"Why, in the division of the fruits of the labor," replied Mr. George.
"I don't know what you mean by that," said Rollo.
"Well, I will explain it," said Mr. George. "If we suppose that there are thirty millions of people in Great Britain——"
"Are there thirty millions?" said Rollo.
"Not quite, perhaps," said Mr. George; "but I will take thirty millions for my calculation. Now, out of thirty millions of people, including men, women, and children, of all ages, there will be, according to the usual proportion, about ten millions of men and women able to work, or to superintend work. There are undoubtedly that number now engaged in various industrial and useful occupations in England. Some are cultivating the land, raising wheat, or other kinds of food; some are rearing sheep or cattle; some are digging ore in the mines of Cornwall or Wales; some are raising coal and iron ore from the immense coal and iron mines in the northern part of the island; some are tending the mills and machine shops and manufactories where such vast quantities of goods are made; and some are planning
or superintending these operations, or are performing professional services of various kinds. Now, if we suppose that the average earnings of all these people would be a dollar a day, that would make the amount ten millions a day in all, or three thousand millions of dollars a year, to be divided, in some way or other, among the English people."
"But the workmen in England don't earn a dollar a day, do they?" said Rollo.
"No," said Mr. George; "the laborers and the operatives do not earn so much as that, or at least they are not paid so much; but I have no doubt but that the whole amount produced would average that. In fact, I presume it would average more than that a great deal, and that the whole amount produced by the annual industry of England is a great deal more than three thousand millions of dollars."
"Well," said Rollo, "go on."
"I was going to explain to you, you remember, how government, by an aristocracy in England, operates in respect to the division of the fruits of labor among those who produce them. And the fact is, that it operates in such a manner as to give an immensely large proportion of the value to the aristocratic classes themselves, and an exceedingly small portion to the people who actually do the work.