“I have already told you at noon that a ‘big-house’ is about eight stories high; that it accommodates about a thousand inmates--men, women and children; that the ‘big-houses’ are located about half-mile apart on the motor-lines all around, the rectangular communities twenty-four miles long and usually six miles wide (see p. 115). This arrangement gives us two tiers of ‘big-houses’ with a motor-line between them. As these ‘big-houses’ are built opposite each other, two and two, each of these motor stopping places furnishes a population of about two thousand. At every ‘big-house’ is a motor-line side-track, which holds a train of motor cars for unloading. The freight cars are elevated and lowered with electric power to those stories of the building where the freight is to be unloaded. All goods used and consumed in the ‘big-houses’ are unloaded here with very little muscular power. Here, then, we economize a vast amount of human labor, and so in all other directions. By the time I shall have told you all about our social and industrial system, you will no longer be astonished that we have such an abundance of grand things, all with less than two hours of labor a day.” “Does not the smoke of your engines sometimes annoy you?” asked Mr. Uwins. “In our cities it is often very annoying.” “That is very true, Mr. Uwins,” replied Mr. Midith, “but you see we have no cities; we have no use for them. We also have no _steam_ engines to create smoke; even the latest steam engines we used burned their own smoke, and that is nothing new even to your modern mechanics. Your latest engines do that too. It is a grand step in advance, but we are now long beyond that point. The Marsites now use electric and compressed air engines. The power is furnished by the wind. Our present engines, then, require no fuel and produce no smoke. Hereafter I shall tell you much more about our engines and other motive power. Our engine and engine-room, as well as all other departments, are kept as neat and clean as any parlor. We have learned that it pays to be clean and orderly. Each particular work is done by a particular man, woman, or child, who pride themselves in doing it promptly, orderly and well. “The main edifice of the ‘big-house,’ as I have said, is about eight stories high, and sometimes higher. There are electric elevators in different parts of the building. Some of them run vertically from the bottom to the top, and some of them run horizontally from end to end of the building. The kitchen is a large, clean, well-ventilated apartment with plenty of first-class cooks and bakers. The cooking and baking is all done by electric heat, generated by the engine. The cooks can put on as much or as little heat as they desire. We can boil potatoes in closed vessels in less than five minutes of time.” “Is not your kitchen work of handling those large kettles that hold sufficient to feed a thousand persons or more, too laborious for a feeble, sickly woman?” asked Viola.