wants to buy it."

"Are all workers paid at the same rate?" asked the Doctor.

"No, but their wages are much nearer equal than in your world."

"You have to hire people to work for you, how do you pay them?" the
Doctor inquired.

"The rate is determined by governmental standard. I pay them by having
the amount deducted from my balance and added to theirs."

"When you built this house, how did you go about doing it?" asked the
Big Business Man.

"I simply went to the government, and they built it for me according to
my own ideas and wishes, deducting its cost from my balance."

"What about the public work to be done?" asked the Big Business Man.
"Caring for the city streets, the making of roads and all that. Do you
have taxes?"

"No," answered the Chemist smiling, "we do not have taxes. Quite the
reverse, we sometimes have dividends.

"The government, you must understand, not only conducts a business
account with each of its citizens, but one with itself also. The value
of articles produced is computed with a profit allowance, so that by a
successful business administration, the government is enabled not only
to meet its public obligations, but to acquire a surplus to its own
credit in the form of accumulated merchandise. This surplus is divided
among the people every five years--a sort of dividend."

"I should think some cities might have much more than others," said the
Big Business Man. "That would cause discontent, wouldn't it?"

"It would probably cause a rush of people to the more successful cities.
But it doesn't happen, because each city reports to the National
government and the whole thing is averaged up. You see it is all quite
simple," the Chemist finished. "And it makes life here very easy to
live, and very worth the living."

Unnoticed by the four interested men, a small compact-looking gray cloud
had come sweeping down from the horizon above the lake and was scudding
across the sky toward Arite. A sudden sharp crack of thunder interrupted
their conversation.

"Hello, a storm!" exclaimed the Chemist, looking out over the lake.
"You've never seen one, have you? Come upstairs."

They followed him into the house and upstairs to its flat roof. From
this point of vantage they saw that the house was built with an interior
courtyard or _patio_. Looking down into this courtyard from the roof
they could see a little, splashing fountain in its center, with flower
beds, a narrow gray path, and several