CHAPTER II.
Professor Longrin had been appointed to select the missionaries in the different worlds. Princess and Lord Justring were talking over their children’s discouragement with the professor, for they were feeling quite badly over their desire to give it up.
“The people of the Earth have my sympathy,” said the Princess, “and we must find some one who will be willing to devote their time to reaching them. Many public school children among the poor are so hungry that they cannot study in many of the large cities. Then you will hear a great cry go up, ‘A bank has failed for $400,000, or perhaps more, the savings of widows and orphans, all lost by speculating.’ The bank failure seems by far the most important to the inhabitants. Buildings are erected to keep and protect money in that cost more than would support all the poor little starving children in the world. Just consider all the labor that is thrown away in earning all those millions besides the amount stored in them. Then think of the temptation to rob by those in charge when money means so much to every one.”
Professor Longrin told Princess Justring that she could take up work with her children and possibly she could encourage them by her experience for a time at least.
In a few days she with her daughter called upon a young married friend who had twin babies, and while there one of the public officers called to present the young mother with her babies’ card entitling them to draw upon the government for their support. The quiet and matter-of-fact way that the mother accepted it recalled to Miss Justring’s mind the difference between the mothers on the Planet Venus and those on the Planet Earth, so she said to the happy mother:
“You may be glad that you don’t live on the Planet Earth, with two babies at once to care for.”
“Why, I don’t see what difference it makes whether there is one or two, in fact it seems to me better for them because they will always be such companions and I think any mother would be glad.”
“Not all mothers,” replied the princess, “Gondell and her brother are studying the Planet Earth and are trying to civilize it.” “Oh,” continued Gondell, “children are born to some mothers there who have nothing to feed them or herself and the poor things die from neglect.” “Why,” exclaimed the young mother, “what are the people doing to allow such a thing? Why, I think we mothers are doing our part in life supplying the world with its men and women, without supporting them.” “Well,” replied Gondell, “little children are dependent upon their mothers and the majority of mothers on their husbands, their husbands in turn are dependent upon some one to employ them, who has money. In fact they are the worst kinds of slaves, for if the rich owned them, they would be sure of being fed, clothed and given a shelter.”
“But why should they be slaves,” replied the friend, “haven’t the people any intelligence?” “Oh, dear, yes,” Gondell says, “but they allowed the rich to control the medium of exchange, which is money, until they have gained control of nearly everything. Few people realize their position or know that it is money that compels them to pay a tax on everything they consume. They don’t even know that they are slaves. Mothers are of no account in comparison to men. Men are given pensions in the police force and other public positions, such as the army where they kill other men, but never to women or children. Women cannot even earn as much as men when they do the same kind of work.”
“Why, I think they are fools to marry and risk being mothers until they know how they are going to be protected, don’t you think so, Princess Justring?” “No, I don’t think they are fools, but I do think they are not as brave as they ought to be or they would set everything aside that interests them in life until they had secured to every child born, every woman and man an income to protect them for life.”
“It certainly is wrong to become mothers when they cannot protect helpless infants against poverty under every circumstance,” the young mother said.
“Money does not protect the rich either, for even the largest fortunes are lost in many cases. Under the present conditions no one is safe from poverty all their lives,” the Princess replied.
Looking lovingly at her infants the mother said, “Thank God, I don’t have to worry about them.”
“Come,” said the professor, the next time they were assembled, “I want you to see an ideal home in the country of America, among the working people. Look at that man, isn’t he a noble specimen of manhood, using all his energies to secure wealth to lavish upon his wife and children. See with what pride he gazes upon all their attainments. No exertion is considered where they are concerned, and the wife takes her share of responsibility in managing and controlling all within the home so that her husband may have all the rest and comfort possible after his hard work in the office. The children are their pride, nothing must interfere with their attainments, while he works to supply the means, she works to fit them to be an honor to their name. All the united affection these two can lavish upon them, is considered only justice to the little ones they have been instrumental in bringing into the world. With what loving care the mother gets up in the night to carry the little one that is crying beyond the ear of the father, who has to work next day. See her as she rocks it in her arms, then walks the floors, anything to secure him the rest that he must have if he is going to continue the success that he has had in business. The next morning the children are sitting on each side of the breakfast table while he is at one end and his wife at the other. A merry conversation ensues about the childish pleasures and interests that each have in the other. The husband goes to his employment with that picture in his memory to encourage him and to hasten his home coming. And yet they are living in as great an uncertainty as the poorest in the land. That home may be wiped out and the wife and children become as desolate under existing customs as any others. While it lasts it is fine, but nothing is certain for anyone.”
The members of the class each took their turn in studying out the conditions, and after a while they became confident that something had happened to awaken or at least startle the inhabitants.
“Well, Princess Justring,” says the Professor, “we may be reaching them after all. Come to the observatory again tomorrow and we will see what is going on. Good-bye, my friends, for the present.”
Princess and Lord Justring with their children arrived the next day to find an unusual amount of excitement among the other members. Something had happened on a portion of the planet Earth called the United States of America. The money power was in an uproar. Some one in a position to know facts was telling the whole country how their money was being invested. This man was daring enough to denounce the whole system in sufficiently plain language that there could be no mistake. The people were excited. Those who had a few dollars in the banks to those who had invested their thousands in stocks of different kinds. The great men of finance were rushing to their telephones, commanding subordinates to appear before them, and the excitement was increasing. Was it some one of their associates that had fallen through to earth? Had the President of the country died, or what did it all mean? Something far worse than anything yet guessed. One of their own familiar spirits had dared to expose the tricks by which they had amassed their millions.
“Well, why all this excitement here on the planet Venus?” asks one of the members.
Professor Longrin answers: “After all the years that we have taken to perfect our instruments so we could reach the planets and suggest to them better management, giving them our experiences, helping them to originate telegraphs, telephones, everything we could imagine that would civilize them, when, lo and behold, the Great Ruler of the Universe chose a millionaire to expose the whole money scheme, chose one who obtained his money by the same methods that he now denounces. Nothing could be more convincing to the rest of the world that lets other people do their thinking for them, than this. I believe we can leave the results with those who are awakened on a part of the earth at least, and now friends we will direct our effort toward showing them the remedy. The remedy is to organize a society that will protect them from all dangers, poverty heading the list.”
WE ARE GOING TO BE INSPECTED.
BY GARRETT P. SERVISS.
(This clipping was taken from a newspaper in the winter of 1905.)
There is something on the cards for this winter of wider interest than social functions, theater parties, Wall street plunges, politics, and even war—it is an inspection of which the whole earth will be the subject. The inspector can already be seen approaching, lantern in hand (for it is a nocturnal job), peeping over the rim of the world at sunset. This inspector is the planet Venus.
Venus, we have excellent reasons for thinking, is a world crowded with intelligent inhabitants, and as, for several months to come, it rises higher every night, and beams more and more brilliantly, we may almost feel the eyes of those inhabitants fixed curiously upon us. For if we think of them, can they fail to think of us?
But their opportunity for observation is far better than ours. It is customary for us to consider other planets only as they present themselves to the earth. Quite as interesting, and infinitely more novel, is it to consider the earth as it presents itself to other planets, and particularly to Venus, its nearest planetary neighbor, and its closest counterpart.
Once grant that there are intelligent beings on Venus and the conclusion follows with irresistible force that they must study our globe with an intensity of interest and application proportional to the ease with which their observations can be made. And this is exactly the particular in which they possess a great advantage over us. In fact, there is no place in the entire solar system where an astronomer could have so favorable a position for examining another world than his own as he would have on the planet Venus.
The reason is very simple; it is because when Venus is nearest to the earth—about twenty-six million miles away—she lies between the earth and the sun. At that time we cannot see her at all, because our eyes are blinded by the flood of sunshine which envelops her. But, on the other hand, at that time the earth is in the middle of Venus’ midnight sky, blazing with light reflected from its continents and oceans and polar snows, and looming so large and splendid that the sight must be unutterably magnificent—such a sight as a terrestrial astronomer would sit up all night to gaze at, and then feel that the swift pace of time had robbed him.
In order to comprehend how great the earth must appear from Venus when the two are in line with the sun, it will only be necessary the coming winter to look at Venus herself, shortly after sundown—at the same time remembering that the splendor which dazzles our eyes comes from but a small fraction of the illuminated surface of that planet, while the earth as seen from Venus will show its whole round face like a full moon!
To my mind there is nothing, not mathematically demonstrable, more certain than that the astronomers of Venus are already preparing for the great spectacle that will adorn their heavens late in the coming winter, when the earth, with its attendant moon, swims in the midnight.
The culmination of the earth must be one of the greatest events in their calendar. Studying it with powerful telescopes, they must long ago have familiarized themselves with the geography and the meteorology of our planet. Our continents and oceans, and even our groups of islands, our vast river valleys, our mountain chains, must all appear on their school globes of the earth. We have made school globes of Mars, but Mars is far away, and our opportunities for studying his features are insignificant compared with those which the people of Venus have for studying the earth.
To the readers of this book I have this to say: I believe the ideas it contains are a prophecy. Time will prove it if it is so, and every one can do a part towards helping along its fulfillment.
LENA JANE FRY.
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. P. 114, changed “ride our your back” to “ride on your back”. 2. There was no CHAPTER IX or XV. Renumbered the chapters. 3. Table of Contents added by transcriber. 4. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 5. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.