We have to find ways and means not to avoid
productive work ( — spoken of by Mr. Bellamy as
an evil — ), but to cure the brain cancer of our days:
the permanent uncertainty of subsistance and the
fear of poverty. And we accomplish this by co-
operation and by mutual insurance companies, with-
out retrograding to communism, that most barbarous
state of society.
The imperfect nature of man characterizes, as a
matter of course, all human institutions and it is the
easiest thing in the world, by ^Hooking backward^\ to
find fault with living men as well as with the present
state of affairs and to build air castles inhabited by
angels only.
I will now look forward ! By demonstrating what
would be the logical conclusion of Mr. Bellamy's
story, if fairly continued, T purpose to show that he
first tries to establish absolute equality and then,
despairing of success, advocates an inequality in
many respects more oppressive than the present state
of things. I intend to demonstrate, that under the
regime, proposed by Mr. Bellamy, favoritism and
corruption would be very potent factors in public
life. I expect to set forth that personal liberty would
fare so badly in Mr. Bellamy's United States, that
the proud and independent American people would
never tolerate such a system, and to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt, that the people would be much
poorer in Mr. Bellamy's condition of affairs, than at
the present time*
I do not deny that our society stands in need of
many desirable reforms; but I am not prepared to fol-
low blindly Mr. Bellamy, John Most, or anybody else,
who pretends that he is ready to deliver humanity from
all evils on short notice, and I do not intend to jump
head over heels into the dark.
If Mr» Bellamy and his followers c'^re quite sure
that they can establish the millennium, /et them try
it, like the communists ot the Amana Society who
have started a community in the state of Iowa on a
religious basis. There are many thousands of acres
of good government lands left, where Mr. Bellamy
and his friends may settle and show the world what
they can do! But they should not ask the people of
the United States to break up their present form of
government and state of society, before they have
given their theories a trial and proved that their
calculations are correct. |^
Richard Michaelis.
Chicago, April 1890.
For the purpose of introducing myself to those
readers of this book, who are not familiar with the
contents of "Looking Backward", edited by Mr.
Edward Bellamy, I will recapitulate the remarkable
events of my life up to the end of that extraordinary
narrative.
Born in Boston on the 26th day of December
1857, I was baptized Julian West, was educated in
the schools and colleges of my city, but, being in
possession of a handsome fortune, did not devote
myself to any particular profession or trade. I be-
came engaged to Miss Edith Bartlett, a young lady
of great beauty, and it was our intention to marry
as soon as my new house should be ready for occu-
pation. The completion 01 the building was fre-
quently delayed by strikes of masons and carpenters,
and I occupied still the old fashioned house, where
my family had lived for three generations.
Suffering from insomnia, I had prepared in the
basement and under the foundations of the old build-
lo LOOKING FORWARD.
ing, a large vault, where the noises of a great city
would not disturb me. This vault was absolutely
fire-proof, and fresh air was assured by means of a
small pipe running up to the roof of the house.
To obtain sleep I was frequently forced to avail
myself of the services of a mesmerist, and it happened
that on the 30th day of May 1887, after two sleepless
nights, I sent my colored servant Sawyer to a Dr. Pills-
bury, whom I was in the habit of employing. The
doctor was about to leave the city to establish him-
self in New Orleans, and this was therefore the last
time he would be able to treat me. I instructed
Sawyer to rouse me at nine o'clock the next morning,
and under the manipulations of the mesmerist I soon
fell into a deep slumber.
When I opened my eyes again I found that I had
slept 113 years, 3 months, and 11 days.
I discovered that the old house had been destroyed
by fire and that Sawyer had perished in the flames.
Dr. Pillsbury had left Boston, the existence of the
vault where I slept was unknown to my friends, the
house had not been rebuilt and so I remained in a
mesmerized condition for over a hundred years, until
a Dr. Leete, the occupant of a house which was being
erected on a part of the old lot, commenced to build
a laboratory and unearthed my vault in the year
2000.
I learned that Edith Bartlett, after mourning my
loss fourteen years, had married, that Dr. Leete's
wife was Edith Bartlett's granddaughter, and that his
LOOKING FORWARD. ii
daughter Edith was therefore the great-granddaugher
of the young lady who had been my promised bride
113 years before.
The vigor of my manhood of thirty years overcame
the shock of these discoveries, I soon felt myself
at home in Dr, Leete's house, the more so, because
young Edith soon occupied the place in my heart
once filled by Edith Bartlett, and it was not long before
Edith Leete, a somewhat romantic, compassionate
girl, consented with grace to become the successor of
her great-grandmother; to be my bride»
But the turn of my own fate is even less remark-
able, than the change that has taken place in the
social order of things. Dr. Leete explained to me
the new organization of society.
Individual enterprises have ended. The nation
creates everything that individuals and corporations
were producing at the end of the nineteenth century.
Every able bodied man, every healthy woman
belongs to the '^industrial army". They enter the
force at the age of 21 and are released at 45. Only
in rare cases of necessity are men over 45 years of
age summoned to work.
Money is abolished, but all inhabitants of the
United States receive an equal share of the results of
the work of the industrial army in the form of a
credit card, a piece of paste board on which dollars
and cents are marked. There is one store in each
ward where people can select such goods as they
may desire* The value of the goods, one purchases.
12 LOOKING FORWARD.
is pricked out of his credit card and his account is
charged in the Government books with the amount
of goods so purchased.
The meals are furnished by large cooking houses.
Washing and repairing are done in large laundries.
One may take his meals home or eat them at the
cooking house. The bill of fare is very elaborate
and one may have even a special dining room. The
amount to be paid for the meals differs of course
according to the bill of fare ordered and to the place
where the meal is taken.
Each family occupies a separate house; the furni-
ture being the property of the tenant. The rent,
which depends on the size of the house, is also
pricked out of the credit card.
All inhabitants of the United States are obliged to
attend school until they have reached the age of 21.
Then they become members of the industrial army.
During the first three years of their services they are
called recruits or apprentices and have to do the
common labor under the absolute command of the
officers or overseers, A record is kept, in which are
entered the ability and behavior of each recruit.
After the first three years of service, each recruit
may select a profession or a trade. As far as possi-
ble the volunteers are placed in the trades they
prefer. Recruits with the best records are given the
first choice. Some of them have to take a second or
third choice, and some are obliged to accept
positions assigned to them by their superiors.
LOOKING FORWARD. 13
All members of the army are, according to their
ability and behavior, divided into three grades, and
apprentices with a first-class record may, after their
three years service, enter at once the first grades of
the different trades selected by them.
The general of the guild appoints all the officers of
his trade* The lieutenants must be taken from the
members of the first grades. The captains are chosen
by the general from the lieutenants, the colonels from
the captains. The general of the guild himself is
elected by the former members of the trade, that is,
those who have passed the age of forty-five. The ex-
members of all the guilds also elect the chiefs of the
ten great departments or groups of allied trades. The
chiefs are taken from the generals of the guilds. And
the former guild members also elect the President of
the United States, who is taken from the ranks of
th*^ retired chiefs of the ten great departments. The
President, the ten chiefs of the great departments and
the generals of all the guilds live in Washington.
The members of the industrial army have not the
right to vote for any of the officers by whom they
are governed. They have no representation during their
24 years of service ; but if they have a complaint
against one of their superiors, they may bring their
case before a judge whose decision is final.
The judges are appointed by the President from
the ranks of the retired members of the guild for the
term of five years.
Courts, lawyers, jails, sheriffs, tax-assessors, collec-
14 LOOKING FORWARD.
tors and many other ofificers have been abolished.
Criminals are treated in hospitals as persons men-
tally ill
The National Government regulates the production.
When it sees that certain trades attract a very large
number of volunteers, while other trades fall short,
the administration increases the working time of the
preferred trades and shortens the working hours of
those needing more volunteers.
The women have their own officers, generals,
judges, and form an auxiliary army of industry.
They receive the same credit cards as the men.
Since the cooking and washing and repairing of
household goods are done outside, the women of the
twentieth century have more time for productive
labor than had the women of a hundred years ago.
Recruits who have passed three years service,
during which they are assignable to any work at the
discretion of their superiors, may enter schools of
technology, medicine, art, etc.; but if they cannot
keep pace with the classes, they must withdraw.
Physicians, who do not find sufficient employment,
are assigned to work of another character.
If people desire the publication of a newspaper,
they must club together and give up enough of their
credit cards to compensate the nation for the loss of
the work of the persons editing and printing the
paper.
If one desires to publish a book, he can write it in
his hours of leisure and can have it printed by giving
up a part of his credit card.
For the copies sold he
receives again a new credit.
Preachers are in a similar way employed by per-
sons who desire to hear their sermons
Cripples or other people unable to do full work
or any work at all, receive their full credit cards,
because the fact, that they are human beings, entitles
them to their full share of all good things produced
on earth.
The state governments within the United States
have been abolished as useless.
All other civilized nations have organized them-
selves on a similar basis and are exchanging goods
with each other. The yearly balances are settled
with national staple articles.
The new order of things enables people to live
without cares, and one of the consequences is the
fact, that most of the men and women of an average
constitution live from eighty-five to ninety years. —
Such was the description of the new order of
things given me by Dr. Leete in a number of conver-
sations. The doctor is very enthusiastic over the
organization of society of the twentieth century and
does not hesitate to call it the millennium.
The fear and uncertainty which I entertained in
regard to my employment were set at rest by Dr.
Leete, who said, that I could, if I wished, have the
position of professor of the history of the nineteenth
century in the Shawmut College of Boston. I have
accepted the offer and shall enter upon my duties
next Monday.
CHAPTER II,
When I first entered the large hall of Shawmut
College, where I was to deliver my lectures, I noticed
near the door of the room a gentleman of about forty
years of age. He was too old to be one of the
students and as I had not seen him when Dr. Leete
introduced me to the professors of the institution,
I was somewhat curious to know in what capacity
he honored my debut*
The cordial reception I had met at the hands of
the professors, the fact that every seat of the large
hall was occupied, acted as a stimulus and when Dr.
White, the president of Shawmut College had intro-
duced me with a few complimentary remarks as a
living witness of the nineteenth century, I began
my first lecture in the b^st of spirits.
My speech contained naturally many of the points
that Dr. Leete had most dwelt upon, when, in his
conversations with me, he had compared the organ-
ization of society of the nineteenth and that of the
twentieth centuries*
I said in substance, that my hearers must not
expect a synopsis of the civilization of the two cen-
turies or a panegyric of the present state of affairs.
I would point out but a few conditions, regulations
LOOKING FORWARD. 17
and institutions that could serve as criterion of the
spirit of their times.
As characteristic of the spirit of the civilization of
the nineteenth century, I described the insane com-
petition, where a man in a foul fight must "cheat,
overreach, supplant, defraud, buy below worth and
sell above, break down the business by which his
neighbor fed his young ones, tempt men to buy what
they ought not and to sell what they should not,
grind their laborers, sweat their debtors, cozen their
creditors,"*) in order to be able to support those
dependent on him. I showed "that there had been
many a man among the people of the nineteenth
century who, if it had been merely a question of his
own life would sooner have given it up than nour-
ished it by bread snatched from others,"f ) I pictured
the consequences of this insane and annihilating
competition as a constant wear on the brains and
bodies of the past generation, intensified by the per-
manent fear of poverty. The spectre of uncertainty
walked constantly beside the man of the nineteenth
century, sat at his table and went to bed with him,
even whispering in his ears: "Do your work ever so
well, rise early and toil till late, rob cunningly or
serve faithfully, you shall never know security.
*) Such parts of Mr. Bellamy's book as are characteristic of
his manner of dealing with the present and with the future, I
give with marks of quotation, adding in a foot note the page of
"Looking Backward," where the sentence may be found. The
above remarks are taken from page 277,
t) Page 277.
i8 LOOKING FORWARD.
Rich you may be now and still come to poverty at
last. Leave ever so much wealth to your children,
you can not buy the assurance, that your son may
not be the servant of your servant or that your
daughter will not sell herself for bread/'**)
And while one hundred and thirteen years ago all
men worked like slaves, until completely exhausted,
without having even a guaranty that they would not die
in poverty or from hunger, the men of the twentieth
century were walking in the sunlight of freedom,
security, happiness and equality. After receiving an
excellent education in standard schools and then
passing through an apprenticeship of three years, the
young people of the twentieth century select their
vocation. Short hours of work permit them, even
during the years of service in the industrial army
to spend more time for the continuation of their
studies and for recreation than the people who lived
a hundred years ago had ever believed
to be consistent with a successful management
of industries,
farming or public affairs.
Free from all cares, in perfect harmony with each
Other, without the disturbing influence of political
parties, enjoying a wealth unprecedented in the histo-
ry of nations, we might verily say: "The long and
weary winter of our race is ended. Its summer has
begun. Humanity has burst the chrysalis. The
heavens are before it!
"Then you must of course disapprove the views
developed in my lecture ? "
"Your address will undoubtedly be published in
extenso in all the administration organs, that is, in
nearly every newspaper in the land'', said Mr» Forest,
evading a direct answer to my question.
"Administration organs you say", I asked with sur-
prise: "Has the administration organs, and why does
it need them? "
"Of course the administration has organs", answered
Forest. "And it is both difficult and unpleasant to
edit an opposition paper. Therefore we have only a
few of them."
"But Dr. Leete said: "We have no parties or poli-
ticians and as for demagoguery and corruption, they
are words having only a historical significance."*)
And yet you speak of opposition and of administra-
tion papers ? " I said this very likely with an express-
ion of some doubt in my eyes.
My companion broke into a loud laugh, after which
he asked: "Excuse, please, my merriment, but Dr.
Leete is a great joker, who never fails to "bring down
the house." Well ! Well ! That is too good. I wish
I could have seen his face when he gave you that
information."
And Mr. Forest laughed again.
*) Page 60.
22 LOOKING FORWARD.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. West", he continued, when
I met his merriment with silence; *^but you would not
only excuse but share my laughter, if you were famil-
iar with our public life, if you knew Dr» Leete ls well
as I do and then learned that he had claimed, we were
suffering from a want of politicians. But I wish to say
right here", added Mr. Forest in a more composed
tone, '^that I have not a poor opinion of Dr. Leete.
He is a practical joker^ a shrewd politician, but other-
wise as good a man as our time can produce.'^
"Dr. Ivcete is a politician?" I asked in the utmost
astonishment.
"Yes. Dr. Leete is the most influential leader of
the administration party in Boston. I owe it to his
kind interference, that I am still connected with the
college."
Noticing that I did not know how to construe this
statement, Mr. Forest added:
"When, in comparing the civilization of your days
with ours, 1 came to the conclusion, that communism
had proved a failure, I was accused of misleading and
corrupting the students and the usual sentence in such
cases: "confinement in an insane asylum", was passed.
Because, it is claimed, that only a madman could find
fault with the best organization of society ever intro-
duced. Dr. Leete, however, declared, that my in
sanity was so harmless, that confinement in an asylum
seemed unnecessary, besides being too expensive. I
could still earn my living by doing light work about
the college building; and my case would serve as a
LOOKING FORWARD. 23
warning to all the professors and students to be care-
ful in their expressions and teachings^ So I retained
the liberty in which we glory and was spared doing
street cleaning or some such work, which is generally
awarded to "kickers" against the administration."
"The students seem to share your opinion, at least
they received my remarks very coldly," I remarked,
in order to avoid a discussion of the qualities of my
host.
Mr. Forest's keen grey eyes rested for a moment
upon my face, and then he said in a friendly tone:
"I believe you were convinced of what you said,
Mr. West; but did it not occur to you, that you treated
your time and your contemporaries very severely ?
Did competition really demand, that one should de-
fraud his neighbor, grind his laborers, sweat his debtors
and snatch the bread from others? Were the majority
of the men of your time swindlers and Shylocks? Were
the laborers all slaves, working each day until com-
pletely exhausted? I remember distinctly, that the
wage-workers of your time struck frequently for eight
hours, declining to work nine or ten hours per diem
for good pay. I think you had a strong, proud and
independent class of laborers, who could not fairly be
regarded as slaves. And as for the girls, I have seen
the statements and complaints, that help for house-
keeping was very scarce in your days and was paid
from $2. to I5. per week, with board, so that there was
no excuse for any decent girl to sell herself for bread. —
Of course your state of civilization was very far from
24 LOOKING FORWARD.
being faultless; in fact there is no such thing as per-
fection in anything. But your description of the
civilization of the nineteenth century is painted in
such dark colors, that our students, who are somewhat
familiar with the history of those days, could not very
well enthuse over your lecture; especially as ma^y of
these young men do not regard our present institutions
with such complete admiration as you do. I speak
frankly, Mr. West, and I hope you will excuse my
frankness, because of my desire to serve you in de-
scribing men, things and institutions as I see them."
The warm tone of his voice and the sympathetic
expression of his eyes caused me to shake hands with
Forest, although everything he had said went directly
against my friends, my views, my feehngs and my
interests. I left him in an uneasy mood and walked
home revolving in my mind his criticism of my
lecture.
I met Dr. Leete and the ladies, and Edith inquired
whether my debut as professor had satisfied my expec-
tations.
I have always tried to be frank and true : so I
gave Dr. Leete and his family a synopsis of my
speech, mentioned the cool reception of my address
and my disappointment. I spoke of Mr. Forest's
criticism, leaving out, of course, his observations rela-
tive to Dr. Leete, and confessed that his censure was
not wholly undeserved inasmuch as I had gone too far
in charging upon the whole people the bad qualities
which reckless competition had stamped on certain
individuals.
LOOKING FORWARD. 2$
Dr. Leete was evidently not altogether pleased with
my remarks. After a short pause he said: "I think
the reckless competition of the last part of the nine-
teenth century could not fail to demoralize more or
less, in most cases more, all the people, who were
conducting a business or who had to work for a liv-
ing, I think furthermore that your lecture was an
excellent exposition of principles and that you have
no reason to yield an inch of your position. The
cold reception you met with, ought not to worry you.
It is due to Forest, who has planted in the hearts of
our students his idiosyncrasy, his blind admiration of
competition and his aversion to our form of civiliza-
tion. It is your task to enlighten the young men in
regard to the comparative merits of the two orders of
things. — Mr. Forest is placing a heavy tax on the
patience of his fellow citizens by his persistent efforts
to mislead the students. — Did he mention the fact
that he was your predecessor?"
"He did, when I asked him if he were a member of
the college staff of teachers. He said that he was
discharged for his heresy and that he owed his com-
paratively lenient treatment to you."
"It is not Forest's habit to conceal his opinions
and he may have given you a nice idea of Dr. Leete",
my host said with a smile,
I thought best under the circumstances to repeat
Forest's remarks in regard to Dr. Leete, which remarks
were very good natured and rather complimentary to
my host. I may add that I desired very much to
26 LOOKING FORWARD.
know what Dr. Leete would say in answer to the
charge of being a politician and a leader of the ad-
ministration party.
So I said: "Mr. Forest laughed heartily when I
repeated your remarks that you have no party nor
politicians. He called you a great practical joker, a
shrewd politician, the leader of the administration
party in Boston and a good man."
Dr. Leete smiled somewhat grimly as he replied:
"That is a character I ought to be grateful for, con-
sidering that it comes from a faultfinder like Forest.
Concerning his references to me as a politician I will
say that I never held an office, but that the administra-
tion has occasionally consulted me and other citizens
on important questions* Political parties we have
not* There are of course a few incurable faultfinders
like Mr. Forest and a few radical growlers, but we
pay but little attention to them so long as they do
not disturb the pubHc peace. If they do, we send
them to a hospital where they receive proper treat-
ment.''
Althoug- these words were spoken in the tone of
light conversation, they impressed me deeply.
"If they
do, we send them to a hospital, where they receive
proper treatment.'* Did not this confirm Forest's
statement, that the usual sentence
against the opponents of communism
was confinement in an insane
asylum?"
A BOOK FROM 1890....
