In introducing myself to my readers I believe I can do no better than to insert the following clipping, taken from a recent newspaper; for I am answering the cry that is going out to those who are able to work out the problem, of finding employment for willing hands to do:

“THE RIGHT TO WORK.”

Is there such a thing as the “right to work?” If so, why isn’t it enforced on behalf of the great army of unemployed?

It does seem that there should be something for every willing pair of hands in this great country to do. We have unbounded, unmeasured natural resources. We have billions of idle wealth. Ought we not to have wisdom enough to bring the idle wealth and natural opportunities and the idle hands together?

Think of the suffering women and children who are cold and hungry because the husband and father cannot find work for his willing hands.

Think of this, you well-to-do, you statesman; yes, and you workingman.

Here is a black, horrid blemish on the Christian civilization of the Twentieth Century. To wipe it out is a work far grander in the possibilities of its results than to construct wonderful subways, build libraries and monuments or to perform any of the wonderful things of which we boast.

And, bear this in mind, if every man will do his duty by his fellow man, the time will come when the piteous cry, “I cannot find work,” will be heard no more in this fair land.

You will see, as you read this book, that I believe—as do many others—that there are other worlds that are inhabited, as well as this; but that is not the point after all. This is a story taken from every day life as it is. Many events will be recognized, though no real characters have been given.

If my ideas are carried out, it means freedom to the oppressed. It means wealth for all industrious people, in fact, the society I picture in these pages will be able to confer not only wealth but honors upon all deserving members. All thinking people know that we are in the midst of the most awful crisis that this world has ever known; that the Trusts have us hemmed in on all sides, that we seem to be helpless. I say “seem to be,” for we are not helpless, only stunned by the immense power which money has enabled the Trusts to use against us in taxing our necessities.

I have written this book believing I could give some practical ideas that will help to win the battle that is going against us as a people.

The Trusts are not our enemies in reality; they are only the whips that have been used to draw us into line and show us how to manage our affairs as a Nation instead of in the individual way, with its wasteful competition.

In all the ages past, when nations were menaced, a leader came to their aid; but in this age we need many leaders along many lines to take hold, for all people have been guilty of a crime that few even know was a crime.

It was money that gave the Trusts their power over us, and it was money that has been the root of evil in all the ages. It is hard to know when it was established as the world’s idol, but as an Idol it rules the virtuous as well as the depraved. “Thou shalt have none other gods before Me,” the Lord of Heaven has said. Down with the money Idol, or destruction shall fall on your head, we say as we look around and see the consequences of its power. It rules our lives, and is it necessary after all? is the subject upon which I have written.

I believe in justice to all, and I have written this book because I have something to say in it that will help to bring prosperity for all.

I have done my best, and, if I have not done the best that can be done, my only wish is that others will take up the ideas I have given here, until all humanity can clasp hands and say: Thank the good power of united action that has shown us how to secure homes and our necessities independent of the money powers.

May all who read it, choose evolution and safety and not wait for war and its attending calamities that the money rulers are bringing, is my greatest wish.

HOW I HAPPENED TO WRITE “OTHER WORLDS.”

’Twas evening. I was sitting in my parlor alone in the home, not a soul was near.

A strike was in full blast and had been for a year.

Lives had been lost and mourners would weep

As funerals passed slowly down the street.

Watching at the window as a procession passed,

Mentally I asked the question: how long O God! how long shall this thing last?

Is the Idol of the Nation—aye, the Idol of the earth—

That thing, that is called money;—oh—is it of greater worth

Than the creatures thou hast created?

Not knowing I had uttered a prayer, in the fullness of my heart

I sat in the gloaming, and in time it became quite dark.

I was resting—sitting passive—not even trying to think,

When an angel stood before me! Perhaps ’twas—a dream; who knows?

Who can tell when a dream commences or when we doze,

Or when imagination creates a thing; if practical, why need we care?

To me it was a vision and the angel was most fair,

As she pointed to the stars in the heavens, shining there:

“They too, are worlds,” she whispered, “struggling to the light,

Gaining wisdom by experience and power by their might.

Go write and tell the world about them and how they won:

When powers and principalities seemed greater than the sun.

This monster called ‘money,’ that all love so well;

Has opened wide the very floodgates of hell,

Until you have a toiling, struggling mass called humanity.

Go, now, write the story; I bid you make haste

For your homes are menaced! Your country will be laid waste

By the Trusts who weave webs, as a spider to catch flies;

The Nation may be throttled until it dies.”

CHAPTER I.

In a country place near a town called Lake View, on the planet Herschel, lived a family of the name of Vivian. They were known all over the country for their hospitality, wealth and their beautiful daughters. For generations the name Vivian had been associated with brave deeds, honest lives and intellect. The girls were even known as “those very clever Vivian girls.” Mira, the youngest of the four girls, just sixteen as this story opens, was a bright, winsome girl, tall and graceful, with large hazel eyes, a pink and white complexion, and an abundance of golden hair.

On a bright autumn afternoon Mira was on the lawn watching the birds and listening to their clatter as they collected in large numbers to take their yearly journey to a warmer climate. “How wise they are,” she pondered; “though so small, they know more than the people do. Away they go to another part of the world. I wish I could go with them. I am so weary of always staying in one place.” She gazed after them as they took their onward flight, and her mother, who had been watching her from the window, seemed to catch the thought, for she said aloud: “I am afraid, like the birds, she will soon be leaving me alone.”

“Why, mother,” said a young man, approaching her; “you are actually talking to yourself. I thought Helen or Mira was with you. I want one of them to go on the lake with me.”

“Tom, look at Mira,” the mother exclaimed. “She is quite grown up. I have never realized it till now. But before you call either of the girls, I want to talk to you about the society you young people have been organizing. The ideas are strange to me. When I was young, married women didn’t take positions. Is it possible that you cannot support your wife?”

“Why, of course I could,” the young man replied; “but when you were young you had no Trusts to absorb your income as we have in this generation. Nellie and I are dedicating ourselves to this undertaking. We intend to work together to free ourselves and all who join us from their tyranny.”

“It is quite an undertaking,” his mother replied. “I don’t see how you are going to succeed without capital. It takes so much money now to start anything to what it did when your father was young, and he inherited the property.”

“The world hasn’t shrunk,” Tom replied, “since father’s time. The only difficulty is in our knowing how to meet the situation in a new way. The industry of the masses in every way, is how wealth has been collected, and the people are as willing to work now as they ever have been. But here is Mira.”

“Will you take a row with me, Mira?” he asks as she approaches them. “I will tell you all about the society, mother, when we come back. I want to rest my brain for a while out on the water. You don’t mind, do you, mother?” he inquired.

“Oh, no,” she replied; “there is time enough before you return to the city.”

Mrs. Vivian, her eldest son Geron and his family, besides Mira, lived on the Vivian estate. The rest of the family had gone to the city to live, after their father died; as their wealth had decreased it was necessary. Tom was a lawyer; Libra had married a banker, and Scoris and Helen had employment. The next day the rest of the family arrived at the old homestead, for it was the mother’s birthday.

The family dinner had been a success, and they had all assembled in the old-fashioned drawingroom for the evening. Old friends had been invited to meet the city members of the family, especially Tom, who at that time was making a change in the industrial life not well understood by his friends or some members of the family. The gentlemen in the party had grouped around Tom to hear about it, for it had been a surprise to them that he had set aside his profession to take up this new line of work, for he had been a successful lawyer for so young a man. In another corner of the room some of the ladies were discussing the fashions, while still another group had centered around Nellie, Tom’s bride.

The room was long and this evening the music room doors had been thrown open on one side and the library opening into it also by large doors afforded an opportunity for each group to converse without interrupting the other. Mira had not been noticed when she and Jack Moberly (an old acquaintance) had passed out on the lawn. He had something to tell her, he whispered. He was going away nearly two thousand miles. An old uncle had offered him a position superior to anything he could ever expect if he stayed in Lake View. He wanted Mira to marry him and go, too.

“I cannot leave you,” he said; and she in her inexperience thought she couldn’t live without him. They knew her mother would never give her consent, for she had been heard to say that if a child of hers married under age she would break the marriage. No one had objected to Jack, but none had suspected the true state of affairs between him and Mira. She was so young.

They joined the rest of the family after a time and the evening passed, all having enjoyed the music and the singing, as well as the renewing of old friendships.

No one imagined that this birthday would be a day to be remembered as the turning point in more lives than one among them, but it was.

Libra, the eldest daughter, and her husband had returned to the city. Scoris and Helen, as well as Tom and Nellie, remained for a few days longer. The next morning Tom announced that he was going to take Nellie across the lake, and possibly they would go on farther and see some old friends, so would not be back until evening. The morning was bright and the water was as clear as crystal as they passed out from the small lake through the narrows into the larger body of water, then on to one of the small islands to the wonderful cave Tom had discovered when a boy. They had fastened the boat, climbed the steep hill and walked about half a mile through thickly grown shrubs, trees and brush, and over rocks; still no cave was in sight. Nellie looked at Tom inquiringly. She could see a high rock on one side with shrubs growing on its side in places, but no sign of an opening except almost at the top, but that was fully ten feet high.

Pushing aside the brush with one hand and holding the overhanging limb of a large tree with the other, Tom said: “Now you follow me and I will show you my old hiding place.” They went down a narrow passage rather steep in places, but by hanging onto the roots of an old grape vine managed to keep their footing until they landed on solid rock. They walked a few feet, when, before them Nellie saw an opening about two and a half feet wide. Beyond she could see a large chamber, lighted by the opening she had seen on the outside. Part of the floor was flat and on one side of the wall it was broken, as if it had been cut out for use at some time, for it formed a seat and a table, or rather a shelf large enough to hold the basket of provisions they had brought. Several boxes were lying about, showing that it had been used at some time before. Tom selected a box for Nellie, seated himself on the rock, then exclaimed: “This is the place; what do you think of it?”

“Think!” she exclaimed; “I haven’t got beyond wondering yet. And it was here you thought out all the plans for the society?”

“Yes,” he answered; “after I had lived in the city and seen all the miseries the poor have to endure—the injustices.”

“No, no, dear, don’t say it,” she interrupts him. “This is our resting time, and in such a place we are not going to spoil our holiday by even thinking of unpleasant things today. So you came here to be quiet and plan for the future?”

“Yes, the most important rules were written on that table of stone.”

“What a lovely memory so many of you have who were born and raised in the country,” she continued. “How little the city people know about its resources. Why, this cave would answer for a summer home. I wish it was earlier in the season. We could bring in branches of trees and cover them with pine needles for a bed, some bedding, rugs, etc., and what more could we wish for as a quiet place to rest in?”

“Your enthusiasm would make up for deficiencies,” Tom answered. “While you arrange our lunch I will go to a spring for water, so we can make tea. Do you see the stove over there under that opening where the light comes from?”

“I see a pile of stones,” she answered.

“Oh, you poor, ignorant city girl,” he laughed, “not to recognize the camper’s most useful kitchen utensil.”

While her husband was gone for water, Nellie looked around the cave, feeling the calmness of this God-made Temple. Only the twitter of birds, and the rustle of falling leaves could be heard. She arranged the table for their lunch, then waited till he came. Tom made the tea after he had boiled the water over the twigs he had gathered and burned in the stone stove. After lunch they strolled on through the woods, gathering flowers, while Tom showed her all the beauties of the place. Evening came before they realized it and as they ascended the hill on their return home after securing the boat, when out from the shadow of the trees they saw a calf tied to a tree.

“Oh, Tom!” Nellie exclaimed, “look at that poor, helpless creature. It cannot even lie down. Who tied it like that?”

“No one,” he replied. “Don’t you see it has wound itself up by twisting the rope about the tree as it ran around it.”

“Such a look of resignation,” Nellie said. “It reminds me of the people in the cities. They, too, are tied by the rope that the trusts and custom have wound them up with.

“They suffer and die without knowing how easy it is to—go back—just like—the calf. Oh!” she cried; “it will run over me. I didn’t know the rope was so long.”

“Look out, or he will kick you before I can get hold of the rope. I had to drive him back the way he came, and I forgot that you didn’t know the ways of calves,” Tom said hurriedly, as he ran to secure it. She had moved far enough away to feel safe before she continued in the same train of thought.

“It has trampled its food down as it ran around its shelter, besides amusing itself. Again that is like the majority of city people. The infants play with rattle boxes, but the grown children with politics and money. A shelter and food are gambled for until the age limit confronts them.”

“There you are, old fellow,” Tom exclaims, not noticing Nellie’s reverie as he unties the rope. “Now, Nellie, you go on to the house, and tell them I am coming as hungry as a bear. I’ll give him a drink before he does the same thing over again.”

Nellie started and was crossing the orchard when she saw a number of cows eating apples that had fallen on the ground. She thought of little children in the city who rarely tasted an apple and could be seen looking longingly at the street stands. The abundance of fruit everywhere on this large estate of several hundred acres was amazing to her, as she compared the need of these things in the cities. “Oh, what an unnecessary waste,” she thought. “It would have seemed incredible if I had been told it. Here are cows feeding upon the rarest varieties.”

“Well,” exclaimed Mira, laughingly, as she appeared around the corner of an outbuilding, “are you trying to cheat the cows? We have been keeping dinner until I expect it is spoiled, waiting for you. Mother became uneasy and sent me to hurry you up.”

As Tom overtook them he laughed also at seeing the fruit in Nellie’s arms. After dinner he took her to the cellar and showed her the great bins of apples without a flaw that were stored for winter, besides all the vegetables and all kinds of fruit; then they went to the parlor, where the rest of the family had assembled.

A low fire burned in the grate to make the room cheerful as it had turned chilly.

Scoris, the eldest unmarried sister, was trying to interest Geron’s wife in the society, but in spite of her own enthusiasm, Grace did not seem to respond. Just at this time Scoris found it hard to talk on any other subject for any length of time, it seemed so all-important to her. Helen, the other sister, and Nellie exchanged glances, both realizing that there was a prejudice against the society in the home circle they had not expected. Scoris, with Tom, had been the means of starting the society, which had grown so fast that Tom had finally sold out his law partnership so that he could devote his whole time to it. In the city almost every one responded that they had been able to reach, and here were their own relatives absolutely indifferent.

Several times during the evening Nellie would ask questions about the abundance of things that were thrown away or given to the animals. Geron finally explained that all those things were of less value to them than the labor would amount to. “We live so far away from the cities that it doesn’t pay to ship them. Tom’s idea is the best, evidently, for he intends to bring the people to the farms where they can secure all the surplus. You will have your hands full, I can promise you. If I wasn’t so far away I would advise you to take my place; farming don’t pay any too well.”

Tom answered: “You must remember I am not starting a farm, merely using the land to provide the necessities at first hand. The object of the society is to secure homes for its members, then food at first cost, while it aims to give them employment as nearly as possible according to their talents and the society’s needs. We take the farms to build our town because it has to be started under new conditions, for we must compete with the old money system for many years.”

CHAPTER II.

“Tom,” Geron said, after arising and moving around aimlessly, “you are going to waste your time. The trusts are too strong for any one man to undertake to down them.”

Tom, who had been sitting with his chair tipped back, reached out to the table to balance himself before he answered, then he stood up, stretching out his arms and yawning, said, “I am not trying to down them. You remember the story of the lion and the mouse, don’t you, Geron?”

“Yes.”

“Well, for the sake of the case at point, I will liken the masses to the lion; I will merely pose as the mouse, as it nibbled the cord that let the lion go free.”

Just then Mrs. Vivian, who had been looking after the comfort of the room by poking at the fire in the grate, asked: “What lion are you talking about, Tom?” This caused all the family to roar with laughter.

“He is trying to convince Geron that he is as harmless as a mouse,” Scoris replied.

The two men left the room laughing, Geron saying that he was going out to smoke.

Then Scoris explained it to her mother: “Geron thought that Tom was trying to break the trusts, and Tom took that way of explanation, for he is merely showing the people how to live independently of the trusts.”

“Tom promised to explain to me what you are all doing in the society, but he has not had time yet,” the mother said. “I wish you would tell me something about it. Geron says it will fail, he knows it will.”

“Well, it will not,” Nellie answered, her eyes flashing, as she changed her seat to get nearer to Mrs. Vivian, “Tom never fails.”

“No,” Scoris exclaimed, she also resenting Geron’s idea; “and if he did, some one else would take it up! The people are ready now to free themselves from the trusts. They have only been waiting for a leader, and Tom is that man.”

Nellie had arisen and was standing by Scoris. Helen raised her head, for she had been absorbed in a new poem, and Nellie’s voice had actually sounded sharp.

Geron’s wife looked apologetic. She stood up, then sat down, not knowing exactly what was expected of her, for it looked for a second as if there was going to be a family dispute. Mrs. Vivian looked distressed until Scoris laughingly asked:

“How much do you know about it, mother?”

“Not much,” she answered; “only Geron says that each member pays only one dollar per year for membership, and that no society could be kept up on such a cheap basis; that Tom intends to build immense hotels and factories, and he can’t see where the money is coming from to do it all.”

“Mother, dear,” Scoris answered, “you only know a very small part of it. The fee is small so as to reach the very poorest class. They can start as members on twenty-five cents per week, after the membership fee is paid, ’tis true, but it is not their money that we value, but their labor. They can become members by their labor alone. The poorest member must secure one share each year, which only amounts to twelve dollars. We have two hundred such members, but we have one hundred that are securing twelve shares yearly, besides two hundred more that are ranging from twenty shares each year to many thousands, invested already. Considering that the society is only one year old that is encouraging. The society also owns a number of automobiles that we have been using instead of cars. I am sure that don’t look like failure. We employ a large number of men to manufacture bricks, and what is more, they did it by hand labor, the old-fashioned way, using horses to turn the machinery. The men were those that had been crowded out of employment by the age limit. Two men, seeing the advantages of the society, advertised for such men, explained the advantages of the society to them, then secured the clay land suitable for bricks. The results are that there is enough to start the first apartment house in the spring. They have also made artificial stone to beautify the buildings. Another man has been burning lime stone on his own place. These are the principal building materials and they are either found already or will be by some member, for all are contributing either their labor or money to secure the success of the society. Mother, dear, you cannot imagine how many poor souls were glad to get the work to do, especially when they knew they were not expected to work more than six hours each day and that they were provided with shelter and food besides being able to save for the future. Some who had always been accustomed to digging and hard work will dig the foundations in the spring. Now this is the strange thing about it. The men who gave them the work did not have to pay them one dollar in money. They were only too glad to secure a permanent home for at least this winter. Every one of them has scrip and shares in the society as a result of their summer’s work.”

“Well, that is a good thing for poor men, but how did the society get the benefit of those two men’s labor who superintended the work, as well as using their capital in paying the rent for the brick-clay land, buying horses, and feeding them as well as the men?” her mother asked.

“The society bought the bricks from them, exchanging farm produce, and shares as well as scrip, in payment for two-thirds of their value. The balance was paid in money; don’t you see?”

“Where did the society get the money?”

“Why, it was taken out of the permanent shares. I forgot to tell you that we issue two kinds of shares. The ones of which all members have to secure at least one each year are the permanent ones. They are paid to the society in money or labor, and the money representing them can only be used for buildings or any kind of permanent wealth. These same men are going to set the workmen to putting up roughly made buildings on the farm we have secured, to store ice in for the summer, as well as a house for themselves to live in. They are not particular where they live, poor fellows, so long as it is a shelter and that their food is sure, as well as clothing. These two men I mentioned have secured materials from the wrecking companies in the city, for the buildings will be only temporary ones, boarded inside and out, and filled in between with sawdust.”

While listening to Nellie’s account Mrs. Vivian had been anxious when Scoris began, but gradually relaxed as the explanation advanced. “How very simple after all,” she remarked. “It is like a broken stitch in a stocking. Stitch by stitch we draw the thread in and out until it is whole again!” But she started up, exclaiming, “Who is going to redeem the scrip?”

“Tom is,” Nellie answered. “At present he has charge of all produce, and the different members are providing for all kind of exchanges.”

“Well, girls,” their mother said, “don’t think me stupid for not understanding all about it, but how is Tom to derive an income from what he sells to the members and redeem the scrip besides?” Scoris and Nellie exchanged glances to see which would explain. Scoris motioned to Nellie to proceed, feeling that she knew more about it.

“Our immediate income,” Nellie answered, “is from what Tom sells to the members, and we have five hundred members besides their families that consume food. Tom has been buying it from the farmers at wholesale and selling at retail. It has been enough to keep us so far, and we take charge of the first farm next week, so then we will be able to buy to better advantage and have no rent to pay besides, for the society provides that by the $1.00 membership fee. You see we have over five hundred members, and they represent that amount. You know Tom sold out his law partnership. Well, he has used the money to buy with. Besides vegetables and fruit, we have charge of the milk which he sells to the dealers, who allow the members a percentage on all they buy. The members bought our scrip, then Tom used the money to secure the milk; he then redeems the scrip as payment for the milk consumed.”

“Well, I hope it will be a success,” Mrs. Vivian declared, with a sigh.

“Why, it has already,” both the girls exclaimed together. “No one had ever imagined that it would succeed so soon. We all hoped it would in a few years, but it is growing so fast that it is taking nearly all of Tom’s time just to manage it. That is how I happened to become his secretary,” Nellie said.

During the conversation some young people had called, and Mira had shown them into the library until her mother and sisters had finished their talk, then joined the rest. Jack Mobray was there and it was hard to remember afterwards how he and Mira could have had a chance to talk over their arrangements to leave the old home as they afterwards did, but when the young are in love they find a way.

In a few days the two girls had returned to the city. Tom and Nellie to the farm that the society had secured to start the colony, and, as the mother had predicted, Mira left her also a few days afterwards, although she had never thought of her child marrying so young, nor did she suspect the attachment between them. She did think that Mira might wish to go to the city. The whole family had become restless as they grew up; even Geron had hinted that he was tired of living all his life on the estate.

Tom and Nellie were settled in the farm house, for though it was in the fall of the year they had decided to take up their residence then so as to get ready for the spring building. Materials were being collected so as to cause no delay. The past year Tom had gone in different directions from the city looking the country over before this place had been selected. In this way it gave him an opportunity of locating just the kind of land needed for the many uses that would be required of it.

A large lake was on one side with clear, cool water, an abundance of large trees on its edge, sufficient to make a pleasant place for a summer resort and yet not interfere with the farm. This lake was not very far from the farm buildings and was not on the road but partly on the next farm adjoining, with sufficient, however, on the society’s property to enable them to control or have the use of it.

They had not intended to take up the land in the fall, but Tom had seen the advisability of securing it while it was in the market. The owner had died suddenly, leaving it to his widow, and she being anxious to go to the next town to her children who were married, it was arranged that the rent would not begin until the following spring. The house was not large or of much account, but it answered the purpose, and the land had been obtained cheaper on that account. It was the land and fruit that had first attracted Tom’s attention after he had proved the nature of the soil. He had secured a lease for ninety-nine years with the privilege of buying the whole of it at any time at a set price, of erecting any kind of buildings that the society might deem proper, the said buildings to belong to the society exclusively.

They enjoyed their new home, these two enterprising people, because they liked to know that they were making a start for many hundreds, if not thousands, of others to live happily and contentedly in years to come.

There, however, I will leave them for the present and go back to the beginning of the society before Tom’s marriage.

CHAPTER III.

The society met at first in the Vivian parlors, that is, in Tom’s flat, where Scoris and Helen, his sisters, assisted in entertaining their friends as well as helping to form the society. On the evenings of the society the rugs were taken up and all the furniture excepting one table and the chairs were stored in a smaller room. This was done to save expense, for it was not a money scheme, remember, and “infants creep before they walk.” In the same way the society wished to know how to keep on its feet when it got there.

The new ways of earning a living were talked over at the meetings held in the Vivian parlors.

“Automobiles are one of the first necessities in this society,” a Mr. Suegran declared one evening, and it caused such a roar of laughter that it was some time before he was allowed to explain his meaning. No one had taken him seriously, and when they saw that he was in earnest, they tried to hide their lack of interest by taking up a less important subject; and he, feeling rather crushed, let the matter drop. The next evening he called on the Vivians. Helen was the only one in. He said that he wished to see Mr. Vivian and would wait till he came in if he wouldn’t be intruding. Helen assured him that he was welcome and in a few moments the conversation turned to the usual topic, “The Colony.”

“You know, Miss Helen,” he said, “I want to talk to your brother about the subject I mentioned last evening, I am sure that I am right, automobiles are the greatest necessity the society has at the present time!”

“What about capital?” Helen asked. “Automobiles cost more than our society could afford at the present time.”

“That is where I don’t agree with you,” he replied, “the society has men who work in automobile factories. They are willing to give a certain amount of their time evenings and on holidays to make one to start with, and we have a young man who has invented a new model that he is willing to have us use.” As he said this Tom came in and Mr. Suegran repeated the advantages he had told Helen about, then asked Tom if the society could supply the money to buy materials? Tom told him no, that according to the rules that had been made to protect the members’ wealth, the shares could only be invested in buildings, land, or anything that would yield an income, or in the implements of labor or in its products.

“I can tell you what to do, though,” Tom continued. “You bring these facts before the meeting and I will see that you have a hearing. In the meantime go to any of the members that you think will help you out, tell them that I sent you; then you can form a company among you, each paying for shares representing the amount required, but remember the price of all materials, labor, and everything concerning the transaction must be kept on record. If you are successful, then the society will buy it from you and in all probability will start the men in business who gave their time. I have no right to risk any wealth intrusted in my keeping by the members, but they may risk any money they have to spare over and above what the society exacts, and you may promise them 10 per cent for the risk and we will pay you that amount on your time as well as your labor, and you know we pay union wages.”

At the next meeting the subject of transportation was taken up and the members were shown the advantages to themselves in owning a system of traveling that would not necessitate the laying of tracks or limit them to any one street. Mr. Suegran then proposed his automobile scheme and asked the members to buy shares. In a few weeks the amount was vouched for. Mr. Suegran was required to give security as well as to keep an account of every item of expense. This was done not only to test the honesty of the men who were manufacturing the machine, but to protect the management against any unjust suspicion. There was another reason also and it was an important one. It was taxation. The society expected to pay all just taxes, but had no intention of paying for inflated stock. The officer in charge of that meeting explained to the members that the society was formed to protect its members’ wealth in every possible way and that in doing so it was necessary to guard the small items. “We all realize the importance of homes, and the most of you know that to secure them is not the whole difficulty overcome. We must have a way of getting to them. Automobiles solve that difficulty, especially when we own them. Then they can be used as soon as they are ready right here in the city to take the members to and from their employment. The society might as well have the benefit of fares and by providing our own conveyances the members may use the society’s scrip to pay them. For, remember, the more scrip the society can issue the sooner it can secure employment for its members. The automobiles once established as means of transportation will bring about the settlement on the land of those who would otherwise stay in the city for several years to come. As we cannot lease any land to build upon until we have enough members to represent the amount of rent that we will have to pay each year, we may as well devote ourselves to securing our transportation first.”

The members who risked their money to perfect the first automobile were given a good percentage, and they either loaned it again for the same purpose or withdrew it for some other enterprise. These undertakings paid a large profit, but were not secured by the society and only those who could afford to risk losing in case of failure were allowed to invest. No money was lost, however, and the members who were natural speculators found in it an opening to increase their money faster than in shares, “for,” they argued, “we can buy extra shares with the interest so obtained.” At all times the value of numbers had to be kept in view, because every member added to the society increased its market. The society by its numbers secured a market for anything its members had to sell. The first automobile, being a success, was bought by the society, as were others made later, and when the land was secured a factory was built upon it to manufacture them as well as implements of labor.

In this way the society gained control of the industry and kept the wealth so produced in trust for its members. After the factory was built on the land controlled by the society, the society took charge of it and paid the workmen the same price as the union paid for the same work. The advantage gained by living in the Colony decreased their expenses to such a degree that it was equal to double the amount of money in the city. Of course all had to agree to accept scrip or shares in payment for labor, but scrip bought everything, even money, so was just as good and safer.

The president was appointed for five years with this proviso: That he proved himself capable of directing the affairs of the Colony in a satisfactory manner to at least three-fourths of the members; that he had the ability to manage so as to ensure the returns from the money or labor invested that the society guaranteed to its members; that he was working for the advantage of the largest number instead of a privileged few; that he was keeping all revenue on record as well as expenditure, so that the members could at any time have the accounts audited; that his security was increased as the wealth of the Colony advanced, so that he could not endanger the members’ shares as so many people have done; that when the temptation became too strong (from the members’ indifference or overconfidence) he could not if he would “feather his own nest” by neglecting the members’ interests.

Tom Vivian made these rules, not to protect the members against himself, but all members in all societies that were formed later. He saw the temptations that inexperienced members left in his hands, and he knew that riches harden the majority of people’s minds, so he intended to protect them in every possible way that he could think of.

A president had to be an honorable member of society, and not addicted to any habits that would bring disgrace upon said society. He had to be honest and truthful in his dealings. He had to live in the Colony that he was overseeing and give his undivided attention to its interests (except in its beginning when he had to provide for his living as well), attending to the society’s business transactions, etc. The president had to be free from all burdens that would interfere with his giving his whole attention to the society except as stated in the first year or two, or as long as it took him to place it on a paying basis.

The president being organizer as well as manager of the society was allowed a percentage of shares instead of a salary. The members realizing that he had devoted several years of his time and energy to the cause, presented them to him when the first farm was secured. He, realizing that he had to be self-sustaining at first when he took up his duties on the farm, purchased enough cows to supply the members with milk and butter. He also bought poultry (particularly hens), as milk and eggs were always in demand, they helped to secure him an income. He was also given the benefit of all the garden truck he produced the first two years, the members being allowed 10 per cent on anything they bought from the society. He also received a percentage on each member that was enrolled on the day the society was organized.

This percentage was one dollar per member, but was not paid in coin but was allowed him on the purchase of permanent shares. In paying for labor on his personal account he could sell these shares, excepting the amount the society compelled him as well as all other members to keep in the society.

He could issue scrip with the consent of the members to the amount of his personal wealth or security.

The third year the society was able to buy out both the hennery and dairy, for they were in a position then to give him a percentage of all its business transactions. Several farms had to be secured at this time for pasture lands, and a separate place for the hennery. The president secured a large number of shares by the transaction, but he could not exact money. His shares secured him a suite of rooms in an apartment house, then the percentage he received on all the business he managed for the society secured him a better income.

CHAPTER IV.

There is a direct law of attraction that very few people recognize. In the beginning of the society, if Tom Vivian had been told that he would marry soon, he would have scorned the idea. “I am devoted to the cause of the people,” he would have told you, “and I have no time to devote to love affairs,” and yet he was the first to succumb. Nellie Gaylord was a friend of Scoris Vivian, and when the society was started she took an active interest in it. It was soon seen that Tom Vivian referred oftener to Nellie’s opinion than he did to others in cases of importance, until he believed that she was necessary to the success of the society. That he was in love no one doubted, and it was a satisfaction to many members when they were able to say: “Didn’t I tell you so? Oh, you can’t fool me.”

Nellie’s life had been a sad one in some respects before she became identified with the society, then everything changed for the better. She had some one to love, honor, yes, almost worship, in Tom Vivian. I am going back in her life, though, to the time when she was earning her living before she was married. She had been a stenographer and when her eyesight troubled her she found that she would have to take employment in something that would require less application. At this time she was in a factory where she was head forewoman over a large number of girls, all running power sewing machines, making ladies’ underwear. Her duty was to inspect the work and see that no one wasted time. She sometimes regretted that she had to work among a class who never seemed to think of anything beyond pay-day or “their fellows,” as they expressed it. The idea of bettering their condition never seemed to enter their mind unless it was perhaps some day to marry a rich man like some other girl they had heard of. To marry one day was fully expected, but pay-day generally outweighed all other considerations. Today, however, she was thinking of herself as this was her twentieth birthday and it brought up the sad memories of a time when her mother used to remember it by some little gift, or her father would arrange to take her to some amusement in honor of the occasion. Now both had gone from her and she was among a lot of girls to whom she thought she couldn’t possibly talk of the things that interested her most. She looked up presently and saw two girls holding out a silk waist for the admiration of their friends. “I am thirty-six bust measure and will try it on if you like,” she said, as they were looking at her after asking who was that measurement.

“Oh, what a pretty waist; whose is it?” she asked. Their mother’s birthday present, they told her, which would be next day and the mother would never suspect they had walked to and from work every day for two months to save car fare, and had done without fruit or cake for their lunch, just to be able to make it their own present. “For you see we give her all we earn and it is all we three have to live upon, and she makes it spin out someway by earning a little, sewing when she can get it to do, but she does our sewing and washing and takes care of the home, so this is something she will prize, and we are so glad we could get it in time,” they explained.

“Well, girls, you are lucky to have a mother, and your mother is to be congratulated for having two such self-denying daughters. I lost my mother just two years ago and this is my birthday.” One of the girls took her hand and held it lovingly, while both remarked how nice she looked in the waist and hoped their mother would look as well.

Mary Smith, the only support of the family.

This little incident, born of sympathy, the touch of the hand, the kindness to the mother, spoke volumes to Nellie, and she and the sisters became friends. She had felt alone when she first came into the factory. When one spends long, weary hours with people who have different ideas, life is more lonely than if one were in a solitary place.

She had been considered reserved, or “proud,” as some had called her, but her quiet, firm manner had been her main recommendation to the head of the firm. She acquired a great liking for many of the girls, however, as their little difficulties came under her notice. Their hardships with poverty, although never called by that name, were borne so bravely. The insults they endured from girls employed in offices or stores on their way home at night, the sneers and the drawing of their clothes aside for the fear of coming in contact was enough to make them feel inferior, even though they were not. To Nellie this was abominable, for labor is labor, in the banking house, store or factory, in the home, or anywhere, and should be respected.

One day a little cash girl had been hurt by a street car. The newspapers told how this little child of eleven years was the only member of a family of four who was earning anything, and all she got was two dollars a week; how she lived two miles from her work and had to walk each way, then run from eight in the morning until six at night.

When one evening while returning home the accident occurred. It was pitiful to hear her cry after her ankle had been attended to, for the pain was not the worst part of her trouble. Oh! if she should lose her employment, what would they do at home? she cried. Baby Bob couldn’t have his milk. Why, they couldn’t have any food at all. Her anxiety about the money touched the girls’ sympathy who were taking her home. They had carried her to the car and were trying to comfort her.

The girls found an old frame building that had been abandoned as unsafe, propped up to keep it from falling. There were no lights and voices were heard asking what had happened. They got her to bed, still in the dark, and no one offered to help. Through sobs that shook the whole building, the mother explained that she couldn’t move because of rheumatism. The father was also too weak to do anything and the baby cried because Mary and his mother were crying. The girls went home for their mother and a light and when they returned saw the most pitiful sight they had ever seen. Four helpless people, and not enough food in the house to satisfy the hunger of one.

The Healey girls did not forget little Mary Smith, the cash girl, but said nothing at the time in the factory. Every few days they went to see that she was not in need and did all they could for the family. Mrs. Healey soon drew the story of their wretched life from them, and their gratitude to her and her daughters was the opening of a friendship that only those who have gone through such misery can realize its strength.

John Smith, the father, had been a builder and carpenter, and though he was a first-class workman and his labor had helped to build some of the best homes in the city, yet he had only a condemned shell to die in, for dying he was, from the effects of poverty, sickness and inability to get work. This last stroke of misfortune, Mary becoming helpless, at least for a time, was too much for his shattered nerves and two days afterwards he died. The shock had been so great that both mother and child were stunned as well as helpless. They had one comfort, he at least had not been separated from them, which had been his greatest fear. Many times he had laid on his bed, unable to escape the cold winds that blew through cracks in the wall or the rain that fell through the roof. There was no comfort for him unless it was being with his loved ones and they knew if the authorities discovered his condition, he would be taken away and possibly they would never see each other again.

Before coming to this place, the Smiths had been unable to pay their rent, the husband had been ill for more than a year; so one day feeling better than usual, had gone for a walk. When he returned, he found all their possessions on the sidewalk, the door shut against them and nowhere to go. His wife was away washing. He saw the things they treasured scattered around at the mercy of any one and was too weak to gather them up. All he could do was to watch them until some kindly neighbors came and moved them to this old ramshackle place.

When Mary came home at night, weary, footsore and worn out, there was no warm supper to cheer her, not even a shelter, and it was some time before she found her parents and Bob. Poor little soul, she had been forgotten in the efforts of getting the household goods under cover before night. All events till now were dated back to this last degradation. The mother had become unable to work since then, and now even Mary was helpless. What would they do? It was a trial an older person might find hard to bear, but a child of eleven years looked upon it in desperation.

“Surely there must be something wrong with our whole social structure,” Nellie had thought when the girls told her the next day. “What can we do to help in such cases? Simply nothing. We have all we can do to earn enough to exist ourselves.”

Fortunately the city sent help, and as the girls talked it over in the large work room, it was rather interesting to hear the old wornout ideas get their quietus as a quiet, pale-faced girl sitting in a corner by herself remarked, “But this was not a case of drinking or laziness, but misfortune caused from ignorant management in the affairs of our city and we may say, in our country itself. Employment should be provided for all, then such things wouldn’t occur.”

“Well,” one of the girls said, “we never receive charity and I don’t believe any one needs to become so poor as to need help from the city.”

“I don’t see why they shouldn’t,” the pale-faced girl continued, “when they are the ones who contribute all their labor to provide, not only for themselves, but their employer besides, and make it possible for the city to have a fund for that purpose.”

This caused a general roar of laughter from most of the girls. The bell rang. Work began and was continued for the rest of the day, but the next day some one of the girls asked her what she meant, and Nellie, seeing them a little excited, joined them also. Then she said that Annie, which was the girl’s name, was right.

“We are all employed by Mr. Forbes. He pays us so much for our labor or time. Well, he has to have a large profit, or it wouldn’t pay him to hire us. Out of our labors, he has to pay rent, support his family and see that he gets sufficient interest on his capital. All this comes out of our labor. He merely manages the buying and selling and it does not end here; his landlord has to have the rent to pay taxes and receive his living. That is what Annie meant. Who do you think is most dependent, Mr. Forbes, or us?”

“Why, we are,” they all exclaimed.

“No, you are wrong. We could take our sewing machines at home and earn just as much as we do here, if the market was assured us. He could not earn single-handed what we earn for him, we three hundred girls, don’t you see? Now in this case you have been so interested in, that man has built a large number of homes right here in this city and yet he was unable to even have the use of one to die in, let alone to live in. Girls, I belong to a society that some time I would like you to visit. It would help you to solve some of the problems of life, that no one has a right in these days to shirk, for it is our industry and every other working person’s that keeps the machinery running, not only of the factories, but of the cities.”

“Then we sent money and provisions to keep that family from starving,” one of the girls remarked, “even though we did it unconsciously.”

“Yes, all who work do their share towards paying the taxes and when the society called ‘The Wealth Producing and Distributing Society’ is stronger and been in operation twenty or fifty years, we will cease to have human beings living at the mercy of so-called charitable institutions, poorhouses, or, worse still, starving to death, as they are at the present time. There is another thing, girls, that I want to tell you; whenever you are called ‘factory girls,’ as you are so often by shop girls, just keep a dignified silence. Your labor is just as necessary as theirs and if you only considered it a little, you are of as much importance also. Every intelligent person should honor his own industry and remember that he is fulfilling his mission in life, and if all did so, heartaches would cease. Any bright person would do the best he could under existing circumstances and would even raise conditions which he considered beneath his dignity to his own level, as you may learn if you join our society. Respect yourselves and address each other as you do Mr. Forbes. Learn to appreciate yourselves, your advantages, and then create new opportunities as your ability points out the way. All useful employment is honorable, and now is the time to raise labor to its proper dignity among all honorable people.”

Many of those girls not only attended the meetings, but joined the society. Even Mr. Forbes, who owned the business, saw that he could do better by becoming one of them, so he became a member and eventually moved out to the Colony.

CHAPTER V.

Nellie stood looking out of the window one morning early in the spring, and as she hummed a merry tune and was so bright and happy, she seemed to reflect the brightness in everything about her. The sunshine smiled and the very trees breathed contentment. This was her first spring in the country and the arrangements for the coming colony were bringing some funny experiences. A large number were there already and each day more were applying or inquiring about the resources before venturing, questions would come up and have to be answered until Nellie said she could fairly sing the answers, for they had told so many the same thing. She laughed aloud finally and Tom, who was reading, looked up and said, “What is it?” “Oh, I was thinking of the men who were here yesterday, and do you know, Tom, most of them had the same helpless expression as the calf you liberated last fall. Do you remember how helpless and perplexed it looked? You unwound the cord for the calf, and now you have some cords to unwind in dealing with these people, for they need their freedom as much as the calf, but don’t see how to go about it.

“Ideas and actual demonstrations are necessary to teach most of them. It seems so simple to us who have studied the situation from every standpoint, and when one of them asked you how you are going to collect the rest of the materials for building without money, he looked so wise in his own conceit and convinced that he had you in a corner, I noticed he winked at the rest. I had to leave the room, for I knew I would laugh aloud if you ever tried to show him up in his ignorance. He certainly did deserve it. Every one of them were from ten to twenty years older than you are. All had a trade or some means of earning a living, yet had to appeal to you to explain every working plan separately.”

Tom replied: “I told them that as members they would not only receive their wages at the time, but have an interest in the permanent buildings and improvements. That instead of a capitalist owning the property the different labors each produced, the society got it and kept it in trust for those who earned it.

“It was hard to make them comprehend that it was a Wealth Producing and a Wealth Distributing Society, giving to all industrious people an opportunity to secure for themselves the full value of their industry, and explained that all buildings represent permanent wealth and so did fruit trees. The trees remaining but the fruit was consumed; that when we give up the tree, we have no right to the fruit.

“I further explained that as members of our society they had an interest in all the wealth created, whether it was fruit trees or buildings; that fruit would pay for any necessary article or food needed. I tried to make them see that it was just as good as money to them and represented a part of their wealth. I succeeded at last in making them see that when they worked for the society, they received their wages the same as when they worked for an outsider, with this difference, they still retained an interest, for the buildings represented the value of their shares in the society, and that the materials they spoke of were produced in the same way. I told them we were already making bricks and producing lime and also had a sand suitable for mortar, which were brought within the control of the society by the industry and perseverance of individual members, who over and above actual necessities were leaving all they produced with the society, for knowing it was safe and that their labor was as valuable to the society as money it could be entered in the books to their credit; that we kept an account of their labor as the banks do of money. Before another year, I told them, we expected to control a lumber district and saw mill, for all classes were awakening to the necessity of protecting themselves and their own labor, which is wealth, and they never could do so under any other system, and all other exchanges were meeting us half way at least.

“The wealth each member creates belongs to him or her individually and by the society’s holding its value would be increased to a greater extent than if held separately. As the society increased in numbers and resources the necessity of money would decrease. When I made this explanation one of the men wanted to know if they did our building what they were going to do for cash with which to support their families. I told them they could come out here and live, if they had to pay rent in the city, for we allowed them to build tent houses to live in during the summer, or until the permanent brick ones were built, or until they owned shares enough in the society to entitle them to live in the apartment we were building. I tried to make them see that the economy they could practice would be more to them than big pay in the city. A little inconvenience at first and patience would place them on their feet in a short time and their homes would be secured with almost no expense. Being able to buy food where it is grown, cuts down expenses to a very small amount comparatively. When I told them this, one of them acknowledged that he could see that they would have less expense, but that they would still have need of money. ‘You bind us to take all we earn in scrip or shares for our labor?’ one of them asked of me. ‘Certainly,’ I said, ‘that is the protection of the society.’ But I told them they could buy money with their scrip. ‘Oh,’ they cried, ‘it is money that we want.’ ‘All right,’ I said, ‘if we are in need of you, we will send for you, but I don’t wish to raise your hopes, for we have so many among our members who want something more substantial than money. You can’t eat money,’ I continued, ‘but you need a home and clothing.’ I tried to make them see that our members, according to our rules, come first, and that the society wanted men and women to create wealth and those who knew enough to keep it for themselves instead of giving it to the capitalists. The society was formed for the concentration of the wealth produced by the industrious and for the purpose of bringing it to one center; then all can have the comforts of the public buildings, etc., at less expense than their earnings would eventually secure them a pension in their old age. I pointed out to them the tent houses and told them that some of these people own enough shares even now to live in the first apartment houses that are built, but they intend living as they are during the summer so that they can save for their temporary shares. This was a surprise to them all, and one of them said, ‘Well, I would have enough to keep me for life, if I had not been unfortunate.’ Then he told us how one day he had lost every dollar. ‘I was taking the money to the bank,’ he said, ‘and stopped in several places on my way and when I reached the bank, it was gone. It represented the savings of all my life. I had just gotten it in one lump, and intended investing it again in another mortgage. When I found it was gone, I was nearly crazy, I admit. Now you see I need money, not scrip.’ Then I asked if he was sure he needed the money most, and told him about the member who had lost his all last fall. You remember, Nellie, the one who had saved right from the beginning to the society, the one who preferred scrip to shares, and only left with us sufficient to secure the right to vote. He liked the scrip best because it could be drawn out like money and he could always get money for it. Well, when he was done working for us he obtained other employment at good pay and saved it. He had so few expenses while with us he had saved the most of his scrip to buy food direct from the society and also clothing from our members who could use it in return for their food stuffs. In this way, he had more than half used up the scrip. You remember, Nellie, when the treasury bank failed all the money he had saved was in it and he had lost it. He took all the scrip that was left and went flying around to different members to get it cashed so he could pay his rent and have car fare until his salary was due. Well, he was a nervous sort of a fellow, and by some unlucky chance he lost it, then came to our secretary like a madman to prevent any one else from using it. Immediately all members were notified that the scrip of certain numbers was lost and were forbidden to use it until it was returned to the owner. It was found, but the money he had in the bank that he prized so much more, he will never receive. Had he used it to buy shares in the society, he could never have lost it. I explained to them that we had no debts or mortgages, and if any one tried to use scrip that did not belong to them, they could be very easily detected, and now the man who lost his money goes to the other extreme and changes all his money into scrip or shares to make sure that it is safe. And it is safe, for we are represented by thousands already who are accumulating wealth and bringing it to this center city we are building and it is to be invested in factories, warehouses, dwellings, etc., where the earnings of the members can be saved for their own use.”

CHAPTER VI.

“The society receives the profit over and above the expenses incurred for buildings, improvements, street pavements, etc., or any necessary expenses that are required for the convenience of the colony. Out of all the profits so obtained, there is still a balance that is used to increase the standing wealth of the society. Then I told them to look around and see the buildings in the cities and to realize if they could how few are owned by those who built them. The society not only secures to every member a profit on his earnings, but the net earnings of the society as a whole. When a man plants fruit trees and is paid for his labor his individual claim is satisfied, but the society owns the fruit each year, and the same applies to their labor in the building. The society will exact rent from the builder, if he should occupy the building until he owns sufficient shares to represent his right to occupy the house, and the man who plants the fruit trees belonging to the society will have to pay for the fruit of those same trees, if he eats it.

“Then I explained that the society must own everything and govern its own interests, and when they realized its strength, they were sure to desire its protection, for each individual is a part of the whole. The buildings alone are a sufficient guarantee. You have direct returns for any amount you leave with the society, no matter how large or small, I told them, and those advantages are not given in any other society. There is no bank to fail here. I said, ‘My friends, money is not wealth, for money scatters your wealth in most instances and gives it to others. You need your labor, which is really your wealth, protected, and that is what we are doing.’ Then I asked, ‘Do you still want money for your labor?’ The only one who answered said, ‘I don’t know. You have a good theory, but—’

“At this point, an old member came in to see the treasurer and naturally the attention of all turned to him, for he had his hands full of scrip that he wanted to exchange for money. The men listening to the transaction were amazed at the large amount the roll of scrip represented. ‘Oh,’ said one of them, ‘then you do use money. I thought you only used them homemade tickets and that they were no better than milk tickets.’ ‘Neither are they,’ I said, ‘nor are they any better than railroad tickets. We use our “tickets,” as you call them, to protect our interests; the railroads do the same. If every one paid the conductors the companies would often be robbed (except with five cent fares.) Those large combinations study economy in every way and so do we. In signing our agreements to pay for your labor in scrip or shares we do it to protect the society, but very often we haven’t as much scrip as we have money, so we do pay a portion in money at such times. Then of course we know at the present time, you need it for some things that we cannot supply, so we usually pay you a percentage in coin. We cannot even issue scrip until we have its worth, either in product or some wealth that would redeem it. This is where your labor is valuable to us all and scrip becomes a medium of exchange and is safer than money, for it cannot be lost as money can, but each year our standing wealth will increase and of course every season will find us in a position to issue that much more scrip as well as shares. That is the way millionaires were produced. It was the labor of the people. They banked their money, the banks loaned it to the rich and in turn they became millionaires by speculating with it. We have no right to their wealth now, though, for we gave it to them. Now we are producing for ourselves and intend to keep these millions for our own necessities.’

“If we didn’t have the land to build upon or produce building materials, or grow our food, we couldn’t issue scrip as we do now. It is from the ground that our wealth comes, but labor is required to produce it. After we had first secured the land we were ready to bring those here who could work upon it and those who were capable of making good roads. The Government granted us such a small sum in comparison to what we needed that of course the real laborers came first. Now we need you builders.”

“Well, what have they done about it?” Nellie asked.

“As they realize it is about the only way they can live, now that trusts and combinations are hedging them in on all sides and strikes are only bringing them poverty in the long run, the most of them have arranged to come. Some have actually signed to do portions of the mason work, and I expect we will be getting the buildings erected immediately.”

“Did you read those letters, Nellie?” Tom asked.

“No. What are they about?” she inquired.

“A number of old people have applied to be taken in the society and while most of them have enough to pay for the permanent shares entitling them to live here, many have not enough to pay for their consumable shares; they are able to do a certain amount of work; but they want the protection of the society. Others again wish to place their savings in the society and live where they are with their relatives until the amount required is decided upon. Of course we cannot tell to a certainty how much will be needed to keep one person. Their ideas are so varied, but after they have secured their permanent shares that entitle them to one room, then we can place to their credit what is left and give them employment so they can earn sufficient to make up the balance on their consumable shares. They will have to judge for themselves as to the amount they will require. This they can do after living here for at least a year, for in that time they can calculate from what it has cost them in that time to buy food or other necessities.

“Here is a very pathetic letter:

“‘Mr. Vivian.

“‘Dear Sir:—My wife and I are alone. Our children are dead and now that we are old, we feel the noises, heat and other discomforts in the city more every year. The intense cold this last winter has been terrible and we want to get to the country where we can have the necessary comforts within our means. We have been investigating your society and want to join if our means are sufficient to buy the permanent shares that will give us two rooms.

“‘We have been trying to get in several places, but in every one we would be separated. We have only five hundred dollars between us in cash, but I am still able to work, if you think you can find something we can do to make up the balance that we will require for our consumable shares, as you call them.

“‘If you can help us to be together for the rest of our lives we will be very thankful to you. Yours truly,

“‘John G. Smith.’

“Here is a portion his wife has written separately, as a postscript to his letter:

“‘I am as able to work as he and if we could have a little garden and be allowed to keep chickens and a goat, to supply us with milk, we would not be a burden to any one.

“‘We both lived in the country in our early life and know how to work and would be willing to do anything to help, we are so anxious to be together while we live.

“‘Mary Smith.’”

“Well, Tom, I really think we will have to do something to meet these cases. I have heard that the usual amount for people over sixty years of age is about $300 each and is kept up by charitable societies. Of course this not being a charitable affair, it must be not only self-sustaining, but self-respecting as well.”

“Well,” replied Tom, “we could place a certain sum of money as the lowest amount that we could accept, and in that way we could reach a large number. The ready money just now would be sufficient to secure them a home together and would be a benefit to the society. As they are able to work we will not be running a risk. We will bring it before the board at our next meeting and hear what they think about it.”

CHAPTER VII.

After Scoris and Helen Vivian had returned to the city they were amazed one morning by a letter from their mother, telling them that Mira and Jack Moberly had married and left Lake View, having gone to his uncle somewhere in the far West. Not long afterwards another letter came from Geron, saying that their mother was terribly grieved about Mira and asking them if they remembered to what city Jack had said that he was going, for they had tried in every way to find out something about them.

Neither of them could remember, so they wrote to their mother in sympathy, telling her that they would do all they could to find out about her. Their lives were busy ones, so the time passed quickly. Scoris was an artist, employed by an illustrating firm, and Helen had a position in a large department store. They still lived in the flat they had shared with Tom before his marriage, and were giving all the time they could spare from their employment to the society in the city. The winter had passed, Mira had written to her mother, asking forgiveness, and the depression on her account had ceased, for she had declared that she was happy.

“Well,” Helen remarked one evening, as she and her sister were dressing, “who would have imagined one year ago that we would be benefiting from the society’s industry as soon as this? Do you know, Scoris Vivian, that I used to be actually envious of any one who could ride around leisurely in automobiles?”

“Well, I think if we are to be ready in time for our ride you had better finish lacing that shoe,” Scoris replied. “Do you know that it is only half done?” Helen looked down in surprise, smiled and gave her hair another twist, puffed it out here and there, secured it with hairpins, then sat down leisurely and finished tying her shoe.

Scoris watched her as she started to draw on her gloves.

“Oh, wait till you fasten my waist,” Helen said, backing up to her. “I never can do it alone.”

While Scoris fastened it, Helen said to her: “How quickly you dress. I don’t see how you do it.”

“As I am older than you,” Scoris said, “I suppose I have learned a few things by experience, and one thing I am persistent in, and that is to have my waists fastened in front so I can be independent of every one else. But there they come. Four have passed and are lining up farther down the street. Yes, there is Paul and his sister in a two-seated one. Don’t take time to look, Helen, just hurry.”

“Oh! Scoris, please get my veil and gloves while I pin my hat on.”

“There they are; tie your veil and come. I will let them see that we know that they are here,” Scoris said, as she goes to the door.

“Now come along, you will do, Helen dear; we must not keep them waiting.”

The girls appeared amid smiles of anticipation, while Paul Arling assisted them into the automobile.

As they followed the crowd of automobilists winding in and out of the streets, then out to the country on their way to the Colony, I will tell you something about Paul Arling, for he is one of the members and an interesting one. He first became acquainted with Scoris in the illustrating firm where they were both employed, and when the society was first formed in the Vivian parlors she asked him to attend the meetings. He did so and soon became an interested and enthusiastic worker. He had supported his widowed mother and young sisters for several years. Now all were doing for themselves but his mother, and the interesting thing about him was his devotion to her. It brought out his sterling worth because he made duty a pleasure to himself as well as to her. This evening Scoris took her seat beside him while Helen sat in the one behind with his sister. It was her first automobile trip in company with a party going to the Colony and she was elated. Presently she remarked:

“How quickly ideas are taken up.”

“Yes,” he answered understanding her, “why wouldn’t they be when our profits and pleasures are combined? These conveyances being owned by the society, it gets the profit, enriching the members by increasing the value of their shares. The trusts have been great educators, the more they have crowded us the quicker we have learned to protect ourselves.”

“Yes,” Scoris replied, “and it has brought out many a hidden talent just by giving it an opportunity to unfold. Ideas are like seeds planted in the ground—they must have a chance to bloom or they are no better than a weed. No one will know the difference.”

Helen called from the back: “What are you two moralizing about? I do believe you two have forgotten how to enjoy yourselves.”

“Oh, no!” Scoris answered. “I am just learning how to appreciate a new way.” Mr. Arling smiled at Helen and the conversation became general.

“Scoris said they had missed the drives around the country so much since they had been in the city,” Miss Arling remarked in a resigned way. “We have never known the pleasure before. The street cars have been our carriages principally. Don’t you think, Paul, that you are going too fast?”

“Why, no; all the rest are ahead of us; does it frighten you? We will go slower if you are uneasy.”

“Just a little,” she gasped. “I suppose I will get used to the speed in time. Oh, look at those trees! How beautiful they are,” she exclaimed, as the machine entered a thickly wooded road.

“The country is always beautiful in June,” Scoris said, “for its young leaves are so fresh and bright, and automobiling is so exhilarating; this is the loveliest ride I have had in years.”

Mr. Arling looked gratified, and while the veils streamed out behind and the girls hung on to their hats, they flew on until they reached the rest of the party and in a short time the Colony also.

It was a lovely evening during the latter part of June. Tom and Nellie had moved into a tent for the summer, as the farm house had been needed for an office.

Their city acquaintances were very curious to see everything and were surprised at the comforts to be had under the circumstances.

The apartment houses were only partly built and some of the factories were actually running, so it was a small town of tents and makeshifts until their permanent homes were ready.

All were glad to see their friends. They were to form a boating party, and before starting to the lake, Paul Arling said to Tom Vivian: “I want to secure four more shares for my mother. You see, we came out here on business as well as pleasure. I want permanent shares and I came direct to you, for I want them to secure the five-year interest, for in that time I hope to have secured her pension as well as her apartments, so that she may feel safe for life. It is better than an insurance policy, for nothing can be lost here, and in case of my death she is not competent to invest money left in that way. Besides, if I survive her, which I will in all probability, I will have the benefit of the permanent shares. There is a young millionaire in our crowd to-night, did you know, Vivian? He seems to be interested in some of the ventures that have been taken in starting the factories. I don’t suppose he will invest in them. He never earned a dollar in his life, knows nothing about the distress of the struggling classes, just has some friends who are members; that is how he happened to come. He wanted to know why we started before we had more capital. I told him five hundred members now constituted a market, for all farm produce to commence with, made the transaction a good and sufficient reason for securing a farm. A second reason, that being near the city the president secured work for the unemployed. The society having secured transportation by manufacturing enough automobiles during the first summer that the society was forming to take the toilers to the land independent of the railroads, was the means of starting enough laborers to grow the food and dig the foundations of the buildings. Many people said at the time, ‘But how can you find enough land near the city to make it pay?’ he asked.

“‘Our owning automobiles solved that difficulty,’ I told him, ‘as long as we had land to build upon and raise garden truck the first few years. We only secured as much land as we could pay rent for by the membership fee.’ There he is now, he evidently knows Birch, for they have recognized each other.”

Yes, he knew him, for at one time he and Birch were rivals. As they looked at each other, he exclaimed:

“Why, what are you doing here?”

“I am living here,” replied Birch.

“What!” he said, in surprise, “living in this slow place where there is nothing to be seen, and you a graduate of the first college in the country? Well, if I had passed with the honors that you did, I would have been in some city practicing law. We all thought you intended to.”

“No, sir,” Birch replied, “no profession for me in these days. I want freedom. Hundreds of our fellows are scattered among our cities with their shingles out to practice on the helpless sick, so I am doing what I can for others who are not even as fortunate, by giving them something to do in my restaurant. I have two learning to cook. You see they want a good living and know they will be as much respected as cooks as poverty-stricken doctors and lawyers who fill up the offices in the down-town buildings. This society, you know, honors all labor, and the higher the education the better the prospects will be, for those who are on the spot to take what comes.”

“But I don’t see how you can ever become rich.”

Young Birch answers, “To become rich in these days is to usually become a gigantic swindler or pirate. I don’t care to be either. I want to be a self-respecting man and expect to be honored as a man of the best class, not necessarily rich. I do intend to be a man of means and prosperous. This society protects the people of small means and those who have talent. But here is my wife, you know her.”

Yes, he knew her for she had been the one in all the world to him, only two years before, but young Birch had been preferred to him; he had never known why. Most girls are foolish, he had thought, and now he knew it.

The whole party filled the boats and were enjoying the fun, singing and telling funny stories; in one boat, some were making love and the others having a good time watching them. Then one boat would get away from the others and some would start singing, another would answer, and all the boats would take it up until it was time to start for the shore. When they returned to the tents the city friends were deeply interested in the supper when they learned it had been cooked by college men.

“You see we have our meals here,” Tom explained, “and the one dining room answers for all. Mr. and Mrs. Birch have charge of this building and they attend to all the tables and cooking.”

Mrs. Birch remarked, “Yes, we even did the work until there were enough to cook for to enable us to pay for having it done, and I am proud of my accomplishments in that line, I can assure you.”

“You may be sure we all appreciate your talent not only in that line, but in many others besides,” said Tom gallantly.

Mr. Birch had ordered the supper to be ready and all sat down to do justice to the luscious strawberries and good rich cream, hot biscuits and other delicacies of the farm. Then all the city guests said “good night” and went back, spinning along in their automobiles and enjoying the cool air while they talked over the possibilities of the Colony and their interest in it.

CHAPTER VIII.

There is nothing that gives a better opportunity for friendship than for people to be thrown together in some interesting work or undertaking.

OTHER WORLDSA Story Concerning the Wealth Earned by American Citizens and Showing How It Can Be Secured to Them Instead of to the Trusts

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.