"Every grade degree has its honorary emblems, which we wear as a badge of honor to denote our standing.
"Coming back to my discourse on the army of volunteers, I failed to explain that until we pass our period of services, we are still at home with our parents. But when we graduate from this service army, we are given the privilege to select our future home in any locality or community available among our own race. If we are married, we occupy our home immediately; if not it is reserved for us for a limited time until we marry.
"We file our requisitions for the available furniture and furnishings of the style we like best, for all necessities and even for certain luxuries, all of which contribute to our life of comfort and contentment."
"And all that without paying for it in money?" asked the congressman.
"Yes," Sun-Rank Banard replied. The receiver is a citizen of Mars and he is entitled to it.
"Every Martian from the day of his birth is issued ration books which are renewable. As his requirements increase, he gets additional books for his general necessities; but his constant requirements he gets as a matter of right without ration book points. Sometimes, but very seldom, certain scarce foods and drinks are rationed for a short time.
"From our first grade degree on, we get two Martian months of vacation each year, either all at one time, or one month each half-year. We wait our turn, and then we may go wherever we choose with our families. We may go to camps, to mountains, or seashore resorts. Or we may go on tours to other continents or other sections of our globe by plane or ship. On these we also receive all comforts and services free.
"These and other privileges are temporarily denied anyone who infringes upon our laws and rules. With all the good life we enjoy on our planet, we find isolated cases reverting to primitive instincts; but because of our thought reading sixth sense, we catch them before their offenses become serious. These characteristics by training, and evolution are gradually disappearing.
"After starting in as apprentices, we are promoted point by point from one grade degree to another, as we merit advancement. We are compensated not only by being promoted to advanced positions in our vocations, but also by receiving honorary degrees.
"Unemployment is unknown among us, even though our population is large. All of us, even our aged, put in our full four hours of work and service daily, and our disabled and crippled also put in their full employment time into suitable trained occupations. We on Mars go in for specialization. For instance, in agriculture, we have specialists in orange groves who raise oranges only. It is the same in the production of every different kind of fruit, vegetable, tree, animal, or fowl.