Dorothy turned to see the faces of none other than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Her eyes grew wide, and her heart skipped a beat as she whispered, "I am very honored to meet you, sirs," "Not at all," they replied. "The honor is ours," said Mr., Lincoln. "It is a delight to meet such a fine young lady and her equally fine friends." They shook hands with everyone. "Please be seated," President Jackson said. He poured Dorothy a large sparkling glass of lemonade and began to explain why the three of them -- all ex-presidents of the United States, were together. "We call this area Presidentland. It is not really a land and we don't all live here permanently. But we do meet here often. That is why we have homes here. We live with our families in our regular homes throughout the land. The full name of our little club here is /'Americanpresidentland/,' and it is a private club made up of United States Presidents. Of course, anyone can visit us, just as you are visiting us now. We are only private in the sense that we are generally alone in order to conduct the business that we must conduct among ourselves. "The reason we meet so often is because of our dear love for our country and for mankind in general, we are anxious to help resolve the many problems that exist on the earth today, and especially those related directly to our beloved country. We work with many members of the government, as well as the current President. We will be holding a full meeting very shortly. You are all welcome to join us and to observe the proceedings." "Oh, we'd love to, Mr. President," said Dorothy. "Wouldn't we, everyone?" "Yes indeed!" said the Tin Woodman. Everyone nodded excitedly. "This will really be a historic occasion, to say the least," said Dorothy. "While we are waiting for the meeting to begin, if any of you have a question you would like us to answer, please do so," said President Jackson. "I would like to ask what you think of the world today compared to your time," said Dorothy. "That is a very good question," answered President Jackson. "We could all talk for days on that subject. Would you like to answer first, George?" he said to President Washington. President Washington looked rather stern as he spoke: "The world has certainly changed since my day. But that is to be expected. Things cannot stay the same if progress is to be made. "Unfortunately, nearly all of the progress being made is of a material nature. There is nothing wrong with material progress, of course. And science has certainly made some amazing advances since my time. The unfortunate part is that spiritual growth has not advanced at the same pace. As a consequence, the world is presently in a very unbalanced state. We are all quite alarmed by it. Something must be done soon to get people to change their ways -- to be more considerate of one another, to show more concern -- to have more love in their hearts.