“If you inquire among the members of the different guilds, especially among the farmers,” Mr. Forest continued, “you will find that I am describing things just as they are. Every member of the industrial army knows that ability and industry alone will secure a desirable position only in exceptional cases, if at all; that political influence is the almighty factor in every affair of our lives, and that the industrial army is governed by officers whom the worker must try to please, by personal adulation, by presents, by a slavish devotion to the orders of the superiors, and indirectly by inducing all the members of his family and all his friends to support every measure and every member of the administration. If the members of the industrial army could elect their officers, the discipline would of course, not be so strict, as it is now; but even an occasional row amongst the men would be preferable to the present state of affairs, where every one who happens to be unpopular with the ruling party is leading a terrible existence. The number of suicides is therefore becoming larger every year and is to-day four times greater than in your times”. “The number of suicides in European armies 113 years ago was very large”, I remarked thoughtfully, “although the men had everything they needed in the line of lodging, food and clothing”. “Yes,” said Forest, “the necessities of life without liberty are of little value. The soldiers of your time threw away their lives, because they did not consider a life without freedom worth living, and still their term of service lasted only three or five years, and they had but a comparatively easy duty to perform in times of peace. The service in our industrial army lasts, at the best, 24 years of our life. The men and women are at the mercy of their officers, and they can appeal against maltreatment to other members of the administration only to judges who decide definitely such cases, generally by simply sending back the complainants to their work with an admonishment to try to win the good will of their superiors, and thus secure promotion.” “You have been speaking about politicians, Mr. Forest”, I said. “Do many men take an active part in political life?”