as the contemporaries of the inquisition hugged that
‘Holy Institution;’ and, no doubt, the vast majority of your men and
women believe as sincerely that your present sexual slavery is as
essential to social harmony as the contemporaries of the inquisition
and of the institution of chattel slavery believed those institutions
absolutely necessary for the highest social welfare.
“You have asked me to give you the Marsian view of these relations,
and I shall be very much pleased to do so; for, in our opinion, there
is no subject of human inquiry of which a thorough knowledge and a
right adjustment conduces more to our health, to our well-being, and
therefore to our general happiness than the subject of sex relations.
It often seems to me that your parents here endeavor to make ignorance
the safeguard of their children’s virtue and chastity. As a rule,
neither the relation of parent and child nor the sex relations are ever
openly and honestly discussed in the presence of the whole family; and
when children arrive at the age of puberty, they know nothing about the
evils resulting from sexual abuse, and in a state of ignorance, the
child is apt to follow the promptings of its passions whether they are
normal or still abnormal.
“All parents seem to teach their offspring, as early as possible, the
danger of a hot stove, a sharp knife, the evil of intemperance, the
bite of a poisonous serpent; but the evils of sexual licentiousness,
resulting from an inadequate knowledge of the sex relations, is, as
a rule, not only not taught by _your_ parents, but it is actually
suppressed by a false, fashionable standard of modesty. A knowledge of
the evil consequences of an act is the deterrent that must keep us from
doing that evil act. As long as we know no evil consequences resulting
from the act of placing our hand against a hot stove, we are as likely
to place it against the hot stove as into a glove. Our faculty of
inquisitiveness may prompt us to reach out our hand in a state of
ignorance, to examine a cherry red stove, but our knowledge of the
painful consequences resulting from such an act deters us from it. We
should learn the truth about _all_ things, including the sex relation,
and the sooner the better. We are never too young to learn.
“The sexual function is perhaps as deeply grafted into our nature as
any other function. An improper adjustment of this function entails an
immense amount of physical and mental injury.”
“That is what we believe,” said Mrs. Uwins. “The question of sex
relations is as openly discussed in our family as any other question
of information. Our children are nearly as well informed on those
questions and functions, their use and abuse, as we are.”
“No, Mr. Midith, you need not feel backward about giving us the
true and full explanation of your sex relation in the presence of
our family,” said Mr. Uwins. “We keep the most complete and best
illustrated physiologies in the most conspicuous place of our library.
We all study them.”
“I am pleased to hear that you are as eager to learn on these subjects
as you are on others,” continued Mr. Midith. “We should undoubtedly
understand ourselves as well as possible in _all_ particulars. Our
whole aim on this subject, as well as on all others, should be to make
individual intelligence the safeguard of life, health and happiness.
“From what I have told you already of our social and industrial system,
you can clearly see that no able-bodied Marsite, whether man or
woman, is dependent for material subsistence on any other individual.
Every individual of the family, man and woman, keeps a time-record
of the labor performed, as we have seen before, and receives equal
compensation for a day of it, whether the work is mining iron, running
an engine or bearing and nursing children. You see we have become
humane enough to recognize the bearing and nursing of offspring as
_productive_ labor. This arrangement makes every individual free and
independent of one another in the social and industrial world, and we
believe that every one, male and female, should likewise enjoy the same
freedom and independence to regulate his or her own sexual affairs at
all times without any interference of any other individual, family,
community, church, state or nation.
“The Marsian idea and practice of sex relations is, that whenever, in
due time the maternal instinct of procreation prompts a woman to become
a mother, she has the full privilege of soliciting the love of any
man whose propagative association she desires for that purpose. This
privilege, you see, throws the full control of motherhood in the hands
of the women. The _man_ sexually co-operates _only_ when his assistance
is agreeably solicited or accepted. The Marsites can, therefore, have
no unwelcome motherhood imposed on the _woman_ by the _man_.
“I have already told you that each individual, man, woman and child,
has a private apartment in which each can live all alone, or invite
as many companions as he, she or it may want or can get; but no one
ever enters a private apartment of another for any social purposes
without being invited by the inmate. Of course the arrangement of this
invitation is left altogether with the individual. The woman invites
her companions, both man and woman, if she so desires; the man does
likewise. If the guest does not desire to accept the invitation, he
or she remains away. All are as much at liberty to remain away as to
respond to the invitation. But, as said before, no one calls on another
in his or her private apartment without being invited. Hence, no one
is bored with visitors, suitors or sweethearts whose company is not
agreeable, or at such times when he or she prefers to be alone.
“From the foregoing explanation you can readily see that we have
fathers, but no husbands; mothers, but no wives. No woman gives herself
away to a man for any definite length of time; and no man gives himself
to any woman for a definite length of time. Consequently, we have no
marriages for life, as you have. We believe that both sexes should be
completely free of each other at all times. We believe that no one
should have any claim on another, whether male or female, further than
the mutual solicitation of the parties from time to time desire to
elicit. We believe that a woman, in order to live the purest life, must
be free; must enjoy the full privilege of soliciting the love of _any_
man, or of _none_, if she so desires. She must be free and independent,
socially, industrially and sexually.
“We believe that bearing and rearing offspring constitutes a large
portion of the productive labor of a well-adjusted society, and that
mothers who do that should receive the same compensation for it as is
paid for any other labor. Savages put nearly all the productive labor
off unto their women, and yet the men, as a rule, think that _they_
are doing nearly all the work which is worth doing. So what you call
civilized man for long ages, shifts the burden of bearing and nursing
offspring off unto their women as though it were little or no labor.
And, in order to accomplish his purpose more effectually, the man first
throws the woman in a sphere of industrial and social dependence by his
superior physical strength, and then makes a contract with her, which
is binding for life, by marrying her, perhaps, when she is young and
inexperienced. No amount of after-knowledge, according to your opinion,
enables her to retract her former steps on this point.
“With us, a woman who is about to become a mother receives the same
pay for bearing the offspring as an engineer receives for running an
engine; and a mother who nurses her infant receives like pay for that
work _alone_. If she desires to do more, she is at liberty; if not, it
is well also; she is the judge. Besides this, we believe that it is
the duty of every man, young and old, as well as of every woman who is
not a mother, to give all the general assistance possible to mothers,
in the labor of nursing children. This labor of nursing and tending
children is looked upon as belonging to _all_ of us. It has become
pleasant, sportive exercise. And even if it were not so, a man who
would be unwilling to do his fair share of it, would very likely not
leave many descendants, for a woman, when once free, is not likely to
co-operate with a shirk.
“A woman who is about to become a mother, as well as one who is a
nursing mother, occupies a double or triple room. One of these two or
three rooms may be occupied by a companion or nurse, man or woman, who
administers to the wants of the occupant, both before and after she has
become a mother; and when the child is old enough--which is at a very
young age--it occupies one of the apartments itself.
“Now let me tell you about the child’s financial conditions. I told
you that no one can buy without money; and from what has been said of
our social and industrial system you can, no doubt, easily anticipate
that we are not cruel and barbarous enough to let the mother alone
defray the expense of her child from her individual earnings. We
know that in order to propagate the human species and perpetuate our
community, rearing offspring is one of our inevitable obligations as
you call it, a service which our parents rendered to us, and which we
in turn must render to our children. For these reasons and for the
pleasure we receive from it, we are all willing and ready to render
our share of such services, which we do partly by issuing money to the
child.
“At any time before the child’s birth, at the discretion of the
mother, she selects for her pre-natal child a new time-book, with
its proper number and shelf division, in which she makes the proper
entries for ‘100 days,’ which have the purchasing power of over a
$1,000; a fac-simile of this entry is sent to the mint, the same as
of labor-reports. The minter stamps the money and sends it to the
going-to-be mother. This money we call _child-money_ and is always
green in color, differing in color from all labor-money. With this
child-money the mother pays all the child’s expenses; doctors, nurses,
clothing, etc. Whenever this ‘100 days’ draw is gone and more is
needed, the mother makes another draw, and whatever is left is saved
by the child for future emergencies. We make a practice of not letting
the child handle green money for itself, but inducing it, as early as
possible, to _earn_ its own money, which it handles and spends just as
it pleases. Under the head of education I will tell you more about the
child and its money.
“Our mothers, unlike yours, do not make baby garments, if they do not
find pleasure in it. Infants’ complete costumes, of all patterns, are
ready-made by factories, put up in delicate little trunks. The mother,
during her plentiful leisure time, long before the child is born,
examines the contents of the little trunks in the store, selects the
most suitable one, and also gets such additional articles put in as
she may desire. All of us, men and women, are pleased to see a clean,
neatly dressed child. We all delight in nursing and entertaining it. No
mother buys too much for this purpose to suit the family.
“The foregoing is a brief explanation of the sex relation of man and
woman on Mars. It clearly shows you that our women are perfectly free
and independent, not only in word, as you try to make your women
believe, but in actual practice. Our highest aim of both men and women,
in all our undertakings, is to live a _happy_ life, and we have learned
long ago that we cannot live a _happy_ life without living a _pure_
life; for impurity is always attended with suffering.
“Our women enjoy every privilege that our men enjoy. They receive
like compensation for labor; this makes them financially free. They
choose their own occupation, and are eligible to all positions to
which the merit of their fitness can bring them; this makes them free
industrially. They at all times have the privilege of being a mother,
or not. They enjoy the same rights in going to see their suitor as the
man enjoys in going to see his sweetheart. They have the privilege of
inviting into their private apartment any man or woman whomsoever
and whensoever they please. They are not bound by marriage to any
particular man for life. As mothers, they receive the very best of care
and assistance. They are not compelled to defray more of the expense
in the support of their children than their proportionate share as a
member of a family. They receive the same compensation for being a
mother as they would for working in the garden or kitchen or ‘Com.’
They can visit and travel wherever they please, and always select their
own companions, whether at home or abroad. They are completely free
in every sense of the word. Of course, our men are just as free and
independent as our women; they are under no obligation further than
what they choose to do. Hence we have no sex monopolization.”
“Mr. Midith, it may be that such social, industrial and sexual
relations produce that high state of order and happiness on Mars; but I
fear that it would produce nothing but chaos and misery on earth,” said
Rev. Dudley, after having apparently listened with profound interest.
“Very likely the masses of mankind _here_ would, no doubt, regard such
a sexual arrangement a dangerous state of affairs,” continued Mr.
Midith. “But when we take the testimony of history we find that such a
fear manifested by the multitude is of little or no intrinsic worth.
The masses of mankind, burdened with toil and buried in superstition,
have always at first feared the better things that were proposed in
the line of progress and freedom. This fear of danger from the masses,
manifested toward a measure of advance, is not so much a sign that the
proposed system is vicious, especially if the measure tends toward
individual freedom, as it is a sign that those who fear, distrust, and
oppose it are yet immature for it. Their chord of sympathy and respect
for others does not yet vibrate in unison with that high ethical
standard. They feel a real discord, but they locate that discord in
the proposed system, while it really is located in their own immature
hearts and minds. Just in proportion as their hearts and minds are
raised to a higher, broader, and nobler standard, the fear of danger
and impracticability disappears. A few illustrations will make this
plain:
“When Mr. Garrison first raised his voice against the long fostered
institution of chattel slavery in the United States, he was calumniated
by nearly every man, woman and child within the boundaries of the
nation; he was stigmatized a crank, a fool, a traitor to his country,
an enemy to the Christian religion, a subverter of the highest and
noblest civilization that ever flourished on the face of the earth.
He was a _traitor_ then. Now he is a _hero_. But his proposed system
was as good and true when he first proposed it as it is now; but the
people’s hearts and minds did not correspond to it then. They thought
that the defect lay in Garrison’s system, but it was really secreted
in themselves. A little additional intelligence and sympathy put their
hearts and minds just in tune with the proposed system. Just so with
our sex relations. We have had a little longer time to evolve, and
therefore attained a little higher and purer aspirations than you have;
and because you can but dimly or not at all see the altitude to which
the Marsites have ascended, you, like the contemporaries of Garrison,
at once declared our position dangerous and impracticable. But do
not forget to search for the discord in your own _heart_ instead of
searching for it in our _system_.
“You all know that not long ago you imprisoned people who were unable
to pay their debts, and the contemporaries of that age argued that
people would not pay their debts without such a law; but this law has
long since been repealed or is entirely ignored, and people pay their
debts perhaps better now than they did when the law was in force.
But now you say that you could not do business without laws for the
_collection_ of debts, but you see we, under a better system, have no
use for such laws, because we have no debts to collect. We have changed
the conditions. It is your old barbarous profit system that makes you
think you require such laws. As soon as you adopt a _just_ system of
trade there can be no debts to collect.
“The Czar very likely thinks that a government like that of the United
States is no government at all, because the people enjoy too much
individual freedom, and he, no doubt, has often predicted that it must
soon crumble to pieces on that account, and you and I believe that the
Russian government is destined to crumble, because the people have
too little individual freedom. You look at our sex relations as the
Russians look at your government of the United States.
“Now just notice your illogical position. If physical force is a factor
of _goodness_ in a government, the government of the Czar is one of
the best on earth, because it perhaps employs a maximum of physical
force; and if physical force is a factor of badness in a government,
then our Marsian government is the best, because it employs a minimum
of physical force. No doubt, in your opinion both the Czar and the
Marsites are wrong, the former for too much compulsion and the latter
for too little. You are standing somewhere between these two points.
You are standing at a point which exactly corresponds with your
intellectual culture. Each person measures his position by his own
ethical standard. But notwithstanding your constant protest against
individual freedom, you are slowly drifting away from the Czar toward
individualism, and whenever, in time, you stand in our footsteps, you
will see that _your_ present sex relations are as slavish, despotic and
impure as you, at present, look upon the despotism and injustice of the
Czar.”
CHAPTER XVIII. COMPARISON OF OUR SEX RELATIONS WITH YOURS.
“I have so far told you,” continued Mr. Midith, “of our sex relations
as they now actually exist on Mars. I have so far offered no comments
on either our practice of individual freedom sexually, or on your
marriage system. But to leave it without further investigation and
comparison would be a very incomplete account. Let us closely and
impartially investigate whether it is your or our system of sex
relation which is most nearly in accord with the known laws of life,
health and happiness. Let us see what defects and demerits we can find
in either of them.
“It is a well-known fact that the exercise of the sexual function is
an expenditure of vital energy; and, therefore, the person who has the
sexual function so adjusted that he exercises it only for the special
purpose of reproduction, is the most complete person sexually; while he
who exercises it most excessively, or who is most passionately prompted
to exercise it most excessively, either in a married state, as you
have it here, or under individual freedom, is the most incomplete or
licentious person sexually.
“You, no doubt, all agree that the higher inferior animals live
a comparatively chaste life; while man, here on earth, lives a
comparatively unchaste life. Why is this? There must be a cause for it,
if you believe in universal causation, and as long as the cause exists
the effect will naturally follow. To find and remove the cause, then,
must be your whole aim in this field of purification and advancement.
The Marsites have long ago removed the causes of unchastity and are
therefore living a comparatively pure life. Let us see now whether we
can find the causes producing the purity in the inferior animals and
the impurity in _your_ human beings, as they now live on earth.”
“Show us first, then, why it is that the inferior animal lives a pure
life sexually,” said Viola. “I mean, give us your reason for it, Mr.
Midith.”
“Very well,” continued Mr. Midith. “I have already said that the
exercise of the sexual function is an expenditure of vital energy; that
proposition you, no doubt, all admit. We have seen elsewhere, too, that
as we descend in the scale of animal life, from man downward, they
become more and more prolific.
“In the lower orders of life, millions must die in order to give room
and opportunity for a few to live. The struggle for existence in the
orders below man is so fierce that, with their present prolificness,
only a few of the fittest can survive. Those individuals, who are most
perfect at birth, and who direct their vital energy most economically
in harmony with the so-called laws of life, survive; while the weakly
born and the licentious ones must perish in the fierce struggle for
existence. Hence, the phenomena of evolution forces the inferior
animal to live a chaste life, or perish from the effect of expending
unnecessary energy.”
“But why do not the phenomena of evolution, as you call them, also
force man to live a virtuous life?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“That seems very plain to me,” replied Mr. Midith. “But, in the first
place, let us keep in mind that in a state of perfect sexual freedom
the human being, like the inferior animal, does live a comparatively
chaste life, as I know the Marsites do. As evolution gradually
develops the higher intellectual faculties of man, a keener sense
of appreciating a faultless body and a highly cultivated mind is
continually produced, so that he feels more and more reluctant to waste
his animal forces in licentious acts which impair the physical and
mental capacities after which he is seeking, and without which no one
can be really happy.
“Now let us see why the human being, as he now exists on earth,
does not live a pure, chaste life. Why he is so intemperate in many
directions. Let us see if we can discover some of the causes that
produce this evil and misery. I am well aware that your people, as a
rule, do not like to be reminded of their faults. But, nevertheless,
I believe we should always tell the _whole_ truth, regardless of
immediate likes and dislikes.
“The inferior animal lives by virtue of comparatively _few_ and
_simple_ functions, while man lives by _many_ and _complex_ ones. The
animal, then, is harder pressed for room and opportunity, and lives by
virtue of fewer functions than man. If the brute animal violates one of
its few functions, it must perish in the hard struggle for existence;
while man, on the other hand, is enabled to live by his _many complex_
functions in a milder struggle, even if he does violate to a certain
degree the sexual function.
“Your present earthly human being, then, is on the one hand so complex
that the partial violation of one of his many complex functions does
not cause him to perish directly like the inferior animal, while on
the other hand, his higher faculties of keenly appreciating the highest
physical perfection and mental eminence are, as yet, not sufficiently
developed to turn his steps _only_ on the path of virtue and purity.
You do not esteem life and health as highly as we do. But as
intellectual development continues, you will gradually feel that every
act that conduces to the fullness of life, individually and socially,
produces happiness as a whole, and is therefore right; while every act
that detracts from the fullness of life, individually and socially,
produces unhappiness as a whole, and is therefore wrong.”
“You have shown to my satisfaction, Mr. Midith, why an inferior animal,
according to the nature of things, is compelled to live a pure, chaste
life; and that man can, if he so desires, live a comparatively unchaste
one,” said Mr. Uwins. “I can plainly see the causes that produce the
chastity in the inferior animals, but I cannot see the causes that
produce the excessive sexual function in our human being. Why does our
human being not derive more pleasure from leading a pure, chaste life,
which is in accord with life and health, than he does from leading a
licentious life?”
“Let us see, then, if we can point out the causes which make the
earthly human being unchaste. We have seen that the inferior animal
leads a chaste life, and I have also told you that the Marsites do the
same. According to these facts, then, unchastity, the same as chattel
slavery, is possible only during a particular stage of intellectual
progress. Below this particular stage, the fierce struggle for room and
opportunity permits only the most virtuous to survive; while above that
particular stage, the pleasure derived from enjoying the most complete
life possible becomes so agreeable that a violation of a physiological
law is too painful.
“Now, in order to find the causes of unchastity, let us enumerate some
of the differences existing between our and your system of sex relation.
“1. You marry for life; we do not. 2. Your church and state interfere
with your sexual affairs; we leave it in the hands of the individual
the same as in the case of the inferior animal. 3. Our women are not
financially dependent on the man; yours, as a rule, are. 4. Our women
have the privilege of soliciting the love of any man whose sexual
co-operation they desire; yours have not. 5. In a state of sexual
freedom, the woman regulates her own sexual affairs to suit herself;
in a state of marriage, or, in other words, interference of church
and state, the man or husband largely runs the sexual affairs to suit
himself the same as he runs the financial and political affairs. 6. We
invariably room alone, both men and women; under your marriage system
your husband and wife invariably room and lodge together. 7. You make
your women dependent creatures by not financially compensating maternal
labor the same as mining, farming, etc.; we make her independent
because we pay her the same compensation for maternal work as we do
for any other labor. 8. You shift the burden of parental cares almost
exclusively off unto the mother; while we act on the supposition that
we have all received parental care during our infancy, and that we in
turn should do the same for some one else, whether we are parents or
not; to neglect this would make us shirks, for we would not be paying
for what we received during our infancy. 9. We teach the laws of
sexuality to our children of all ages; you try to hide all knowledge of
it. Hence, we make intelligence the safeguard of sexual purity, while
you make ignorance the safeguard of it.”
“As I have said before, Mr. Midith,” said Rev. Dudley, “your system of
sex relations may do very well on Mars, but I think we ought to keep
what we have as long as we have a good one, and that we undoubtedly
have. I firmly believe that our sexual relations are _better_ now than
they have ever been before, or than they are in any other country in
the world--here, or on any other planet or moon.”
“It may be true, Rev. Dudley, that your sexual, and even your social
and industrial relations, are better now than they ever were before,
but that may not be a sign that they need no further improvement.
_Best_, as I have told you once before, has nearly always been a
deceptive, unreliable criterion. Nothing is good enough unless it is
_faultless_. You must remember that every age always had the best of
everything, perhaps better than any preceding age. There was a certain
people two thousand years ago that had the best system of sex relation,
and the contemporaries of that age doubtless used the same argument
against those who desired to improve it then as you are now using
against me. You are undoubtedly proud of the progressive achievements
of your ancestors, but you seem to fear the improvements of your
contemporaries and of your posterity. But you need not fear progress
of any kind. As I have told you some time ago, all wrong arises from
ignorance. Hence, there can be but one line of advancement, and that
line is by the way of acquiring more and more intelligence, which,
on the one hand, tends to adjust and perfect voluntary co-operation
on the highest possible scale, while, on the other hand, it tends to
give more and more freedom to the individual. Any proposed improvement
which does not bear these marks is not in the line of progress. If
our sex relation is more nearly in harmony with these principles,
it is better than yours; if yours is more so, yours is the better.
We must continually strive to improve what we have. The microscope,
the spectroscope, the engine, and human intelligence are more nearly
perfect now than they ever were before, as far as you know; but we
should all strive to improve them as much now as any of our ancestors
did, to whom we owe the previous improvements. Only a _faultless_ thing
is good enough. Improvement should cease only when _perfection_ makes
further improvement impossible.
“It is like this, then, Rev. Dudley: As long as we can point out
wrongs in any system, no matter whether the system is the _best_ or
the _worst_, it is not what it ought to be; and no honest, progressive
person who has the welfare and happiness of his fellow-man at heart can
remain silent or indifferent as long as this wrong or evil remains in
sight.
“The way to test a system is to analyze it; to look at all its parts
and relations; to endeavor to find all the faults we can; to compare
it impartially with any system that may be offered in place of it. We
should never try to cover up the defects by a few merits which it may
contain. A truthful system contains not a single demerit. If it does it
is faulty, and the faults should be eliminated.”
“Those words which you have spoken are all very true,” observed Rev.
Dudley. “I fully agree with you that all wrongs should be righted,
but I can see no wrongs in our marriage system; but, on the contrary,
I believe that it is _divinely_ instituted, that it is the most sacred
boon that has ever brought joy and gladness to the human heart.
I believe that conjugal affection has conduced more toward human
happiness and contentment than any other one thing. I believe that the
greatest earthly bliss is found in the union of man and wife, and that
for life, too.”
“I think, Rev. Dudley, that you are perfectly honest and sincere in
what you say. But you must not forget that honesty and sincerity are
not necessarily signs of truth and justice, for which alone we should
be seeking. I believe that Thomas de Torquemada, Inquisitor-General
of Spain, was perfectly honest and sincere in killing the cream of
European thought. The masters of chattel slaves, the soldier who fights
for the preservation of a monarchy, the mother that drowns her babe
in the Ganges, the widow that practices suttee, the social parasite
that lives on profit, interest, rent and taxes, the savage that steals
his wife, and the minister that frightens his congregation with an
imaginary hell fire, are very likely all honest and sincere in doing
those things that we, with a little more knowledge, would condemn. The
question is not whether we are honest and sincere, but whether we are
_right_ and _just_. Is our view correct or is it erroneous? Have we
thoroughly and impartially examined every side of our position, or have
we, too, been educated and raised in an atmosphere of superstition,
prejudice and jealousy, like the soldier, mother, widow, etc.?
“You say, Rev. Dudley, that you can find no faults and defects in your
marriage system. That is nothing strange. You, no doubt, have been
educated that way, and very likely you have blindly accepted the dogmas
of your ancestors and masses of your contemporaries. Let us, then,
fairly and impartially examine and compare your marriage system with
our sex relation. I am fully aware that it is a tender topic for you
to handle in your present age and thought; but in doing so we should
endeavor to lay aside as much as we can of our superstition, prejudice
and jealousy. We should boldly and untimidly seek to find the truth
wherever it may lead. Truth is always worth following, and without
we find the truth on the sex relations we can not hope to live clean
lives.”
“I should be very much pleased, Mr. Midith,” said Rev. Dudley, “to have
you examine and compare our system of marriage with your individual
sex relation. You are, no doubt, better capable of fairly judging our
institutions than we are, because, as you said, you have not been
biased by education and training.”
“Very well,” said Mr. Midith.
“In the first place, have you ever thought from what source you
received that great ‘_boon_’--your institution of marriage--which you
say is ‘divinely instituted?’ Let us examine from whence you received
it. According to the doctrine of evolution, the only theory of the
genesis of man, which is supported by science, man slowly, through the
lapse of countless ages, evolved from lower organisms by the agency
of the survival of the fittest, etc. This implies, then, that all our
ancestors were at one time savages.
“We all know that the savage in the lowest stages of barbarism, even as
he now exists, steals and forcibly takes his wife or wives from other
tribes, etc. He also often _forces_ captives to become his wives.
Somewhat later in the stage of social development, the man generally
buys his wives without their consultation. At a still later period the
old folks, instead of the young folks who are to be married, make the
bargain. And still later on, the period in which you are now living,
young boys and girls give each other away for life; at an age, too,
you must remember, when they are young, inexperienced and blinded by
first love, as you term it. No amount of after-knowledge on the sexual
relations is of any value to the contracting parties as far as the
contract is concerned, for, according to your doctrine, the parties are
indissolubly bound together for life as man and wife. According to your
marriage system, they are supposed to live together for life, whether
they love each other or not. Whether they afterward quarrel or love
some one else better cannot be taken into account. Nothing less than
the cruelest abuse enables them to secure a divorce, and even then the
divorced parties are looked upon with scorn and contempt.
“You would, no doubt, think it cruel, Rev. Dudley, if some one should
steal you, like a savage steals his wife, and compel you to live with a
woman with whom you did not want to live or whom you did not love. But
there is very little difference, when we examine the matter closely,
whether a woman is stolen and compelled, from the start, to live with
a man, or whether she voluntarily marries him, thinking that she loves
him, but afterward finds that she does not love him, that she was
mistaken like all mankind are at times likely to be.
“You compel a husband and wife by law, superstition and public
opinion, to live together, whether they really love each other,
or whether they simply stay together to gratify their passions.
Your church and state interfere with the marriage as well as with
the dissolution of it. You can clearly see, then, that your system
of marriage is based upon force, which, it is true, has gradually
diminished from the lowest stages of barbarism, when the husband stole
his wife, to the present time, when the contracting parties give each
other away for life under a contract which they are not at liberty to
make or dissolve without the interference of church and state.
“With us no men and women are together who do not really love each
other. Those who do not love each other sexually are no sexual
companions; and those who once did love each other, but have ceased
loving, forsake each other’s company to the extent that it becomes
agreeable to them. They are much freer, at any time, to seek other
company than you are to make your _first_ choice, which must continue
for life. Why should two persons be compelled to live together when
they do not desire to? When they fight, quarrel, and dislike each
other? Why should not parting be as free and honorable as coming
together? Why should a man and wife eke out a miserable existence,
simply because they for once selected the wrong person to live with?”
“But every one, in making this choice for life, should be very
cautious. They should know each other well before they entered into
this life-contract. Too many marriages are entered into carelessly. The
parties do not understand each other well enough,” said Rev. Dudley.
“We fully agree to what you have said,” observed Mr. Midith. “You say
that great caution should be exercised by the contracting parties.
But can we always be so cautious as never to make a mistake? I think
that in all our undertakings we are liable to make mistakes; and would
you recommend that one mistake should condemn us to a life of misery
forever after? You say that the contracting parties should know each
other well before they entered into a marriage contract. We agree
perfectly with you there. We believe that it requires more than a whole
lifetime for a man and a woman to know each other well enough to enter
into a contract which is to be binding for life; therefore, you see, we
exercise the greatest caution, because we study each other during our
whole lifetime, and then claim that our knowledge of one another is too
limited to give ourselves away even for a single day. The evil of the
earthites lies in the fact that your ill-adjusted social and economic
institutions require _binding promises_; and a promise, according to
your common acceptation of the term, is a _binding_ declaration made
by one person to another to do, or not to do, a certain act at some
_future_ time. According to this definition, there can be no place for
a binding promise in a _harmonious, progressive_ world. Promises and
harmonious progress are incompatible, unless all the parties are, at
all times, as free to break them as they were to make them; and this
admission eliminates the _binding_ element, and, therefore, destroys
the popular meaning of a promise.
“The evil consequences of binding promises can be easily seen when
we bear in mind that, in a progressive world, we know more to-morrow
than we know to-day. Also, that harmony implies absence of external
coercion; for, all external coercion being social discord, a promise
that appears _just_ and feels agreeable when measured with to-day’s
knowledge, may appear _unjust_ and become disagreeable when measured
with the standard of to-morrow’s knowledge; and in so far as the
fulfillment of a promise becomes disagreeable or impossible, no matter
what the promise may be, it is an element of discord, and discord
is the opposite of harmony. Hence, before you can hope to enjoy
uninterrupted harmony, your institutions must be so molded that there
is no place in them for a binding promise. In regard to the sexual
relations, nothing but mutual inclination should be made the bonds
of union. If you have closely followed my narrative, you will have
discovered long before this time, that, on Mars, we have no _binding_
promises. In our just systems, we can not apply them any place, and we
know of them only as relics of past crudity.”
“But do you not think, Mr. Midith, that licentiousness would run riot
here on earth, with _your_ system of sex relation, even if it proves to
be ever so good and pure on Mars?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“I do not claim that our system of sex relation would operate
_perfectly_ here on earth, or perhaps on any other world,” observed Mr.
Midith. “What I claim is not that it would produce _perfect_ results,
but that it would produce, with highly intelligent people, much better
results than your system of matrimony. That the human family can and
would live a cleaner and happier life under our system of sex relation,
guarded by intelligence and on individual freedom, than under your
system of marriage, largely guarded by ignorance, force, superstition
and jealousy.
“The masses of the contemporaries of an institution rarely ever see the
wrongs, cruelties and evils which that institution contains; they are
blinded by their so-called _loyalty_ and _patriotism_. We might give a
few illustrations:
“The master once believed that no wrong could be done to a slave;
that the slave had no rights which the master was bound to respect.
The inquisitor believed that no wrong could be done to a heretic. The
warrior thought the same of his captive. The witch-finder thought that
no amount of torture he inflicted on the supposed witch was wrong or
cruel. Just so do the vast majority--yes, nearly all of your men and
women--believe that there can be no sexual abuse _within your bonds of
matrimony_. But _you_ are as wrong in that as your ancestors were to
the chattel slave, heretic, captive, and supposed witch. Is it not a
fact that nearly every family home under your marriage system is a more
or less legalized house of sexual impurity (house of prostitution as
you term it) upheld by church and state? Is it not true that the sexual
function, under your system of matrimony, is, as a whole, exercised
vastly in excess--perhaps from ten to a hundred times? Very likely
this truth seems painful to you at this age of your earth, but it is a
truth, nevertheless, which you are bound to face some time, if you do
not desire to keep forever the pallor of disease on the sunken cheeks,
pale lips, and feeble frame of nearly all your mothers, especially you
American mothers. We must bear in mind that a _chaste_ life, whether
_in_ marriage or _out_ of it, is one in which the sexual functions of
the male and of the female are mutually exercised only in accordance
with the most vigorous health and highest well-being of the parties as
they are then constituted. Sexual activity, then, whether married or
not, is licentious and dissolute, just in proportion as it is excessive.
“Those acts which detract from the fullness of life are wrong, because
they cannot, as a whole, be productive of the greatest happiness,
and therefore an excessive exercise of any function implies a waste,
which, as a whole, is productive of _pain_ and is therefore wrong. The
church or state can no more change or suspend the laws of life, waste,
and reproduction, by a marriage ceremony, than the acquired abnormal
passions of an individual can change or suspend them.
“An organism, whether man or beast, is sexually perfect only whenever
its sexual instinct is so organized and developed that the agreeable
exercise of this function does not detract from the fullness of life
and happiness, on the one hand, and is sufficiently active for the
normal propagation of the species on the other. The sexual organization
of the Marsites is, of course, not entirely perfect, but yours is about
as vicious and faulty as it can well be.
“When the sexual function, like that of your human family, has once
become greatly in excess from the evil effects of a vicious, social
and sexual relation, no system, however perfect, can at once remove
this excess. It was gradually acquired by a vicious arrangement, and
must also be gradually eliminated by the institution of a more perfect
arrangement.
“As we placed motherhood more and more under the exclusive control of
the woman, our sexual association became continually purer and more
normal. All who are familiar with the anatomy, physiology, and hygiene
of the organs of procreation know that the female organs of procreation
have periods of alternate activity and rest (menses, gestation,
lactation, age, desirability of motherhood, etc.), and the woman is the
only party who is conscious of these periods; and for these and other
reasons which I have already stated, sexual abuse, if it once exists,
can be diminished and finally disappear, only by making the female
completely free and independent from the male as we find them among the
inferior animals and among the Marsites.
“To be sexually perfect, then, does not only mean that the sexual
function should be normally exercised, but that even the sexual
_desire_ should not prompt an excessive use; for a person who must
labor to _curb_ a _desire_ is not so complete as one who has the desire
so adjusted that it operates only in conformity with the fullest life,
and therefore, as a whole, to the greatest happiness.”
CHAPTER XIX. COMPARISON OF OUR SEX RELATION WITH YOURS. [_Continued._]
“In your _force_ or marriage system your ancestors, as we have seen,
took their wives by stealing or forcibly taking them perhaps from other
tribes. From that primitive time to this, the force part in matrimony
has of course gradually diminished. The woman was allowed more and more
privileges and freedom from that time to this. But during all this
time, when physical force and man-made laws were used, the man got the
woman so completely under his control by his superior physical power
and by placing her in an atmosphere of masculine dependence, that she
has largely and often unconsciously become his industrial, social and
sexual slave. He hems her in by almost insuperable difficulties on
all sides, and then uses her as his slave and sexual tool under the
sanctity of his particularly established system of matrimony.
“Your man, in the sexual world, closely resembles your landlord in the
industrial world. The landlord fences the laborer off from the vacant
land so that the laborer can not apply his labor to land, from which
all wealth must come, and then makes a contract with the laborer to
the laborer’s great disadvantage. So your man, in order to get sexual
dominion, first creates an industrial and social world, in which a
free, independent woman can scarcely make a living, no matter how hard
and long she toils. _He_ makes the money pass through his hands and
makes all the other laws to suit his purpose. Your men deprive your
women of nearly everything that the man considers sacred.
“In the social world, your man appoints himself suitor, and compels
his sweetheart to remain at home, waiting for his appearance, for his
courtship. If she goes forth to solicit the love of her choice, he
buries her with contempt, so that none of his masculine companions will
choose her thereafter for a life partner. By this he dooms her to his
contemptible financial and industrial world, where she has to earn her
own living under great disadvantages. In the sexual world, your man is
still more cruel and aggressive. Instead of letting the woman regulate
the sexual affairs to suit herself, like all other chaste creatures do,
the man seems to be the lord and manager there too. We want to keep in
mind that with the higher inferior animal, which enjoys comparatively
perfect sexual freedom, and which lives a comparatively chaste life,
the female regulates all sexual relations.
“But this is not all by any means. Do you not think that under your
marriage system there are many mothers now that would not be mothers
if women were not dependent on man industrially? Do you not think
that women, as well as men, would be much freer and happier, if women
enjoyed social equality and freedom? Do you not think that your wives
give birth to many children that would not be born in a state of
sexual freedom, if women were not the dupes of men and of the marriage
superstition, in which the man appoints himself manager and his wedded
wife obeyer? Do you not think that thousands upon thousands of married
men and women live or stay together that do not really love each other,
that would not stay together an hour in a world like ours, where one
is as capable of supporting himself or herself as another? Do you not
think that the artificial constraint of marriage tends to produce an
abnormal sexual passion? Do you not think that a large number of women
are driven to houses of sin and shame by your marriage system? Some
that are ‘unfortunately’ married, and others that wanted to marry, but
could not marry to suit themselves? Do you not think that your bonds
of matrimony creates an unsatisfied novelty for sex relations that can
be properly adjusted only by a wider range of individual freedom? Do
you not think that a married woman, under your social and industrial
system, is a slave to husband and family, no matter how good and kind
they may treat her as a wife or a mother?
“Do you not think that bearing and nursing offspring is productive
labor? Should not mothers receive equal pay for administering maternal
cares to dependent children as a laborer receives for his physical
labor? But are your men doing that? Are they not putting off more than
half of all the physical productive labor onto the women, and then
incidentally, and often superstitiously, burdening them with bearing
and nursing unwelcome offspring? Do you not think that the thoughts,
the temperament and the state of happiness and contentment of the
mother are transmitted to the child long before it is born? How can the
babe be otherwise than the parental natures out of which it is built?
Do you think that a frowny, irritated, poverty-stricken, overburdened,
careworn, slavish mother can give birth to a child having directly
opposite traits and temperament? Do you not think that your marriage
system produces untidy, slovenly and careless men and women, while, on
the contrary, our system is just the opposite? Notice how much more
slovenly and untidy your married men and women are, as a rule, than
those who are not married. We are beaux and sweethearts as long as we
live. A rude, careless, untidy, cruel person is not appreciated in our
society. He is not likely to leave many offspring. The survival of the
fittest with us is in full bloom; with you, in the human family, it is
comparatively dead; because, if they are once married, they are bound
to stay together, whether they are tidy or filthy and slovenly. Do you
not think that your marriage system has caused the abnormal sexual
function in your human being as we now find him on earth? Do you not
take the management of the sex relations out of the hands of the women,
where it properly belongs, and place it practically under the control
of the man?”
“It is true, no doubt, that a husband and wife often ignore the rule
of sexual purity, according to your standard of it,” said Rev. Dudley;
“but I do not see why men and women should be more excessive sexually
in a wedded state than in a state of sexual freedom. Why cannot purity
be practiced in matrimony?”
“There are many reasons why there can be no sexual purity, as a whole,
in your wedlock.
“The vast majority of the wedded people, as near as I can ascertain,
believe that there can be no sexual excesses between a married husband
and wife. They seem to believe that as soon as an officer or priest
has mumbled a few words over the contracting parties, the law of
sexual purity can thereafter not be broken.
“In your marriage system, too, you have everything perverted and
twisted out of the natural order. Let us look at a few of these
perversions. We find, as I have told you, that the females of the
inferior animals, as well as the highly developed Marsites, regulate
their own sexual affairs; that the female solicits the sexual
co-operation of the male whenever she desires procreative assistance.
The male, as a rule, does not meddle with sexual affairs, only when
the female solicits his love, and he keeps on loving until the female
rejects further love, when he will cease, or is forced to cease by an
independent, self-reliant female. We see here, then, that the male
has not the faculty of properly adjusting and regulating the sexual
function to such a high degree as the female, but that he receives
the guidance _from_ the female. This holds good in the orders of the
inferior animals and with the Marsites.
“In your marriage system things are just the reverse. You instituted,
as I believe, your system of marriage by compulsion. You first
captured, then bought, etc., your wife or wives. Under these
conditions, you took the sexual control away from your women and
vested it in the man. But, as we have seen, the man does not possess
an excellent faculty for properly regulating and adjusting the sexual
relation. He was deficient here in what he undertook to do. He
forcibly made himself a guide in a field of labor where, by his very
organization, he naturally required guidance himself.
“So the man, by forcibly assuming control of the sexual relations,
has not only caused an abnormal sexual function in himself, but by
his excesses has caused an excess in the woman also; so that if the
woman could be free at once and assume control of the sexual affairs,
she could, with her present excess, not begin immediately to live a
perfectly chaste life, but would require some time of freedom and
independence to make a harmonious and normal sexual adjustment, which
can never be brought about in a state of wedlock, in which a woman is
socially and industrially dependent on the man. Thus, we see, that
the excessive passions have been transmitted and accumulated from
generation to generation, and therefore require some time for their
elimination.
“Your promiscuous retirement is another cause of your sexual excess.
Each individual should have his or her separate apartment and nightly
retire alone.
“You will notice a vast difference between our mothers and yours. Our
mothers have no particular cares. They need not gather eggs to buy
a baby’s frock with. They need not ask a husband for a nickel or a
dollar. They have no jealous husband to watch them and to dictate to
them. They have nothing to frown about. They have all the money they
want without asking for it, and earn more every day. They receive as
much pay per day as the strongest man or the greatest genius. They
can write to, or converse with, any man, woman, or child. No one can
be jealous, for they belong to no one but themselves. They have not
given themselves away and ‘promised to obey.’ They can go out walking
or riding with whom they please or with whom they can get. They are at
liberty to invite any one, be invited by any one, or go and see any
one they please, if they can make a mutual agreement. The mothers, or
those who are about to be mothers, can visit in any family, community,
or nation where the family usher finds room for them, and still receive
the same daily pay as a man or woman who works at home. Besides all
this, she receives, in her maternal work, all the assistance possible.
In a word, she is perfectly free and independent, economically,
socially and sexually.
“Just think if one of our girls or mothers were compelled to live a
while in your cruel, poor, superstitious and jealous world! Would they
not think that they were in a worse than an orthodox hell? Burdened
down with the labor and care and robbed of personal freedom! Do you not
think that they would make every effort to return to their native world
of wealth, of true love, and of unbounded freedom?
“Of course, our ancient history shows, that our world passed through
similar cruel, poor, and slavish stages as your world is in now, and it
is almost positive that the evolution of a higher state of intelligence
will wipe out of existence all your present poverty, superstition,
jealousy, and slavery, and put in place of it a social and industrial
system that will produce, by voluntary co-operation, an unlimited
amount of wealth; and, at the same time, provides a boundless degree of
individual freedom to every man, woman and child, for, with a certain
amount of intelligence, always goes a certain stage of social and
industrial development.”
“I must admit, Mr. Midith, that your system of sexual freedom would be
a grand one if our men and women were ripe for it,” said Rev. Dudley;
“but I fear that we do not possess sufficient culture to make a success
of it yet. I fear that we are, as you said, too cruel, jealous, and
too superstitious. But there is one question I would like to ask, and
that is, how do you, in a state of sexual freedom, prevent premature
maternity? Must a woman be of a certain age before she is allowed to
become a mother?”
“In the first place, we have no such a word as _must_ in our social
and sexual system,” replied Mr. Midith. “If premature motherhood is
objectionable, it should be discouraged and discontinued for the evil
and wrong it produces. If it does not bring evil consequences on any
one, it can not be said to be premature. We believe, however, that it
may be premature in a certain geologic age, and that it does entail
evil consequences. Under these conditions it arrests physical and
mental development. But, in time, under sexual freedom, the procreative
function will be so accurately adjusted that it will act only in accord
with the most vigorous life, and then there can be no more a desire
for premature maternity. We instruct our children on these points of
premature motherhood as clearly as we can, beginning at the age of
childhood. We esteem physical and mental perfection above all other
things. Anything that impairs them is strenuously avoided. Public
opinion, the strongest social force, is also against it.”
CHAPTER XX. SEX RELATION. [_Concluded._]
“Now,” said Mr. Midith, “may I ask you how _you_ prevent, or try to
prevent premature maternity? Do you prevent it by statute law? Public
opinion and the evil consequences attending premature maternity are all
the forces that you employ to prevent it. You have no penal laws that
punishes premature maternity, and if you had they would be powerless.
Our system of sex relation has all the advantage over yours on this
point then.
“We _teach_ our children all the sex relation we can, so that they may
learn the evil of its abuse. You seem to hide all sexual knowledge
from them. We endeavor to make the evil consequences a deterrent; you
endeavor to make ignorance the safeguard of their virtue. The knowledge
of a burn, and not the ignorance of it, deters a person from putting
his hand against a hot stove. We act on the assumption that a clear
knowledge of sexual abuse will likewise prevent that also. This is one
great point in our favor then. We trust in knowledge; you, in ignorance.
“But allow me to tell you that there are many more bad features in your
marriage system, besides those which I have already mentioned, not
only between the male and female, but between the parent and child
also. From historical knowledge and from the conduct of your present
savage, you know that petty tribes are very antagonistic and usually
at war with each other; that an individual of such a tribe, who is
confined to his limited tribal territory, has little, if any, lofty
humanitarian feelings for his fellowmen outside of his own tribe.
Your small families have much the same effect on an adult, and even
more so on children. The child is thrown in social contact only with
a few brothers and sisters, if it has any, and with a few of its very
nearest neighbors. This state of things gives a feeble opportunity
for the development of broad and deep social feelings, and a lack of
these feelings produces these petty antagonisms, strifes, negligence
and jealousies, of which there still exists so much on earth. A large
family, wide and close association and co-operation, aided by splendid
intercommunication, as we have them on Mars, unfold these higher
and nobler faculties of man, but especially of the child. Thus the
pettiness, engendered by man on earth, is, no doubt, largely due to
your jealous marriage system and your small families; these have, in my
opinion, also been the cause of your parental narrowness and jealousy;
for, as a rule, a parent here, from what I can see, finds as yet little
pleasure in helping to nurse and care for your helpless children,
unless they happen to be their parents.
“With natural and highly developed parental functions, a father loves
a child more as _a child_; a mother loves it more as _my_ child. Thus
a father, under freedom, finds more pleasure in and is best fitted for
providing for the _general_ wants of _children_; while the mother,
furnishing the nourishment for the infant, is best fitted to provide
the _particular_ wants of _her_ child. Under these conditions all
children, in all places, find fathers and mothers; and the pleasurable
feelings, resulting from the administration of parental cares, is, in
the case of man, the same as in the case of other organisms, ultimately
the only incentive which prompts a parent to act toward the offspring.
“Other evils are, many of your girls have to work out for little
or nothing, we may say. Their labor is often very toilsome and
disagreeable. The days are long. The landlady, and often the landlord
too, are abusive, cruel, and sometimes lustful. The social relations
with the family is often like a slave. The girl is often not permitted
to spend her few leisure minutes in the family parlor. She is, so to
speak, a social outcast. She belongs to a different caste. There is
a boss who looks upon her as an inferior creature wherever she goes.
Under such a cruel, disagreeable, social and industrial system, it is
no wonder that many of your ladies marry very young and become mothers
prematurely. It is very natural that an inexperienced girl, placed in
such deplorable conditions, will accept, in marriage, most any man that
comes along and at most any age, too. To be sure, the conditions, in an
average, are not better but even worse, when married than when single;
but the youth, in his love and under his social and industrial burden,
does not see that. One who is burdened and in slavery will try most any
scheme but the right one, to throw it off and be free.
“Again, look what a slave your traveling woman is. Perhaps she has
a baby or two and other necessaries to carry and care for, but a
gentleman is hardly safe to offer his services, because one can not
tell but what a jealous husband may come around the corner, who will
begin a suit against a person for alienating the affections of his
wife, or he may draw a revolver on you for being intimate, as he calls
it, with his wife and child. And the jealousy of your women is just the
same.
“Any man or woman, with us, may freely assist any woman, whether
traveling or not. Any one may carry her babe or parcel, if the lady is
satisfied. No particular man owns her, and therefore she is as free to
accept services from one man as from another.
“Notice how distant and unsociable your men and women are when
traveling, especially in railroad cars. Rarely do they speak to each
other. Instead of having a good, sociable time, they generally all sit
like mummies. The lady seems to fear the wrath of a jealous husband or
beau, and the gentleman of a jealous wife or sweetheart. Your travelers
act much like as if the Creator had decreed that sexual sociability
were an unpardonable offense and that it is dangerous and impure for a
strange lady and gentleman to converse together. They seem to assume
that all men are ravishers and all women are grown-up babies; and the
actual facts of your marriage system has, no doubt, to a great extent
established and confirmed this fear, which becomes very plain, I
think, when we remember that your primitive ancestors, perhaps, first
instituted your system of marriage by capturing their wife or wives.
“When the Marsites travel or walk or are at strange houses they are
just as sociable and talkative to strangers as to acquaintances. A
gentleman converses with a strange lady the same as he does with
an acquaintance, or as he would with another gentleman. We have no
formality outside of the individual. But we always make it a point to
act as pleasantly and sociably as if we had been living together for
years. Any two or more men or women, who may wish, may sit together
in the cars, may converse together, may assist each other, may go to
entertainments together, may walk or ride together, or may invite each
other. This is all left to suit the taste of the individual. He is the
supreme authority.
“Let us look at your married ladies when at a social gathering; we
will say at a common dance. The wife is very likely a mother, and has
perhaps an infant babe to care for. According to your present social
habits, the married man who is in the habit of taking his wife to a
dance is not unlikely to indulge in intoxicating liquor. He takes his
wife and child in one apartment, while he not infrequently goes to
another, where he perhaps indulges in smoking and drinking. It often
happens that he becomes more or less intoxicated, and sometimes even
gets very drunk. His wife during all this time is perhaps sitting in
the same place, on an old bench or chair, taking care of the baby. No
man hardly dares to converse with her, or ask her to take the baby a
while, so that she may dance if she wishes or otherwise amuse herself
by going about; for her husband, whom she has promised to obey, might
at any time come with a glass of wine for his wife, to which he
sometimes treats her, as he calls it. In this manner he ‘taffies’ her a
little. He often seemingly tries to make it appear that he is generous
and charitable; for, as a rule, you esteem _generosity_ and _charity_
far greater virtues than you esteem _justice_. It seems to me that
you are trying to raise your women on crumbs of _charity_, instead of
having them grow vigorous on _justice_. Charity, as a whole, is an
evil, for it tends to make a person more dependent; justice makes one
more self-reliant. Probably the husband, who brings his wife a glass
of wine under the pretense of generosity, spends more than half of her
money to buy his tobacco, cigars and whisky with. All the woman wants
is freedom and equal opportunity with the man. She should be free
and should receive all the ‘money’ she actually earns and handle it
herself. That is justice and nothing more. That is what justly belongs
to her, and if she does not get it she is unjustly robbed of it.
“Just think, the husband with his glass of wine often feels himself
insulted if he finds some man talking to his wife, and if he would find
some other man nursing the baby and still another man dancing with his
wife he often goes into a rage. _He_ does not keep his wife’s company
nor does he want other men to do it. If things do not just suit him, he
puts on his jealous pout, which sometimes lasts for a whole week and
sometimes even much longer.
“The wife is nearly always just as much of a jealous pout as the
husband and often much more so; but the woman is nearly always more
of a slave, because she is more confined with little children. Your
matrimony very often produces cold husbands, and no other man, even if
he would like to assist in caring for her child, is, as a rule, allowed
to do so. These are largely the conditions of your man and wife in
your marriage system. It is generally slavery all around. Of course, I
am well aware that some married men and women enjoy quite a degree of
individual freedom, but they are rather the exceptions than the rule.
“Again, let us suppose that two married couple would go on a pleasure
trip. They are riding on the cars. The husband and wife have perhaps
been together for years; they have told each other all the news they
know of. They have nothing new to talk about. But if any friend would
sit in the seat with my wife, and I would sit with his wife, we would
all have something new to talk about and pass the time pleasantly. But,
as a rule, men and women on earth are too jealous for that. Hence it is
that we often find a man and a woman sitting together in the same seat
in a car or elsewhere, the husband looking one direction and the wife
the opposite direction, not speaking to each other for hours at a time.
If you are an observer, you can see this in nearly every car in which
you may happen to be riding.”
“Does not the population of the human race, under sexual freedom
increase more rapidly than it does under our system of marriage?”
asked Viola, who seemed to have mentally stored away every word of Mr.
Midith’s narrative concerning their sexual relations.
“No; it is just the opposite, as Mr. Herbert Spencer in his biology has
so forcibly foreshadowed when he says: ‘The excess of fertility has
itself rendered the process of civilization inevitable; and the process
of civilization must inevitably diminish fertility and at last destroy
its excess.’ As a whole, the higher and the more complex the being, the
fewer the offspring. You see this is one point, but there are others
besides this one.
“Under your marriage system, in which the man largely runs the sexual
affairs, a wife often is the mother of from six to twelve children,
and not infrequently a number of them are unwelcome and would not have
been born if the mother had been free and independent in all directions.
“Our women, who are all perfectly free and independent in every sense
of the word, have now, in an average, between two and three children.
A Marsite lady is seldom a mother of more than three children. In this
manner a high state of civilization, mental culture and sexual freedom
have at last established an almost complete equilibrium between births
and deaths. Our population is now nearly stationary. A family or
community, in an average, increases or decreases very little, if any,
in population. Every child that is born has an abode ready to receive
it when born. It receives parental care, and it in turn gives parental
care when older, whether it be a parent or not. It, thereby, simply
pays during the age of youth and manhood for what it received during
its infancy. And every day that it labors it is paying for its abode.
“I have here endeavored to give you a brief and truthful explanation
and comparison of our sexual freedom and of your matrimony. I have
pointed out, as I see them, a few demerits and disadvantages of your
marriage for life, but I can see countless other faults too numerous,
in this brief narrative, even to mention. It is already growing
late, and I shall make only a few further suggestions without any
explanations, which I hope you will give some thought and consideration
when you are at leisure on some future occasion.
“Have you ever considered what causes your intense blind jealousy, and
how shallow and silly it is? Have you ever considered how many of your
husbands and wives poison or otherwise kill each other? Have you ever
considered what is the principal cause of your coarse, vulgar language
that can be heard most any place? Have you ever attempted to find the
cause for having so many ‘bad-tempered’ children that are continually
growing up and become your so-called mean men and women? You are all
well aware what an immense amount of trashy fiction, lustful love
stories are annually read, especially by your ladies; think for a
moment, if you can not find the cause for this. Do you not think that
sexual constraint, which causes an unsatisfied sexual novelty, gives
vent to sensual novel-reading? Have you ever considered how many
men and women live together as husband and wife, who scarcely ever
speak a kind, friendly word to each other? Have you ever considered
what a bad effect this has on the children who are reared under such
domestic influences? Have you ever endeavored to discover what causes
the diseased condition and feeble constitution of nearly all your
children at birth, or even during their pre-natal life? Have you ever
considered what causes the unsatisfied sexual novelty in both your
men and women? Have you ever considered how little care and attention
a married mother, who is crowded with other domestic burdens, can
bestow on her infant babe? Have you ever contemplated what a bad social
effect the idea of each parent caring for his own offspring _only_
has on society? Have you ever considered how little conditions can be
suited for the rearing of children in a society in which each married
couple live together in a little house either in a crowded city or in
a lonely country? Have you ever thought how much lying, deceit and
underhand work is practiced between many a husband and wife because of
their marital constraint? Have you ever thought how many men and women
are married for life who are entirely unsuited in temperament and in
disposition? Did you ever think how much pouting and ill-feeling, how
many quarrels and fights there are in married life all over your world.
I suppose you have noticed the continual increase of your divorces.
Have you noticed that divorces are most numerous in those vocations
in which women are most independent financially, such as actresses,
etc.? Do you know what that means? Have you ever thought how much
ill-feeling your sectarianism and partyism causes between husband and
wife? Have you ever thought how repugnant, burdensome, and fatal to
life and health it is for a woman to live a sexually intemperate life?
Your statistics show that your fallen women live their life of sin, in
an average, less than three years, so disagreeable is a life of sexual
intemperance to a woman; yet in wedlock, the man largely runs the
sexual affairs to suit his own perverted taste. Have you ever thought
how often a man or a woman when married have to do something that is
disagreeable to the one or to the other? One wants to go to church,
the other does not; one wants to go to a neighbor, the other does not;
one wants the child baptized, the other does not, etc. Have you ever
thought how much room and opportunity there is for aggressiveness when
two are indissolubly bound together for life? Have you ever thought
that your women have no public places to go to? Your men, who handle
the money, build saloons, club-rooms, etc., for themselves, but they
rarely ever invest a nickel in a public building for the women and
children. The church seems to be the only public place your women can
go to, and when they are there they have to be silent, so that they
can not exchange ideas with one another there. Have you ever thought
why you have so many more ladies in your churches than you have men?
Do you think this would be the case if women were free and independent
like our ladies are? I presume you have all noticed that your ladies
have a great desire for personal ornaments, for unique decorations, for
expensive, gaudy costumes, for elaborate hair dressing, face powder,
etc., and for a continuous change of fashion. These characteristics
are apparently much more strongly developed in your women than in your
men. In the lower animals, the male is almost invariable the gaudiest,
the most decorative. Why do you think there is an apparent exception
in _your_ human race? Remember, not in _ours_. In our world, the human
family is no more an exception to this rule like it once was and like
your human being is at present. Your exception to this rule, I think,
is easily accounted for. Let us see if we can find the _cause_.
“According to your courting and marriage custom, your suitor goes to
see his sweetheart _whenever_ he wishes and _wherever_ he wishes; but
your sweetheart is not permitted to seek her choice by going to see
_him_. She can only _attract_ her suitors principally by her personal
appearance, by her attire when she goes to church, to the theater,
on the street or when she looks out of the window and is gazed upon
by the passer-by, etc. She is not free to go and display her winsome
characteristics before the man she may love most, like the man does
before the woman he loves most. Hence she is at a great disadvantage
in showing her intrinsic worth, so she has to rely mainly on outward
appearance, and this outward appearance is often very deceptive, very
shallow, so that your men, who dictate to your women, are often caught
in their own traps. Your men, either consciously or unconsciously,
enslave your women by robbing them of their freedom; and by this act
of robbery the man indirectly enslaves himself. If your women, like
ours, were free in every sense of the word--free financially, socially,
industrially and sexually they would rely on the natural attractiveness
of a healthy, handsome face and body, on a graceful form and intrinsic
worth; instead of relying, as they now do, on gaudy outward attire,
twisted hair, small, uncomfortable shoes, tightly laced corsets, and
a long, trailing dress. All this display of unnatural costumes and
continuous change of fashion requires an immense amount of labor, which
has to be performed by the man as well as by the woman. In this manner,
by uncomfortable costumes, by sexual intemperance and by the burdens
of labor resulting from them, your men, as well as your women, enslave
themselves.
“You must not infer from what I have said that the Marsites do not
appreciate fine clothes; on the contrary, we are always richly dressed,
but comfort and cleanliness have great precedence over anything else.
Under the head of education, I will tell you more about our clothing
and our manner of dress.
“I am well aware that many of your people will believe that what I have
told you is a dangerous doctrine, that it is not in accord with an
orderly society and is detrimental to progress; but this false belief
of the masses is nothing new or nothing strange, as I have hinted at
before. In the first place, I have given you just what we already have
on Mars, an older planet than the earth is; and, in the second place,
the masses of mankind have always at first mistrusted and condemned
every measure of progress. A few illustrations will make this plain.
“During the last few centuries thousands of political enthusiasts have
been murdered, legally and otherwise, for proposing and advocating the
principles of a republican government, something like the present one
of the United States. The masses of the people a few centuries ago
believed that such a government would produce nothing but social and
civil chaos; but the masses of your contemporaries believe that it is
just _the_ government, and will do all they can to suppress all who
are now proposing a better one--one that will furnish more individual
freedom and equality, one that will mete out justice instead of charity.
“Your so-called freedom of speech and freedom of the press was severely
condemned by every government on earth only a few years ago. But to-day
you would fight for its preservation.
“Only a few years ago the masses of the Christian world believed that
the so-called separation of church and state would produce irreparable
social and spiritual degeneration, but on trial you find it much better
and more humane than the old practice of intolerance.
“Less than fifty years ago the vast majority of the people of the
United States believed that the United States could not prosper without
the institution of chattel slavery; but upon trial you found that it
is more prosperous now than it ever was before; that both the master
and the slave were benefited by abolishing it. So in all other cases
wherever we or you have granted a wider scope of individual freedom
and equality, we have at last found what we have been seeking for. So
you will, in the near future, find it to be with the sex relation. It
is one of the slaveries which must be abolished before social harmony
can reign. No non-invasive person can be _truly_ happy without being
_absolutely_ free. The individual must be the ultimate judge of his own
acts, likes and dislikes, and the testimony of history confirms the
fact that the more freedom the individual has been allowed or has asked
for, the better has been his conduct. The more he has been constrained,
the fiercer he has been. All aggressiveness must be banished from the
human mind before there can be complete social, industrial and sexual
harmony. Vice perishes under freedom and true virtue can not flourish
under slavery.”
“Those are all grand principles,” said Mr. Uwins as Mr. Midith had
finished. “They are perfectly clear to me now. I see through them from
beginning to end, and I have seen them more or less clearly for years,
but I have never been able to propose and outline a remedy for them;
but your social and industrial system does completely away with all our
present evils that I can see. You enjoy complete financial, social,
industrial, and sexual freedom. Of course the masses of our people are
not yet ripe for living such high and noble and pure lives. But I think
that we have to-day more than ten thousand of our foremost cultivated
and thoughtful men and women in the United States, that are able to
live nearly such high lives as your Marsites do, and we are all slowly
tending that way. Jealousy and aggressiveness gradually grow weaker
and weaker, and we gradually learn more and more that we can be truly
happy only by living in accord with the phenomena of the universe.”
CHAPTER XXI. EDUCATION.
When Viola and Midith returned from the post office on their bicycles
the following evening, Mr. Midith’s countenance seemed to be unusually
bright and happy. After putting up their bicycles, they walked into the
parlor where the other members of the family and a number of visitors,
curious to see Mr. Midith, were assembled.
After the formal introduction Mr. Midith said:
“I have received some very favorable correspondence from a number of
scientists at San Francisco, who seem to favor an extensive search for
my lost projectile which lodged in the Pacific ocean at my arrival
here on earth. I have already had some dredging done without success,
but my income is not sufficient to get much of that kind of work done.
To dredge in a deep ocean requires skill and tools. The men at San
Francisco who put the project of dredging on foot will notify me of
their financial success.
“If we shall succeed in finding my lost projectile, I shall be able to
show you many curious relics of Mars, which I took along to show to the
mundane inhabitants and compare them with what you have here. I took
along quite a large collection of things that would be curiosities to
you. I recollect putting in a little printed book, a knife, a watch, a
little pocket microscope, a tiny phonograph, a pen and pencil, a very
powerful little telescope, a photograph of a big-house, a bird’s-eye
view of our neighborhood, a lady’s and a gentleman’s suit of clothes,
some Marsian fruit, grain, nuts, flowers and many other things that
will be of interest to you.
“If our search for my projectile proves successful, I can perhaps
get sufficient mechanical assistance to return to my native home
or establish communication between the earth and Mars. I think the
projectile is not much out of repair. It worked splendidly until it
entered the dense atmosphere near the earth’s surface. I wish that
I would be able, in the future, to show you some of the social and
industrial grandeur and harmony of my native world. I shall make every
healthful effort that lies within my reach to return to my native home,
and establish intercommunication between the earth and Mars. But if I
do not succeed in that, I must be content with my lot on earth; perhaps
I may be of some use to the earthly inhabitants, so that my journey may
be of some value in that direction.
“All we can do is to wait for further development. The Marsites have
learned ages ago that we can not transcend the phenomena of nature. The
burdens which our highest intelligence and our best healthful efforts
can not throw off must be borne. I am sure that I appreciate your
kind hospitality as much as this world can furnish at this age. Your
kindness and the smiling faces with which I have been surrounded while
I have been with you shall always be prominent in my mind, whether I
shall have to end my days on earth, or, whether I shall be able, in the
future, to return to my native world.”
“I wish you nothing bad, Mr. Midith, but unless you are able to
take all of us with you to Mars, I hope that you will not be able
to return,” said Viola with a mischievous smile. “By your brilliant
narrative of Mars, you have made our earth appear so cruel, rude and
superstitious, and then you are going to leave us. No, we will never
stand it!”
“I am sure the prospect of my returning is not any too bright yet,”
responded Mr. Midith.
“Now, Mr. Midith, you have told us nothing about your schools. It seems
to me that in order to produce such perfect men, women and children,
you must have a faultless system of education,” observed Mrs. Uwins.
“All your other institutions seem so much superior to ours, and your
school system must certainly be more so than any other, for education,
in its widest sense, constitutes the only difference between the savage
and the cultivated person.”
“We have no school system, neither public nor parochial, as you have,
nor do we have a school-house, as you know a school-house. We believe
that a school system like yours is unjust and despotic to those who
are compelled to support it by compulsory taxation; and we further
believe that it is very cruel and harmful to the pupils to compel them
to attend any institution that they do not wish to. We believe that a
system of education like yours does little or no good, but causes an
immense amount of evil, which we will consider further on.
“Our children, like our adults, are perfectly free, are not _compelled_
to do anything they do not wish to do. We do not try to _compel_ them
to be _good_, nor to _work_, nor to _attend school_ against their
wishes. We think that any act which is so repugnant to human nature,
_under right conditions_, that exhortation and the reward of its
agreeable consequences cannot induce a man or a woman or a child to
perform that act without the application of physical force, is not
worth doing; it must be unnatural.
“The only object of education is to discover truth, so that we may
be able to live in accord with the facts of the universe, the only
possible condition under which we can enjoy the greatest happiness;
for every violation of a natural function is a violation of a natural
law, and every violation of a natural law is attended with suffering;
therefore we should be educated. To enjoy the greatest happiness and to
avoid all misery should be the end and aim of all education. And that
system of education which accomplishes this end most completely is the
best system. Therefore, one who possesses information which enables him
to live most completely in harmony with the laws of nature is in the
true sense most highly educated.
“We believe that in the widest sense and in the only true sense,
the whole world should be the school-house, mankind the pupils, our
environment the teacher, the entire life of man the school age, and the
phenomenal universe the curriculum.
“With these few preliminary remarks, I think I shall be able to give
you a clear idea of our schools and our methods of teaching.
“The child’s education with us begins long anterior to its pre-natal
existence. The parents’ smiles, virtues and temper reappear in the
child after its birth. After birth the child’s _direct_ education
begins; but during the period of lactation it is both _direct_ and
_indirect_. The first nursery and school of the child, then, is
the internal mother’s bosom, then the mother’s arms, then the house
nurseries, then the outdoor nurseries, and then in the whole community
and in the whole world. In this manner its sphere of action is
constantly enlarged. It continually acquires more independence, and
hence a stronger self-reliance. During all its life it is surrounded
by adults and by children of various ages, who teach it by pleasant
precepts and examples.
“Our children are taught as early as possible and nearly altogether by
the _examples_ of the youths and adults, how to treat their fellowmen;
how to be kind; how to give equal rights to all; how to respect the
opinions of others; how to lay aside all jealousy and prejudice; how to
welcome peace and harmony, and how to avoid discord; how to extinguish
all feeling of aggressiveness; how to control their temper; how to keep
themselves clean and pure; how to develop their organs by healthful
exercise; how to be honest and truthful; how to preserve their health;
how to exercise in the open air and sunshine; how to eat and drink
properly; how to be orderly and form regular habits; how to dress in
accordance with comfort and health; how to honor productive labor and
how to make it agreeable; how to despise idleness, and how to value
life and health above all other things necessary for the acquisition of
the greatest happiness.
“The rudiments of all these facts are taught by the older members of
the family and are learned by the child when quite young. In these
pleasant schools or play-houses, the teachers and children talk and
play, laugh and sing, eat and drink, observe and investigate, promote
happiness and avoid pain. One moment the child is in the house,
the next moment it is perhaps in the yard, then in the nurseries,
from there in the parks, then in the motor-car, then in the garden,
field, and orchard; then in the parlors, then in its mother’s private
apartment, then in its own private apartment, etc. Everywhere it
finds a number of willing and competent teachers. Teachers, too, who
do not govern with the rod, but by arousing an agreeable desire for
inquiry. All of us, young and old, are always teachers and pupils at
the same time. The older ones are studying the nature of infancy and
childhood, and daily add to their store of knowledge by observation and
experience. The younger ones are kindly advised and then left to follow
the conduct of the more mature companions. Knowledge is held in such
high esteem with us that we endeavor to acquire all we can at any age,
and we also find great pleasure in agreeably imparting our knowledge to
others and especially to the young. Our principal aim in education is
always to educate _ourselves_; to practice a course of conduct that we
wish our children to imitate. Our children will be all right without
any trouble, if _we_ are only all right. The adults make the young
what they are. Let us not forget this important fact, this fundamental
principle.
“As the Marsites need work only a few hours a day for the acquisition
of our material subsistence, we can devote a great deal of our
leisure time for mental culture. The child, after its infancy, moves
voluntarily about from place to place. It finds advice and practical
instruction in the house, on the walks, in the parks, garden,
greenhouse, orchard and field. After it grows older it takes lessons in
the workshop, in the factory, on the railroad, in the mine, or wherever
else it may direct its course. All the adults are its parents, so to
speak, its teachers, advisers and protectors when young; but all teach
that freedom, independence and self-reliance should be attained as
early as possible.”
“When do you begin to teach the alphabet?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“At the age of about three years. (Remember that a Marsian year counts
for no more in the age of a child than an earthly year does with you.)
We begin to teach the elementary sounds, the forms and the names of
the letters of the alphabet by attractive games of object lessons. We
have a perfect alphabet, because it contains as many, and no more,
letters as we have elementary sounds. We can spell every word correctly
when it is pronounced to us, for we have neither silent letters nor
substitutes. During all these exercises the child is simply playing,
and quits whenever it likes.
“The walls of the nursery near the floor are composed of slate. On
these the children first begin to make marks and figures, sometimes
before they can stand alone. Children are nearly always very fond of
drawing when left to themselves, and practice it a great deal. Large
slates for printing, writing, ciphering and drawing are also put up
in different parts of the parks and along the walks. By these means
our children, by playful practice, learn to print and write at an
early age. We always keep plenty of such things as children can use
before them, letting them use those things whenever they feel like
it, but never compelling a child to use a thing or do an act it finds
no pleasure in doing. We endeavor to create the pleasurable desire,
and then let the child follow its inclination. All sound-minded
children possess a faculty of inquiry which they love to exercise if
_conditions_ are _right_ and _natural_, and if things are presented in
a pleasant manner. As long as we cannot do things naturally and present
them in an attractive way, the fault lies with the teachers, and not in
the child.
“The next thing we teach the child is, how to labor. We believe
that labor can become pleasurable only if the habit of laboring is
acquired while we are young. One who spends the first half of his
life without manual labor must forever, more or less, remain a slave
to it in after years. Therefore, as soon as the child is old enough,
generally beginning at the age of two and three, it is taught to
wash, bathe, dress and undress itself; to keep its hat, mittens and
shoes in their respective places; to change clothes and put away its
own soiled garments; to brush and put away its own clothes which are
not in use, and to be careful and tidy with those that are in use. A
parent should never do any work for the child that the child can easily
do for itself. After the child grows a little older, we encourage it
to do all such easy work in keeping its own apartment clean and tidy
as it can easily do. Our aim is to create a pleasurable desire for
manual labor in the child while it is young; to inculcate a desire for
early self-support, self-reliance, and independence; to develop a keen
appreciation for order and regularity. Thus, you see, our children
are taught at an early age to do all their work in their own private
apartment. This strongly develops the faculties of order, promptness,
taste and regularity, which they take with them into life; both public
and private. This, we believe, produces the strongest, healthiest and
most complete persons physically and mentally. Therefore it is the most
useful and practical lesson the child can learn. This lesson, if well
learned, rewards every person, during his natural life, with an immense
amount of happiness.
“Now we will turn to the financial incentive to labor. I have already
remarked that a child, as soon as born, receives a book number and is
thereby represented in the commercial department of the family and
community. Before birth, as I have already stated elsewhere, the child
receives from the community a quantity of _green_ money, with which
the mother, father or nurse pays all the child’s bills. At the age
of about five or six our children are generally able to write quite
well. At this age they also begin to do little, easy chores--such as
picking strawberries, currants, weeding small patches of vegetables in
the garden and greenhouse, etc.; also performing little jobs of work
in the house and elsewhere. All this easy work which children can do
is so divided off and paid for by the piece, quart, etc., that a child
can do it and receive the same pay for it as a grown person would. This
encourages the children to work, because they are paid for it as soon
as the money is issued. Children, the same as adults, always like to
receive and own money which they can handle to suit themselves. It also
encourages them to write, because, under the supervision of the mother,
parent, the commercial librarian, or some one else, they keep a record
of labor performed in their time-book. It further encourages them to
labor, because, at the end of each month, they receive _additional_
money for labor performed. Of course, the money children receive for
labor performed is not of a green color, like that which was given
them at birth. Children always feel proud of the idea that they are
big, that they can support themselves, and that they need not live on
_green_ money any longer. To handle a pocket-book and money seems a big
thing for a child, and money can be obtained only by productive labor;
if the child wants money for itself it has to earn it, for we, as
_individuals_, all make a practice of not giving any money to children,
because it tends to make beggars, idlers and dependent beings of them.
All we do is to give them plenty of fine opportunity and then let them
earn all they want.”
“Do you let young children spend the money they earn just as they
wish?” asked Viola.
“Certainly we do,” replied Mr. Midith. “We give them our best advice,
our best financial conduct, and then let them do as they see fit.
You must not forget that the appetites, and hence the conduct of
your children, as a whole, are vastly different from the appetites
and conduct of our children. Very likely your children, if they all
at once had plenty of money, would at first spend large sums for
nicknacks, and many of them get sick from overeating, because their
nicknack-appetite has not been properly adjusted. Our children have no
particular appetite for nicknacks; they have all they want during their
whole life. Further, the conditions for spending money are altogether
different with us. They can not buy intoxicating liquor, because we,
like thousands of your most thoughtful men, have learned that we are
better off without intoxicating liquor as a beverage, and hence have no
appetite for it, and do not manufacture it. They can not spend their
money in sinful houses, because when money is so plentiful and so
easily obtained, nobody will sell the use of her person for dissolute
purposes. They can not lose it in option deals, because we have no
board of trade, nor speculators of any kind. They do not wish to use it
to buy houses and land with, because they have all of them they want,
etc.”
“But do you not admonish your children to save their money--to lay up
some for old age?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“No, we admonish no one to save money. Our aim is not to grow rich on
_frugality_, but on _abundance_ of _production_. _You_ esteem frugality
as a high virtue, which may perhaps be all right under your perverted
financial, social and industrial system. _Our_ aim is to open up
natural opportunity and make production by voluntary co-operation and
mechanical appliances so abundant that frugality is unnecessary. Under
these conditions, we can produce all the material wealth we want in
a few hours of labor a day. The American Indian, with his primitive
habits, can not grow rich by frugality and his very limited production;
but, by a change of habits and by abundant production, he may be able
to produce, with an agreeable amount of productive labor, more material
wealth than he can judiciously consume. So with the Marsites.
“The principal differences of which we have thus far spoken between our
and your system of education are:
“We give the child, in the acquisition of information, complete
freedom; you compel it to do certain things which you as adults believe
to be right, but which, as a rule, are perhaps nine times out of ten
wrong. We believe that the home, field and active society is the best
school; you largely cut the child off from these natural means and
confine it to the narrow school-house, or prison, we think, where it
is not allowed to talk and exercise--the very things you desire it
to learn. We endeavor to create a desire for inquiry by pleasant and
attractive incentives only; you generally resort to compulsion. Hence,
we believe that a child should study only _when_, _where_ and _what_ it
likes; you believe that it _must_ study such a time and such branches,
and at such a place, whether it finds pleasure in doing so or not. We
believe that a teacher or parent, who must compel a child or pupil
to study, does not know how to teach; you believe that the child’s
dislike for study is grounded in the perversity of its nature. We teach
and inculcate that manual labor is honorable; that one who lives from
the labor of others is a social and industrial parasite; that a child
should be enticed to establish the habit of manual labor while young.
You believe that manual labor is disrespectful, that a washerwoman,
as such, is not as good as a senator’s wife, that one who lives from
the labor of others by means of profit, interest, rent, and taxes is a
good, clever person. You largely teach inequality; we teach complete
equality of man, woman and child.
“On the money question our system of education has a great advantage
over yours. Our child receives all it earns at the close of each month;
your child works for the parent. It receives nothing for a number of
years but board, clothing and sometimes a little pocket money. Some of
your parents give their children some property when the children become
‘of age;’ some parents give their property to their children, perhaps,
because they can not take the property with them when they die; some
parents have nothing to give when the child becomes of age nor when the
parents die. In a child, in which the ideas of time and space are yet
very imperfectly developed, a remote reward is a very feeble incentive
to labor. A child or a savage will do a great deal for a penny, if paid
immediately, but they will do very little for ten dollars, if they are
to be paid five years hence, or even a year hence.
“You say, how can you make your children work if you do not force them;
but the secret, you see, all lies in the system. Our system encourages
a child to work, while yours encourages it to be idle. We have a short
day, easy work and big _cash_ pay; you have a long day, toilsome work,
and small pay _on ten to forty years’ time_.
“You can easily see that we are all teachers and all pupils at the same
time. We study our whole lifetime and graduate only at death. We teach
each other when we labor and when we play, in the house and in the
field. The teachers, as well as the pupils, perform their manual labor
daily; for we believe: 1. That a knowledge of manual labor is the most
important education we can receive. 2. That a short, easy day’s manual
labor like ours, especially if performed in the open air, is healthful,
and promotes the development of body and mind; such labor is the most
invigorating food that can be taken. 3. That we have more leisure time
for teaching and imparting useful knowledge to our children and to each
other than we want, besides the short time we daily devote to manual
labor. 4. That labor must be made so easy, attractive and agreeable
that we do it for the pleasure that is in it; and 5. That no one
should be forced to study or learn what he finds no pleasure in. Your
school-houses and your methods of teaching are altogether unnatural,
ours are natural; that is the reason you are obliged to use force
everywhere. Your _children_ are all right, but your _school_ is nearly
all wrong. Your school-houses and your methods of teaching are an
infraction of the laws of life and health; that is why your children so
often rebel against them. That is the reason why so many of your pupils
are tardy, absent, sullen and puny. The child’s instinctive knowledge
of life and health, when it remonstrates against your school and your
methods of teaching, is a better guide than the perverted reasons of
your teachers and parents.”
CHAPTER XXII. EDUCATION--THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES.
“How, then, do you teach the different branches, Mr. Midith, as the
pupils grow older?” asked Mr. Uwins.
“I have already explained how we learn our letter, how we learn to
print, draw and write.
“_Language._--We learn good language, because we hear it continually
spoken by our companions, who, in a system like ours, are all well
educated and good linguists. We learn to speak by speaking. In a large
family like ours, language is very good, and improves rapidly, because
there are always sure to be some good linguists who are unconsciously
and spontaneously teaching language and grammar to all the rest. Under
such conditions you can easily see that we hear scarcely any bad
language. We speak fluently and grammatically without particularly
studying technical grammar and rhetoric, which, of course, are nothing
but the language used by the best speakers and writers of the age in
which they live. That is the way we study and learn language, grammar
and rhetoric; with a higher development they grow continually more
simple. The conditions under our system brings about these favorable
and natural opportunities.
“Here, again, we have a vast advantage over you and your system. So
many of you are compelled, by want and the fear of want, to work
so hard and so long daily, that parents and children are obliged to
expend nearly all their vitality to secure the material necessaries of
life. Your families are small and many of them are living all alone
in the country. The language of parents, under such conditions, must
necessarily be very poor and their vocabulary very limited. Children
can learn very little good language from such parents. They hear much
more bad grammar at home than they get good grammar from the book and
school-house, in which it is indeed generally poor enough, too. It is
not an easy matter for one to lay aside, in later years, the ‘barnyard’
expressions which he has learned in his childhood and youth. A person
that never hears anything but good language, can not use poor language,
for language must be learned.”
“But we have many wealthy people who have all the time they want for
the study of language, how about them?” asked Mrs. Uwins.
“Those few of your wealthier classes, who hear better language and
grammar at home, and who have plenty of time to devote for its
acquisition, come in contact with so much bad language that they pick
up about as much bad as good language. In this manner there is an
immense amount of time and labor wasted here in the study of technical
grammar and rhetoric, which would be unnecessary under a properly
organized social condition.”
“How do you teach _writing_, Mr. Midith?” asked Roland.
“I have mentioned elsewhere how we learn to make our letters, and
how we keep our record in our time-book when we are yet very young.
Our next incentive for writing is our large daily newspaper, issued
by every community, as I have explained in my previous narrative. At
a very early age children are encouraged to write articles for the
paper. All of us, young and old (except infants), are contributors to
this paper; and all subjects of human inquiry are discussed. We enjoy
complete freedom of speech and freedom of the press. We allow no censor
over them. The children have a certain department of the paper allotted
to them; and the older people are much interested in the children’s
contributions, discussions and explanations. There is a wide, friendly,
open field for emulation in these newspaper columns. These newspaper
contributions are a great incentive for children, as well as adults, to
learn to write well, to express their thoughts concisely, elegantly,
forcibly and clearly. The editor makes such slight corrections as
he finds in the children’s manuscripts, which are returned to the
children, so that they can compare the printed column with the original
manuscript. In this easy, practical way, our children learn writing,
orthography, language, grammar, rhetoric, style and invention.
“Our next incentive to induce children to write is brought about by our
free and convenient system of motor travel. This travel creates a large
and wide acquaintance among children as well as among older persons.
This extensive acquaintance naturally brings about a great deal of
correspondence.
“Many of us are stenographers, and nearly all have a typewriter and a
phonograph, which are so improved and simplified now on Mars that you
would scarcely know them.
“You see in this way we have many incentives which will induce
children and adults of all ages to become proficient in handwriting,
typewriting and in composition.
“_Mathematics._--In the first place, let us not overlook the fact
that our financial, social and industrial organizations have vastly
simplified our mathematics. In weights and measures we have adopted
something like your metric system. In commercial transactions we have
no profit and loss; no stocks and bonds; no premiums and discounts; no
commission and brokerage; no stock investments; no insurance, taxes and
revenues; no interest, partial payments, true discount, bank discount,
exchange, equation of payments; no annual or compound interest; no
annuities; no partnership. This does away with nearly all the difficult
parts of arithmetic on which your children have to spend years of
unproductive and destructive labor.
“Our children learn to count as soon as they can talk. Every one with
whom they come in contact is their teacher. Figures and numbers are
taught as soon as the child begins to learn its letters. Children also
teach one another how to read and write figures and numbers, and how to
cipher. During favorable weather the slates in the nurseries and parks
are nearly always in use.
“When they grow up to be a little older, they find delight in
studying mathematics during part of their leisure time. All the
higher mathematics--algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, and
various other measurements--are well understood by nearly all our
men and women. You must not forget, that on account of the Marsites’
intellectual advancement they can learn mathematics with much less
labor than they could formerly, or than _you_ can _now_.
“We have a mathematical department in each family. This department
is in charge of one person, the ablest mathematician, who holds his
position by virtue of his superior ability or mathematical genius. He
is acknowledged teacher by all, simply because he is able to solve
difficult problems better than any other member of the family. This
teacher is in his department or school-room certain hours of the day,
and all who need assistance can go there and get it. We believe,
however, that no one should ask for assistance unless it is absolutely
necessary. Every one, we think, should solve his own problems, if
possible. It makes one original and independent, the most valuable and
important characteristic with which a person can be endowed. It often
happens that not a pupil is seen in the mathematical department for
days at a time. All work their own problems.”
“But, supposing, Mr. Midith, that there would be a young man or a young
woman, who would gradually become more proficient than the teacher,
what would happen then?” asked Rev. Dudley. “Would the new rival drive
the old teacher out?”
At this remark, Mr. Midith smiled and said: “The old teacher would be
too glad to resign his position to his rival as soon as the teacher
found that he could not assist his rival any more. Even with you, where
professors are elected by politicians and where positions are obtained
with difficulty, a professor of mathematics would not attempt to hold
his position, if he found that he could not teach his students any
longer.
“_Physiology._--The study of physiology, we make very simple, pleasant
and practical. We teach the location, structure and function of the
organs of the human body, both of the male and of the female. How a
particle of soil in our garden becomes a human tissue by being first
assimilated into a vegetable, grain or fruit; how we eat and digest the
vegetable, etc.; how the nutritious part of the food is thrown into the
circulation of the blood; and how it is then carried and built up into
an organ where it is needed, as an eye, a nail, a heart, a bone, or a
brain.
“We teach that life is the first thing we receive, the most precious
fortune we own, and the last prize we can lose. Life, then, is the
standard by which all our _acts_ should be measured. Every act that
conduces to the fullness of it is relatively _right_; and every act
that detracts from the fullness of it is relatively _wrong_. All
other things must be subservient to life and health, because without
life and health we can not enjoy the greatest happiness, the _end_
of all. To care for our body, then, is the first and most important
undertaking. To have this well done by a highly complex being, we must
have a thorough knowledge of anatomy and physiology, a knowledge of
the laws of life and health and the laws of reproduction. Our aim in
physiological education should be to put all our wishes, all our wants,
all our desires, and all our passions in tune with the laws of our
highest being.
“_Eating._--We teach our children by example _what_ to eat and drink
and _how_ to eat and drink. We ourselves put into practice what we wish
our children to do and what we believe to be most healthful in the way
of eating and drinking.
“For instance, the unperverted taste of the inferior animal when it
has a sufficient supply and choice of food is an almost unerring guide
in making the proper selection of the _kind_ of food it requires. If we
should eat poison instead of bread, the selection would be so fatal to
life that we would soon die. If we should select such food that cannot
be digested and assimilated, even if it is not poisonous, we would soon
have to starve. That kind of food, then, which sustains life best,
as compared with the efforts required for its production, should be
selected.
“We are vegetarians, living exclusively on vegetables, grains and
fruits, with the exception of dairy products and eggs. When I first
arrived on earth it seemed perhaps as repugnant to me to see people
eating steak as it would seem to you to see a cannibal eating human
flesh. We shrink from a carcass the same as we shrink from a corpse.”
“But, Mr. Midith, do you believe that man could get along _here_
without a meat diet?” asked Mrs. Uwins. “Do you believe that
vegetables, etc., are sufficiently nourishing to sustain the burdens of
hard labor imposed upon us here?”
“I am sure I know nothing to the contrary, Mrs. Uwins,” replied Mr.
Midith. “Your horse works hard, your cow gives milk, your sheep grows
wool, and they all live and grow strong on a vegetable diet. Why should
not man do the same? The dentition (teeth) of man, too, according to
the testimony of some of your most reliable scientific authorities, is
vegetarian. It may be shown that a vegetable diet gives great endurance
and strength in man. For example, your bark-gatherers of South America,
who carry upon their backs, in a rough country, a burden of over two
hundred pounds for a distance of thirty miles or more per day, live
exclusively on bananas. The Roman soldiers endured the hardest work on
a vegetable diet. The hardworking Spaniards live on black bread, onions
and melons. The Chinese live almost exclusively on rice, and can endure
much harder work than a negro fed on fat meat.
“There is one other important reason why we are vegetarians. In our
opinion, a flesh diet is degenerating, as well as unwholesome. May it
not be possible that a human body, built up on the flesh and blood of a
carnivorous brute, cannot be expected to contain within itself genuine
purity, love and kindness toward others?
“We have also discontinued the use of all intoxicating liquor as a
beverage. Experience, not ‘prohibition,’ gradually convinced us that it
not only tears down, but never builds up. That the apparent elevated
feeling is always followed by a corresponding depression. That an
immense amount of unproductive labor has to be expended annually in
producing it. That its use caused an untold amount of misery; and that
the apparent pleasure of its use is only a slavish desire--an abnormal,
physiological derangement--a diseased condition of the system which is
continually moving in the direction of _delirium tremens_ in which it
will end, if the use is sufficiently excessive and prolonged.
“In your present stage of intellectual development, the evils resulting
from the use of intoxicating liquor as a beverage are very apparent.
Liquor is an incentive to crime because it stupefies the better
feelings. It fills your prisons with criminals, who have been urged on
to their dark deeds when under its influence. It deprives countless
homes of their joy and brightness. It makes a slave of millions of
women and children, who are ruled by a lion of terror. It makes slaves
of the drinkers themselves. It wrecks constitutions and furnishes
victims for countless premature graves. It squanders wealth, kills
useful industry, suppresses kindness, invades purity and stifles
thought. It causes filth, jealousy, idleness, poverty and pauperism.
The evil effects of its use react on the drinker and reflect on his
companions. By the presence of a drunkard, the street and society are
turned into a saloon and the home is converted into a dungeon. The
drinker’s breath even pollutes the very atmosphere his companions are
compelled to breathe.
“We have also long ago discontinued the use of tobacco. We found, as
our medical science advanced, that it had a bad, physiological effect
on the user’s system. Besides this, we found that it produced many
social evils. To chew and snuff, say nothing about smoking, is very
filthy. I here sometimes see a man spit tobacco juice on the floor, and
sometimes, when the wind is high, he even misses the floor and hits
his companion. Very frequently one meets a person here who uses the
theater, parlor, postoffice, railroad car and sidewalk as a spittoon.
Sometimes his lips, whiskers and mustache are all loaded and fringed
with tobacco juice. These loathsome sights are never practiced, nor
voluntarily endured by highly cultured individuals.
“Your smoking is also a habit that greatly prevents an orderly social
adjustment; for if a smoker, on account of his companions, is prevented
from smoking, the smoker himself becomes a slave to his desire. If he
smokes in the presence of his companions, he very likely makes slaves
of his companions by polluting, with tobacco smoke, the air which his
companions are compelled to breathe. And if the smoker and non-smoker
do not associate, that tends to divide society into classes, which
produces pernicious social effects. All these abnormal habits are
unhealthy, wasteful and dangerous on account of fire, etc., filthy,
causes offensive breath, and are generally disgusting to others; for
these and other reasons we have long discontinued them. I am quite
certain that our ladies, who are free and independent, would not
tolerate men who indulged in such filthy, offensive habits as the use
of stimulants and narcotics produce. Our ancestors, generations ago,
came to the conclusion that a healthy body and mind that cannot do its
part without being animated by a stimulant or stupefied by a narcotic,
is better off in the grave than out of it.
“Thus we gradually select, by long observation and experience, that
kind of food and drink which we believe to be most wholesome and
nourishing, and which infringe least upon the rights of others; for no
one can enjoy the greatest happiness who is surrounded by companions
who are miserable. Such are a few of the practical lessons that we
teach by example concerning _what_ to eat and drink.
“_How to eat._--In eating, we notice that the instinctive desire of
the lower animals prompts them always to eat the most desirable food
first. This, then, must be the most healthful method of eating; if it
were not, nature, by the survival of the fittest, would have forced the
animals to reverse their habits of eating, the same as she forces them
to live chaste lives.
“We endeavor to establish a healthy, trustworthy appetite in our
children by always keeping an abundance of all kinds of our eatable
food before them, by giving them complete freedom in the choice of
their food and in the time of eating, always letting them eat the
most desirable food first. Under these conditions variety, abundance
and freedom admirably adjust the appetite in harmony with life and
health. There is another point which we should consider well. Excessive
labor, to which the vast majority of your people here on earth are
doomed for life, implies an excessive digestion and assimilation; for
the excessive waste of the body, caused by the excessive physical
labor, must be repaired by an excessive quantity of food. By this the
function of all the internal organs becomes excessive on account of the
excessive physical labor. This is one reason why so many of your people
are afflicted with burdensome ailments; why so many have brokendown
constitutions, and why so many die premature deaths. Nearly all of your
people seem to be old when they are yet young.”
“You say you allow your children complete freedom in the choice of
their food, always permitting them to eat the most desirable food
first,” said Rev. Dudley. “Do you think a child would ever eat
potatoes, if it could get all the pie and cake it wants?”
“Yes, I am sure it would eat something besides pie and cake,” replied
Mr. Midith. “You are here laboring under one fundamental mistake, Rev.
Dudley. Judging from your words, you are no doubt under the impression
that a person naturally prefers one kind of food to some other kind;
but that is an error. It is true that some people like one kind of
food and some another. You will find some people who think that a horse
naturally likes oats better than hay; but this is not true. Let us
illustrate:
“A horse, say in a pasture, that is at liberty to go to a load of oats
and to a load of hay at any time, beginning as a colt, eats hay with as
much relish as oats, and never eats too much of either. It will never
eat all the oats and leave all the hay; but a horse that has had hay
only for a long time, or that has been kept away from feed too long,
will, as a rule, seem to prefer oats, and will also very likely eat to
excess when left free. Perhaps the effects of overeating may at first
not be apparent; but nevertheless they may be there, and if repeated
frequently, will soon become apparent.
“Just so with a person. One who dines at a table that contains all
he desires in variety, in quantity and in quality, has no particular
preference for any one kind of food, and he will seldom, if ever, eat
to excess. His appetite has not been perverted by want nor by arbitrary
constraint. Hence our dietetical lessons are the simplest possible.
Provide plenty of everything and allow the eater complete freedom and
choice, beginning with infancy.
“Now, the conditions here on earth are much different. Let us
contemplate them for a few moments. In the first place, a large
majority of your families, under your vicious economic system, can
afford few of your so-called dainties on their tables. The consequence
is that the children, and adults, too, are hankering after eatables
which are too costly for them to buy regularly; so that, when they
do occasionally buy them, their appetite is so perverted by long
abstinence that it is no reliable guide, and overeating is almost
invariably the result. Your Christmas and other noted dinners have such
an evil effect, too.
“When we notice a child eating that is compelled to eat and drink the
lesser desirable food first--for instance, ‘potatoes,’ instead of
‘pie’--its manner of eating is entirely different from what it would
be if it had always had an abundance of all kinds of food it wanted,
and if it were left free to make its own choice in regard to what it
would eat first and what last. You will generally notice that when a
parent tells a child, which you frequently see here, that it must eat
those potatoes or that bread before it will get the so-called delicious
dessert, pie, cookies, etc., it will cram its mouth so full of potato,
in order to get them out of the way, that it almost chokes. It hurries
the bulkier food down at an unusually rapid rate, so that it may
begin at its choice food. This manner of eating prevents a thorough
mastication. The food is also swallowed before it is well mixed with
saliva. Under this constraint, all the functions of the child are
unnatural and imperfect. Your fashion forces your adults to the same
unnatural course of eating as the parent forces the child. Hence so
many dyspeptics.
“Now let us notice the difference in the course of the child’s action
when it is left free to make its own choice what to eat first. This
freedom of the child will produce an entirely different course of
eating. You will notice, in the first place, that under abundance
and freedom the child will show no particular preference for any one
kind of food; and, secondly, it will, like the inferior animals,
invariably eat the most desirable food first. Your child, when free,
would perhaps begin with pie, because pie with you, as a rule, is
not as plentiful as potatoes and bread are. In this state of freedom
it takes plenty of time for chewing and mixing the food with saliva,
because it sees nothing before it which it likes better and which it
wants to get after finishing the pie. Perhaps it plays half the time
with its knife and fork, enjoying freedom and the pleasure of eating.
After it has finished pie, etc., it begins at potatoes, etc. All this
time it eats leisurely, instead of gluttonously, as before. In this
natural order of selecting food we gain one other important--perhaps
the most important--point, which is, that the child is always coming to
something that it likes somewhat less well, which will cause it to stop
eating just when it has enough.
“There are quite a number of other practices and habits in the manner
of eating and drinking here on earth which the Marsites would consider
pernicious.
“So many of you eat too fast. Your vicious system of business often
allows you scarcely time to eat a meal decently. Instead of masticating
the food long enough to moisten it thoroughly with saliva, which is
absolutely essential to good digestion, it is often rinsed down with
tea and coffee, which is not infrequently taken with every other
mouthful of food. This frequent rinsing, or drinking when eating, is
very injurious to good digestion. Drinks, such as tea and coffee,
appear to me to have a tendency to originate and establish this habit
of frequent drinking during the meal. Experience seems to prove that
fresh water is the healthiest drink that can be taken, and very few of
us use anything else for drinking.
“Delightful feelings during meal times are conducive to good
digestion. We, therefore, particularly cultivate delightful
conversation during meal times, and make everything appear as happy and
enticing as possible. A person is generally cranky when he is hungry
and weary. Our tables are always tastily and abundantly laid. Clean
linen, finished dishes, flavored food, exquisitely arranged table
bouquets, easy chairs and clean, courteous waiters are found in our
dining-rooms. We keep an abundance of food, which is prepared by expert
cooks; but we do not believe, like you do, in wasting about as much, if
not more, of good food than is eaten, which, I believe, is often the
case in your ‘first-class hotels’ and in your ‘upper’ society.
“From the foregoing explanation you can clearly see that all the
social and industrial features are so intimately connected with
and dependent upon one another that a person can not even follow a
healthful course of eating and drinking under a viciously arranged
social and industrial organization. Without an abundant supply of all
kinds of food, we continually hanker for the scarce varieties, and
when we occasionally obtain a supply of them, our appetite has been
perverted by long abstinence, and overeating is invariably the result.
Our economic system produces abundance of varieties of food; you have
a scarcity of many articles. A good social system puts no constraint
on the child nor on the adult as to the manner of eating, so that the
appetite will always be a safe guide. Our day’s labor is so short and
our restaurant eating conveniences so perfect that we eat whenever our
system calls for it. Your work between meals is so hard and so long
that you generally become unduly fatigued, which impairs digestion.
Again, we have always plenty of leisure time for eating, while many
of you have almost to run and eat. Once more: At table, in our large,
comfortable dining-hall, or in our elegantly furnished restaurant, we
are always surrounded by mirthful company, both ladies and gentlemen,
who appreciate one another’s company, because they are perfectly free
and independent of each other, and can select as companions whom
they please, while the vast majority of you have to eat in a small,
hot kitchen, or in a small, ill-ventilated dining-room, very often
surrounded by rude, filthy, ravenous children, and an overworked, pouty
husband and wife. I have more than once noticed in your families that
not a word was said nor a smile visible during the whole meal time.
Such conditions are not very conducive to good digestion and perfect
assimilation.
“From the foregoing remarks you will learn that we teach to be natural
in our habits of eating and drinking; you are artificial. We develop a
healthy appetite by free use; you pervert it by constraint. You make
prevalent fashion your guide; we take health for it. Your artificial
system tends to cause poverty and disease; our natural system tends
to produce health and abundance. Before you can hope to give valuable
dietetical instructions you must improve your school-house in that
direction. Not until you can supply an abundance of everything for all
and give your child free scope to follow its unperverted appetite,
can you hope to produce good results in this line of instruction, and
all your efforts should be directed in these channels. Your Greek and
Latin will never do it; and your paternalism will bring you continually
further and further away from the end which you are seeking.”
CHAPTER XXIII. EDUCATION--HOW TO TEACH THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES.
[_Continued._]
“From what you have told us about your eating and drinking, Mr. Midith,
I have learned so many new ideas that I should like to have you give
us an explanation of how you teach and inculcate cleanliness, and what
sanitary regulations you have,” requested Viola.
“Very well,” said Mr. Midith. “In the first place, our conveniences for
bathing are excellent, and we generally bathe at least once a day. In
the parks we have, as I have already told you, large artificial lakes,
which are supplied with water by a fountain, fed by the electric pump
at the big-houses. These lakes are fenced so that children can not fall
into them. During fine weather in summer, we generally bathe and swim
in these shady lakes. Little children who have not yet learned to swim
have a separate department with a shallow lake in which children cannot
drown. In these shallow lakes children, under the instruction of older
swimmers, learn to swim. This practice makes us all good swimmers. By
example, we teach that bathing and swimming are healthy and useful,
as well as delightful exercises after we have accustomed ourselves to
them. When the weather is unfit for bathing in the lakes, we use the
numerous bath-rooms in the big-houses. Each private apartment is also
furnished with a wash-stand and hydrants containing both hot and cold
water.
“All of us, men and women, young and old, wear our hair cut short. We
think it is more healthful and freer for the head. The hair is also
more easily kept clean and in order. We teach how to keep our finger
and toe nails clean and trimmed by practicing it on our infants, little
children, and on ourselves in the presence of our older children, who
are beginning to be able to care for their own personal cleanliness.
By cleaning and brushing our teeth in the morning and after each
meal, we teach how to care, at least in part, for our teeth. We have
learned that our teeth are organs of digestion, and, that if they are
poor, digestion will be impaired. To preserve sound teeth, we must not
bite any hard substances such as nuts, etc., that are liable to crack
the enamel; we must also keep them clean, so as to prevent them from
decaying. A dentist should frequently examine the teeth, and if he
finds them unsound, we should have them cared for in time. How to care
for the other organs of special sense, we teach in a similar manner,
always practicing ourselves, and doing for our helpless children from
infancy what we desire them to do in after-years. By these lessons,
our children, as they grow in years, learn to do for themselves what
they had done for them by others during infancy. The habits, by use,
gradually become pleasurable. Thus, we always teach by example, keeping
in mind that hygienic lessons which are good for children are also good
for older persons, and what is not worth doing for adults is not worth
doing for our children.”
“What about dress?” asked Mr. Uwins. “Some time ago you told us that
your ladies wear no dresses. Will you now favor us with a description
of your costume as worn by your ladies and gentlemen, and also how you
teach your children the best manner of dressing?”
“From what I have already told you about dress,” continued Mr. Midith,
“it is readily seen that we teach the wholesomeness of frequent
changes. In dressing, like in everything else, we make health and
comfort our guide. Those decorations and ornaments which put the body
most completely in harmony with the phenomena of life and health are
esteemed the highest by us.
“All the clothes we wear are easily washed and ‘done up.’ Our steam
washers can do an immense amount of laundry work in a short time. After
our day’s labor, we always change clothes. When at leisure, we are all
dressed neat and clean, as well as tidy and comfortable. No one can, by
the appearance of a person, tell the miner and engineer from the editor
and clerk, nor the washerwoman from the music teacher. All are wealthy,
educated and refined. One kind of labor is considered as honorable as
another, provided it be productive labor, the only kind we now have. We
have neither master nor servant, therefore, we have no distinction in
dress. All have plenty to dress in the height of fashion.
“Our clothing is adapted to suit the seasons of the year. Our children
are to the fullest extent so dressed that health and comfort take
precedence over decoration, ornament and grotesque patterns. Hence any
garment, which is clean, healthful, convenient and comfortable, grows
more and more beautiful to our sight as our esthetic sense gradually
and slowly unfolds by evolution.
“It is, of course, utterly impossible for me to tell you all about the
various styles, patterns and suits which are worn by the ladies and
gentlemen on Mars. A few general remarks at the beginning may, however,
aid you in getting a better understanding of what is to follow in the
more detailed description.
“The manufacture of cloth on Mars, as you will infer, is much in
advance of that on earth. We manufacture, with abundance and with the
greatest of ease, fabrics so beautiful and delicate that the people of
earth would wonder how it were possible for the human hand to attain
such skill. Your finest fabrics are but a coarse beginning as compared
with those on Mars. Now you must remember, too, that we do not, like
you, manufacture a grade of good goods and a grade of poor goods. In
a world where every person has all he possibly wants, no one will
ever wear _poor_ goods. But, on earth, where some are poor and some
are rich, the poor people have to wear coarse and cheap goods, while
the rich wear a better grade. Of course, we have different kinds of
fabrics, best suited for the different kinds of occupations, etc., but
they are always of the best quality for _that_ purpose.
“On Mars every person gets his garments made to suit his individual
taste. No one imitates another unless it suits his fancy. All of us are
equal authority on style. We have no Ward McAllister to imitate nor
have we any dressed in rags. On earth, where one is rich and therefore
honored, and the other is poor and therefore scorned, you have what you
call a ‘fashion,’ because all are endeavoring to imitate the _former_
as closely as possible, because every person, who is not utterly void
of self-respect, delights in wearing the mark of honor and prosperity.
Thus, all of you are striving to get as near ‘The Four Hundred’ and
as far away from those dressed in rags as possible. This contest
originates and maintains your ‘fashion.’ But, on Mars, everything is
style, and nothing grows out of style.
“I may say here that a lady’s common summer costume generally consists
of a plain, light felt hat; a loose sailor’s jacket, or shirt-waist;
full, loose trousers or divided skirt, as your ladies sometimes call
it, often narrowed to almost a close fit about midway between the knee
and ankle; but the lower extremities of the pantaloons are often less
narrow, fitting over a pair of shoes or boots with low heels, and large
enough for a comfortable existence of the feet. These, together with
the finest and most suitable undergarments, a few tasty decorations and
her mirthful, healthy, handsome countenance, constitute a lady’s common
costume when she is engaged in her ordinary occupation. In the winter
she wears a fine, comfortable head-dress, a warm, short coat when out
walking, bicycle riding, or when engaged in any other outdoor sport or
exercise. When out riding in an open carriage she wears a long, heavy
overcoat and other garments to correspond and suit the taste of the
occasion.
“The gentlemen, for common use, also wear plain felt hats, somewhat
larger than the ladies’; a ‘fancy’ shirt, with collar and cuffs of
the same material attached; a neat, delicate necktie, and suits and
underwear not unlike yours here.
“Of course, every lady, as well as every gentleman, has a large number
of suits and other changes, made up in widely different styles to suit
the occasion, as each individual sees fit. In a state of high culture
and a well-developed esthetic sense, the mind appreciates variety,
accompanied with health, convenience, comfort and beauty. Some suits
and garments are for the fore part of the day, some for labor, some for
leisure, some for the latter part of the day. Some are almost tights;
such as, for some games, bicycle-riding, etc.; some are very loose and
thin during hot weather; some for the public parlors, some for the
halls, some for visiting, some for travel, some for each occupation;
some for the private apartment, when alone; some for the private
apartment, when one has company, etc.
“From what I have said about clothes, it, no doubt, becomes plain to
you that, in a world and age in which people appreciate good health,
love liberty, enjoy real comfort and esteem the greatest conveniences,
there is no room for an unmanageable hat, tight shoes, tightly laced
corsets, a plug hat, stiff shirtfronts and skirts of any kind, whether
short or trailing. From historical knowledge you all know that in
‘olden times’ your men wore shirts and other flowing gowns, the same
as your ladies still do. But your men, in your highest civilized
countries at least, on account of having a little more freedom to act,
have long outgrown the skirt and robe, except, perhaps, a few priests;
and just so will your women outgrow them as they become a little more
independent socially, industrially, financially and sexually. A good
sign of the coming change is, that a few of your foremost ladies have
already laid aside their skirts.
“Our dress, then, as you will infer from my description, is all made of
the best and finest fabrics, of endless variety in style, scrupulously
clean, handsomely made, perfectly comfortable, highly healthful,
remarkably convenient yet extremely simple.
“I am well aware that some of your so-called fashionable ladies and
your dudish gentlemen, who are not infrequently trying to hide their
ill-health partly contracted from their unnatural dress, with paint,
would sneer at our plain, tidy, comfortable costume, no matter how
clean and healthful it be. But, I am certain, that our clean, plain,
convenient dress would not seem so strange and ridiculous to you
as your unnatural, pinching and, am sorry to say, too often soiled
garments would appear to us. Just think how your ladies, who are
forbidden by your one-sided society to solicit the love of their
choice, must decorate and ornament themselves in gaudy costumes to
attract attention in order to catch a husband, or be left without one
in your cruel social and industrial world in which a single woman has
but a slim chance of making a comfortable living. So much for dress.”
“How about exercise, Mr. Midith?” asked Mrs. Uwins. “Do you consider it
very essential to full development and good health, and, if so, how do
you teach it?”
“We teach that healthful outdoor exercise is absolutely essential for
the highest physical and mental development and for the maintenance of
good health. We think it is one of the most invigorating forms of food
a person can take; and we teach how to take it on the same principle as
we teach other things. The adults practice it in the presence of the
young, and the child naturally takes to it by imitation and pleasure
under our favorable conditions.
“First, before our babies can walk, they are taken out in
baby-carriages, tricycles made for carrying babies, electric carriages,
motors and trains. When the weather is pleasant, they play in the
outdoor nurseries; when unpleasant, they are in the house-nurseries and
other parts of the ‘big-house.’ As soon as they are a little older,
but still require a nurse with them, they are taken into the parks,
lakes and fields. Our children are left without a nurse at a very young
age. They choose their own games, their own exercises and their own
amount of labor. As I have said before, we do not govern our children
by physical force. All our buildings and other things are as much
constructed and arranged with a view to suit and accommodate the wants
and desires of the child as the wants and desires of the adult. Our
railroads and motor-lines are all fenced, so that no danger can befall
them there. We have no open wells and cisterns. The doors and gates are
nearly all self-closing and noiseless. Lamps and matches are rarely
used. Our principal aim is to provide a suitable school-house, and then
let the child’s environment impress it with useful information.
“As our children grow older, they begin to do light work, both in the
house and outdoors, which serves as part of the physical exercise
necessary for full development and vigorous health. This daily work we
generally keep up as long as we live. Not that we are obliged to do
so on account of poverty, but, because by long, delightful practice
our daily labor has become pleasurable exercise. The work is easy, the
day is very short, and the exercise of it, we believe, conduces to
the fullness of life. _Work_, as we have seen under these conditions,
gradually changes into _play_. Your people here despise and condemn
labor so, because your working-day is so long, your labor so hard, your
conveniences so few, your pay so small, and your bosses so cruel and
dictatorial. That is, your manual and industrial school-houses are not
well-furnished. You have careless, incompetent directors and teachers
in these branches of instruction.
“During our leisure hours, which are, of course, very numerous, men,
women and children go out walking, bicycle riding, swimming, playing
outdoor games, and ride on carriages, motors and trains. When the
weather is unpleasant, we take our exercise in our large halls and
parlors. The upper story of our main building is covered with glass.
This enables our children and ourselves to get all the sunshine we
want during our clear, cold winter weather. A ride or walk around this
great hall is more than a quarter of a mile. In taking exercise, as in
everything else, we make our feelings the guide of how long we ought to
continue. As soon as we feel fatigued we cease our exercise, whether it
be work or play.
“You see there is a great difference here between our system and
yours. You have a large class of people; in fact, nearly all who have
to over-exercise by manual labor--have to work themselves stiff and
deformed. Then you have another class who take scarcely any outdoor
exercise--your city ladies, etc. It seems that you do not appreciate a
robust lady. You teach her that she must remain quietly at home until
her suitor comes to take her out; and he, perhaps, has his other girl
out. Your society forbids your maidens to take a bicycle or a carriage
to go after their suitors, except on occasional sham leap-year parties.
The majority of your married city ladies, under the burdens of husband
and children, are entirely unable to take sufficient outdoor exercise;
and even if they had the time and opportunity, they would have no other
place for it than a smoky city and a muddy sidewalk.”
“That is very true!” exclaimed Mrs. Uwins. “Overwork on the one hand,
and want of healthful outdoor exercise on the other, are playing sad
havoc with health here. We see very few graceful forms and healthy
looking faces as we pass along the streets of our cities and towns.
“This reminds me of a question I wanted to ask you some time ago,”
continued Mrs. Uwins, “and that is, How do you teach regularity of
habits? For you undoubtedly are orderly, prompt, and regular in your
habits. Health requires regular intervals of alternate activity and
rest, which vary with age and other conditions.”
“Yes, we attach a great deal of importance to order, promptness and
regular habits. We teach them to our children by practicing them
ourselves. We are regular with our set meals, our work, our leisure,
our exercises, our studies, our bathing, our dressing, our games, our
rising, and our retiring. We have learned, by sad experience, the same
lessons that you are now learning; the lessons that regular periods of
rest and sleep are absolutely necessary to good vigorous health, and
as we aim to make all our conduct conform to the phenomena of life and
health, it is certain that we have acquired regular orderly habits of
life.
“You see our social and industrial system allows us plenty of leisure
time for sports, during the day; we need not steal it from our night’s
rest, like you do at your night dances and parties, at which a large
number dance, drink, and not infrequently debauch all night and work
hard all next day. No one could induce us to do that. About eight or
nine o’clock in the evening, we all retire to rest in our own private
apartments, and soon after everything is as quiet and silent as death.
We, no doubt, would be called cowards by you for not daring to infringe
on our health by a night’s carousal, the same as you would be called
cowards by your savages for not daring to do what a cannibal delights
in doing. When I first learned of your irregular night’s habits, they
seemed perfectly cruel and barbarous to me. How men, and some women,
too, were all night long under the influence of liquor; how they
exercised themselves into perspiration; how all human decency wilted
in them; how women sold themselves in order to make a living; how
they were betrayed and deceived when life and ambition were nearly
extinct; how children, hungry and half-dressed, were lying all around
sleeping. When I saw all these violations, besides countless others, my
astonishment of meeting so many faces bearing the marks of disease and
dissipation gradually vanished. I thought it so strange that men and
women could not see the injurious effects of such a night’s career, or
that they could be so careless and indifferent to health.
“It was in the foregoing field of contemplation that I first noticed
most clearly the utter viciousness of your social and physiological
school, your feebleness and impracticability of your methods of
teaching, and of your boasted civilization and institutions of
learning. To me they seemed a mere mockery. Your so-called superior
rarely ever did himself what he preached. Your lessons nearly always
consisted of words only.
“There are numerous other topics of physiology that we teach in a
similar manner as the foregoing.
“All apartments of our dwellings are abundantly ventilated and lighted,
either naturally or artificially, by the straight or refracted sunbeam.”
“Mr. Midith, how do you teach history?” asked Mr. Uwins. “I believe
that _we_ are wasting much valuable time in studying comparatively
worthless history,” continued Mr. Uwins. “We largely teach dates,
battles, names of rulers, explorers, discoverers, names of religious
denominations to which they belonged, the size, weight, and temperament
of kings and queens, the ones whom they married, how many divorces they
obtained, how many cattle they owned, how many years the king survived
the queen, the composition of their crown, etc.
“All this is of comparatively little value and soon forgotten, because
it does not depend on principle. It does not ‘conduce to the fullness
of life.’ It does not make our homes brighter and happier. It does not
elevate the people. It does not improve our intellect. In my opinion,
it is immeasurably more useful and important for us to know how to
enlarge the power of prevision--‘power of looking into the future’--by
which we are enabled to avoid or remove the stumbling blocks of the
future, so as to leave the road of progress in the future less bloody
than we have left it in the past. To know that it is a plausible
presumption that the late Civil War in the United States augmented,
in one form or another, the aggregate slavery, is worth much more than
a thousand trivialities of chronological history. An acquaintance of
these principles enables us to avoid conflicts in the future, but no
amount of chronological matter will.”
“Our idea of history, Mr. Uwins, is almost similar to yours. We
have long ceased to study and commit to memory such trivialities of
history as you have just mentioned. We endeavor to develop historical
principles, which enable us to unlock the future by the experience of
the past. The philosophical part of history is the valuable portion.
The science of history did not develop as rapidly with us as nearly all
other sciences, and I find the same to be true with you also. But we
have now some very excellent historical productions; productions by the
side of which Mr. Buckle’s history appears to be in its infancy.”
“How do you teach the higher sciences?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“We have a laboratory which is in charge of an expert chemist. In this
laboratory we keep a full supply of apparatus, drugs and chemicals;
we can get all the practice and information we desire. We also have a
scientific department well supplied with philosophical apparatus of
all kinds. This department is in charge of able scientists who will
give you all desired information. We have an inventor’s shop fitted up
with all necessaries. In astronomy, our apparatus is grand and almost
perfect. Biology, zoology, psychology, etc., we learn by practical
experience, by individual inquiry, by reading, by lectures, and in
countless other ways.
“We must here keep in mind that not all instruction furnishes the mind
with useful information. For example: If we were taught that fire
does not burn, such teaching would be worse than no teaching; because
it stores the mind with falsehood which requires evidence to remove
before we can get at the truth of the case. So in all other cases where
falsehood and superstition are taught as truth. That knowledge only
which adjusts us more and more in accord with the facts of the universe
is worth learning. We should strive only for the acquisition of that
intelligence which makes us better, and, therefore, happier men, women
and children; all other knowledge is not worth learning.
“I now wish to compare a few of your educational lessons with ours;
but, before I proceed, let me again tell you that I do not mean to
cast any reflections on your mode of living, on your manner of eating,
on your style of dress, nor on your methods of teaching. I am fully
convinced that you, the same as all other beings, are doing the best
you have learned. I am also further convinced that we deserve no
particular praise for our somewhat advanced stages of intellectual
culture. All sentient beings are creatures of circumstances, over
which they have no control. None of us can act beyond the sphere of
our highest endowments. We must either act _within_ this limit or be
quiescent. Our personal and ancestral environment impresses us with
intelligence, and that organized intelligence is the motive force that
impels all of _us_ and all of _you_ to act in accordance as we are
connected with the chain of antecedents to our present being. A longer
lapse of time and more favorable conditions have made us what we are,
and, no doubt, the same conditions, as they come to pass on earth, will
bring you where we are now on Mars. So please bear in mind that all the
comments I shall make concerning your affairs and institutions are made
from a sincere motive, and not with a view of casting reflections.
“It is, no doubt, natural and good for the advancement of humanity
on all planets that we all find greater delight in having our good
qualities pointed out than we do in being reminded of our faults; but
we must know our faults before we can consciously correct them, and
with this view, I shall endeavor to make what I consider some of your
faults, as conspicuous as possible, and I invite you to do the same
with me.
“Your system of education is too much confined to a cheerless building,
which you call a school-house. That these public school-houses are
unnatural, cheerless places, may be evidenced by the fact that scarcely
any of your adults and parents ever visit them; for, if they were
natural and agreeable, they certainly would. The management of your
so-called school is too much in the hands of scheming politicians. You
employ, as a rule, cruel, incompetent teachers. You resort to physical
force--first, to support the public school by compulsory taxation; and,
secondly, to procure the pupil’s attendance, both of which are, in our
view, injurious, unjust and despotic. In a good system of education,
the school-room is perfectly free, natural and co-extensive with the
sphere of man’s activity. In a successful school every one is teacher
and pupil at the same time. Now, in making these criticisms, let us
begin at the foundation; let us look for the causes.
“In the first place, your social, industrial and sexual conditions of
nearly all your parents, and especially of your mothers, are so pitiful
that it is scarcely possible for them to bring forth descendants with
a kind, pleasant disposition. The parental silence, crabbedness,
toil, care and ill-temper concomitant with your present conditions,
are generally stamped on the child’s countenance and grafted in its
constitution long before it is born. The people of earth quarrel and
fight too much among yourselves, with your neighbors, and with nations
to produce and rear a gentle, non-aggressive, peace-loving child. You
must remember that all social beings are teachers, either for good or
for bad. The home and daily social intercourse are the most effective
school. Just as the adult is, nearly so will the child be. If the
adult is jealous, aggressive, ignorant, superstitious, dishonest,
intemperate, and rude in his conduct, so will the child be. Hence our
principal object in education should be to educate _ourselves_.
“After birth, especially during the first stages of infancy, your care
and attention given to the mother and child is almost always inadequate
and improper. The care, toil, anxiety, ill-health, your pernicious
sex-relations, and very frequently the poverty of your mothers
generally affect for ill the maternal nourishment given to the child.
By this early lesson, the child, through the instrumentality of its
food, becomes partly like its mother from the effects of its mother’s
bad condition. Thus its pernicious education begins at an age when the
child is yet unconscious of its surroundings. Your practice of rocking
a child is also a bad lesson.
“When your child gets a little older, I notice that nearly all
your parents teach their babies, in an unconscious way, to become
cry-babies and bawlers; this assertion may seem strange to many of you,
but it is nevertheless a fact.
“I have noticed in my travels thousands of children, some younger and
some older, that would set up a cry as soon as the mother would appear
in their presence or sit down, and no doubt all of you have seen the
same. You see the cry-baby has discovered that its mother or some one
else will take it up as soon as it sets up a cry. With this cry-weapon,
it has been successful so often that it will constantly employ it as a
means to gain its end, and every such successful effort makes the cry
louder and longer and more frequent, if necessary.
“But the foregoing lesson is by no means the worst one I have seen your
parents and nurses teach your children during infancy. I have met a
number of cases where a child completely tyrannized over the mother,
and over the whole family; that it would first _cry_ and bawl in order
to be taken, then to have the taker walk the floor with it, and then,
in a few extreme cases, have the taker _run_ instead of _walk_ the
floor. I have also seen where a mere infant was so well trained by
mischievous instruction that it would set up a fierce cry whenever the
walking mother or nurse would come anywhere near a chair or sofa, upon
which she would apparently seat herself. I have, furthermore, seen
hundreds of children here on earth whose training has been so unnatural
that they would not retire without the mother or nurse lying down
with them, soothing them to sleep, or without rocking them to sleep.
All these cry-babies enforce their mandates by a cry or bawl; and the
more the cry-baby is successful the more it will employ this weapon,
which can be wielded with so much success among those who are not
much familiar with human nature and with human welfare. Our children
scarcely ever cry. We do not teach them to cry. We give them the very
best of care and attention, but let them know from the beginning that
they can not only not accomplish anything by crying, but that they, by
crying, bring upon themselves the displeasure of all their companions.
We never take a child or infant because it cries. And if it should
begin to cry while in our lap, we would immediately put it down and
not take it again until it puts on a _smiling_ face. Thus, you see, we
teach our infants and children from the earliest beginning to employ
pleasant, agreeable means to accomplish their purposes, while your
infants and children, with your vicious methods of teaching, accomplish
their objects by setting up a cry or bawl, and sometimes this cry
includes the greater part of the day and night.”
“But what would you do with a crying baby if you had strangers in the
house?” asked Viola.
“Why, I would do the same as I would if there were no stranger. I
would always employ those known means that would produce the best
results, whether strangers or no strangers. As I have stated before,
if a child receives the proper training from infancy, it rarely ever
cries. The greatest cry-baby, I think, can be cured from the annoying
habit of crying by proper training and kind treatment in a few months’
time, but not by your method of training. I have often noticed in your
private families, who have strangers or guests with them, that the
mother would try every means but the right one to keep her child from
crying, so as not to annoy her guests or boarders; but the more she
tried the greater was her failure; the more she amused and humored
the child the more it cried for amusement. Thus her companions become
the victims of a nuisance caused by the mother’s inadequate knowledge
of human nature. Children, as well as adults, should be free to make
their own amusements. The intent of those who produce this vast army
of cry-babies and ill-tempered children is, no doubt, as good as that
of the Inquisitor and witch-killer was; but for all that it is a
lamentable defect.
“Again, let us not forget that the pernicious effect of this cry-lesson
does not end here. There is a still deeper and more fatal evil
connected with it. To illustrate: Crying involves an expenditure of
vitality, not only on the crier, but also on those who make an effort
to silence the crier, and on all who are annoyed by it.
“Once more: A child that has fallen, or has hurt itself otherwise, in
a way for which nothing can be done to alleviate the pain, should not
be picked up or be soothed by parents and adults. It should be made to
understand that it came to grief by its own acts--by a violation of
a natural law. If under these conditions, it receives sympathy from
others, it will soon cry for it. The sufferer, if sympathy is lavished
upon it, will begin to infer that the injury was brought about by a
personal agency controlled and influenced by the sympathizers. The
child should learn as early as possible that the so-called laws of
nature are constant and uniform, and do not bend to suit its whims,
but that its conduct must conform to the laws. The latter course will
tend to make a child intelligent and look for causes, while the former
makes it superstitious and ignorant.
“Some mothers tell me that my way of treating and teaching infants
and children in these cases is cruel, cold and distant. But the real
trouble is that these mothers and others do not see their _own_ cruelty
and indifference. The cruelties and negligence these mothers practice
on their children are perfectly shocking to me. They are cruelties
which their poor children must carry with them all their lives. Let
me see if I can make my meaning clear to you. Crying, especially when
accompanied with anger, is a violent strain on the nervous system; it
also causes a physiological waste, which must be repaired by additional
food. Now this additional food tends to impair digestion, and the
impaired digestion affects circulation--the function of the heart.
Thus, the violent exertion of crying, which is nearly all brought about
by your vicious training and teaching, produces nervousness, weakness
and general ill-health. Nearly all your children one meets are affected
more or less in this manner; and children who are affected thus would
continue to be fretful for a while, no matter how favorable the
conditions would be made; yes, even if they were taken in the society
of Mars. It seems so strange to me that parents can not see these plain
facts; but, as a rule, they do not see them here, and seem to care less
about discovering them. Thus many of your parents make imbeciles of
their children and they do not know it; and if this is not cruelty and
coldness, I am sure I do not know what is.
“Allow me to inform you of one other very vicious practice in your
nursery. Long-continued superfluous paternalism and parental
assistance, like many of your parents and other adults unwisely lavish
upon offspring, even at the present age of your world, greatly and
perniciously _lengthen_ the period of infancy in an _individual_. Many
of your young men and women are, on this account, little more than
grown-up babies, having scarcely any self-reliance and originality.
Thus is the period of infancy lengthened in an individual; and such
superfluous paternalism and assistance lavished upon offspring as a
_race_ during countless ages, is, in the opinion of the Marsites, one
of the causes of the lengthened period of infancy and helplessness
which we find existing in the offspring of the different species of
organisms, as we ascend in the scale of the animal kingdom. But, as
mankind rise to a certain point of intelligence, they direct their
course of action by conscious wisdom acquired by long-continued
ancestral and personal experience, instead of following only the
thoughtless, primitive instinct.
“Thus we see that the period of infancy is continually lengthened by
a rise of intelligence up to a _certain point_, and that from this
maximum period it slowly begins to shorten, as the higher parental
wisdom and truer affections make the child constantly more self-reliant
by throwing it, under favorable conditions and at an earlier age,
more and more on its own resources and independence, by which all the
child’s faculties are harmoniously unfolded by an earlier independent
course of action. This higher and broader wisdom of the adult has, in
the course of time, greatly shortened the period of infancy on Mars.
“A Marsian child, as we have already seen, has a healthy and vigorous
pre-natal (before birth) growth, to begin with. After birth it is
never over-burdened with manual labor; inactivity, dissipation,
constraint, and paternalism never stunt the full development of body
and mind, and poverty leaves no regretful marks on its after-life,
while your children on earth, as a rule, are, on the one hand,
largely over-burdened with toilsome labor and a vicious pre-natal
existence, and, on the other hand, inactivity, dissipation, constraint,
paternalism and poverty nearly always prevent the full and harmonious
unfoldment of their faculties, and this tends to lengthen the period of
infancy and helplessness.
“There is still one other lesson, which, of all the countless bad
lessons you teach, is perhaps the worst one. I mean, of course, the
flogging of children. To begin with, under right conditions, it is
not only useless, but actually harmful in all its consequences. It
irritates both parent and child. It makes a tyrant of the stronger and
a slave of the weaker. It teaches a child to be cruel, because one who
is reared in an atmosphere of cruelty can not help being cruel himself.
This instruction dwarfs and often withers the higher feelings of
affection and amiability.
“For my part, I do not see how a parent or friend can gather around the
bedside of his sick or dying child whom he has misused. How he can,
during its dying hour, gently press these poor, tiny fingers with that
hand, which, more than once, cruelly struck it. How he can look into
those longing, wide-open, staring eyes from which he has often caused
the tears to flow. How, after such despotism, such kicks and cuffs,
he can draw nearer to those arms which are so imploringly stretched
out toward him in its agony, when the last tremor gently steals over
the voiceless lips of that suffering, dying child. How he can impress
a parting kiss on those open, pallid lips, which he has often cruelly
hushed. How he can gaze on those pale sunken cheeks that were once so
round and rosy. How he can smooth the forehead which is now covered
with cold perspiration with that same hand which not long before
outraged it with violence. How he can remove the pressure from the
heaving bosom, gasping for breath. How he can, in the last moment of
its life, embrace one whom he has treated more like a slave than like
an equal. How he can summon sufficient courage to cast the last look at
the now poor, pale, withered, lifeless handful of dust that was once
aglow with life and health. How he can repress the tears of regret and
repentance when bitter recollections of abuse, negligence, and violence
committed on that harmless, innocent, lifeless little prattler, come
crowding thick and fast into his memory.
“It may be that the earthly inhabitants can see how all these
things can easily be done; but for a Marsite they would seem almost
impossible. Here, then, a mundane being can do what would seem utterly
impossible for a Marsite to do.
“But the evil training of your youths does not end here. For example:
Nearly all your parents, teachers, preachers and other persons take the
part of a child complaining against the conduct of another child. This
is one of the most unholy lessons you can teach. Let me illustrate my
meaning more clearly. A number of children are playing outdoors. One
strikes or otherwise offends another. The offended one will begin to
bawl in order to attract the attention of the mother in the house, or
it will go to the mother to state its actual or imaginary grievances.
The mother, who, as a rule, knows very little about human nature,
immediately loses her temper and plays general havoc with the real or
supposed offender; first, by asking him a series of questions which
tend to make a liar out of the child, and secondly, by beating the
offender, which act makes a worse despot out of the mother than the
offending child was. But remember that this is not all the harmful
results brought about by your method on this point. If, during the
inquiry, the child believes it can escape further punishment by telling
a falsehood, nine times out of ten it is tempted to do so, in order to
get out of its predicament. Thus it becomes plain that the mother’s
course of action offers a premium on lying.”
“But what would you do with such an offender?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“Would you let one child pound and abuse another without interfering?
Would you let your neighbor’s child kick and beat your own?”
“Let me explain, Rev. Dudley,” said Mr. Midith. “My reply to the first
part of your interrogatory is that I would change the _conditions_
which produce such offenders. Then you ask, ‘Would you let one child
pound and otherwise abuse another child, perhaps a younger one, without
interfering?’ My reply to that is, that your very interfering made
the _one_ child a ‘pounder,’ as you call him, and the other one a
whining complainer. If your adults would not resort to ‘pounding,’ your
children would not. Your children are only imitating your example. What
a prominent part in the mind of the child the rod plays in domestic
life is demonstrated by the fact that whenever your children play
house, the child who represents the father or mother is generally
applying the switch to the others. From what I have seen, I believe
that your children are not half as cruel in many respects as your
adults are.
“If you would never give any encouragement or attention to a
complaining tattler, there would be no such tattlers and complainers.
It is the encouragement and success with which the complainer meets at
your hands which make him a complainer, and the greater his success the
more frequently he will resort to it.
“A child, in order to become the completest person, must, from the
beginning, be left free to adjust its own social affairs. All parental
and governmental interference and paternalism is a hindrance in the
process of attaining the highest social plane.
“Many of your parents also require their children to get the parent’s
permission whenever the child desires to go any place. This method of
training likewise tends to make schemers and fibbers. A child who is
desiring to go some place will, if it deems it necessary to get the
parent’s consent, fabricate most any story to gain its point. Perhaps
most of your parents now living know that from personal experience.
“Our children go when and where they please. They are capable
and experienced because they have been taught in the school of
self-reliance from infancy. We, as adults, have fitted our social
conditions so that our self-reliant child can easily grapple with any
emergency that it might meet. We keep no places below the dignity of
a child’s presence. Our children never tell fibs because we offer
no premium on a lie. We never scold nor flog them. They know this,
and do, therefore, never hesitate to say what they did and what they
want. We treat them as children that must grow in wisdom by a wider
experience. They never tattle or complain of their companion’s conduct
because we never pay any attention to their complaints. We have no
cry-babies and our children are always models of affection to all,
because they receive the kindest possible treatment and the widest
possible freedom consistent with their physical powers.
“Thus for want of a little more psychological knowledge, your people
generally make a cry-baby and an infantile tyrant out of the baby and
child, a drudge out of the mother and nurse, and slaves out of those
who are annoyed by the cries, confusion and noise made by the mother
and child. By this pernicious instruction, you are annually more than
wasting millions of days of destructive labor, which greatly lengthens
your day’s labor and detracts greatly from the happiness of all
concerned.”
“But are you not digressing from your subject?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“I understood you to say, Mr. Midith, that you were going to compare
our school with yours. You have been all this while speaking of home
training instead of school education. I should like to have you show us
some defects in our public school system. It has stood the criticisms
of generations and I believe that it is almost perfect.”
“You remember, Rev. Dudley, that I stated at the outset that any school
or system of education that does not include the home training is too
narrow and unnatural,” said Mr. Midith. “I am aware that I have so
far not spoken in particular of your _public schools_, as you call
them. I am well aware of the fact that most of your people, I may say
nearly all of them, have implicit faith in the work of your public
schools, and this pride is very likely relatively well-founded. Every
stage of intellectual culture is accompanied by a certain system of
education and training; and very likely your present public school,
with your social, industrial and sexual relations so sadly out of
tune, is as good as can acceptably be received by the masses. It, very
probably, just about fits with the other conditions and institutions
of your present age. All that any of us can do, in any world, is to
think our best thoughts and use the best means which they bring about.
Therefore, I shall, at least for the present, not attempt to deny but
that your public school system, as established in the United States, is
_relatively_ good.
“What I want to show you, if I can, is that your public school system
is by no means faultless, and that all those who are unprejudiced and
believe in progress should not feel satisfied until all its faults and
blemishes are removed, for progress consists of the process of removing
faults and errors; but before we can consciously and deliberately
remove a fault or an error, we must find it; and as you have requested
me to point out the faults and errors of your public school system, I
shall, at least in part, endeavor to comply with your request. I say
in part, for I believe that it would require too much time for us to
point out all the faults and demerits if it were measured by a Marsian
standard of right and wrong, or even if it were judged by the standard
of your own best thinkers.”
“Oh, it may be that our public schools contain a slight defect here and
there, but I can not see them, and I believe they are quite difficult
to find, too,” said Rev. Dudley.
“Let us see, then, whether we can point out a few defects.
“1. As a rule, you demand your children, little and big, formally to
attend your public schools for six hours a day. During these six hours
you demand or force them to be quiet and silent; and as a child for its
full development requires constant activity in all directions, these
demands are an infraction against the laws of youthful life and health.
“2. To create a desire for inquiry should be the chief aim in the
acquisition of an education; and the development of this desire you
greatly frustrate or positively prevent by demanding your children in
your public schools to study just such branches at just such times.
From personal experience you well know that we do not always desire to
do the same thing at the same time. No one can, therefore, prescribe an
agreeable and useful course of study for another. You as adults would,
no doubt, fiercely remonstrate against the enforcement of such an
order, yet you impose it on your children with impunity and with an air
of apparent duty.
“3. Children who have been kept quiet and silent, like you keep them in
your so-called school-rooms for a disagreeable length of time, become,
when set at liberty, rude, boisterous and noisy. That is the reason why
your school-grounds, when the pupils during recess are at play, are
such loud, rude, disgusting places. The artificially pent-up vitality
is overflowing its banks. Thus by the very method by which you intend
to make your children kind, cultivated and refined, you actually make
them cruel, uncultivated and boisterous. Now let us not forget that all
these defects lie at the very _foundation_ of your public school system
and are entirely invisible to all superficial observers.
“4. When _many_ pupils like you have in your school buildings are,
after recess, demanded to come into the school-room immediately after
the ringing of the bell, or other signal, they, for want of time and
convenience of cleaning their shoes, rush in regardless of dust and
mud. This conduct and habit make children very indifferent and careless
of personal order and cleanliness.
“5. Your public school-rooms also cause your children to grow
disorderly and indifferent for want of proper conveniences. Many of
your schools require pupils to use paper for all their written work,
but schools provide no waste baskets or other receptacles for the waste
paper. As a natural consequence the waste paper is generally dropped on
the floor. This tends to create a habit of disorder and carelessness,
just the opposite of what you endeavor to impart.
“6. Perhaps as much as three-fourths of all your studying in your
school-room and colleges is largely done for the direct object of
recitation, examination and for obtaining diplomas. The evidence in
support of this proposition is that one seldom meets a pupil in your
public schools who cares enough for the intrinsic worth of knowledge
that he will study when no lessons are assigned. A pupil who has a
desire for knowledge and studies for the pleasure the intrinsic value
of it gives, would study even better when no lessons are assigned, for
then he is free to choose his own branches. Your graduations have also
a very evil effect. They tend to impress on the graduates the idea
that they have finished their education and need, therefore, no further
inquiry. It appears very clear to me that a vast majority of your
graduates would have a much better education in their maturer years if
they had not been affected by the graduation process. Thus you see that
the assignment of lessons, examinations, graduations and diplomas all
tend to blight self-inquiry, the only highway by which one can reach
the highest and noblest attainments.
“7. Your recitation and the showing process, which, as a rule, you
recommend so highly, instill into the mind of the pupil the idea and
habit that they can do nothing without the assistance of parent and
teacher. Thus the child is gradually taught to make no personal effort
without the telling and showing processes, and the consequence is, that
it kills nearly all originality and self-reliance in the child.
“8. Your compulsory attendance, whether enforced by parents or state,
tends to make fibbers and schemers out of many pupils who desire to
be excused before school lets out, or who desire to be excused by
parent or state. It is natural that after a pupil’s mental faculties
are exhausted for the time being, it can not continue to pursue its
studies without great bodily and mental injury. Under these conditions
the child’s healthful instinct generally prompts it to cease studying,
after which it begins its ‘mischievous pranks’ as you call them. It is
a well known fact that all minds are not endowed with like power of
endurance, yet your public schools, as a rule, make no provision for
such difference of mental endurance. You compel all to attend school
for six hours daily. Thus your compulsion tends to make fibbers and
miscreants; it injures the child’s health, prevents the spontaneous
development of its faculties and sets it against learning.
“9. Probably about one-fourth of the pupils attending school are what
you call ‘bad boys’ and ‘bad girls.’ They have little or no desire to
attend school and to study the assigned lessons and branches at such
a time and for such a length of time. They greatly annoy those who do
have a taste for study, and their compulsory attendance constantly
causes an increased repugnance for the school-room and for all the work
connected with it. They become thoroughly disgusted with all learning.
Thus, instead of creating a pleasurable desire for learning, you do not
even let it sprout by giving them a little freedom and opportunity.
“10. We have seen that not all pupils have a like mental endurance.
Some are mentally exhausted before others. The mental endurance of the
same pupil also differs from day to day. Again, some delight in study
one day and dislike it the next. But your ‘school week’ consists of
five days and your ‘school day’ consists of six hours, no matter what
the other conditions are. The pupil who is through studying must remain
just as long as the one who is not. Thus you are largely obliged to
enforce attendance and order on those pupils who are not in a mood
for mental work at that time. This condition of things necessarily
causes a constant friction between teachers and pupils. It makes a
cruel, crabbed, despotic teacher and a ruthless, stubborn pupil. I
believe this to be one of the reasons why so many of your professional
teachers are so overbearing, cruel and despotic, caring so little for
the rights, freedom and welfare of others. My profession has called
me to many of your teachers’ associations, and I am sorry to say that,
as a rule, I have invariably found these assemblies composed of very
narrow-minded men and women. As a rule, they have very little idea
of freedom, equity, and the psychological principles upon which all
successful instruction must be based. They generally hoot at any truth
that does not lie within their narrow path of a little impractical
book-learning. But this is all natural and inevitable when we
understand the circumstances which produce your public school-teacher.
To begin with, the teacher must generally get his position by more or
less scheming, and when he has secured it he becomes a kind of lord
and master over his pupils. If he is a principal or superintendent,
his assistant teachers are generally more or less at his mercy. The
assistants know this and often flatter him in order to stand well
in his estimation. The less learned patrons also look upon him as a
distinguished personage. This subordination of his companions, the
absolute authority he exercises over his pupils, his real or supposed
learning, and other advantages make a kind of baron out of him, and
generally cover him more or less with ‘cheap’ vanity and ostentation.
It also makes him very intolerant, so that an assembly of principals
and superintendents who pretend to lead the intellectual world, nearly
always lack breadth and depth of learning. They often know more Greek
and Latin than they know of human nature and the phenomena of the
universe. Their narrow views seldom reach the depth of man’s psychical
nature. They are nearly always dealing with immediate superficial
results and scarcely ever think about the real, the fundamental, and
the remote. They try to get rid of an effect without touching the
cause.
“11. As the ability and aptitude of every pupil differs somewhat from
that of every other pupil, your classification must necessarily always
be more or less imperfect. A pupil that fits best in one class and
grade this week may fit best in another class next week.
“12. It is a well-known fact that a person, whether young or old,
loses interest in a book by reading or studying it over and over. The
interest is keenest when we do not know what is to follow. Yet in your
public schools, you largely compel your pupils to go through the same
books again and again until they are completely disgusted with them.
This is more machinelike than humanlike, and tends to kill interest in
original and individual inquiry.
“13. The management of your public schools is largely under the control
of politicians; and often unscrupulous, incompetent politicians,
who know very little about the psychical needs of man, and who, not
infrequently, care less for the interest and progress of the school
than they do for their re-election. We also all know that man, in
his rude beginnings and for ages after, is always blinded by zeal,
enthusiasm and patriotism. They have strewn the road of progress with
human skeletons; they have dyed the streams red with blood; they have
erected countless temples of fanaticisms; they have invented countless
instruments of torture; they have filled the land with slaves and
paupers; they have soiled the robe of Liberty with multitudinous spots
of intolerance; they have filled the mind with cruelty, bigotry and
superstition, and they have fostered monopoly and stifled equity.
“14. The financial support of your public school rests on compulsory
taxation, and is, therefore, ultimately backed by an army. It
positively prohibits direct competition by taxing all private schools
out of existence. For example: A Catholic or a Protestant, who desires
to send his child to a private or parochial school, must pay double
taxes. He is first forced by the state to pay taxes in proportion to
the ‘value of his property’ for the financial support of the public
school, and then, if he sends his children to a private or parochial
school, he must pay tuition in proportion to the number of children
sent. Thus you see that your state, on many points, is as intolerant
now as it was in the dark ages. It permits no private competition; it
recognizes no individuality on these important points.
“15. We have seen that the state allows no private competition in
school affairs. It employs its own teachers. All of us also know, if
we have ever given it a thought, that the church and state are quite
separated in _theory_, but not so much so in _practice_. The teachers
of your public school, who desire to retain their position, must
sharply and closely follow the course of study adopted directly by the
state, and indirectly by the church; and any teacher who deviates from
that course, or who attempts to improve on it, from knowledge gained
by his longer personal experience, is very liable to lose his position
and be branded a heretic and a rebel. Thus you see that thousands of
your best and most thoughtful public school teachers are prevented from
teaching their best thoughts and their noblest sentiments. Under the
head ‘How the transition from the old to the new order of things was
accomplished,’ I shall tell you more about this last great evil.
“I have here enumerated fifteen vital defects, all of which are
fundamentally opposed to the harmonious production of a just, kind,
self-reliant, complete individual. Every one of these fifteen defects
tend to make mere grown-up babies of your young ladies and gentlemen.
But let us not flatter ourselves that these fifteen defects are all,
for there are countless others even too numerous to suggest, a few
of which will suffice to illustrate my meaning. You have too much
booklearning as compared with your practical teaching. Your school-work
is nearly always too difficult for young children of their mental
capacity; it stunts the youthful mind. Your crowded school-rooms, in
which your so-called ‘bad boys’ and ‘bad girls’ are often playing
tricks, and in which some are talking and reciting, are no fit places
for study. Under these conditions, the mind can not concentrate
its powers on the subject to be studied, etc., etc. But let us now
return to the general criticisms to this broader and deeper field of
instruction.”
“But let me ask you, Mr. Midith, how would you get rid of these
defects?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“The only way you can get rid of them is to outgrow them. First, the
masses of your people have to learn that there are defects, and then
they have to learn to appreciate _truth more_ and _partyism less_. A
system of education is a growth and not a manufacture. I have given our
system of education, which does not contain any of these defects and
faults, and that is all the guidance I can offer on this point as well
as on all others. But I am not yet through criticising. I have not yet
entered the more general fields which I shall now endeavor to do.
“If the foregoing objections concerning your public schools are true,
and I believe that all well-informed, unbiased persons will admit that,
then your public schools are largely depriving your children of their
individuality and self-reliance; the same as your military discipline
largely deprived your men of their individuality and self-exertion
during the military age. Your children, by being thus deprived of their
individuality, independence and self-reliance, grow machine-like, and
work only when they are set in motion by some parent, teacher, master,
politician, clergyman, etc. Again, you largely instruct your children,
either tacitly or avowedly, that manual labor is dishonorable. Many
of your parents send their children to college until they are twenty
or more years of age to get a little booklearning through a narrow,
prescribed channel, under the influence of paternalism, which causes
your young ladies and gentlemen to be little more than grown-up
babies, without any practical experience and originality to grapple
with the phenomena of life. As a rule, you stifle all independence and
self-reliance in your child by paternalism and monopoly.
“By such a course of instruction the child learns little or no manual
labor during the whole of its ‘so-called school age.’ Physically it
lives an idle life, and mentally it learns often much more superstition
than facts. Not infrequently one can see your mothers do all, or nearly
all, the domestic drudgery, and let their grown-up daughters live an
idle life right in the same house. But how can the daughter do her
fair share of the work as long as she is taught to look upon manual
labor with contempt. In this manner you make slaves of your children,
because labor, if not learned while young, will forever be unpleasant
and disagreeable. This compels your children, then, to be either social
parasites or industrial slaves to labor. You provide no incentives
for children to labor. A portion of your children are employed almost
exclusively at physical labor, the other portion at mental.
“Your language is generally poor because your social conditions are
such that good language is almost impossible. Your handwriting, as a
rule, is very stiff, and often scarcely legible. Your ill-adjusted
commercial system makes your mathematics so complicated that few even
master the rudiments of your arithmetic.
“Your physiological lessons are, indeed, very deficient. Your selection
of food is very crude; the quantity often scanty, and the manner of
eating nearly always unnatural. Your bathing conveniences are very
poor, the time all taken up with labor and the vitality expended in
physical and mental efforts; so that few of the earth’s inhabitants
can find pleasure in personal cleanliness. One meets everywhere
thousands of persons with black and uncleaned teeth, untrimmed finger
and toe nails, uncombed hair, offensive-smelling feet and a general
odor of perspiration mingled with tobacco scent, etc. But all of these
are unavoidable concomitants of your social, industrial and sexual
conditions. Personal cleanliness pre-supposes wealth, convenience and
leisure. As long as your poverty and toil last, personal cleanliness
need not be looked for. You must remove the causes before you can
expect favorable results. A servant, whether man or woman, who is
compelled to toil for ten or fourteen hours a day for almost nothing,
and then is often not allowed to enter the parlor or sit at table,
cares little for personal cleanliness and personal charms.
“Your style of dress is probably one of your most pernicious habits.
Just think of your women’s hair all twisted and rolled so tightly that
it causes headache. Think what labor it requires, and what filth it
collects. Compare your lady’s uncomfortable hat with our lady’s plain
felt hat. Think of your lady’s high or low collar; the former almost
prevents her from turning her head, the latter subjects her to colds
and diseases. Think of her dress, petticoats and skirts, which flop
around her limbs impeding her walk; how they prevent her from passing
over a muddy road or crossing; how they sweep the sidewalks and roads
during a dry, dusty period. Think what an immense amount of labor it
requires to keep garments of such a ridiculous, inconvenient costume
clean, and then they are nearly always more or less dusty and soiled.
Compare them with our lady’s jacket and neatly made pantaloons. There
is no impediment in walking; no skirts to sweep the dust and mud; no
dress to hold up when passing over a crossing; no sails to impede her
progress when she is walking against the wind. Our ladies, as well as
gentlemen, can run, walk, cross, ride a bicycle, get through the mud,
or climb a fence and tree.
“Again, think of your woman’s tight corsets with which she fences
herself in so tightly that she can scarcely breathe. Her thorax
compressed; her lungs so crowded that she soon becomes exhausted,
when exercising, from deficient respiration. Consider the exposure of
her lower limbs, protected by scarcely anything but a few fluttering
skirts. Consider her tight high-heeled shoes with her feet covered
with corns, warts and bunions; and then think what a helpless,
dependent creature such a costume makes of your woman; how it contorts
her natural form, and how it impairs her health and physiological
function.
“Now think of your gentleman’s attire. Of his uncomfortable plug hat
into which he forces his head; of his high stiff collar; his inflexible
cuffs and shirt-front; his high-heeled boots with little room for his
toes; his roasting himself in a coat and vest on a hot day, because he
induces his female companions to think that it is not _fashionable_ to
look on shirt-sleeves.
“Do not forget to think of your little helpless children, wearing
short dresses and having their lower limbs exposed to the vicissitudes
of the weather. How they are often so dressed that they can scarcely
move about in their work and play. How their parents frequently forbid
them to play in their ‘best clothes,’ just as if the clothes are more
valuable than the children’s health; and last of all, think of the
amount of paint and powder you must use on the faces of both men and
women to hide the sickly color caused by the numerous violations of
the laws of life and health in your style of dressing and in your
other modes of living. Thousands of comparatively poor victims are,
on certain occasions, endeavoring to sprout a puny artificial rose on
their fallen cheeks and faltering lips, but such roses always wilt
before they are fairly unfolded. They lack internal vigor.
“But allow me to say again that you must not think that I ridicule
your conduct, nor that we like beauty and grace less than you do. We
believe, however, that beauty and grace can not be obtained to any
considerable extent by face powder, paint and injurious fashionable
dressing. By a longer lapse of time, our artistic taste has slowly
adjusted itself more and more in harmony with natural, healthful
appearances. We, by living as nearly as we can in tune with the
phenomena of life and health, solicit nature to develop a strong,
healthy body, a bold, vigorous mind, a graceful form, pleasant,
cheerful features, round, roseate cheeks, purple lips, bright eyes and
an elastic step.
“The robe of health, cheerfulness, and bodily and mental attainments is
a more dressy garment than any other we can wear, and we, therefore,
make every act of our life count to obtain this envied garment in the
most natural and ornamental style. For ages we believed and acted
like you are now doing, tried to obtain it by deceiving nature with
paint and injurious fashion, but, by long and patient observation and
experiment, and by millions of wrecked constitutions and premature
deaths, we, at last, learned that our expectation of deceiving nature
was completely futile. This beautiful, costly robe of nature which
adorns the body from within outward can be purchased only at the store
of Truth, for every violation of truth taints its beauty.”
“Mr. Midith, you have not yet told us anything about your particular
sports and amusements,” said Viola. “You have so much time to spend
in that way that you ought to be almost perfect in all sports and
amusements.”
“Well,” said Mr. Midith, “if you desire me to tell you something about
them, I shall give you a brief review of _some_ of them; I say _some_
because they are so numerous and complex and varied that I can only
touch upon a few of the simplest ones.
“But before we proceed let us take into consideration that the nature
and kind of man’s sports and amusements vary in different persons; also
with age, sex, state of health and mental and physical culture and
development.
“For example, you notice here on earth that one person delights in
playing cards; another in playing ball; another in singing; another in
traveling; another in fishing, etc.
“The little child finds amusement in the tin rattle; the boy in marbles
and ball; the little girl in the doll; the robust person in vigorous
exercise; the invalid in rest and quiet; the savage in scalping and
other torture; the cultured in promoting his own happiness by promoting
the happiness of others.
“The moans and cries of the dying victim are highly amusing to the
ear of the savage who burns him at the stake; but to the ear of the
more civilized person, they are so shocking that he would faint at the
sound of them. Only a comparatively few years ago your most refined
men and women of the Roman empire looked with delight and amusement
on the gladiatorial combats which reddened the arena of the spacious
amphitheatre with human blood. To-day, even to _your_ most refined men
and women, the same sights and sports would be perfectly horrifying.
They could not be hired to witness them. I notice that your civilized
American boys still delight in dog-fights and flinging stones at your
innocent little song-birds as they are singing their sweet songs. The
Marsian boy would think that horrible. By long, kind treatment our
song birds have all become even much tamer than your domestic animals;
they have nothing to fear from the human hand. I notice still further
that many of your so-called civilized Americans still delight in
prizefights, bull-fights, sportive hunting and fishing, horseracing,
etc. All of these sights would be almost as shocking to a Marsite as a
gladiatorial combat would be to a highly-refined and keenly-considerate
lady of your present time.
“By the foregoing, then, we see that each stage of intellectual culture
has its peculiar sports and amusements. What is delightful amusement to
one is dreadful horror to another. Hence as Mars is much in advance of
the earth, our sports and amusements must be much in advance of yours,
must be in harmony with our feelings and institutions.
“There is one other point of which I must remind you before you can
clearly understand me on the subject of sports and amusements; and
that point is, that nearly all _your labor_ is very disagreeable and
toilsome, while our _labor_ itself, as you have seen, is little less
than sport and amusement. From this you see that our whole life, as
measured by our standard of sportive taste, is little else than a
series of continuous sports and games of amusements. Let us now look at
a few of them, beginning with the private apartments of the big-house.
“In the private apartment, when alone, we read, write, study, paint,
draw, study music, listen to phonographic books, and do countless other
things for amusement, of which I can not tell you now, for you are
not familiar with them, because they do not yet exist on earth. After
all this, we often desire the company of a little child only. If so,
we invite one. Children are nearly always fond of such invitations,
because when an adult desires the company of a child in that way,
he will always amuse and delightfully instruct it. When we desire
the private company of adults, either man or woman, we invite some
agreeable companion or companions who are willing to become our private
guests. In company with these we study, sing, paint, converse, laugh
and joke, tell our experience, play all kinds of appropriate games, and
do all such other things as we find mutually agreeable and pleasant.
“For amusement, in the public parts of the big-house, we visit and
amuse ourselves in the different parlors, eat in the restaurant, sport
with the children and babies in the nurseries, attend grand operas,
lectures, scientific demonstrations, promenade and cycle in the large
exercise hall, listen to charming concerts, and play countless games,
for which both ladies and gentlemen are attired in appropriate,
convenient costumes.
“Our outdoor sports and amusements are so numerous, varied and complex
that I can tell you only a few of them, for, in a world like that
of the earth, where the vast masses are compelled to expend nearly
all their vitality for the mere acquisition of their scanty material
subsistence, refined and complex sports and amusements can not well
be understood, nor can they have a conspicuous place in man’s daily
activity under such conditions.
“Our simplest outdoor exercise for amusement is walking, either alone
or in company with a companion or companions. On a fine day or evening
our granite walks are usually dotted with men, women and children
walking for amusement. We take these outdoor promenades most any place.
In the garden we stroll to admire the endless variety of flowers, the
luxuriant vegetation, which is everywhere cultivated with the greatest
success and perfection. From the garden, perhaps, we rove to the
orchard, among the laden fruit trees, bearing the delicious fruit on
their boughs and having the green, closely-cut lawn beneath. Sometimes
our sportive walks extend from community to community, admiring all
the rich, varied and diversified things we meet, for the Marsites have
long discovered that variety of color, form, etc., is pleasing to the
sight. In every community we find a large variety of new forms and
arrangements in the park, in the conservatory (or green-house), in the
gardens, in the orchards, on the walks, and, in fact, everywhere. In
the winter we take our leisure walks in the grand conservatory, which
extends from one community to the other, and in which the flowers,
plants, fruit and trees are growing as luxuriantly as they do in a
tropical climate, even when the snow is a foot deep on the outside.
Every step, as we go forward from community to community, presents new
scenes in colors and forms. Thus a number of companions often go from
community to community, stopping for rest or for night whenever they
get tired. You see, we can stop as cheap at any ‘big-house’ as we can
at our own. During these walking expeditions our baggage always follows
us on the motor cars.
“From what I have just said you must not infer that we always or
even _generally_ find the greatest amusement in walking instead of
riding. Our granite boulevards are nearly always lined with vehicles,
bicycles, electric carriages, etc.; some of these carriages are so
delicate that they carry only one person, while others carry from two
to forty persons. On these various vehicles, excursion parties travel
for long distances. If we want to go faster we go on the motor; if
still faster, we take our fast trains, which have on board all the
comforts and conveniences that the mechanical genius of man has been
able to apply and utilize.
“I must not here forget to tell you about the sports and amusements
we have in our splendid parks. Here men, women and children sport and
amuse themselves in countless ways. Some are sitting in the shade on
our commodious park settees; some are admiring flowers and plants; some
promenade; some study; some play. Numerous grounds for the playing of
different games are permanently laid out in these parks, and skillful
players, men and women, dressed in fine costumes for the occasion, are
engaged in playing these games. Besides these grounds for particular
games, a countless variety of machinery and apparatus for sportive
plays and amusements are always found on our green, odoriferous
parks; and during our pleasure excursions as we go from community to
community, we continually meet a still greater variety of playgrounds,
apparatus and amusements.
“Nearly every person also annually visits a number of Fanos and the
indescribable Modano, the capitol of Mars. In these magnificent
structures, of which I have told you, is a never-ceasing exhibit of
all the Marsian artistic, scientific and industrial labors, both
ancient and modern. It is a perpetual ‘World’s Fair,’ always ready to
accommodate every visitor in the grandest style. It is not like your
‘World’s Fair,’ the buildings of which are temporarily constructed,
and which are in session only a few months, and during that time the
crowd is so large, the resting conveniences so few and poor that a
spectator soon becomes too fatigued to enjoy the sights; but we must
not forget here that the Marsian conveniences at the Modano were once
no better, and, probably, your posterity will even do better than we
are doing at present on Mars.
“Then we have our _natural_ scenery to visit. Our extensive natural
parks in the mountainous region of Mars. These natural parks are alive
with docile birds and beasts; they contain mountains and valleys,
streams and fountains, rugged cliffs and beautiful clear lakes,
volcanoes and snow-capped mountain peaks; to the tops of some of these
mountain peaks we have built motor-lines, so that, in a few minutes, we
can ascend to the world of perpetual snow and ice.”
“But do you not sometimes during your visits to the mountain peaks get
snowbound?” asked Mrs. Uwins.
“Oh, no,” said Air. Midith with a smile. “We never get snowbound. All
our granite walks, boulevards, motor-lines and railroads never have any
snow and ice on them. They are all so made that the granite floor can
be heated by electric currents, so that the snow and ice, which, during
a snowstorm, falls and drifts onto it, is immediately melted. This is
the way we keep our walks and roads open on Mars. It is a convenient
and effective way of shoveling snow.
“From the foregoing hints and suggestions, you can readily see that
the greater portion of our time is taken for sports and amusements,
and that we find them everywhere, from the private apartment to the
colossal Modano and the lofty snow-capped mountain.”
CHAPTER XXIV. HOW THE TRANSITION FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW ORDER OF
THINGS WAS ACCOMPLISHED.
“You said, Mr. Midith, that at one time your social and industrial
organizations were similar to our present ones. How, then, did the
change from the old to the new order of things take place? By what
means was it accomplished, and what were the transitional steps?”
inquired Mrs. Uwins.
“Allow me here to make one preliminary statement,” proceeded Mr. Midith.
“All of us agree that we are all in pursuit of the greatest happiness;
we also agree that some acts are always attended with pleasure, or
happiness, while others are always attended with pain, or misery.
The reward of happiness, invariably following certain acts, and the
punishment of misery, invariably following certain other acts, can be
our only guide in ascertaining the most advantageous course of conduct,
and the only incentive that leads us forward on the road of progress.
Hence, as we advance in intellectual culture, our course of action
will be more and more nearly in accord with the fullness of life; for
acts which tend toward the fullness of life must, as a whole, produce
greater happiness than those which detract from it, for under no other
conceivable conditions could a race of sentient beings have been
evolved.
“From what we have seen elsewhere, as well as from the foregoing
remarks, it follows that society, on the one hand, tends to widen and
perfect voluntary co-operation on the part of production, and thereby
economize also in consumption, and, on the other hand, it tends to
enlarge the field of individual freedom; for both an abundant supply
with which to satisfy our wants, and the largest possible scope of
individual freedom tend to produce the greatest happiness.
“That people, then, who by the widest and most thorough voluntary
co-operation most completely satisfy all their varied and complex
desires with the least amount of labor, and with the greatest freedom
to the individual, is the highest civilized. A strong centralized
government is not a mark of a high state of civilization, as some
of you at first sight may think; if it were, Russia would rank in
civilization far above the United States. Armies, navies and policemen
are no signs of high intellectual culture; if you consider them such,
Russia ranks first in culture and civilization. They are nothing
more or less than remnants of barbarity; they are the marks of
contemporaneous discord.
“By following the same course of reasoning, and by bearing in mind that
our social and industrial organizations, in which every sound person
is kind, non-aggressive, rich and free, have no use and no place for
civil judges, man-made laws, kings and queens, presidents, congresses,
legislatures, tariff, prisons, lawyers, priests, politicians, schemers
and compulsory taxation, you will at once understand that they are not
signs of civilization and culture, but are, on the contrary, marks of
existing fraud, compulsion and quarrelsomeness. Orthodox preachers,
sectarian churches, and legal and priestly marriages are remnants of
former superstitions. Public schools, charitable institutions, and
reformatory prisons are marks of a crude, defective and unnatural
system of instruction. Millionaires, paupers, bankers, land value,
profit, interest and rent are consequences of monopolization. They must
all become unnecessary and repugnant to the mind, before a high state
of civilization and culture can be attained.
“As we slowly learned these facts, both the city and country
disappeared. The people that lived in large cities found that a city
is a noisy, smoky, filthy and unwholesome place to live. There was,
perhaps, but one little park in the whole city. The wealthier class
gradually began to build their dwellings more and more remote from the
center of city activity. But the vast majority of the working Marsites
at this period of transition were living in small tenement houses,
paying high rent and working a long, long toilsome day in the factory,
store or mine for very low wages. They were too rude, thoughtless
and poor to be sensible to the wholesome wants of a city life. They,
like your city people on earth, rarely ever saw and heard a bird,
smelled the fragrance of blooming plants, or saw the flowers and green
grass grow. Every opening in their poor abode admitted noise, dust,
vermin, stench and vitiated air. In winter they were often too poor
to heat their apartments artificially; in summer the heat was almost
unendurable, and the ventilation was often next to nothing. We also
gradually learned that cities, as such, do not only tend to produce
crime, but also shelter and secrete criminals. They tend to concentrate
wealth and power, making a few millionaires and a vast army of
extremely poor. More than that, they foster and often license many of
the gravest crimes.
“On the other hand, the farmer, living almost a solitary life and
working early and late to produce the necessaries and luxuries of
life for himself and family and for the comparatively unproductive
city and town ‘boomer,’ who must all live from the products of the
earth, gradually learned by high-priced experience that such a lonely,
toilsome _country_ life is scarcely worth living. His single-handed
work was so hard, slow, often wasteful, and comparatively unproductive
that he had hardly any leisure left for cleanliness and mental culture.
In many cases, his wife and children rarely ever came in contact with
other members of the human family. The wife generally was at the same
time mother, nurse, cook, washerwoman, tailor, housekeeper, dressmaker,
milliner, milk and dairy maid, stock and poultry breeder, gardener, not
unfrequently assistant farmer, and sometimes, as when a widow, even
head farmer.
“Just in proportion, then, as the farmer and townsman learned the evils
of a crowded, unhealthy and unnecessary city, and also of a lonely
and unnecessary country, both the city and country disappeared. The
burdens caused by the city and country, which were formerly unfelt by
all, became, under a higher state of intellectual culture, unbearable
even by the dullest. The most thoughtful men and women, who saw the
advantages of co-operation and the agreeableness of a larger family,
first began to live together and work together. Aggressiveness slowly
changed into personal freedom, and invasions became fewer and fewer;
in other words, we gradually learned to mind our _own_ business. Thus
we did away with the solitude of the country and with the evil effects
of a city. We are now all living in splendid parks, adorned with
life-giving vegetation. Thus our social instinct is gratified; the evil
effects produced by cities are no more, and we are also conveniently
located to the land from which, as we have seen, all wealth must be
produced by the application of labor.
“Our family homes, of course, were at first not so orderly and
advantageously arranged as they are at present; but they were not
so close together as to be unhealthful, and not so distant as to be
lonely. The members of the family continued to increase. From a single,
cruel, covetous, jealous, married man and wife to sometimes more than a
thousand kind, free, cultivated, non-aggressive persons--men, women and
children, none of whom pretend to hold any compulsory claims against
any other one.
“You must not imagine, either, that the arrangement and growth of all
our present families and communities occurred instantaneously and
simultaneously. Our present conditions are, of course, a social and
industrial _growth_, and required time and intelligence for their
completion or advancement. To illustrate: Your so-called republics
did not _all_ appear at the same time. The second republic profited
by the experience of the first. The first republic did not postpone
its formation until _all_ mankind were ripe for a republic. As soon
as a certain collection of your people thought that they could live
more agreeably and more happily under a republican form of government
than under a monarchy, the monarchy was gradually changed into what
you now call republics. You have had some republics for years, yet not
all your earthly inhabitants are subjects of republics at the present
time. All persons do not mature for the same thing at the same time.
So it was with our families and communities. Those men and women that
matured for a higher plane first, began to live together, regardless
of the immature, as nearly as possible a life approaching the one the
Marsites are now living. As I have already stated, years ago each
married couple constituted a family, and lived alone in the same manner
as you are now living on earth. Then two suitable couples began to live
together as one family. The two couples cooked on one stove, ate from
one table, and co-operated in their domestic and other labor. Their
social intercourse made the individual members continually more _free_
and less aggressive. One stove or heating apparatus did the heating for
both couples. One house, one table, one clock, one cellar, one musical
instrument, one washing-machine, one library, one parlor carpet, one
lamp, one churn, etc., supplied _four_ individuals just as well, and in
many respects better, than they had formerly supplied two.
“By this co-operation nearly one-half the commodities were economized.
But this was by no means all the advantage gained. The women’s domestic
labor by working together was only little more than half as much to
each individual as it was when each couple lived in a house separately.
Thus they largely economized in labor and in commodities. A laborer,
whether man or woman, when so co-operating, can, on an average, work
more advantageously than they can when working single-handed. Under a
division of labor, a person can do much more and much better work than
he can otherwise, but it requires a large community of extensive and
thorough co-operation to make a complete division of labor possible.
Under co-operation much more work can be done with improved machinery,
and much less machinery is required to do it.
“With regard to the care of children, two mothers in the same family
can greatly assist each other. One can nurse the children for a time,
while the other is at liberty to go out, or do some other work. They
are then not bound down so closely as if each were living in a separate
home. Of this division and economy of labor and saving of commodities,
both men and women gradually took advantage.
“As the family and homes increased in number and size, and as material
subsistence was more and more easily obtained by co-operative
production and economy, avarice, covetousness and jealousy gradually
disappeared. All learned by experience that in order to be really rich
and happy each individual must do his part from the promptings of an
inward sentiment which constitutes character. No one can, without
impairing his own permanent happiness, invade the rights of another.
Each learned to build his own happiness on the happiness of his
fellow-beings.
“The increase of individual freedom and equality kept pace with the
enlargement of the home and family until the individual--man, woman
and child--were completely free and equal, in all the privileges that
could be enjoyed according to the individual’s age and sex. All former
claims that were not voluntary and mutually agreeable were gradually
disregarded. Promises were broken as soon as they were found to be
untrue. The discovery of truth became the great aim. Each individual
became the sole owner of his or her person.
“Just as the family and home grew in size, kindness, freedom and order,
so did the community grow in size, arrangement, regularity and wealth.
The new houses were built larger, more healthful, and more convenient
as to location; the old ones were enlarged and rearranged. Railroads
or motor-lines with large depots and warehouses at short intervals
connected every home. Door-yards, parks, play-grounds, boulevards,
greenhouses, gardens and farms were enlarged, rearranged and improved.
Land engines, electric vehicles and steam engines of various kinds
superseded the draught animals, and in turn they were supplanted by
electric power.
“As man grew continually more vegetarian and less carnivorous, cattle
breeding became less and less, until they were sparingly used only
for dairy purposes. Poultry was raised only for their eggs and for
pets; sheep for their wool. All these industries, as time passed, were
conducted on a larger scale, and in localities best adapted for them.
Timber culture was also carried to those localities best suited for
that industry.
“Mining and manufacturing became great industries, and were carried
on in some form in nearly every community. By the prospecting scheme,
the richness of the mine constantly increased; and the improved mining
machinery and tools made mining not an unpleasant occupation. As the
industrial adjustment became more complete, much of the mining was
done during those seasons of the year when agriculture and other labor
was least. The principal manufacturing was done on a large scale
in those localities where water and wind power for the generation
of electricity were most abundant. Our machinery and the skill of
our workmen constantly improved and developed. By our keen, free
competition each community naturally drifted into those industries for
which the community was best adapted.
“The interior of the house became more and more useful, convenient and
comfortable. Stoves for heating and cooking purposes were superseded by
engines and natural gas, then by electricity. Powerful mellow electric
lights, which lighted the big-houses, walks, lakes, boulevards, motor
lines and railroads more brilliantly than a noonday sun, took the
place of the former lamps. Stairways were superseded by improved and
wonderfully convenient elevators. The steam and electric laundry did
away with handwashing. Everything was improved, and countless new
things were constantly invented. With our present leisure and wealth
we have a hundred inventors, where we formerly had one, or where you
have one. The kitchen, the dining-room, the barber-shop, the halls, the
furniture, the commercial department, the nurseries, the restaurant,
the grand parlors, the store, the bath-rooms, the scientific
departments, the carriage-room and the private apartments--all
kept pace with the general advancement. Voluntary co-operation and
individual freedom were so abundantly productive and economized so
enormously in all directions that wealth, health and happiness reigned
everywhere.
“Gradually, as the people acquired this additional practical knowledge,
each individual became better able to transact his own business, for
several reasons:
“First, the social and industrial organization grew more and more
natural, and, therefore, more simple. Secondly, an intelligent person
can keep himself out of trouble better than an ignorant and aggressive
one. And thirdly, an enlightened person is capable of transacting more
complex business than an unenlightened one.
“With the rise of a higher intelligence, unproductive and destructive
labor gradually disappeared, until none was left. Just in proportion
as our Marsian ancestors allowed one another more and more individual
freedom, they became also more peaceable, for aggression only can
provoke quarrels and fights. These peaceful sentiments gradually
diminished the number of soldiers, policemen, peace officers, civil
judges, lawyers, politicians, legislators, etc., and also their tools
and machinery--guns, clubs, prisons, scaffolds, courts, law libraries,
legislative halls, fortifications, navies, etc. All of this shortened
the days of manual labor.
“In the commercial and mercantile business all needless and destructive
labor was done away with. The army of profit takers contemporaneously
disappeared with the cities and towns. The banker’s customers left
him just to the extent as a medium of exchange, based on productive
labor or the negotiable wealth of the community was introduced and
recognized. Money was secured by the actual negotiable wealth on hand,
and there was always as much and no more in circulation as there was
actual negotiable wealth. Interest, which is the result of money
monopoly, became a thing of the past. Money was made more and more of
cheap and convenient material. The vast army of gold and silver miners,
who were once at work to produce the expensive material for a medium
of exchange, were slowly compelled to file in the ranks of productive
labor; for we now make all our medium of exchange out of a cheap
convenient paper.
“Our middlemen had to quit business for want of customers. One family
and community bought directly of another community, everything came
directly from the producer and went to the consumer. Traveling
salesmen, as such, could find no employment, because every community,
by the aid of the annual invoice and census, by samples, by the Fanos
and Modano, and by a thorough classification of goods, bought and
sold whatever and wherever they could to the best advantage. The
vast sum of wages and expense formerly paid the traveling salesmen,
is no more taxed to the goods they sold. The consumer is rid of that
extra burden. You, as consumers, are at present, perhaps, paying over
$200,000,000 per annum in this manner on goods purchased. Under our
system, we require only a few stores and clerks to do our business much
better than you are doing yours with your countless stores, clerks and
traveling salesmen. By this advantageous adjustment, we economized a
vast amount of labor by co-operation and concentration.
“As man’s belief in the uniformity of nature became clearer and
stronger, the sectarian preacher’s congregation diminished in number.
As man himself became so good that punishment and revenge seemed
barbarous and repugnant to him, he could no longer believe that the
formative forces of the universe consciously and deliberately delight
in acts of torture too vile for human contemplation. Here again a
vast number of unproductive and destructive laborers had to become
producers.
“The business of insurance companies of all kinds dwindled down to
nothing. Our social and industrial organization afforded all the
protection the individual could utilize. Every community, so to speak,
is an insurance company without any special agents. We have no husbands
that need make provisions for a widow and orphans. Our women are as
capable of caring for themselves as our men, and our helpless children
are all provided for by the family, whether the parents are living or
dead. Our ‘big-houses’ are fire-proof; and if not it would be next to
impossible for a fire to originate, because we use neither stoves,
lamps, tobacco nor matches in the house. The army of insurance agents
and officers that were once supported by the insured were slowly forced
by natural conditions into the field of productive labor also.
“The improvement of commerce kept pace with the other improvements.
The person’s back, the ox-cart, the horse-team and the steam and
electric engines successively superseded one another. The illy-graded
and muddy street and road were supplanted by the boulevard, motor-line
and finely-constructed railroads. The bicycle, tricycle and electric
vehicles succeeded the poor, expensive coach horse. The floating
palace of the ocean increased in speed, convenience and safety. Aerial
navigation was also vastly improved in many ways.
“Co-operation in intercommunication is fully as complete as it is in
other industries. The improvement continued from the rudest beginning
of mail-carrying until each private apartment is furnished with a
postoffice, telephone, phonograph, etc.”
“Now,” requested Mr. Uwins of Mr. Midith, “explain to us how the
ownership of land from that of owning land by _deed_ to that of
_occupancy_ and _use_ was effected.”
“As I told you the other evening, monopolization of land, which is
caused by the deed system, is either directly or indirectly the source
of nearly all the social and industrial derangement; at least, this was
formerly the case on Mars, and is plainly now the case on earth. But
everything for the better must be solved by intelligence, which can be
acquired only by experience, either ancestral or personal. So as we
learned during the lapse of time that we could be happier by owning
land by occupancy and use than by owning it by deed, we gradually took
to the former.”
“But we would like to know,” said Viola, “in what manner this change
was brought about, so that we can make our intelligence here on earth,
too, count in that direction.”
“Of course, primitive man with his rude and unpolished intellect sees
nothing of this evil. The antagonistic propensities which man has
inherited during the fierce struggle for existence from his lower
ancestors, caused him to monopolize natural opportunity wherever he
could, because his intelligence was so low and narrow that to him the
material subsistence seemed to count for all, and the higher social and
industrial qualities counted for little or nothing. Such an intellect
can not see that one can not be happy as long as he is surrounded
by many who are ignorant and miserable. But with the unfolding of
higher and nobler sentiments, man, at last, clearly realized that no
person can really be wealthy in any world as long as a portion of his
fellowmen are pinched with poverty, oppressed by slavery, burdened
by ignorance and affected with filth and rudeness. He learned that
in order to have universal prosperity, high mental attainments and
cleanliness and purity, man must be free to apply his labor to land
wherever he finds some vacant.”
“But do you think,” asked Mrs. Uwins, “that the evil effects of owning
land by deed are as great when the population of a country or world is
sparse than if it be dense?”
“It may not be fully as great in the former as in the latter case, but
it is always one of the greatest evils and the most effectual hindrance
to universal progress. We have seen that in order to make industry most
productive, we must have a complete division of labor; and a complete
division of labor is possible only under an extensive and thorough
voluntary co-operation. But notice that the ownership of land by _deed_
creates or tends to create extensive landlords. Hence all individuals
must either be extensive landowners, or some are compelled to work
either directly or indirectly for the landlord. But if every individual
is an extensive landowner, population must necessarily be sparse;
and with a sparse population, extensive and thorough co-operation is
impossible, while, on the other hand, the laboring of some landless
individuals for the landlords, as you now have it and as we formerly
had it, causes land monopoly, which is the cause either directly or
indirectly of nearly all your social and industrial evils.”
“Yes, I clearly see the advantages of owning land by occupancy and use.”
“But now,” continued Mr. Midith “let us consider a few of the
transitional steps through which the Marsites passed in effecting
the change from the old to the new method of owning land. Of course
you know very well that not every one abandoned his vacant land
simultaneously. All great ideas are born in the mind of one individual.
He imparts it to a few of his social companions, and his companions
to their companions and so on until it becomes universal. Just so did
the vacant land agitation arise on Mars, and just so has it already
arisen on earth. You can perhaps see more clearly the rise of an idea
when you contemplate how your so-called civilized nations, states,
and individuals gradually abolished _chattel_ slavery, wife stealing,
imprisonment for debt, etc., etc. But allow me to give you a warning
right here. Do not be deceived like many of you are, by thinking that
war can really set slaves free. All freedom and toleration, like all
ideas, have their origin in the intellectual faculty of the individual.
They are born by mental impressions received on consciousness and not
by bullet-holes through the brain.
“As I have told you, the social feelings unfolded in proportion to the
intellectual elevation. With the development of the just and peaceable
sentiments, a closer and more extensive association and co-operation
became mutually agreeable. The evils caused by the deed ownership of
land became constantly clearer and more apparent to a larger number
of our population, and the conscious burden of this wrong became more
and more painful to bear; so much so that many began to abandon their
vacant land, or invited others to co-operate with them on equitable
terms.
“In this manner the rude community was born and developed. The
tillers of the soil commenced to live and work together. They began
to manufacture their own implements, mine their own minerals, made
their own medium of exchange, and bought what they needed and sold
what they had to spare directly to other similar rude communities.
This, for want of business, forced the townsmen out of the cities and
towns onto vacant land to provide for their own wants. The reward of
co-operation and of individual freedom strengthened and built up the
infant community. The communistic production was so abundant, the labor
so easy and pleasant, and the social life so agreeable that even the
dullest began to see the advantages and sought to become a constituent
part of a community.
“Thus the landowner, as land gradually depreciated in commercial value
from the effects of numerous abandonments of vacant land, was even
pleased to have a co-operating community take up and work his land,
because he would produce more and much easier as a co-operator than
as an owner under a perverted system. Thus gradually every individual
became a member of a community. This communistic co-operation
concentrated population, so that even with the former increase of
population, there is still at present an abundance of first-class land
unoccupied for want of population, and any one who would get tired
of co-operation can get all the land he wants for nothing and set up
over himself and over his followers, if he could get any, any kind
of religion or government he wished; but those who have once tasted
the advantages of voluntary co-operation and individual freedom can
never again be induced to become the dupes of poverty, tyranny and
superstition.”
“How did your present money or medium of exchange, come into general
use?” asked Mrs. Uwins.
“Let me explain briefly,” said Mr. Midith. “From the explanation I have
given you, you understand how the community originated and developed
to its present size and arrangement. You also know how your nations on
earth now control and monopolize the issuing of money, and how your
business transactions are more and more effected by means of commercial
papers instead of coin and currency.
“In the beginning, one infant community in buying and selling gave a
kind of due-bill to the other. Men, instead of hunting for the precious
metals out of which to make money, as was formerly the case with us
and as is still the case with you, directed their labor toward the
production of food, clothes, shelter and luxuries.
“Our money system was thus gradually perfected into the one I have
described to you elsewhere. This gradual development is easily
traceable. Of course, with money as with everything else, the fittest
will eventually survive. More and more business was transacted by
means of commercial papers without the use of government-monopolized
money. As the commercial business grew more simple and definite, the
commercial apartment in our big-houses sprung up and became more
perfect. This arrangement and rearrangement continued until every
individual has his own money issued by the community on his monthly
labor record. Practically, each individual produces wealth, and on this
wealth he has his money issued monthly. Under these conditions, money
can now be obtained only by productive labor and by voluntary gift, and
all productive labor receives all it earns.”
“How about your government?” asked Viola. “How did that develop to its
present form? Will you please show us the direction of its growth by
enumerating some of the transitional steps by which it has reached its
present perfection?”
“I think I shall be able to point out to you the direction of its
growth,” said Mr. Midith. “I notice that you have been, and are now,
growing governmentally in the same direction as we grew, and, no doubt,
you will in time reach the same, or nearly the same, end that we have
reached.
“From what I have told you on previous occasions, you, of course,
understand that we once lived in small families composed of husband
and wife and their children. These families, like yours, had a family
government. The husband generally considered himself the ‘boss,’ or
head of the family. In a low state of civilization he maintained his
authority by resorting to physical force and superstition. He often
thought it necessary and even his duty to flog his wife and children
when they refused to obey his orders. Sometimes he even beat them to
death. It was thought then that a family could not exist successfully
without some such boss. But as experience gradually taught them that
such cruel course of conduct produced discord, sullenness, lies and
deception, the element of physical force constantly diminished,
especially toward the wife. Her wishes were more and more conceded
to until she finally became the equal to the husband in the general
management of the family; and still further on she managed her domestic
affairs as she thought best without asking the permission of the
husband. The growth of this governmental freedom and independence
between husband and wife continued until both learned that each is best
capable of doing their own work without interfering with the other.
Each learned that non-aggressiveness produces more happiness than
aggressiveness. Thus did the government begin to change.
“But long after the husband and wife had learned not to interfere with
each other’s course of manual labor, they deemed it still necessary to
employ physical force in the training and management of their children.
Both father and mother, in this later period, seemed to think that a
child can not be successfully reared without an abundant application of
the rod. Hence the maxim, ‘He who loves his child does not spare the
rod.’ But later on the parents found that they were mistaken in this,
the same as the husband had formerly been mistaken in the use of the
rod on his wife. They found that they could raise a much better and a
much wiser child by kindness and freedom than they could by cruelty
and slavery, and that both parents and children under freedom and
gentleness are much happier than they could otherwise be.
“Quite a number of your families have already reached such a stage of
culture as the foregoing; but such is not the end of family freedom.
Long after a husband and wife do no more interfere with each other’s
labor affairs, they still often interfere with each other’s private
affairs on jealousy and other grounds. One is often not free to act as
he desires for fear that he may thereby offend the other. I find the
same also to be true with regard to children. You have many parents
that have put aside the rod long ago; yet they believe that a child
ought to remain at home and work for the parents until it is eighteen
or twenty-one years of age, and such parents do not hesitate to enact
statute laws to that effect.
“Such parents seem to think that a child owes a parent a great sum for
the parental care it received from them, and that it requires the labor
of the child up to that age. Notice that the parent alone, without the
consultation of the child, names this age, and he could make it fifty
years as well as twenty-one. But these parents seem to forget that they
_received_ parental care during their infancy and that they, in turn,
are bound to _give_ parental care or else die a debtor to human equity.
_Free_ persons are those who are not forcibly prevented by others from
going _where_, _when_, and with whom they please, and act as they
see fit, provided they do not invade the equal rights of others. For
example, I believe that Mr. Uwins’ family enjoys such freedom, and that
many others are gradually maturing for it. At least during my stay with
you, I have heard no command from any one. You all seem to know how
to live an orderly life without invading the rights, or frustrating
the wishes of each other. The children, as far as I can see, enjoy the
same freedom and privileges as the parents. The only ties which are
respected between husband and wife, parent and child are those which
are mutually agreeable. The foregoing is the direction in which our
family government up to this point developed, and a similar growth is
already discernible here on earth.
“But do not understand me here that the family development was the only
one. Religious and political toleration also kept pace with the family.
The witch fires were slowly extinguished, the ‘Benefit of Clergy’
disregarded, trial by ordeal abandoned, direct tithes were regarded
impositions, church and state were separated first in theory and
later in practice also, colossal churches and cathedrals, which were
once built by compulsory taxation, were later on built by voluntary
donation, the army of clergy who were once a social caste maintained by
compulsory taxation became later on dependent on the voluntary gifts of
their congregation. So step by step, we, like you are now doing, moved
toward justice and freedom.
“Politically the different hordes and tribes coalesced gradually into
powerful absolute monarchies, then they slowly changed to limited
monarchies, then to your so-called republics, and still later on we
became free as we now are. Gradually the sphere of compulsory taxation
contracted and weakened. Primitively a person passing from one small
district or country had to pay duty on himself and goods, later on he
paid duty only on his goods, still later all migration and commerce
became free; a person could go where he pleased, and buy and sell where
he found the best market without paying duty on anything.”
“Then you were at one time in just the same stages of development as we
now are!” exclaimed Rev. Dudley.
“Just the same,” replied Mr. Midith.
“And now the Marsites are much further than we are,” said Mrs. Uwins.
“What interests us most now is, by what course you reached your present
destination, so that we may make our intelligence count to propel us in
the same direction.”
“Well let us try then, briefly, to point out the channel through which
we passed. By the advance of intellectual culture, the unjust burden of
compulsion became continually more apparent and sensitive to a larger
proportion of the people. As long as a progressive people believe that
man can be elevated and reformed by human-made laws--that a person’s
‘heart’ can be made good by the ballot, that long they will employ the
ballot, and that long the rights of using the ballot will be given to a
continually increasing number of the people.
“In a certain political stage, the absolute monarch was the sole ruler
and law-maker; then a few advisers were added; then a parliament
with hereditary members; then representatives elected by a certain
privileged class, as landlords, etc.; then the franchise was vested in
all male citizens, who were of ‘age,’ and who owned a certain amount
and kind of property, or paid a certain sum of taxes or rent; then to
all male citizens who were of ‘age,’ then the female was gradually
enfranchised, first in school and municipal affairs, then in county and
state matters, and further on the female had the same privileges to
use the ballot as the male; and then the age of political majority was
continually lowered from twenty-one downward.
“But long before all these rights were accorded to the wife and child
by the masses, the more thoughtful ones of the age had learned that
the ballot is powerless in bringing about justice, prosperity and a
harmonious social adjustment between man and man. Hence, instead of
voting as before, they slowly ceased to use the political ballot, and
began to direct all their progressive energy toward self-improvement
and the general diffusion of knowledge. By these means their number
continually increased until it included every man, woman and child in
our community government which I have described to you before.
“But these were not the only means by which the compulsory element of
government was frustrated and finally defeated. Compulsory taxation
was another element which matured the people to abolish compulsory
government. In proportion as the people grew in self-reliance,
individual liberty and aversion for government by physical force, the
burden of compulsory taxation became more and more sensitive. In the
course of time the vast majority of the people believed more or less
in lying and otherwise deceiving the assessors, so as to avoid paying
taxes; and the assessors generally knew themselves that the tax-payers
were lying to them when they enumerated their property for assessment.
And these sentiments, more or less, are easily traceable with your
tax-payer here on earth. As far as I can learn, nearly all of you try
more or less to deceive your assessors. You, like we first, attempted
in this matter to make people truthful by putting them under oath, but
it was soon found that when people do not wish to pay taxes any longer,
they have no greater scruples for perjury than they have for a simple,
straight falsehood. Thus the oath, too, became powerless and eventually
obsolete.
“In this manner the taxes and duties were one by one taken off from
the different kinds of property, so that at last all was free. The
cessation of compulsory taxation caused the government of physical
force first to weaken and then to crumble to pieces. It, of course, was
for a while more or less maintained by voluntary donations by those who
still believed in it, in a somewhat similar manner as you now maintain
churches which were also formerly built and maintained by the state.
But as man’s sentiments grew more and more in harmony with freedom, the
compulsory element slowly disappeared altogether, as we now find it in
our communities. Thus we arrived by successive approximations to our
present form of voluntary government. In proportion as the human-made
laws were repealed and ignored, natural opportunity became equally open
to all, so that justice, free competition, and a healthy supply and
demand, guided by a constantly increasing intelligence, made a proper
adjustment of all things.”
CHAPTER XXV. HOW THE TRANSITION FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW ORDER OF THINGS
WAS ACCOMPLISHED. [_Concluded._]
“Mr. Midith, you have not yet told us how your old marriage system was
gradually superseded by your present system of sexual freedom,” said
Rev. Dudley. “I am sure it would be highly interesting to us to have
you point out the most important transitional steps.”
“It is, of course, impossible for me to point out all the countless
gradations through which we passed in the sex relations from the lowest
stages of barbarism to that highest state of equal sexual freedom which
the Marsites now enjoy. It will suffice here to say that the progress
with us, as far as I can learn up to the point which you have reached
at the present time, were almost identical with yours.
“Under the head of sex relations I showed you how marriage was
instituted, both here and on Mars. How the primitive savage often stole
or captured his wife or wives; how he often compelled prisoners of
war to become his wife or wives; how, later on, the father or parent
sold his daughters to become the wives of the purchasers; how, still
later, the parents, instead of the young couple, made the marriage
contract; and now the contracting parties to the marriage, at least
in the United States and in some European countries, are generally
only interfered with by the state; that is, the state demands of them
certain acts before they can live together, and it also demands of
them, when once married, certain other acts before they can separate
or live with some one else; that is, your marriage contract is always
a life contract, and nothing but the most flagrant cruelties, as the
state looks upon them, will induce the state to grant a divorce.
“The last is the highest point in the sex relation that the earthly
inhabitants have thus far reached, and I need, therefore, not point out
any of the gradations below this point, for you have passed through
them in almost the same manner as we did, and how you did pass through
your past gradations can, to a certain extent, be ascertained from your
historical records. But what interests you most is how we made the
transitional steps of advance from the highest point that you have at
present attained to that complete sexual and other freedom which the
Marsites now enjoy.
“We have seen that all advancement is wrought out by intelligence, and
if sexual freedom is a higher and purer state of human activity than
the practice of wife-stealing or life-wedlock, we must have attained
that higher plane by some intellectual powers which taught us that
life, accompanied with a certain quantity and quality of intellectual
culture, is, as a whole, purer, more complete, and therefore happier
under sexual freedom than under the various forms of force marriage
systems; otherwise the statement that happiness is a feeling which we
seek to bring into consciousness and retain there is not true.
“The trend of human advancement, then, must ever be toward individual
freedom; not only in the sex-relations, but in all other directions
also. Let me therefore point out to you a few of our transitional steps
from _your_ highest present sex-relations to that which now exists on
Mars. Let us also, as we go along, try to discover if any of the same
signs are already discernible here on earth.
“When we were in your present stage of progress, our marriage contract
began to be much less esteemed than formerly; the power of the church
and state was rapidly waning; the ceremonies grew less solemn, and
divorces increased in number and respect. All these signs are already
more or less strongly visible with you, too.
“In ancient times a wife, no matter how much abused, could obtain no
divorce from her husband without _his_ consent. Later on thousands
of wives obtained divorces. The same is true with your men and women
now. With us actresses and such other ladies who were best capable of
supporting themselves financially were the first and most numerous
who desired to be free and independent, and therefore applied most
frequently for divorces when the marriage was no longer mutually
agreeable. With you the same holds true.
“As several couples of married men and women began to co-operate and
live together in the same house, they all grew more sociable and less
jealous because each desired more and more to be free himself and would
therefore be willing to accord a greater latitude of freedom to his
married or other companions. We can already often see slight traces
of that with you where two or more families live and work in close
proximity, and where two married couples, when out walking or riding,
exchange ladies and gentlemen.
“In the foregoing stage of co-operation, the death of a man or a
wife would not desolate and break up the home and family like it
formerly did when only two parents were living together. There were
always plenty left to have the work go on as before. In this small
co-operative family the surviving member would continue to live as a
member of the family almost the same as before. He could either again
take in a companion or not, just as he pleased. By these closer and
wider social, industrial and sexual bonds, man became more and more
sensitive to injustice and discord. He looked upon aggressiveness and
compulsion of every kind with continually increasing repugnance. The
reward of co-operation on the one hand and individual freedom on the
other urged him on to a still higher eminence.
“Thus as our families and communities unfolded in size, order and
prosperity, and as each member--man, woman and child--became more and
more intelligent, independent, self-reliant and non-aggressive, as I
have pointed out in the preceding part of my narrative, the marriage
contract, like the oath and other superstitions, first became a mere
form, and later on disappeared altogether. The social and sexual web
grew wider, purer and stronger. All forms of monopoly died with the
compulsory state. Jealousy and aggressiveness were crowded out of the
mind by higher and nobler feelings. Filial affection overflowed from
its former narrow bounds. The individual became the sole owner of
his or her own person. We began to feel that all of us had received
parental care during our infancy and that we in turn, whether parent
or not, should do the same to our contemporaneous infants. The sexual
affairs, with the enlargement of individual freedom, naturally glided
under the exclusive control of the woman under whose efficient
management, sexual freedom and instructive desires, the excessive
sexual function was gradually reduced, to about its normal activity,
the same as we find with the lower animals when they are in a state
of freedom. Thus the highest human efforts were always crowned with
health, purity, freedom and happiness.
“I am well aware of the fact that these higher feelings of which I
have here spoken are not sufficiently developed in the masses of the
earthly inhabitants at the present time to be keenly appreciated by
them. All that any of us can do is to aid in bringing the masses up to
that standard by a diffusion of a higher intelligence which improves
their organization. As I told you before, a rude savage would not feel
at home in an elegantly furnished parlor, but he is not to blame for
the fact that he can not appreciate such a parlor. His organization is
not yet in tune with it. He must be elevated before he can appreciate
such surroundings. The same is true with the vast majority of your
people. With their present state of mind they can not appreciate those
higher and purer feelings of which I have spoken; if they could, they
would surely have them. A rude, uncleanly person would find it a great
burden, instead of a comfort, to live a life appropriate with a clean,
elegant, orderly residence in which there would be no invasion, and
equal right.
“To illustrate: Such a person would not want to clean his shoes or
put on his slippers before he walked in. He would want to spit on
the stove or floor. He would want to slam the doors or leave them
open after him when they ought to be closed. He would want to be
loud and noisy. He would want to smoke, chew and get drunk in it.
He would not want to bathe and divest himself of his labor-garments
which are scented with perspiration. He would find no delight in
keeping his finger and toe-nails clean and trimmed. He would not want
to clean his teeth nor comb his hair. He would want to dictate to,
and domineer over his physically weaker and intellectually inferior
companions. As a male he would want to manage sexual affairs which
can be managed with purity only by the female. At table he would want
to rise, reach and smack while eating. He would want to interrupt you
in conversation. At night he would want to come into the house like
a whirlwind, waking all in the house. From labor he would want to
shirk all he could. In discussion he would get angry if he could not
carry his point. In courtship he would become pouty and jealous if
things would not just suit him. Instead of learning, discussing and
contemplating something high and noble, he would want to indulge in
obscene and vulgar frivolities. All these acts would be inappropriate
with a fine residence and highly distasteful to a cultivated person
whose social feelings are in tune with a clean handsome residence.
With their present sentiments, the vast masses of your people would
therefore not appreciate the wholesome conduct and elegant ‘big-houses’
of the Marsites; but, on the contrary, a multitude of your rudest men
and women would, no doubt, turn our elegant dwellings more or less
into brothels, filthy saloons, smoking rooms and nasty spittoons.
They would quarrel, fight and shirk from their equitable labor.
They would be jealous and unclean. But all this is no sign that our
social, industrial and sexual relations are not better suited for a
higher and purer life than your institutions are. It simply shows that
those who are not in sympathy with our institutions, or who deem them
impracticable on account of their high standard, still contain within
them too many primitive propensities and passions which are revolting
against a healthful, peaceable life.”
“How did you arrive at your present methods of education?” asked Viola.
“I am sure an account of some of the most important transitional steps
would be very interesting to us, and I hope that you will find it as
agreeable to give us the explanation as it will be for us to receive
it.”
“Of course I need not tell you that we reached the point of education
that _you_ have attained at present by the same process and in the same
order that you did, and I need, therefore, not go back of that point,
for you know that as well and perhaps better than I do. It is modern
history with you and more or less ancient with me. You want to know by
what path, from your present position, you can reach a higher plane.
“We have seen that the sovereignty of the state gradually weakened, and
that the sovereignty of the individual correspondingly increased. Your
public school system depends for its financial support on the power of
the state. As soon as the state loses its power of compulsory taxation,
the public school can not exist on its present principles.
“But mankind will always maintain existing institutions until they
begin to see some disadvantages, or until they can supplant them by
what they consider to be better ones. This is as true of education as
of everything else. Mankind slowly learns that not all instruction
furnishes useful information. The direct object of education, as we
have seen, is to discover truth, so that we may live in accord with
the facts of the universe; for every violation of a natural function
is a violation of a natural law, and every violation of a natural law
is attended with suffering. Hence, in order to enjoy the greatest
happiness, the ultimate aim and end of all sentient beings must be
to live in tune with facts; we must understand the true relations of
things so that we may be able to look a great distance into the future,
so as to avoid or remove all stumbling blocks from our path of future
progress.
“We may easily illustrate the fact that not all instruction furnishes
useful information. The instruction which was inculcated in the minds
of the people during the dark ages that a supernatural power may be and
often was purchased from the supposed evil fiend, was instruction which
led to the torture and murder of millions of innocent human beings. The
instruction, during former ages, that war and slavery are justifiable,
has done an immense evil, and is doing so still, but in a somewhat more
lenient form. Your modern instruction that profit, interest, rent and
taxes are right, and conducive to human well-being, is causing nearly
all your present evils and discord.
“Some are beginning to see and feel this clearly. But no teacher
in your public schools is allowed at present to teach that profit,
interest, rent, and taxes are wrong because they arise from the
monopolization of natural opportunity and are therefore destructive
to the highest human welfare. No teacher in your public school is
allowed to teach that we ought never to take up a gun for the purpose
of shooting our neighbor in defense of any flag; for a man as such
is always better than a flag; for a collection of people can even be
happier and more orderly without a flag than with one. As a rule,
your teacher who teaches that your women are not enjoying the same
privileges that your men enjoy is looked down upon, and your board of
directors or state do not desire to employ such a person as teacher.
They look upon him as the contemporaries of Socrates looked upon
Socrates.
“By this you can plainly see that thousands of your most cultivated and
thoughtful teachers of your public schools, the same as many of your
preachers, are not at liberty to teach _all_ their best thoughts and
sentiments. The masses are not sufficiently matured intellectually to
assimilate them. He must therefore suppress some of his best thoughts.
“In proportion as people became conscious of the facts, they lost their
patriotic sentiments for the compulsory public schools, and they could
find no other solution out of the difficulty than to take the control
of school education out of the hands of the state and place it in the
hands of the individual, the same as they had done with the church
long before. You see as long as we are compelled by the state to think
only in one narrow, prescribed channel, there is little opportunity
for rapid mental development. Under this state constraint, some of the
best thoughts are frequently never born, and if they are born, they are
generally dwarfed for want of room and opportunity. All who desire aid
from the public school room are compelled to walk within the narrow
path laid out by the state.
“But things are entirely different when any individual, under free
competition, can open a school and teach whatever he desires. His
school must then prosper by virtue of its own merits, in a large field
of keen, free competition. Under individual instruction there would be
the widest possible difference in the course of study and in the mode
of discipline. All could very likely be suited somewhere, no matter
how widely they may differ in thought and belief. Those who desire to
pray could find schools in which prayer is the most important exercise;
those who desire to study the doctrine of special creation could find
their school and teacher. The evolutionist could find his. There would
be schools in which all the various phases of thought were taught and
discussed--social, political, theological, industrial, sexual, and
scientific. Under such keen, free competition, all but the fittest
would soon disappear.”
“But did you not say, Mr. Midith, that ministers, too, often feel the
burden of narrowness brought to bear upon them by their congregations?
They are not under the control of the state. How, then, do you
reconcile these facts?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“In the first place, they are partly under state monopoly, because
church property is exempt from taxation, while other property is taxed.
In the church there is a wide range of latitude in the thought and
belief between the most primitive Catholic, who believes himself to be
under the guidance and paternalism of an infallible pope, and the most
liberal Unitarian or Universalist, who is free nearly to believe as
he likes. As a minister, then, nearly every one can find a gradation
of individual freedom corresponding with his intellectual advancement,
and when he is ready to step out of the church beyond all sectarian
dogmas, he is at liberty to do so at any time. He is not now forced by
the state, like formerly, to be a member of a particular church, or of
any church, nor is he forced to contribute toward the support of any
church more than the increase of his taxation caused by the exemption
of church property. But with your public school and your teacher it is
altogether different. You are taxed to support them whether you are in
sympathy with them or not; whether you send your children to the public
school, or to a private one where you pay tuition. The state-prescribed
course of study and mode of discipline are nearly alike everywhere.
There is but one narrow channel in which your intellectual activity
must be confined. In your state-schools, you as an individual can not,
like a minister and a church member, pass, step by step, as you grow
intellectually, through a wide range toward the more liberal, and
even pass entirely beyond all sectarian doctrines, like the tendency
of your present theological movement clearly indicates. A minister,
under your present _regime_, can preach any doctrine he desires from an
independent pulpit, but an independent school is taxed out of existence
by the state, because the private teacher can not get the required
number of pupils as long as the parents of the pupils must first pay
taxes to support the public school and then pay tuition to the private
teacher.
“Let me give an illustration. The church, I think, furnishes the best
example, showing how your public school will slowly but gradually lose
its despotic state power and influence. According to your history,
only a comparatively few years ago your people thought that the church
and state were inseparably bound together by some superhuman tie. You
then thought that it was the state’s duty to look after the welfare
of the ‘soul’ as well as the body. Churches were built and the clergy
maintained by compulsory taxation, the same as you now build and
maintain public schools and teachers. There was but one denomination
then, and every person was a member of that denomination or church.
But as the mind unfolded toward self-reliance, kindness and individual
liberty, different denominations were born to suit the rising
intelligence. Thus step by step the separation of church and state
continued until the only remnant of compulsory authority the state
claims to exercise over the church at present is to exempt her property
from taxation, and that remnant is already getting very feeble.
“Thus we see that the church continually grew weaker in dictatorial
authority and membership, and stronger in simplicity and individual
freedom. With every forward step of advance it became more natural, and
this forward movement continued with us and will, no doubt, continue
with you until the church loses itself in nature by becoming identical
with it. Only a few centuries ago nearly every man, woman and child in
your Christian world was a church member. Now the population of the
United States in round numbers is about 60,000,000; of these about
8,000,000 are Catholics and about 12,000,000 are Protestants. About
20,000,000 out of the 60,000,000 are church members. Formerly, then,
the rate per cent. of church members was nearly 100 per cent., now
it is only 33 per cent. More than 66 per cent. passed through the
successive steps of theological liberty, or they passed entirely beyond
all theological dogmas as far as church membership is concerned.
“In a similar manner did our public school lose its state authority. As
I have told you, the state itself, in all its functions, was gradually
weakened, and lost its paternalism with every step of intellectual
advance and personal liberty. But the disappearance of the public
school was more rapid than the disappearance of the state in some
other direction. Men gradually withdrew from the old, narrow, despotic
school, the same as they had withdrawn from the old, narrow, cruel
church. As the intellectual sun of freedom, kindness and prosperity
rose and shed his congenial rays on our progressive Mars, the chains
of superstition, cruelty and slavery fell off one by one; and the same
tendency is already discernible with you. I find that many of your
foremost thinkers and most impartial judges feel the narrowness and
stagnation of your public school and your system of education. They
favor the abolition of state schools and the substitution of private
institutions in which there is a wide range of liberty, so that every
teacher can teach what he desires, and every child can go where it
desires. In such a keen, free field of competition every teacher and
school must stand or fall by their own merit, and the survival of the
fittest will soon crowd out all others.
“The public school, before its disappearance, assumed different forms.
The teachers grew in kindness and ability. The days were shortened. I
mean the school day in the compulsory school-room. The weeks and years
were also gradually shortened. The child became a freer agent in a
more natural position. In the course of time the people of the cities
and towns erected and supported spacious public buildings in the most
suitable parts of their cities and towns. These buildings were intended
for enjoyment and also for the acquisition of useful information, not
for the _man_ only, like most of your public buildings now are, except
the churches, but for the wife and child also. Every man, woman and
child who wished to enjoy a social intercourse for a few hours, either
during the day or evening, could always find a fit place in these
public buildings.
“These public buildings, or natural schools, were built on the center
of about four acres of the most suitable land in the center of a
town. Of course, in large cities there were many such buildings. The
ground was fenced so that no small child could get out. The entrance
was guarded by a trustworthy person so that little children could not
leave the ground without a nurse to care for them. This arrangement
insured mothers and others that their children were out of danger when
brought within the inclosure. Part of the inclosure was fitted up for
a play-ground, part of it for an outdoor nursery, and the remainder
was planted in flowers and ornamental trees, etc. These buildings, or
natural schools, were divided into apartments by movable partitions,
so that it could be set off into rooms or be thrown all into one
hall. This inclosure and building were in charge of several lady and
gentlemen marshals, or teachers. (But both the marshals and teachers
had already lost nearly all of their aggressiveness.) These teachers
instructed the children wherever they found them. The child studied
biology, botany, geology, physiology and psychology whenever it went
in the inclosure. It received instruction in music, reading, language,
elementary sounds, cleanliness, politeness, honesty, truthfulness and
kindness by words and examples, and all this was done in such a natural
and pleasant manner that the child was not aware that it was studying.
At the close of the day it would exclaim, ‘To-day we had lots of fun! I
shall be here again early to-morrow morning!’
“These natural schools, or places of amusement, were supplied with a
fine library, all kinds of musical instruments, commodious and elegant
furniture, a fine laboratory and a good supply of philosophical
apparatus, and a supply of confectionery and articles of amusement.”
“But is not that quite expensive,” asked Rev. Dudley, “to purchase the
land, erect and furnish the building, and pay the teachers; and do you
think that our _bad boys_ would appreciate all this after all?”
“The cost of it would not begin to be as much as that which you expend
in saloons, liquor, opium, tobacco and cigars. Your men build their
saloons, club-houses, etc., and spend in the United States alone about
a thousand million dollars for liquor, and over two hundred and fifty
million dollars for tobacco, cigars and cigarettes per annum, and they
handle nearly all the money, but invest scarcely a nickle for the wife
and child in public buildings and places of learning and amusement.
“And as to the bad boys, it is no wonder that they are bad with the
treatment they receive; the wonder to me is that your women and
children do not revolt against the tyrannical treatment of the men. As
long as you coerce your boys, who are chased from store to store, from
postoffice to street, and kicked out of the saloon by the father who
happens to be there, that long you can not expect your boys to be what
you want them to be. I never saw any of your boys do anything so bad
and cruel but what I saw your men do something worse and more cruel. No
doubt, if you treat your boys and girls kindly and justly they will be
just as good as our boys.
“But we are digressing from our subject; let us return to it. From what
I have told you, you can, no doubt, see the tendency of educational
advancement by a comparison of religious progress. To be sure in my
limited narration, I can array only a few of the most important facts
to suggest others.
“The primitive savage has not the mental ability and desire for deep
thought and profound study. As the tribes coalesce and the brain
increases in size and function by a wider social intercourse and a more
complex experience concomitant with a greater national union, he begins
to believe that man’s ‘heart’ can be made perfect by the guidance of
man-made laws. In this mental stage, he endeavors to put everything
under the dominion of man-made laws, the same as in former periods, he
put everything under the dominion of his own created Deity. In this
law-period, he owns his land by law; he makes his money by law; he owns
slaves; kills witches and heretics, builds churches and school-houses,
organizes and disciplines an army, executes criminals and marries all
by law. Everything which is done in accordance to law is considered
right and just. He is now an aggressor and invader, but with a still
higher intelligence and a higher sense of justice, he begins to
question the _justice_ and equity of a man-made _law_. He finds that
aggressiveness implies discord, and that society can never be orderly
and happy as long as there are aggressors and invaders.
“So it was with the school, and with the entire system of education.
The state school or public school, was succeeded by private schools.
Our idea of school and education now rapidly broadened. With the
enlargement of the family and community all parents, by the assistance
of co-operation and closer association, became better educated and more
highly cultivated, and this general advancement continued until every
person, young and old, was considered a teacher, and every field, yard,
park and ‘big-house’ an institution of learning; the _direct_ teaching
changed almost wholly to the indirect. Here you see that the school,
too, loses itself in nature by becoming identical with it. Just as
every person in a former period became his own minister and preached
whatever doctrines he pleased, so does every person now become or is
his own teacher and teaches whatever and wherever he pleases, and our
education continues as long as we live. We do not graduate at the age
of fifteen or twenty like you do. Hence, our system of education is
now perfectly free, natural and agreeable. It has turned into play. We
study only those things which are agreeable to us. But you must not
forget that the higher branches of study and inquiry are more agreeable
as our mental ability increases.
“By improved intercommunication of travel and correspondence, the
survival of the fittest rapidly diminished the number of languages,
until but one was left, and this one is so simple and easily learned
by always hearing it spoken correctly that very little technical
grammar is now studied. With the lapse of time we began to see more and
more clearly that he who is capable of living with the most complex
structure and function, most nearly in accord with the facts of the
universe, is most highly educated; and he who is least _aggressive_ is
most highly cultivated, because these conditions are necessary for the
enjoyment of the greatest happiness. Thus all the social, industrial
and sexual questions gradually became a part of our practical course of
study in our daily life.
“I am aware that my explanation of education has been very brief, but
I have already kept you too far into the night. I am afraid that I am
teaching you a bad lesson when I keep you up too late. On some future
occasion we may be able to have more of the details, but now it is time
to retire.”
CHAPTER XXVI. FAVORABLE NEWS.
On Saturday evening Mr. Midith returned from the postoffice with a
letter in his hand, an unusual brightness in his eye, and an additional
elasticity in his step. The family were seated on the porch when he
returned, and as he approached he said:
“I have received very favorable news from the financial committee of
San Francisco, of whom I told you the other evening. They say they
have met with complete success in the organization of a company who
will undertake to search for my projectile. They have plenty of funds
to prosecute the work on an extensive and thorough scale. They want me
to come by first train, so as to assist them all I can in ascertaining
the locality as nearly as possible where the projectile emerged on my
arrival on earth, and also to be present at a meeting which is to be
held there a few evenings hence. If I start on the next limited train
I can just reach San Francisco in time for that meeting. It is an
important event in my life, and I must by no means miss it.
“Perhaps I may yet be able some day to see my native world once more,
to enjoy the kind, peaceable society which it has developed and blessed
with intelligence and prosperity. I may be able once more to drink a
draught from its almost faultless social and economic fountains; to
press the hand and kiss the lips of those who are dear to me.”
“We can never let you return to Mars unless you can take us with you,”
said Viola. “The earth is desolate enough with you in it, and without
you it would be much more so. But if you find your projectile you may
be able to establish a line of intercommunication between Mars and the
earth; if so, we can all go. That will be grand, indeed.”
“We will do the very best we can,” replied Mr. Midith. “We can tell
better what we can do after we find the projectile and see what repairs
it needs, and whether or not those repairs can be made by the aid of
earthly skill and machinery. Of course, you understand that it is no
little thing to make a projectile which will traverse the vast distance
between the earth and Mars. It is an undertaking which probably borders
on the boundaries of human possibilities.”
We all expressed our regrets of having Mr. Midith depart from our
midst. Our curiosity concerning the new world and its inhabitants of
which Mr. Midith had already told us so much, was not half satisfied,
but, on the contrary, the novelty of it increased in proportion as we
learned the realities of it.
“It will be quite lonesome at first when you are gone,” said Mr. Uwins,
“and we have not heard half as much of your world as we would like
to, and I hope for _your_ sake that you will be successful in your
enterprise; but I also hope that your business may be such that you can
do the most of it when you are here with us.”
“My train by which I must leave you, at least for a few days, is due
here at ten o’clock; but I am almost certain that I shall return very
shortly. It seems that I can not leave your hospitable home for any
considerable length of time as long as I am a resident of this earth,”
said Mr. Midith, after Mr. Uwins had finished speaking. “No doubt all
I can do on the coast is to attend that meeting and tell the dredgers
as nearly as I can where my projectile went down in the Pacific. The
parties who have undertaken the search for the projectile must be
highly interested in the project, for I have corresponded with them
only a few days and have given them only a very few facts concerning my
history.”
“I very much regret that you must leave us,” said Mrs. Uwins. “I have
become so interested in the narrative of your just and beautiful world
that I do not like to have you leave off telling before we have heard
the whole of it.”
“I have told you but a little so far,” replied Mr. Midith, “but when I
return from the coast, I shall tell you much more; and if we succeed
in finding the projectile, I will tell and show you all about its
construction and operation; how it was gradually improved from time to
time, the same as your locomotive or threshing machine. There are also
countless other details, of which I have so far said nothing.”
“It is more than an hour and a half before your train is due,” said Mr.
Uwins, “and we cannot afford to have you silent as long as you are with
us. I shall, therefore, ask you a question that I have been wanting to
ask you several times before, but never got to it; and that is, how you
dispose of your dead, your obsequies, mourning, monuments, etc.”
“We do not _bury_ the dead at present, like you do and like
we formerly did, but we _cremate_ them. Every community has a
‘crematorium,’ and a corps of undertakers, who take charge of the
corpse immediately after death. They are notified by the attending
physicians or friends of the deceased. The undertakers convey the
corpse to the crematorium, where it is laid out in an open casket until
it shows unmistakable signs of decay and dissolution, after which it is
cremated. These undertakers also clean, disinfect and otherwise prepare
the apartment of the deceased for the reception of a new occupant.
“The old form of interment was gradually superseded by cremation
for a number of reasons; the principal one is that cremation offers
greater security to the living. An interred body, having died from
the effects of a contagious disease, may, under certain conditions,
easily spread the disease or contagion; while a cremated one can not.
The atom of the contagious corpse, after dissolution by combustion,
is no more dangerous to life, as far as we know, than the atom from a
decomposed corpse having died from old age. It is true that contagious
diseases are almost unknown with us, but a careful guard against them
on all sides, and other favorable conditions, has made it so. Display,
unnecessary contact and carelessness in disposing of the dead has cost
us and you an untold number of lives, and you are paying dearly for it
still.
“Our obsequies are the simplest possible; in fact, I think you would
call them no obsequies at all. As soon as a physician has notified
the undertakers or cremators of the death of a person, they take the
corpse with their motor-hearse to the crematorium. No one except the
cremators follows the corpse to his final place of dissolution; for
it can not be the desire of a highly cultivated being, who has the
highest welfare and greatest happiness of his friends and companions
at heart, to have them follow his senseless corpse, when such an act
can not conduce to his personal happiness; when it involves nothing but
unproductive and destructive labor. A funeral procession also tends
to spread contagious diseases, and prolong the mournful and depressed
feelings caused by the death of a dear friend. No one who clearly sees
these and other evils can consistently desire his surviving friends to
follow him in a funeral procession. Our aid and sympathy are always
with the _living_, for death has satisfied, at least, all the material
and mental wants of the deceased, and these are all the wants we have
any positive knowledge of.
“Let us examine this from another point of view. From historical
records, and from the present practices of savages, we find that
funeral rites and processions are born in barbarous times, and first
practiced by primitive savages, and that all you have left of them
at present are only the modified remnants of former barbarity and
superstition.
“The primitive savage worships his deceased ancestors; he embalms them;
he assigns them the best place at the table during the time of a feast;
he often inters his horse, his gun and a number of slaves with him. His
wife has often such a profound ‘respect’ for the dead that she often
voluntarily cremates herself alive on the funeral pyre of her deceased
husband.
“Thus we see at a glance that the savage has a much profounder respect
for the dead, and much less respect for the living than the more
cultivated person has, and this change gradually continues until all
our help and sympathies are with the living, for the dead can not
utilize them.
“You do not at present _directly_ bury the living in the same tomb with
the dead like the savage did and still does; but, no doubt, you often
indirectly do it. I have seen more than once, while I have been living
on earth, that a bereaved widow who was completely broken down by the
bereavement, care and attention she had given to her sick husband,
follow him for miles in a slow funeral procession during a rain or
snowstorm, and also at times when the temperature was almost unbearably
high or low. It seems to me that no highly cultivated person, who has
the well-being and happiness of his surviving companions at heart,
can form a conception that the unconscious dead would appreciate such
useless hardships from their dearest friends even if they could know.
After we had learned that all our acts and sympathies should go with
the living--that the dead are unconscious and that all organs and
faculties, as far as we know and have reason to believe, suspend their
function in death--we no longer could expend any useless efforts for
the supposed whims of the dead. We do all we can for them while they
live, but death ends all our physical ties.
“We never wear mourning for a number of reasons. As I have said before,
no person of high culture can desire his surviving friends to undergo
any useless hardship and privation on his account; and mourning has a
tendency of increasing the burden of grief by making the surroundings
more solemn and gloomy. Our aim should be to make the surroundings of
the bereaved as attractive, cheerful, and gay as possible. A living
person of learning and culture would desire his friends to be as happy
as possible; and a dead one, if he could know anything, would be a
tyrant if he were different.
“The foregoing propositions are based upon the facts that it is in the
inherent nature of things that death must necessarily come to all.
That no amount of fretting and resistance can surmount this natural
phenomenon. That a dead person is unconscious and can not appreciate
and utilize help and sympathy. That the living should forget the
bereavement of the dead as soon as possible. That no cultivated person
desires his friends to undergo any useless hardships on his account,
for the fundamental object of all sentient beings is the enjoyment of
the greatest happiness, and mourning tends to intensify and prolong the
depressed feeling of grief, which detracts from the greater happiness.
“In order to prevent being misunderstood, let me illustrate my meaning
by an example.
“We, no doubt, all acknowledge that our life would be a miserable
one if our burden of grief were _always_ as hard to bear as it is
_immediately_ after the death of a dear friend, and when we are
deeply depressed by a burden of grief, we can not devote ourselves
with the same energy and success to the development of body and mind,
and grapple with the phenomena of life as we can when our vital
functions act in accordance with the laws of the most complete life
and health; therefore, he who can lay aside all grief and melancholy,
caused by the deprivation of a dear relative and friend, is the most
complete person, while he who must bear the burden longest is the most
incomplete person on this point. In a fierce struggle for existence
the latter would, no doubt, soon perish. Hence no one can consistently
and successfully defend the position and practice of artificially
prolonging our grief and misery by wearing mourning for the dead;
and no considerate person would desire it of his friends, for this
practice of wearing mourning is no less a remnant of barbarism than the
practice of interring the living with the dead, and he who feels that
it is honorable, and that his dead friend would appreciate it, if he
could, must necessarily lack refinement and consideration himself, for
mourning can serve no good purpose for either the living or the dead.
“We have no material monuments; no memorials erected over our material
remains. We believe that the deeds we do while we live, if they deserve
remembrance, will erect a mental memorial in the minds of the living,
which will serve to perpetuate our memory until our deeds are eclipsed
by some nobler ones of posterity.
“Again, when we examine your tombs we find that nearly all the great
monuments have been erected to the honor of the most unworthy and
infamous persons--generals, torturers, despots and tyrants and bigots
who were instrumental in taking the lives of thousands of innocent
persons, and who have appropriated countless billions from the earnings
of the productive laborers. The principle of material monuments is the
same, whether contemplated from the colossal pyramids of Egypt or from
the humblest tombstone of a country cemetery; costliness is the only
difference.
“From the foregoing explanation you see at once that all obsequies,
mourning and memorials originated in primitive barbarism; and were
first practiced by savages; that they are wasteful, useless and
destructive of life, health and property; that they fall into disuse
in proportion as man, by a higher state of culture, begins to see that
they detract from the completest life and health, and are, therefore,
destructive of the greatest happiness, and that no thoughtful,
considerate person would desire any such acts from surviving friends
whom he _really_ and _truly_ loves.”
“Can you tell me why the savage instituted these practices of burying
the living with the dead, of following the dead in funeral processions
to their ‘last resting place,’ of wearing mourning, and of erecting
costly monuments on their tombs?” asked Rev. Dudley.
“Yes, sir; that is very plain to the Marsites,” answered Mr. Midith.
“I can account for that as easily to my satisfaction as I can account
for the physiological fact that we require food in order to sustain
life. Let us see if I can make it plain: We all know that the primitive
savage almost universally believes in a conscious personal existence
of some kind after death; that he deifies certain or all of his
ancestors; that the departed need nearly the same subsistence as they
do in this life; that the living may incur the pleasure or displeasure
of the dead, and that the departed have the power of working either
for the good or ill of the survivors. Just as soon as we believe
these propositions the hecatomb, the obsequies, the mourning and the
monuments naturally follow. Thus they are originated in and are founded
on superstition and uncertainty, and will continue to live until we
learn by a higher and deeper interpretation of nature that the vast
preponderance of our most trustworthy evidence point against the
primitive hypothesis of a conscious personal existence after death; and
that the warrant for believing so is weakening with every advancement
of scientific investigation and discovery.”
“You have so far told us nothing concerning the religious beliefs of
the Marsites,” said Rev. Dudley, “and as I am engaged in religious work
I would feel highly interested in a brief account of their religious
sentiments. You have more than an hour before the train leaves, and
during that time you can give us the principal points of Marsian
theology.”
“In giving you our religious views, if I may call them such, you
must remember that the vast majority of your people are yet very
superstitious on the religious subject; many of them are even more
superstitious on this subject than they are on the social, industrial
and sexual questions. Some of them consider it even too sacred for
discussion. Under these circumstances it is quite difficult to tell
the whole truth and nothing but the truth without wounding some one’s
feelings; but, nevertheless, if you desire it, I shall give you a short
account of it.
“The Marsites are nearly what you call agnostics in their religious
beliefs, if you call agnosticism a religion.”
“I have heard a great deal about agnosticism, but I am not sure that I
understand its fundamental principles. I would like very much to have
your explanation of it, especially if your agnosticism differs from
ours,” said Rev. Dudley.
“Agnosticism is a modern doctrine with you. It neither asserts nor
denies the existence of a personal prayer-hearing God, a conscious
personal existence after death, etc. Mr. Herbert Spencer is the father
of it in this world. It teaches that the human mind is limited in the
sphere of knowledge, and that we can not know what lies beyond this
limit. It is alike opposed to dogmatic atheism and dogmatic theism. It
is founded on the ‘relativity of all knowledge,’ that is, things can be
known only under certain _conditions_, but that there _may be_ forms of
existence not possessing these requisite conditions, and are, therefore
beyond the boundary of the sphere of human knowledge.
“We have seen that knowing implies two things--a conscious subject
to receive the impression and an object to make it. For aught we
know there may be forms of existences that have neither matter nor
gravitation, but we can not assert this as a fact, because the data
of proof and disproof are inaccessible. It is a form of existence,
if it does exist, that does not excite a sensation as an object
on a recipient subject. It is a well-known fact with us that all
knowledge must enter the mind through the channels of the senses, and
whenever and wherever we attempt to pass beyond the boundaries of the
phenomenal, we are always checkmated by two alternate impossibilities
of thought.
“Nearly all of your foremost thinkers are agnostics. This seems to show
that your foremost minds are following us right up in religious beliefs
and that there is but one line of progress here as well as elsewhere.
“Before we proceed any further, let us contemplate how the religious
sentiments probably originated and developed, and how, under a better
acquaintance with nature, they became identical with it.
“We know by actual experience, from the present savages, that the
savage knows little of the so-called natural laws and that he is very
superstitious. We also know that with any of us all tricks which we
see performed, but which we do not understand at first, lose their
miraculous character in proportion as we learn how they are performed.
Just so it is with natural phenomena. At first when man does not
understand them, he believes them to be the acts of an arbitrary deity;
but as soon as they come under what is called the dominion of law,
they lose their supernatural character; they are then nothing but the
uniformity of nature.
“The primitive savage knows so little about nature that he largely runs
cross-grained with her, and nature punishes him for every violation
of her laws. He sees, hears and feels so many things that he can not
account for. He sees the lofty tree torn to splinters by a flash of
lightning. He hears the awful peal of thunder. He believes that nothing
can happen without a personal agency, yet he sees no such agency.
Again, at one time his abode is destroyed by an earthquake, or a sudden
volcanic eruption; at another time it is inundated by a flood. At
one season of the year he suffers from drought; at another season he
is visited by destructive tornadoes and hailstorms. His improvidence
often causes him to starve; his imprudence to go to war; his ignorance
to be visited by painful and incurable epidemic, etc. He also has
fearful dreams and sometimes meets raving maniacs. All these things are
beyond his understanding. He can see no cause for them and, therefore,
attributes them to supernatural agencies. He is pinched and punished
by nature so often for violating her laws, the existence of which he
knows nothing, that he is almost afraid to stir. He is a rude, cruel
creature himself, and, therefore, has also a cruel god. His god, like
himself, delights in torture. The savage delights in receiving the
humiliation and services of his ‘inferiors,’ and imagines that his
all-powerful god has similar feelings and requires the same of him.
“Thus you see how deities are born. The savage has many of them,
because his mind is incapable of comprehending how _one_ can rule _all
things_; they are also rude and cruel like himself. He puts the same
sentiments in his deities that he feels in his own breast. A person
who can believe that an all-powerful God finds delight and pleasure in
torturing a creature for all eternity, must have some mean blood in his
own veins, for it is very probable that the cruelest person that ever
lived would get his revenge satisfied by torturing his worst enemy for
less than _half_ an eternity. Thus, such a person makes his God meaner,
more cruel, more revengeful than that person is himself. The savage
knows of but few natural laws, and hence he puts nearly everything
under the immediate and arbitrary supervision of his deities, whose
anger is very easily excited. But as man becomes more and more
civilized, his deities grow less in number; they also become kinder
and more abstract. The process of discovering laws continues, until at
last he concludes that all things are governed and maintained by law,
and that wherever men have not yet discovered the law of a certain
phenomena, their limited knowledge is at fault. Thus gradually as the
mind unfolds and the heart improves, the supernatural is step by step
brought within the domain of the natural, and the personal deities
slowly become identical and at one with the Great Fact of the universe.
“The Marsites claim that they know nothing about supernaturalism, and
that by the very nature of the knowing process nothing can be known
about it. What we claim is, that there may be a personal God and there
may not be one; but if there is such a personal God, the kind, cultured
can conceive of Him only as being kind and just, having no revengeful
feelings whatever. You see the Marsites never revengefully punish any
one; how, then, can we think that God would; for, if we would think so,
we would make our _God_ worse than we are ourselves.
“Similarly we know nothing of a conscious personal existence after
death. We believe that the facts of the universe, as far as we know
them, point in the direction that there is no conscious personal
existence after death; but for all that, there may be just such a God,
soul, heaven and hell, as you folks teach there is. No one can either
prove it nor disprove it. Hence we are not at all positive, like you
are, about things that lie beyond the sphere of human knowledge. We are
fully convinced that the possibilities of thought are not co-extensive
and identical with the possibilities of things. But we also believe,
if there is a conscious personal existence after death, that things,
when we get there, will be suited to that life the same as we find
them suited here to this life. We further believe that this life, in
order to make it as good and complete as possible, requires all our
efforts and talent to live up to the most wholesome relations that
are stamped in the very nature of things. There is more about _this_
life than we can probably ever learn; hence we have no time to spare
for gaining the favors of beings in a supposed world, of which we know
nothing definitely. The _facts_ of the universe are the highest known
authority, and he who lives most nearly in accord with them lives, in
_our_ opinion, the ‘holiest’ life.
“We believe that the universe is the grandest volume ever written
by the Creator. It contains a complete history of all things. Every
fossil, every plant, every bud, every flower and every organism is a
letter. It does not even end with _our_ and _your_ little earths.
“All the other planets of our solar system, all the moons, all the
meteors, comets and nebulæ, all the multitudes of stars with their
attending host scattered in the remotest space are found recorded on
the pages of this infinite volume. Its words, phrases and sentences
consist of phenomena.
“This sacred volume is a continuous revelation; and with the rise of
a higher intelligence and a keener sensibility, it commends itself
to a rapidly increasing number of devotees. Every obedience of its
commandments is rewarded by happiness, and every disobedience is
punished by pain, right here in this life.
“It teaches that every heart-beat is an accent, every budding
springtime an emphasis, every sunbeam a smile, every pleasant, blooming
face a prayer, and every harmonious act an adoration.
“All who especially attribute the writing of any particular _paper
volume_ to the author of this universal volume infinitely belittle him.
“When we consider, then, that this infinite natural volume contains
far more information than any finite mind can ever hope to grasp, and
that all pain, or misery, results from an inadequate understanding of
this sublime revelation, the inevitable conclusion is at once forced
upon all impartial minds, that in order to live the holiest lives, all
our time should be agreeably employed in learning as much as possible
of its contents; and he who spends his time in any other devotion than
that of discovering and investigating this phenomenal book, and he who
erects any other temple of adoration, and worships at any other shrine
than the temple of intelligence, is disobeying the highest authority,
and is, therefore, always punished by the Creator here and now.
“That the Architect of the universe delights in having us obey the
commands He has written in the constitution of things is evidenced
by the fact that He always rewards obedience with happiness and
disobedience with pain. For example:
“Healthful exercise, He rewards with a strong muscle and a vigorous
mind. A well-adjusted appetite, He rewards with an unimpaired
digestion and an abundant assimilation. To him who does not violate
the circulatory laws, He gives a pure, firm, plentiful circulation.
Regular, healthful habits, He rewards with a sensitive, highly-adjusted
nervous system, a bright eye, rosy cheeks, and an elastic step.
Industrious voluntary co-operation, He rewards with abundance and
harmony; peaceful habits, with love and prosperity; genius, with
improvement and progress; true justice, with equity and abundance to
all; and freedom, with the highest form of happiness.
“But let us look at it from still another standpoint; let us examine
whether the postulation of a prayer-hearing God can be reconciled with
the scientific world, with the ‘harmony of the universe.’
“If God is affected by man’s prayer, and if man is a ‘free, moral
agent,’ as your orthodox world claims him to be, then God’s action
must, to a certain extent, be determined by and dependent on the
arbitrary fancies of man’s devotional exercises. This state of affairs
would, on the one hand, deprive science of all its certitude; would
sever the continuity and destroy the uniformity of nature; would
probably, by an intervention of prayer, make action which is _equal_
to reaction one day, only half equal to it the next day. It would also
rob God of all independent activity and make Him the sport of man’s
whims and passions. But if, on the other hand, God is not affected by
prayer, prayer is worse than useless; for it involves an expenditure of
vitality which should be all utilized for useful activity, as we have
seen. Thus we see that a prayer-hearing God and a ‘free, moral agent’
can not be reconciled with the scientific world.”
“But is not your belief a cold, uncertain and abstract one?” asked Rev.
Dudley.
“That, no doubt, depends altogether on the evolution of the mental
power of the mind that contemplates it. To a Marsite it is perfectly
satisfactory; immeasurably more so than the belief that only a few of
all the multitudes that die are saved, while all the rest are tortured
for all eternity. To a Marsite a revengeful God, a heaven with a
monarch, a crown and a throne are highly repugnant. We can not conceive
that we can be happy anywhere as long as vast multitudes are suffering
eternal hell-fire. Such a contemplation may be agreeable to your folks,
but never to us.
“From the foregoing remarks concerning our religious sentiments, if
you wish to call them such, you see at once that we have no creeds,
no sectarian antagonism, no churches and cathedrals, no theological
seminaries, no ordained ministers, no synods and ecclesiastical
councils, no religious ceremonies and no adoration of a supernatural
agency. All this vast amount of wealth and labor which you expend in
absolute uncertainty we employ in finding how to live the most complete
lives here and now.
“There is much more of religion, as well as of all other information,
that you no doubt would be interested in and which I will tell you
with the greatest of pleasure when I return from my western errand in
a few days. It is now almost train time, and I shall have to take my
departure from you for the present with the assurance of fulfilling my
‘promise’ to return as soon as possible. I can assure you that the time
I have spent with you has by far been my happiest days on earth, and I
highly appreciate your kind hospitality and congenial sociability.”
“If you must and will go, Mr. Midith, we will all accompany you to the
depot and see you off,” said Viola, to which all consented and started.
Soon after we arrived at the depot the “flyer” arrived. After we had
all given our parting friend a warm pressure of the hand, in which he
warmly reciprocated and also imparted a kiss on Viola’s rosy lips,
he mounted the slowly moving train, which was soon out of sight. We
departed home and are now awaiting his return, when we will ask him
many more questions concerning that wonderful world of his.
THE END.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are
mentioned.
Punctuation has been made consistent.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
the original publication, except as noted below.
The following changes were made:
p. 97: sentiment changed to sentient (all sentient beings)
p. 131: unwanted changed to unwonted (with unwonted vigor)
p. 314: , changed to a (have a faultless)
p. 330: apartment changed to department (mathematical department in)Project Gutenberg
A cityless and countryless world : $b An outline of practical cooperative individualism
Olerich, Henry
Chimera52
Graduate