New-York tribune., 1921-10-30

the professional sportsmen are dividing larger
gate receipts every year. A vision Of Boyle
Thirty Acres at the time of the Dempsey-Cag-
penter fight or statement Of the proceeds Of
the recent world series in New York would
have been di5couraging to Mr.. Beliamy. Even
the earnings of some Of the professional golf
stars-there was not golf corner in a sport
page in 1ss7-woud buy enough wreaths to
keep the brows Of Utopian athletes unconl-
Portable for years.
Having no legislature "because there is notn-
ing to make laws about" naturally the legal
profession cut sorry figure in Dr.. Leete's
picture Of the dawn Of the twenty-6rst cen
tury. Bur the law schools haven't done any
thing but enlarge from year to year since
Looking Backward" was written, and as for
correspondence schools in law ore can't 70
looking backward in the subsequent pages OF
any magazine without running across advel-
tisements calling attention to opportunities for
making short cut TO the bar.
In the matter Of fashions the author seems
to hit things off trife better. Dr. Leete does
not tell just what the year 1000 styles are.
but he intimates that they are not TO be CON-
pared with those of 1887, when @head cover
ing was a dizzy structure almost foot tall,
sion IF the skirt behind by means of artificial
contrivances." Dating things from the era Of
the hustle, Of course, no prophet could &c
wrong in saying that women's dress in the
future was going to be something better.
Surplus wealth. according to this prophet Of
the sos. was to be spent on city improve
ment. The nation was to become the only "eapi-
taiist,' in place Of all other capitalists Labor
problems were to vanish "as result Of a
process Of evolution" The author scored a.
Oslerian beat by picking the age of fo1ty-ive
as the time of retirement Of the individual
from business. Industrial service was to stavE
not earlier than twenty-one What the young
people were to do with their spare time, with
no movies to which they could go, is not SCI
forth.
The question Of getting common labor done
was ta be solved by having it the fist sseo
in the individuals progress in industry. H.
dustrial service was to be compulsory for three
years After this draft term in the manual
labor army the individual had the right to
choose anything he might elect to do along
the line Of professional work. No doubt the
boss OF big engineering project OF to-day
would look askance at an army of ''helperg'
recruited from those who were serving three
PREPARATORY
opening studios or Offices
It seems that in case OF refusal to errvs the
three years at manual labor in the BelIsmv
Utopia, individuals were punished by "bejne
cut of from al human society," Such punish
nent would not be terrifying TO the several
hundred thousand who managed 70 dodge the
var draft successfully. Probably such indi-
vlduals would take a long chance in the mai
ter Of lodging the three-year labor draft. #
nothing more than q huge social snub i'm
pended.
The crop Of novels Of prophecy has not been
as Large as one might expect, considering tbs
financial success Of Mr.. Bellany's effort. In
fact, as the inventors and discoverers besan
to get busy, their actual achievements quits
outdistanced anything that writers NIGH
prophesy. Sitting down and telling what TIE
world was going to be like in thousand wears
or even in one year, became such paterrt;
waste Of time that novelists simply did rot
attempt il.
So the Bellauy excursion in prophecy heads
very small department. Of literature and
might even be alluded to as an exarnpIe of
what should be avoided in case one is thinking
coldbloodedly and deliberately of attempting a
literary career