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EURASIA
C >> Chris. Evans >> EURASIA This Etext prepared by David Schwan
EURASIA
By Chris. Evans
PREFACE.
In "Eurasia" the author describes an ideal republic where many of the
problems that confront us are worked out. The book describes in an
interesting and readable way how government is administered in this
ideal republic. The government is one in which women take their full
share of responsibility, the school children are trained in the problems
they will meet in life, and more emphasis is laid on character building
than on the dead languages. The children of both sexes are taught useful
trades. All school children are taught to swim. The idle are employed in
the construction of roads, canals and irrigation works. The problems of
distribution are so arranged that the worker receives a more equitable
reward for his labor.
The author, Chris. Evans, speaks with a firsthand knowledge when he
discusses the army prison management and the administration of law. Mr.
Evans, who was born in Vermont, is an old cavalryman, having served in
the Civil War. After the war he served with the cavalry in the West,
fighting Indians.
CHAPTER I.
A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE.
One pleasant afternoon in the month of May, 19--, I launched my boat,
and after rowing about half a mile from shore I shipped my oars, stepped
the mast, hoisted sail and reclining on a cushioned seat at the stern
with my hand on the tiller, I waited for a breeze to spring up, and
whilst so doing I fell asleep. How long I slept I know not, for when I
awoke my boat was close to shore, and to my' astonishment I was in
strange waters. I went ashore, when I was accosted in English with a
foreign accent by a venerable looking man with the question: "Where did
you come from?" I replied: "From the United States of America, and what
country is this?" His answer was Eurasia, and beckoning to a man in
uniform, who was passing by and who immediately joined us, he told him
that I was from the United States of America and did not know what
country I was in. The official addressed me very kindly and invited me
to accompany him, and leaving the boat in charge of my first
acquaintance, with instructions to take good care of it, he escorted me
into the city and left me at a hotel with a request that I would permit
him to call on me the next day at ten a. m., and he would show me all
the principal buildings and introduce me to the President, "who I have
no doubt will be delighted to see you." At the appointed time he
arrived, and, taking my place by his side in an automobile driven by
electricity, we passed in succession the buildings occupied by the
different Departments of State, and stopped in front of a modest
building set back a short distance from the street, and at the gate we
were at once admitted by the officer on duty, who informed us that the
President was holding a Cabinet meeting and would receive meimmediately.
The President's private secretary met me at the door and introduced me
to the President, who shook my hand warmly, and introduced
me to his Cabinet in the following order:
Mr. __, the Minister of State.
Mrs. __, the Minister of Justice.
Mr. __, the Minister of Railways.
Mrs. __, the Minister of Education.
Mr. __, the Minister of Finance.
Mrs. __, the Minister of Information.
Mr. __, the Minister of Agriculture.
Mrs. __, the Minister of Health.
Mr. __, the Minister of Commerce.
Mrs. __, the Minister of Manufactures.
Mr. __, the Minister of Mines.
Mrs. __, the Minister of War.
Mr. __, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Mrs. __, the Minister of Labor.
I informed the President that I wished to learn all I could about the
Government and Institutions of the country, to which he replied by
handing me the Official Directory, and added that he and his Cabinet
would assist me to the fullest extent. I expressed my heartfelt thanks
for their kindness, and, going back to my hotel, I opened the, Official
Directory. I found the country governed by a President elected directly
by the people for five years, but the law provided that if his
government was not satisfactory to the people, a petition signed by five
per cent. of the voters called for an election, and if a majority voted
against him, he was removed from office and the Minister of State
assumed the Presidency for the remainder of the term. The Cabinet was
composed of fourteen members-seven men and seven women-and were chosen
by the Parliament, who were free to select them from their own members
or outsiders, provided that the person chosen was a voter and
twenty-five years of age. When the Parliament met, which it did on the
first day of January, and adjourned on the first of March, sine die, the
Ministers presented their reports of their work for the previous two
years, and if the Parliament approved them, they continued in office;
but if the Parliament by a majority vote disapproved of any of them,
then the Minister resigned and the Parliament appointed another person
to take his or her place. The members of Parliament were elected for two
years and to serve without pay, but their expenses were paid by the
Government and the amount necessary was fixed by law and could not be
raised or lowered, only by two-thirds vote of the qualified voters of
the Nation. The country was divided into districts and every district
elected a member for every hundred thousand of population, provided that
every other member from a district should be a female, thus giving both
sexes full representation in the Government. Each district was governed
by a Governor, elected for two years, and a Court of Judges, consisting
of a Chief Justice, a Prosecuting Attorney, an Attorney for the Defense
and twelve Justice Jurors, who tried all felony cases and civil cases
that could not be settled by Arbitration, and who sat also as a Board of
Equalization and as Supervisors.
The law provided that eight Jurors or two-thirds of them (if any were
absent through sickness or any other reasonable cause), in every case
could bring in a verdict of guilty in criminal cases or for the
Complainant or Defendant in civil cases, and if eight did not find the
Defendant guilty, the case was dismissed-but if guilty the Defendant had
only to say "I appeal," and a copy of the evidence was sent immediately
to the Supreme Court, composed of Judges, elected by the people, one
from each district, to serve for five years.
The Court sat six days in each week, excepting four weeks inJuly-August,
when all the Courts were allowed by law four weeks' vacation. They were
required to work eight hours each day beginning at eight a. m., with one
hour rest at noon, and ending at five p. m.; but they could work longer
if they so desired, but the law forbade any adjournment and to prevent
bribery the documents in every case-civil or criminal-arriving daily
were placed in a lottery wheel, and, on the Court assembling at eight
a. m., the wheel was revolved, and in the presence of the Minister of
Justice a blind boy and girl drew the documents out and handed them to
pages who delivered them to the Judges in alphabetical order. Three
Judges, forming a committee, decided every case that came into their
hands on the same day. There was no delay in Justice, and, if any Judge
misbehaved, the voters in his district could remove him under the same
law that applied to the President.
The law of recall applied to all officers of the Government elected by
the people. The salary of the Supreme Court Judges was fixed by law at
ten dollars per day and that of a Chief Justice of a district at five
dollars per day. That of the Prosecuting Attorney and Attorney for the
Defense at four dollars per day, and that of Justice and Jurors at three
dollars per day the year 'round.
No costs were charged to either complainant or defendant in any case,
either civil or criminal, but if a person brought complaint without just
and sufficient cause, the law provided that they should be examined by
the Court, and if found sane, they should be imprisoned for one year at
hard labor, and if insane, to be sent immediately to the Lunatic Asylum.
In every case the complainant was first warned by the Court of what
would happen if the charge proved to be unfounded.
I made inquiries among the people and was told that the law was a great
promoter of peace and good will.
CHAPTER II
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
During the following week I called on the Minister of Justice and
informed her of my desire to learn the workings of her Department. She
handed me a copy of the Penal Code, and I was astonished to find how
simple the course of procedure was compared with that of my own country.
Felonies ranked in the following order: Murder, Rape, Incest and crimes
against nature, Arson, Robbery, Assault to Murder, Manslaughter, Mayhem,
Bribery, Larceny and Perjury. The law held one degree of murder and that
was with malice aforethought, but where a person killed a human being
wantonly, without cause or malice, the homicide was committed to the
Lunatic Asylum, and, after one year's imprisonment, deprived of the
sexual organs, and if his or her conduct endangered the peace or safety
of the community, were to be chloroformed.
The penalty for murder was imprisonment for life, subject to parole
after ten years. Rape fiends were sentenced to twenty-five years, and
after one year's imprisonment to be desexualizcd and subject to parole
after five years.
Persons found guilty of Incest and crimes against nature received the
same punishment as Rape fiends and subject to parole after five years.
The penalty for Arson was twenty years, subject to parole after four
years. For Robbery fifteen years and subject to parole after three
years. The same penalty for Assault to Murder and subject to parole
after three years. Manslaughter, Mayhem and Bribery were punished by
imprisonment for ten years and subject to parole after two years.
Larceny and Perjury were punished by five years' imprisonment, and
subject to parole after one year. Public officials who embezzled public
funds were committed for Perjury as well as Larceny, and were debarred
from ever holding office. The law provided that in the course of the
trial of any person charged with Felony, if the evidence showed they had
committed a felony, other than the one for which they were being tried,
then the Court could sentence them for the crime that the evidence
showed they had committed, even if there was not sufficient evidence to
convict them of the crime with which they were charged.
Any person found guilty was remanded to the custody of the Governor of
the district to await the decision of the Supreme Court. If they
appealed, and the appeal was not confirmed, they were sent to the
nearest State Prison, of which there are at the present time twenty-five.
No fines were imposed for any crime and no confiscation of property for
any cause.
A Magistrate was elected in every sub-district, according to
population. One for every ten thousand inhabitants, at a salary of three
dollars per day the year 'round, and who tried all persons charged with
Felony, and if proven guilty, committed them to the District Court-but a
charge of Felony could be made before the District Court, and if
probable cause was shown, the case came up for trial. The Magistrate was
authorized by law to release any person charged with a misdemeanor on
probation, or to sentence them from one month to twelve months'
imprisonment at hard labor within the district, and the prisoners were
paid for their work from five to twenty-five cents per day, according to
their ability and skill, and the money they earned was sent to their
wives and children, if they had any. If they were single, what they
earned was paid to them at the expiration of their sentence. No
handcuffs, balls or chains or Oregon Boots were permitted to be used,
but if the person in custody was violent, a jacket with straps at the
waist to secure the hands at the side was provided and no punishment was
inflicted for violation of the prison rules-but bread and water for
three days at any one time. If a prisoner committed sodomy or other
infamous crime against nature, while in custody, he was castrated, and
if he still persisted in committing crimes against nature, he was
chloroformed. No trial by jury was permitted in cases of misdemeanor-but
an appeal to the Governor was allowed by law and a copy of the evidence
in the case was sent to him and he had to decide according to the law
and evidence within thirty days and publish his reasons therefor in the
District Newspaper. By permission of the Minister of Justice I was
granted authority to visit the State Prison, carrying with me a letter
instructing every prison official to assist me and to furnish me all the
information within their power. The prison was located in the center of
a Military Preserve, consisting of ninety-two thousand one hundred and
sixty acres, all in a high state of cultivation. Railways traversed the
reservation, but no trains but military ones were permitted to stop
within its limits.
CHAPTER III.
A VISIT TO A STATE PRISON.
The Minister of Justice placed an automobile at my service, and when I
arrived at the boundary of the reservation, I was stopped by a military
officer. I handed him my letter from the Minister of Justice, and,
glancing over it, he replied, "You are welcome," and, taking a seat by
my side, we drove to the prison grounds, where I was introduced to the
Superintendent, and invited by him to be his guest during my stay. I
found the prisoners garrisoned in company quarters. One hundred and
thirty-five privates, nine corporals, three sergeants and one company
clerk constituted a company, with a captain in command of them holding
the same rank and pay as a captain in the army, and who was chosen from
the non-commissioned officers in the army for distinguished services.
The prisoners were classified in twelve companies. Four companies formed
the first grade, consisting of Companies A, B, C and D; four companies
formed the second grade, consisting of Companies E, F, G and H, and four
companies formed the third grade, consisting of Companies I , K, L, and
M. The first grade received fifteen cents per day and the third grade
five cents per day, and no pay was forfeited for violation of prison
rules and regulations, but prisoners received no pay during the time
they were on bread and water. Corporals received fifty per cent. more
pay than privates, and sergeants and company clerks one hundred per
cent. more. Prisoners were required to work eight hours each day,
Sundays excepted-commencing at eight a. m., with one hour for dinner,
and ending at five p. m., and to attend night school from six p. m.
until eight p. m. five nights in the week, and once a week musicians and
singers visited the prison and gave entertainments.
The company quarters were only one-story high, but were large and well
ventilated, being eighty feet square with wide verandas and furnished
with steam and hot water pipes for cold weather, and lighted throughout
by incandescent lamps.
The beds were all singly arranged in rows and well furnished with
mattresses, blankets, sheets and pillows, and the room had nine large
wash basins at one end of the room, where all the company could wash
their hands and faces and comb their hair.
The captains were required to sleep in the same rooms with the
prisoners, and to eat with them in the dining-room, and were held
responsible for their care and good conduct. He could sentence them for
misconduct to three days on bread and water, but for serious offences
they were tried by a Court of three Judges, appointed by the Minister of
Justice.
The regimental dining-room where all the companies dined was divided
into three sections, with partitions eight feet high between them, each
section having a door connecting with the kitchen, and the food
furnished of good quality, but differing in degree according to grade.
The hospital was on one side of the square, and was fitted with every
modern appliance and at the distance of half a mile was a pest house, to
which all prisoners suffering from leprosy, cancer, syphilis and other
malignant diseases, were consigned. What most attracted my attention was
the bath house, a one-story building, one hundred feet long, adjoining
the laundry. It had a swimming tank in the middle of it sixty feet long,
forty feet wide and twelve feet deep. At the two ends were porcelain
bathtubs for the old and feeble, with hot and cold water faucets, and on
one side were shower-bath nozzles overhead, with hot and cold water
connections; on the side next the laundry were rows of shelves reaching
to the ceiling and numbered from one to eighteen hundred, holding a
change of clothing for the entire regiment of prisoners, with a
passageway and counter in front, and every prisoner was compelled to
bathe on every Sunday, passing over the counter the clothes worked in;
when they had undressed and when they had bathed, they received clothes,
washed and ironed, to put on. Any prisoner who did not bathe was placed
in solitary confinement for three days on bread and water, then taken to
the bathhouse and well scrubbed.
Two prisoners were assigned to work as chiropodists to keep the feet of
the prisoners in good condition, and the laundrymen, besides washing and
ironing all the clothes, sheets and pillowcases, had to wash and
disinfect all the blankets once a month. There were no walls surrounding
the prison building, but the reservation being the headquarters of an
army corps with barracks on all sides, escapes by prisoners were very
rare.
On marching out of the dining-room after breakfast the roll was called,
and also after supper, by the captains of companies, and after nine p.
m. the doors were locked and no smoking or talking was permitted.
A parole commissioner appointed by the Minister of Justice resided at
the prison, who was also Superintendent of the Night School, with
authority to parole any prisoner according to law that in his judgment
was a fit person to be paroled. A paroled prisoner, if he did not have
friends to take care of him, was given employment by the Government, and
no money deposit was required. The Government paid over to him what
money he had earned, and gave him a dress suit and a working suit of
clothes and two changes of underclothing-by those acts of justice giving
him encouragement to become a useful member of society. He was required
to report by a letter once a month to the Governor of the District from
which he came, and the Governor was authorized by law to pardon him when
he thought proper. Those rules and regulations applied equally to both
sexes.
CHAPTER IV.
THE BANK OF EURASIA.
Leaving the prison, I returned to the Capitol and, calling at the
Department of Finance, was given a copy of the laws governing it, and
learned that it operated under the name of the Bank of Eurasia, with
headquarters in the capital, having a branch in every district and in
every town of one thousand inhabitants or more. It paid out all money
owed by the Government and received and receipted for all taxes due, and
accepted all deposits from one dollar upwards, and issued all banknotes
and bills of exchange, and in consequence there were no panics and no
necessity of issuing clearing-house certificates. To avoid the folly of
locking up large amounts of money received for taxes each year on the
one hand, or permitting stock-gamblers and money-sharks, on the other
hand, to use it, each district was allowed by law to issue district
banknotes of one dollar denomination, guaranteed by the Government,
drawing two per cent. a year interest up to eighty per cent. of the
yearly expenses of the district. The taxes were payable on the first day
of November, and if not paid on that day a delinquent tax of ten per
cent. The banknotes issued by the district were called in and canceled
by this means, keeping the money of the people in circulation.
Every branch bank in a district was required to send daily accounts of
all money received and paid out to the central branch bank of the
district, which in turn sent a daily account of all bank transactions in
the district to the Bank of Eurasia at the capital. No district
treasurers were required, nor treasurers in any department of the
Government, but vouchers to be paid by the Government had to be signed
and scaled by the proper authorities. The bank also conducted a National
Lottery, with tickets for sale at every branch bank for one dollar per
ticket; drawings monthly, and the highest prize drawn was five thousand
dollars, and the lowest five dollars. Five per cent. of the gross
proceeds going to the Government for the maintenance and education of
orphan children. The amount received each month and the names of the
prize winners was published in the National Gazette (a weekly paper),
and a copy sent to every prize winner. This paper was published by the
Government and every voter was free to subscribe for it without cost,
but no advertisements were allowed in it. It published the work of every
department of the Government and all bills approved by Parliament, and
all laws recommended by the Parliament for whilst the Parliament could
approve and legalize all Government expenditures, it could only
recommend by a two-thirds vote the amending or creating of any acts
pertaining to the Political, Civil and Penal Codes, which had to go
before the people at the next general election, when they became the law
of the land by a two-thirds vote of the qualified voters who took part
in the election, and had a universal circulation, as the Government
owned and operated all railways, telegraphs, teleposts, telephones,
wireless telegraphy stations and levees, all water power, steamers and
boats for freight and passenger service, and, in fact, all public
utilities.
Besides, the Government manufactured and sold all liquors, tobaccos,
drugs, teas, salt, sugar, coals, petroleum, lumber, iron in pigs and
steel in plates and bars. It is easy to see that the Bank of Eurasia
transacted an immense volume of business daily.
The bank coined gold in denominations of fifty dollars, twenty dollars,
ten dollars and five dollars; silver in dollar, fifty and
twenty-five-cent pieces; nickel in ten-cent and five-cent pieces, and
aluminum in one-cent pieces. All money coined with ten per cent. alloy
and at bullion value. The coinage was readjusted every ten years and
silver, nickel and aluminum coins were exchangd for gold at their face
value. The Government issued banknotes drawing two per cent. a year, and
loaned money on land and on goods in the Government warehouses and
conducted a fire insurance business, but no insurance was paid on any
property that was insured in the building where the fire broke out, and
on no buildings that were not fireproof. No life insurance was allowed
and no corporation or individual was allowed to carry on an insurance
business and no person was permitted to insure property or life in the
country in any foreign corporation, and no stock exchanges or gambling
in futures were allowed.
The Bank of Eurasia published every month in the National Gazette the
amount of money on hand, so that the people might know when it was
necessary for the Government to make a new issue of banknotes, so as not
to cripple the circulation.
I was greatly, impressed with the reply of the Minister of Finance when
I asked him why he published those statements, "We deal honestly with
the people and they trust us." In answer to my question if there were
any trusts in his country, he smiled and replied, "One trust: the
People."
Corporations are allowed, but no watered stock and every stockholder
has the same vote in electing officers of the company, whether he holds
one share or any other number of shares, and any
conspiracy to corner the market or to enhance the price of any article
produced or manufactured is punished as a felony, the penalty being five
years at hard labor in prison.
CHAPTER V.
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION.
I called at the Department of Information, and when I was introduced I
realized that I was in the presence of one of the world's greatest
teachers. She gave me a warm handshake and said, "I have been expecting
you, and now that you are here, I will take pleasure in showing you the
workings of the department over which I have the honor to preside. There
are no Government or private detective agencies in our country, but a
constant watch is kept on all public officials as well as private
violators of the law, by the Government placing for sale in every
postoffice and every military station and every prison Government
envelopes with fifty-cent stamps on them, and any person interfering in
the sending or tampering with said letters is punished by imprisonment
for five years at hard labor. Steel boxes with a slit in the lid to
receive the letters were placed in every postoffice, military station
and prison, and could not be opened except by a commissioner from the
Department of Information. Any person could buy one, for there was a
printed address on them, and send it to the President, who has at the
present time three hundred secretaries (young ladies chosen from the
orphan home) to read the letters, answer them and send a copy to the
Minister of Justice who has them Classified, and acting on the
information sends orders out to bring the guilty parties to justice, and
as punishment is meted out only to the bribetakers, for it is only
acting according to the mandates of human nature for a relative or
friend to try to get a person out of trouble to offer a bribe, carried
with it no penalty, but it left the bribetaker at the mercy of the other
party, and in consequence of adopting this system very few public
officials proved untrue, and crime has greatly diminished. Our
department has charge of all mail matter and telegraph, telepost and
telephone lines and wireless stations and all newspaper books and
magazine publications, and we edit the National Gazette; besides we have
charge of all Government scientific research parties, and if you will
call again to-morrow I think I will be able to introduce you to the
Chief Engineer who stands very high in his profession, and who has, by
placing an Astronomical Observatory on the summit of Mount Everest,
attracted the attention of the civilized world."
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