The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-08-07

heats of summer and the cold of win
ter. Each family makes its own clothes,
but all among them, women as well as
men, learn one of the trades before men,
toned. Generally women deal in wool
and flax, leaving the ruder trades to the
men and, as a rule, trade passes down
for generations from father to son.
But If any mans genius lies in another
way he is, by adoption, translated into a
family that deals In the trade to which
he is inclined. If after man has learned
one trade he is DESTROYS to learn another
that is also allowed and is managed in
the same way-by translating him into a
suitable family. When he has acquired
both trades he follows the one he likes
best unless the public has more occasion
for one of the trades than the other.
The chief and only business of the sypho-
grant is to see that no man lies idle,
but that every one follows his avocation
diligently Yet the people of Utopia do
not wear themselves out as If they were
beasts of burden and as is the common
course of life everywhere except in ITO
pia.
In that happy republic they divide the
day and night into twenty-four hours and
appoint six of these for work. Three of
these work hours are before dinner. After
dinner they rest and enjoy themselves for
two hours and then go to work again for
another three. After that they sup and at
8 o'clock, counting from noon, they go to
bed and sleep eight hours. The hours,
aside from those appointed for work, eat
Ing and sleeping, are left to every mans
discretion. Yet they are not allowed to
abuse those intervals in luxury and idle
ness, but must employ them in some prop
err exercise according to their various
inclinations; which is for the most part
reading.
1t is customary to have public lectures
every morning before daybreak. to which
no one is obliged to go except those who
many, both of men and women, attend
the lectures Of one sort or another ac-
cordng to their various inclinations. After
supper they spend an hour, In some diver
sion; in summer 1t is In their gardens and
| In winter in the halls where they eat
and they entertain themselves In them
either with music or discourse. They dc
not somuch as even know dice and sucf
foolish and mischievous games, but have
two sorts of games not unlike our chess
You might think that as there are onl,
six hours set Oft for labor there woult
be scarcity Of necessary provisions, bu
such is not the case. In fact. this si'
hours work not only supplies all that Il
needful but an overplus. and this you will
not regard as strange when you conside
the Utopians all work. and also conside
how great a portion Of the people o
other nations are quite idle or are en-
gagged in trades which are vain and super
iuous, and that only serve to support rio
and luxury.
If the idle and those who labor to pro
duce superfuities In European nations
were obliged to work only on such thing
as the conveniences and necessities of If
require there would be such an abundance
Of these that the prices Of them woul'
sink so that tradesmen would not be abb
to support themselves on their profits Il
that happy republic Of Utopia, In grea
city and in all the land that lies aroun'
Il you can scarce find 700 men or womel
able to labor who are not engaged Il
work. Even the syphogrants, though tn
law excuses them. do not excuse them
selves. for they desire by their example