"The labor laws of Zelania may be said to be but rules provided for the better understanding between, and the better security of the employer and employee, as joint promoters of industrial enterprise, and nowhere is the holder of wealth given an undue advantage over the creator of wealth. "The labor legislation of Zelania comprises about thirty-five distinct Acts, and in tone they are usually almost more advisory than mandatory. There are no general laws regulating the hours of labor, or providing a minimum wage, but in the interest of open-handed justice, certain courts may exercise considerable power when called upon to settle questions of this character.[D] The labor legislation began in Zelania as early as 1865, in 'The Master and Apprentice Act,' and has at least kept pace with the rational demands of the community ever since. "The labor laws of Zelania, like her industries, have grown gradually with the country's requirements, as suggested by the industrial unfoldment of the country. As it is an industrial and commercial community, the laws are designed to cover every phase of business activity, to be specific in their directions, simple in their application, and speedy and inexpensive in their execution." Uttering a truth, but possibly misquoting, Mr. Oseba remarked:-- "As a despairing statesman once said, 'Rome realises no danger, nay, she heeds no warning, until the enemy is thundering at her gates, when she must act without deliberation,' so, in like manner, the industrial Acts of other countries are usually formulated and passed to meet pressing emergencies, while the sagacity of Zelania prepares, not for emergencies, but that emergencies may not arise. "While labor is the chief factor in the production of all wealth, from a time to which the 'memory' of man runneth not to the contrary, the select few, who cunningly possessed themselves of the wealth, have treated with scant courtesy those who created it. "In Zelania, this 'time-honored custom' has been changed, for it has been ordained that he who coins his sweat into the things that administer to human wants, shall not be forgotten by those who coin their cunning into magnets for drawing the price of those things to their commodious pockets. "In Zelania, my children, people who toil, who build houses, make corkscrews, and grow asparagus, are regarded as considerably human, even outside of Sunday-school and prayer meeting. "Here the power of one to toil and to produce is considered his capital. His family, in whom the community has an interest, is to be considered and supported from this source, and, if in the employ of another, such a person meets with--or is overtaken by--an accident--his capital impaired--he must be 'compensated.'[E] This, for a time, seemed a hardship on employers--all changes being hardships--but experience has proven otherwise, for the practice not only produced a nobler 'fellow-feeling,' but mutual interest between the employer and the employed.