“True. After 1919 there was a general revolt against war as visualized by armaments. But the industrial conflict remained more intense than ever. War in the last analysis is the correction for over-population, as over-population is the cause of war. While the progress in hygiene and the control of disease increased enormously the population, the production of automatic machinery continually diminished the need of man power. What was bound to happen? It became a competition for the survival of the economically fittest nation. What was this but a war of attrition and starvation? In order to compete internationally the nations of the world were forced to change their political structure. They became great business exporting corporations. The trusts were reestablished, merged and formed one gigantic trust. This may interest you.” “In fact I am listening, Candora,” I exclaimed, “and yet all this was prophesied.” “By prophets without honor in their own countries,” explained Candora, smiling. “Exactly, but how was all this accomplished?” “By 1955, there were four great trusts. The Steel Trust had absorbed all its dependents, the railroads, the automobile, the construction trusts, the harvester and the cement trust. Second the Mercantile Trust, had absorbed the food trust and the chain stores. The Power Trust had absorbed the chemical trust and the electric trust. Finally the Money Trust had been formed from the banking trust with its chain branches and the investment trusts. In the second step the Money Trust absorbed all other trusts and produced the economy of one selling office for the entire nation.” “But was not the effect beneficial?” “Momentarily, yes. The industry of the entire country was financed from a central bank and distributed from a unified distributing system.” “Then the principle of the department store finally dominated?” “Exactly. You went to the same distributing centre for eggs or a thousand tons of steel, a suit of clothes or a 520,000 horse power dynamo. In a way the industrial apotheosis was sound and you will see that we have retained its essential quality.” “But then why did it fail?” “Because in your hands it was for the purpose of conquest and subjection of other nations. You men, Bogardus, were extremely illogical beings. You erected your civilization on the survival of the fittest and yet you did nothing to apply that principle internally. The Spartans are the only example of a logical civilization for they did expose their weaklings to die. So when the whole world was in the grip of an economic war, you continued to breed instead of applying the scientific principle of depopulation. But men have always been unscientific breeders. It was only when women assumed direction of the state that the problem could be treated from the standpoint of the nation.”