equivalent for it, it would be no more than right to confiscate it for the benefit of the public at whose expense it must have been acquired. The party advocating these ideas rapidly came into power and proceeded to put their views into practice. It was found after much discussion and some experimenting that people would not work and do their best unless they were paid better for their best than for their worst. The experiment of making the state the buyer and wholesale seller of all articles that could be made the subjects of combines and trusts was found to work well. The state did not at first undertake to manufacture or produce anything, but monopolized its transfer from producer to consumer. For example the producers of anthracite coal were required to sell their product to the government, and it was unlawful for them to sell to anyone else. The price of mining, handling and transportation and the selling rate were each fixed by a board of arbitration and remained fixed till the conditions changed. There was no such thing as striking among the hands, for if they were dissatisfied all they could do was to leave and allow others to take their places. If no others were willing to do the work it was an indication that the rate was too low and the board of arbitration raised it. It had been settled before this that the mine owner had no royalty rights. These were regarded as the property of the state. So if the mine owners attempted to combine to raise the price to the state or from perverseness refused to furnish the amount required their properties were placed by the state in the hands of receivers to be worked till such time as the matters in dispute were regulated. “Other mining industries, and the production of coal-oil, sugar and other articles capable of control by trusts, were regulated and handled in similar manner by the state. As to railroad, telegraph and express properties, they all passed into direct government ownership before the middle of the twentieth century.” The Professor pausing here for a moment to shift his profile, I ventured to say that I had in my day anticipated this move on the part of the government, but many people had been unable to see how it could be carried into effect without simple confiscation, because they said it would bankrupt the country to buy the roads etc., and pay their value for them. “There was no difficulty at all in the matter,” the Professor continued, “the owners of the roads received for them all they were worth, and yet they did not cost the country a dollar. First the government had the roads appraised on a capitalized basis, in which account was taken of the actual value in cash of the property as it stood regardless of the amount of stock and bonds outstanding against it. Next, account was taken of its power to earn money.