“I have been explaining to the King some of the ideas which are held by men of enlightened views—that is to say, by friends of progress—with regard to the reformation of society.” Thus far he had tried to address the Chancellor direct, but he now gave it up as a bad job, and turned towards Maximilian, who encouraged him by a nod to go on. “His Majesty wished me to begin by suggesting a simple practical step which would be easy to carry out, before realising what may be called our main object, namely, the collective production and distribution of wealth.”
He paused. The Chancellor’s features were set in stony impassiveness. To all appearance he was unconscious that anything was being said.
“That is right. Go on, Herr Mark,” threw in the King, coming to the rescue.
“The reform that occurred to me was the nationalisation of the land and its adjuncts. That would mean taking all the soil of the country, together with the buildings, railways, mines, machinery, and other means of wealth-production into the hands of the government. We should then be able to alter the conditions of labour, and after securing to all the workers a fair remuneration according to the value of their work, and equalising and reducing the hours of toil, the surplus would pass into the coffers of the State, and we could use it in public works, and in bestowing pensions on the aged and infirm. Of course, this would only be the preliminary stage. We hope ultimately to dispense entirely with money as an exchange medium, and replace it by State coupons representing so much labour. But before doing that we shall have to absorb the whole machinery of distribution, so that the State will be the sole possessor of wealth.”
Carried away by his theme, the Socialist had gone on further than he intended. Pulling himself up with difficulty, he glanced once more at the forbidding face of the Count von Sigismark, only to see its former impassiveness replaced by an expression of mingled horror and contempt.
“Well,” said Maximilian to the Minister, “you have heard Herr Mark’s programme. What do you say to it?”
Von Sigismark withdrew his eyes from the ceiling.
“Do I understand that your Majesty really entertains these monstrous proposals seriously?”
“Certainly I do. And I shall be obliged if you will express your opinion of them in milder language.”
“I beg your Majesty’s pardon. I am an old servant of the Crown—I have served your Majesty faithfully for ten years, and his Majesty the late king for twenty-five years before that—and I have never before been asked to listen to such suggestions as I have just heard. I implore your Majesty to dismiss these pernicious ideas at once. I can remember the time when the papers which published such things would have been suppressed, and the men who preached them imprisoned. I am getting an old man, and I take the liberty of speaking plainly. This gentleman is proposing a revolution, nothing more nor less.”