Page:Life in a thousand worlds.djvu/250

 This proved to be a wise political move and, as a result, a new system of laws relating to all trades and occupations was enacted. The following conditions still prevail:

1. A day's work consists of one-fourth less hours.

2. A minimum scale of wages is adopted for each trade. This scale is based upon the price of certain staple articles, and within a certain limit it rises or falls with the price of these necessities.

3. All regular citizens must be supplied with work if they desire it. If they cannot get employment from some firm or corporation, the government officials represented locally must supply it or its equivalent in money. The government controls enough of the business to employ two-thirds of the male population. This enables the government to take so great a responsibility and bear it with satisfactory results.

4. Any man through negligence failing to support his family is put to the government penitentiary service, and his family is thereafter supported from the public treasury.