19 chapters
2 hour read
Selected Chapters
19 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
In "Eurasia" the author describes an ideal republic where many of the problems that confront us are worked out. The book describes in an interesting and readable way how government is administered in this ideal republic. The government is one in which women take their full share of responsibility, the school children are trained in the problems they will meet in life, and more emphasis is laid on character building than on the dead languages. The children of both sexes are taught useful trades.
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CHAPTER I. A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE.
CHAPTER I. A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE.
One pleasant afternoon in the month of May, 19—, I launched my boat, and after rowing about half a mile from shore I shipped my oars, stepped the mast, hoisted sail and reclining on a cushioned seat at the stern with my hand on the tiller, I waited for a breeze to spring up, and whilst so doing I fell asleep. How long I slept I know not, for when I awoke my boat was close to shore, and to my' astonishment I was in strange waters. I went ashore, when I was accosted in English with a foreign accen
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CHAPTER II. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
CHAPTER II. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
During the following week I called on the Minister of Justice and informed her of my desire to learn the workings of her Department. She handed me a copy of the Penal Code, and I was astonished to find how simple the course of procedure was compared with that of my own country. Felonies ranked in the following order: Murder, Rape, Incest and crimes against nature, Arson, Robbery, Assault to Murder, Manslaughter, Mayhem, Bribery, Larceny and Perjury. The law held one degree of murder and that was
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CHAPTER III. A VISIT TO A STATE PRISON.
CHAPTER III. A VISIT TO A STATE PRISON.
The Minister of Justice placed an automobile at my service, and when I arrived at the boundary of the reservation, I was stopped by a military officer. I handed him my letter from the Minister of Justice, and, glancing over it, he replied, "You are welcome," and, taking a seat by my side, we drove to the prison grounds, where I was introduced to the Superintendent, and invited by him to be his guest during my stay. I found the prisoners garrisoned in company quarters. One hundred and thirty-five
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CHAPTER IV. THE BANK OF EURASIA.
CHAPTER IV. THE BANK OF EURASIA.
Leaving the prison, I returned to the Capitol and, calling at the Department of Finance, was given a copy of the laws governing it, and learned that it operated under the name of the Bank of Eurasia, with headquarters in the capital, having a branch in every district and in every town of one thousand inhabitants or more. It paid out all money owed by the Government and received and receipted for all taxes due, and accepted all deposits from one dollar upwards, and issued all banknotes and bills
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CHAPTER V. DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION.
CHAPTER V. DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION.
I called at the Department of Information, and when I was introduced I realized that I was in the presence of one of the world's greatest teachers. She gave me a warm handshake and said, "I have been expecting you, and now that you are here, I will take pleasure in showing you the workings of the department over which I have the honor to preside. There are no Government or private detective agencies in our country, but a constant watch is kept on all public officials as well as private violators
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CHAPTER VI. DEPARTMENT OF MINES.
CHAPTER VI. DEPARTMENT OF MINES.
I called at the appointed time and was introduced to the Chief Engineer, who invited me to accompany him on an inspection tour, to which I gladly assented, and, after a week's pleasant travel by rail, we arrived at the station on the southwestern slope of Mount Everest at an elevation of twelve thousand feet above the sea. We had arrived in the evening and enjoyed a good night's rest, and, eating a hearty breakfast, we walked out to take observations of the locality, before taking our trip to th
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CHAPTER VII. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
CHAPTER VII. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
I was ushered into the office of the Minister of Education and was introduced to a charming lady who filled that position with signal ability. "I am told that you are from the United States of America." she said with a winning smile, "and I hope that you will have a pleasant time while you remain with us." She spoke perfect English and informed me that it was the language of Eurasia, but that it differed from English used in other countries in one way. "We write the words the way they sound and
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CHAPTER VIII. THE WAR DEPARTMENT.
CHAPTER VIII. THE WAR DEPARTMENT.
My next trip was to the War Department, where I was shown the Rules and Regulations governing the army, and navy. The army was organized in twenty-five corps of eighty thousand men each, besides the ladies' army corps of an equal number; each corps composed of three divisions of foot infantry and one division of mounted infantry. Each division was composed of three brigades of infantry, one regiment of sharpshooters and one regiment of artillery; each brigade of three regiments and each regiment
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CHAPTER IX. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.
CHAPTER IX. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.
On inquiring at the Department of Commerce I was informed that it had charge of all vessels engaged in internal traffic as well as in foreign trade, and operated lines of steamers running to all ports of the globe, carrying freight at a rate between home and foreign ports that defied competition, but they did not carry freight between foreign countries. The men for the Mercantile Marine were furnished by the Army and had the same pay. They were required to load and unload cargo in every port whe
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CHAPTER X. DEPARTMENT OF RAILWAYS.
CHAPTER X. DEPARTMENT OF RAILWAYS.
I went from there to the Department of Railroads and was given a copy of freight and passenger rates which on examination proved to be very simple and that required no great lawyers with legal cunning to draw up as they did in my country in making tariff schedules to fool the people and open a wider door for graft rebates and special privileges. The passenger rate was five mills per mile for any and every distance, with children under seven years of age free, with but one exception-all children
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CHAPTER XI. THE INCOME TAX.
CHAPTER XI. THE INCOME TAX.
The income tax was a graduated income tax beginning with persons having on income one thousand dollars a year and above what they laid out in improving their property. All persons whose income was less than one thousand dollars paid no income tax. The tax was one per cent. on one thousand dollars, the rate increasing with the amount of income up to fifty thousand dollars a year, when it was fifty per cent., leaving the owner twenty-five thousand dollars, and for all incomes over fifty thousand d
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CHAPTER XII. DEPARTMENT OF MANUFACTURES.
CHAPTER XII. DEPARTMENT OF MANUFACTURES.
The Government derived its revenues from the sale of liquors, drugs, chemicals, tobacco, coffee, tea, sugar, salt, coal, oil, stone, charcoal, iron, steel, copper, lead and the precious metals. The greatest revenue was derived from liquors. Every commodity produced or manufactured by the Government was sold in lots or packages at one dollar a lot or package. The Government made and sold wine in three grades, The first-grade wine was put up in quart bottles at one dollar a quart, the second-grade
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CHAPTER XIII. PUBLIC UTILITIES.
CHAPTER XIII. PUBLIC UTILITIES.
The Government, through its ownership and operation of all public utilities, placed within the reach of every person the necessaries and some of the luxuries of life, no matter what their trade or profession or where situated, so that when I became acquainted with their system of government I was not surprised at the spirited character and noble bearing of the people, in striking contrast to the cringing servility of the ignorant laborer in England and the negroes of the United States of America
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CHAPTER XIV. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
CHAPTER XIV. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
I visited several experimental farms under the management of the Department of Agriculture and was informed by the superintendent of the farm that the Government had a small farm of six hundred and forty acres in every district in which was situated the District High School where boys and girls were taught how to farm and to raise stock and poultry to the best advantage, and also large farms at every military reservation where persons convicted of crime were taught how to become useful members o
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CHAPTER XV. DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
CHAPTER XV. DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
I did not see any foreign Ambassadors in the Capital and on enquiring for the cause of their absence was referred to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for information. He told me that the presence of Foreign Ministers in Eurasia would be in violation of the laws as no privileges were allowed to any person that could not be enjoyed by all the people, "and no doubt you are aware that under the monarchical system of government Ambassadors and their suites were privileged persons who could not be arre
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CHAPTER XVI. UNITED WORKERS OF EURASIA.
CHAPTER XVI. UNITED WORKERS OF EURASIA.
I was introduced to the President of the United Workers of Eurasia and he told me that all the working men and women were united in one great union and that the present Minister of Labor was a lady who for years had championed the cause of Labor and that she was unceasing in her efforts to better their condition now that she was at the head of the Department of Labor. The wages of all Government employees were fixed by law and could not be raised or lowered except by a two-thirds vote of the peo
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CHAPTER XVII. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.
CHAPTER XVII. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.
I learned that the Department of Health had greater responsibilities than any other department of the Government, for the physical, mental and moral welfare of the people was in its keeping. One of its duties was to prevent the introduction of any diseases into Eurasia, and to make it effective every person coming into the country had to undergo a physical examination by three Government physicians, and all persons that were idiotic or insane or had any of the following diseases, viz.: syphilis,
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CHAPTER XVIII. A VISIT TO THE MINISTER OF STATE.
CHAPTER XVIII. A VISIT TO THE MINISTER OF STATE.
Before returning to the United States of America I called on the Minister of State, who is also the presiding officer of the Parliament, and told him that I would regard it as a great favor if he would tell me how such changes had taken place in the Government of his country, "for," said I, "from what I read about your Government when I was a boy it was an absolute monarchy, and one man's will was the law of the land." "You have the key to the problem in that statement," he replied, "for I am fr
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