The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1915-01-29
CHAPTER discontinued.

Like sand on the beach here. Iik,
sand on the beach, each grain OF SAINT
man. or woman, or child. Yes, my
boy. all those people iiVed right here
in San francisco. And at one time
or another all those people came out
on this very beach-more people than
there are grains OF sand. More
more-more. And San Francisco was
noble city. And across the bay
Where we camped last year, ever
more people lived. clear from Point
Richmond, on the level ground and
on the tills. all the way around ia
San Leandro-one great city of seven
million people. Seven teeth
there. that's 1t, seven millions"
Again the boys eyes ranged up and
down from Edwins fingers to the teeth
on thedog.
The world was full Of people. The
census Of 2010 gave eight billion for
the whole wprld-elght crab shells
yes, eight billions. II was not like to.
DAY Mankind knew a great deal more
about getting food. And the more
1ood there was, the more people there
were. In the year 1900, there were
OF sand. Hoo-Hoo-one hundred and
seventy millions in Europe alone. One
hundred years Iater--a grain OF sand,
Hooi1oo--one hundred years later, in
I9O0, there were five hundred millions
IN Europe-five grains of sand, Hoo
HOO. and this one tooth This shows
now easy was the getting of food,
ana how men increased. And in the
year 1000. there were fifteen hundred
millions in Europe. And 1t was the
same all over the rest of the world
Eight crab shells there, yes, eight bill
lion people were alive on the earth
when the Scarlet Death began.
i was young man when the
Plague came-twenty-seven years old;
and lived on the other side of San
francisco bay, in Berkeley. You re-
member those stone houses, Edwin,
when we came down the hills from
Contra Costa? That was where
ilVed in those stone houses. was a
professor OF English literature"
Much of this was over the heads
of the boys but they strove to COM
prchend dimly this tale of the pest.
What was them stone houses for?"
Hare-Lip queried.
"YJu remember when your dad
taught you to swim?" The boy nod.
ded. We'll. in the University of Cali.
fornih-that is the name we had for
the houses--we taught young men
and women how TO think, Just as I
have taught You now, by sand and peb.
Dies and shells, to know how many
people lived in those days. There
was very much to teach. The young
men and women we taught were called |
students I'VE had large rooms in
which we taught. talked to them. |
forty or fifty at a time, Just as I am
talking to you now. told them about
the books other men had written be- |
fore their time, and even, sometimes, |
In their time"
Was that all you did?--just talk. |
talk, talk?" Hoo Hoo demanded "Wbo
hunted your meat for you, and MIXED
The goats, and caught the fish?"
"A sensible question, Hoo-Hoo a
sensible question. AS l have told You.
IN those days food-getting was very
easy. We were very wise. A few men
got the food for many men. The 9th.
sr men did other things. AS you say.
talked Z talked all the time. and
or this food was given me-much
God, zine food. beautiful food. food
hat ! have not tasted in sixty years.
md shall never taste again. / some
lines think the most wonderful
achievement of our tremendous ciyili-
alton was food--its inconceiyable
abundance, its infinite variety. its
marvellous dellcacy.'
This vas beyond the boys, and they
ct 1t slip by. words and thoughts. as
nero senile wandering in the nara.
I've.
Our food.getters we're called free
men. This was a joke. We of the rul.
ng classes owned all the land all the
machines. everything These food-get.
ars were our slaves. We took almost
II the food they got. and left them a
title so that they might eat. and work.
nd get us more food" I,
I'D have gone into the forest and
Of food for myself. Hare-Lip an. /
ounced; "and IL any man tried to take
away from me Id have killed him" /
Tho old man laughed.
did I not tell you that we OF the /
ling class owned all the land. all I