ightened, and edged away as
far as possible from Philpot. Easton, who was sitting next to him, got
up and crossed over to Owen's vacant seat. The man on the pail was the
only one who did not seem nervous; perhaps he felt safer because he
was, as usual, surrounded by a moat.

'Poverty,' resumed the lecturer, consists in a shortage of the
necessaries of life--or rather, of the benefits of civilization.'

'You've said that about a 'undred times before,' snarled Crass.

'I know I have; and I have no doubt I shall have to say it about five
hundred times more before you understand what it means.'

'Get on with the bloody lecture,' shouted the man on the pail. 'Never
mind arguin' the point.'

'Well, keep horder, can't you?' cried Philpot, fiercely, 'and give the
man a chance.'

'All these things are produced in the same way,' proceeded Owen. 'They
are made from the Raw materials by those who work--aided by machinery.
When we inquire into the cause of the present shortage of these things,
the first question we should ask is--Are there not sufficient of the
raw materials in existence to enable us to produce enough to satisfy
the needs of all?

'The answer to this question is--There are undoubtedly more than
sufficient of all the raw materials.

'Insufficiency of raw material is therefore not the cause. We must
look in another direction.

'The next question is--Are we short of labour? Is there not a
sufficient number of people able and willing to work? Or is there not
enough machinery?

'The answers to these questions are--There are plenty of people able
and willing to work, and there is plenty of machinery!

'These things being so, how comes this extraordinary result? How is it
that the benefits of civilization are not produced in sufficient
quantity to satisfy the needs of all? How is it that the majority of
the people always have to go without most of the refinements, comforts,
and pleasures of life, and very often without even the bare necessaries
of existence?

'Plenty of materials--Plenty of Labour--Plenty of Machinery--and,
nearly everybody going short of nearly everything!

'The cause of this extraordinary state of affairs is that although we
possess the means of producing more than abundance for all, we also
have an imbecile system of managing our affairs.

'The present Money System prevents us from doing the necessary work,
and consequently causes the majority of the population to go short of