Fowle treated the crowd, and the three were soon munching the sandwiches and crying down their quality.
“How’s socialism, Brandy?” asked Fowle, winking at his nearest neighbor. “I hear it’s a back number nowadays.”
“The socialists are the party of the future,” said Brandy, solemnly. “The time is coming when the government will own and operate all railroads and public utilities, together with all mines and great industrial plants, and the product and advantages derived from the resources of the country will be enjoyed by the people, to whom they belong, not by the few greedy monopolists who sit with their feet in the trough at home—and send their fat-witted sons to Seaton Academy.”
“Good!” cried Taylor. “That’s me! But look here, Brandy, will the government run the hot-dog business too? If it does, where’ll you be?”
Brandy threw at the interrupter a glance which was meant to express pity for Taylor’s ignorance.
“Those that are qualified will hold the important positions, not those who have a pull. I shall be chief government inspector of hot dogs.” Brantwein turned again to his main audience. “The United States is to-day fifty years behind Europe in the matter of socialism, but we’re learning fast now. We must make a beginning with the coal mines and the great trunk lines—”
“That’ll be bad for you,” cut in Birdie. “You can’t beat your way from Chicago to Boston, then.”
“I shan’t need to,” retorted Brandy. “The state will pay for every man’s education. Fellows like you, of course, the state won’t waste much time on. You’ll be used for road-menders and crossing-sweepers.”
“Hear! hear!” cried Taylor, lacking for the moment a more effective reply.
“It will be another golden age, won’t it, Brandy?” interposed Sam, “like that one Virgil tells about, when the pastures were speckled all over with sheep of different colors, each one producing wool of just the right tint, so that there was no need of dyeing it. All the lazy will become hustlers and all the crooks honest, and everybody will have what he wants to eat and go to the theatre every night.”