Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-11

my attention 10 couple OF persons near 10 u0,
both dressed in the regulation gray trousers
and tunic.
How do you know they are womsn3" asked
him.
"why, you see the metal numbers that every
body wears on their collar?"
Eyes, was Just thinking what number OF
policemen you had and wondering where the
other people were"
well, the even numbers are women; the odd
numbers are the men"
How very simple" Iremarked- wsupposs
after little practice you can tell one sex from
the Otner almost at q glance?"
.'Oh, yes, he replied. '''f you want TO-"
We walked on in silence for while And
then 1 said why does everybody have a
number"
ITO distinguish him by" answered my COM
panion.
Don't people have names, them"
mo"
.'Why?"
''Oh, there was 20 much inequality in names.
Some people were called Montmorency, and
they looked down on the Smiths and the
Smythes did not like mixing with the Joneses,
so. to save further bother, it was decided to
abolish names altogether and to give every
body a number"
Ibid not the Montmorsncies and the smythes
objectY
Yes; but the Smiths and the Joneses were in
the majority"
And did not the ones and twos look down
upon the threes and fours and so on?'
AT first. yes; but, with the abolition OF
wealth. numbers lost their value, except for
industrial purposes, and now No. 100 does not
consider himself in any way superior to No.
1,00OOOO"
had not washed when got up, there being
no conveniences for doing so in the museum,
and was beginning to feel somewhat hot and
dirty said: Can wash myself anywhere2'
He said: No; we are not allowed to wash
ourselves You must wait until half-past 4,
and then you will be washed for tea
BE washed!' 1 cried. Who by?"
1.-The state"
He said that they had found they could not
maintain their equality when people were
allowed to wash themselves Some people
washed three or four times day, while others
never touched soap and water from one year 8
end to the other, and in consequence there got
to be two distinct classes, the clean and the
dirty. All the old class prejudices began to be
revived The clean despised the dirty and the
dirty hated the clean. So. to end dissension
the state decided to do the wash ng itself, and
each citizen was now washed twice q day BY
acknowledgement officials, and private
washing was prohibited
L noticed that we passed no houses as we
went along, only block after block of huge.
barrack-llke buildings, all of the same size and
shape. Occasionally. at corner we came
across smaller building labeled Museum
Hospital, Debating Hail." "Bath." GYM
Industries" School of Talk" &C.. &C.; but
neyer a house.
l said: Doesn't anybody live in this town."
He said: ''You do ask silly questions: upon nv
word. you do. Where do you think they Iive?
said: That's just what I've been trying to
think. don't see any houses anywhere"
He said: We don't need houses-not houses
such as you are thinking Of We are socialistic
now; we live together IN fraternity and equal
ity. We live in these blocks that you see.
Each block accommodates one thousand citi-
zens. 1t contains one thousand beds-one
hundred In each room-and bath rooms and
dressing rooms III proportion, a dining hall and
kitchens. At o'clock every morning a bell is
rung and every one rises and tides up his bed
At ESQ they go into the dressing rooms and
are washed and shaved and have their hair
done. At o'clock breakfast is served in the
dining hall 1t comprises a pint of oatmeal
porrIdge and half pint OF warm milk for each
adult citizen. We are all strict vegetarians
now The vegetarian vote increased enor-
mously during the last century, and their or
ganizatlon being very perfect, they have been
able to dictate every election for the past ifty
years. At O'Clock another bell is rung and
the people return to dinner, which consists of
beans and stewed fruits with rolly-poiiy pud-
ding twice a week and plum duff OH SATURDAYS
At O'Clock there Is tea, and at 10 the lights are
put out and everybody goes to bed. We are all
equal and we all live alike-clerk and scaven-
ger, tinker and artist-all together, in frater-
nifty and liberty. The men live in the blocks
on this side of the town aud the women are at
the other end of the city,
where are the married couples kept2"
asked.
"Oh, there are no married couples" he re-
piled. I'VE abolished marriage two hundred
years ago. You see, married life did not work
at all well with our system. Domestic life we
found, was thoroughly anti-socialistic in its
tendencies. Men thought more Of their wives
zvaAf .x. ianaA &k.z, 4 A.
wished TO labor for the benefit Of their little
circle VI beloved ones rather than for the good
of the community. They cared more for the
future of their children than about the destiny
of humanity. the ties Of love and blood
bound men together fast in little groups instead
OF one great whole. Before the advancement
OF the human race, men thought Of the advance
ment of their kith and kin. Before the greatest
happiness OF the great number, men strove for
the happiness Of the few who were near and
dear to them. In secret men aud women
boarded up and labored and denied themselves
so as In secret to give some little extra gift of
Joy to their beloved. Love stirred the vice of
ambition in mems hearts. To win the smiles
OF the women they loved, to leave a name be-
hind them that their children might be proud
to bear, men sought to raise themselves above
the general level, to do some deed that should
make the world look up to them and honor
them above their fellow-men, to press q deeper
footprint than another's upon the dusty high
way of the age The fundamental principles of
socialism were being daily thwarted and con-
temned. Each house WAS a revolutionary CEN
ter for the propagation of individuaism and
personality. From the warmth OF each do
nestle hearth grew up the vipers Of independ-
ence, seif-lnterest and clannishness TO sting the
state and poison the minds of men.
The doctrines Of equality we're openly dis
puted Men, when they loved a women
thought her superior to every other woman,
and hardly took any pains to disguise their
opinion. Loving wives believed their husbands
TO be wiser and drawer and better than all
other men. Mothers laughed at the idea of
their children being in no way superior to other
children. Children imbibed the hIdeous heresy
that their father and mother were the best
father and mother in the world.
From whatever point you looked at it the
family stood forth as our foe. One man had a
dren; his neighbor was married to a shrew and
was the father of eleven noisy, ill-dispositioned
brats-where was the equality?
Again, wherever the family existed, there
lowered. ever contending, the angels Of 10y
and sorrow, and in a world where Joy and sor-
row are known equality cannot live. One man
and woman. in the night, stand weeping beside
little bed On the other side of the lath and
plaster a fair young couple, hand in hand
stand laughing at the silly antics of grave
faced, gurgling baby. What is poor equality
doing?
such things could not be allowed All Love-
we saw, was our enemy at every turn. He made
equality impossible. He brought pain and
suffering IN his train. He disturbed mems be-
liefs and imperiled the destiny Of humanity,
SO we abolished him and all his works
Now. there are no marriages, and, there
fore, no domestic troubles; no m aking Of love-