Life in a Thousand Worlds Part 8

There are eighteen governments of Tor-tu that united on this scheme. It is so arranged that no two persons of all these millions have identical marks. Each government has its seal of different designs from all the others.

Circles, ellipses and rectangles, with various modifications, compose the eighteen forms in use. The most powerful of the eighteen governments has for its seal the following design, which I have filled out as completely as I could, using our own figures instead of their numerals which would, of course, be unintelligible to us.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tor-tu seal]

This is the actual size of the design as it appears on the forehead.

13 represents the number of the state.

21 represents the number of the county.

10 represents the number of the towns.h.i.+p.

12 represents the color of the person.

352, in the center, represents the individual's number.

This same mark is the individual's signature for life. It cannot be changed, although the person is allowed to have a metallic or rubber cut of his own design, provided he writes the individual number by hand, for any one else doing this would be a forger.

The towns.h.i.+p clerk is also the collector of the public funds. To him each person born in that towns.h.i.+p is compelled to render an annual report of his residence, occupation, and certain other facts relating to his life in general.

If any minor or adult commits a criminal act upon which the civil court has pa.s.sed, this finding is recorded in the towns.h.i.+p record on the individual's page and, when the criminal has served his sentence, this fact is also recorded. This is a severe law for the criminal, but it is a great stimulus to a law-abiding career.

It is also customary for public courts to confer on worthy persons special marks of honor for extraordinary deeds or acts. A record of such rendering is also kept.

In presenting annual reports to the clerk each father reports for his minor children. This puts the father on a rightful plane of dignity before his children, and the parent who makes a wise use of these provisions can and does reach far better results than can otherwise be done.

No child can run away from home without falling into much more trouble then he imagined he had before. At once his seal number is sent to all the countries and into every sub-division. Any one aiding or abetting such a person is severely punished. When the runaway is captured, the system of reprimand is of such a nature that the minor will be glad to remain under the directions of his parents until his maturity.

If it can be shown that a parent or guardian uses inhuman methods of punis.h.i.+ng children, the act is criminal and is dealt with accordingly.

There are no tramps parading periodically over the countries of Tor-tu.

There is an international law that each towns.h.i.+p must care for its own paupers. Every man's forehead seal tells his birthplace and there is no escaping from it.

When a person is suspected of crime in a foreign land, the foreign officials can tell not only where the individual was born, but they can also obtain an official record of his life by applying officially to the clerk and paying a nominal fee.

Any stranger making a serious effort to cover his forehead is looked upon with suspicion. It is a current phrase of honor among the Tor-tuites: "I am not ashamed to show my forehead."

A few hundred years after this "Human Seal Law" went into operation, no one, except the criminally inclined, would think of returning to the old reckless way, although the system was scorned and ridiculed by many Tor-tuites for about fifty years after its advent.

In considering the character of an individual, the courts and the people place tremendous stress upon the towns.h.i.+p record. Each son and daughter early learns the value of a stainless page and strives to keep his record clean.

The towns.h.i.+p, through the state, gives to each child at maturity a civil inheritance, provided his record meets the requirements of the law.

All these customs and regulations are powerful incentives to the youth to lead a good moral life and naturally tend to a respectful demeanor of children toward their parents.

This world is not only notable for its moral atmosphere, but for the remarkable progress its inhabitants have made in political economy.

They know a few things about laws, but not enough to make them so complicated that no one can understand their meaning. In law, the poor man usually has the same chance as the rich. Money has no weight in the Tor-tu scale of justice. The facts in the case are the only things that have weight, although bribery is possible and is sometimes practiced.

The laws of Tor-tu relating to deeds and t.i.tles are the most simple and yet the most effective that have yet come to my attention.

All the land in each county of Tor-tu is divided into lots, and each lot is numbered on an immense diagram at the county seat. This diagram is a miniature relief outline of the county with each lot and plot in the county designated, and, according to our measurements, it averages almost eighteen by twenty-four feet, varying according to the size of the county.

When you buy land you buy from the county only. If you wish to purchase a lot or plot from another party who is willing to sell, the two parties concerned go to the chief real estate agent who is an official of the county and has charge of the county diagram. The former owner or t.i.tle-holder, upon establis.h.i.+ng his ident.i.ty, releases to the county his claims and surrenders his t.i.tle on condition that he receives the sum agreed upon between the two parties.

The county agent then issues a new t.i.tle to the new purchaser. It is a simple common-sense doc.u.ment completely describing the new owner, his relatives and his station. Thus each purchaser has his own t.i.tle from the county and it is guaranteed. Under this admirably simple system disputes as to t.i.tles are rare and can scarcely occur; but if any should arise, the county takes the defense and bears all expense of litigation.

No counter claim is even heard after a t.i.tle is five years old. Thus it is impossible to resurrect an old buried claim and rob an innocent owner who purchased and paid for his ground in good faith.

In transferring real estate no lawyers are required. Several persons, however, must witness the execution of the deed.

The county publishes a journal, monthly, stating the owner of each lot or plot number in the county. This is furnished free to each land owner.

All credit to Tor-tu for these common-sense regulations! Our laws covering this field are heathenish compared with the statutes of this far distant world. There no man loses his real estate by the awakening of a sleeping t.i.tle, and if this could happen he would be fully reimbursed by the county.

In our world some t.i.tles are as clear as mud. Often we pay a large sum to have the records examined and even then a purchaser has no a.s.surance of non-interference. Here it is even possible to buy a lot, build a home, and five or fifty years afterward have it sold by some one who proves a prior claim on the land. No such foolishness, or child-play in the guise of legal dignity, is countenanced in Tor-tu.

The whole civil system of this sphere is superior to ours. A person who violates the law is not treated to free boarding and lodging in a well heated and lighted building, as is quite prevalent in our world, but is compelled to enter profitable labor under strict surveillance. Any prisoner becoming rebellious and refusing to work is dealt with severely. If he is still insubordinate, he is placed on the revolving wheel of death until his stubborn will is broken, or he falls fatigued into the jaws of steel.

This convict labor does not compete with the regular ranks of honest toil. The main work of criminals is farming, and the products of these farms support not only the criminals, but their families as well. What is produced beyond that is sold at market price and the proceeds are applied to current expenses of the county.

In our world the honest man must pay to support the dishonest; the law-abiding must care for the law breaker. How much longer this will continue no one has prophesied.

The manner of choosing officials in Tor-tu is both new and surprising.

All the officers, from the highest to lowest, are chosen by lot instead of by popular ballot or hereditary claim. They who are thus elected remain in office during competency and good behavior.

1. Their record must be stainless during the preceding ten years.

2. They must have been graduated from the law department of the public schools.

3. They must be at least thirty-one years old.

For the highest officials the conditions are more rigid.

The teachers in all public schools are selected in the same manner from among the number who apply, and who have been graduated in rank high enough for the school in question.

At first this lot system seemed very foolish to me indeed, bordering upon absurdity, but the more I studied its simplicity and observed its results, the more I became impressed with its good sense and efficiency. There are no political parties fomenting discord in a country under a spoils system; no upheavals every few years and hilarious campaigns; and no idiotic caricatures of public officials to work unbridled mischief in the hearts of the most dangerous citizens.

CHAPTER IX.

A Problem in Political Economy.

After I had left the world of Tor-tu I still lingered in the heavens around the planet and examined a few of its moons. While enjoying this pleasing diversion, I learned that not far away, less than one billion miles, there was a world without an atmosphere. This peculiar condition was not new to me, for I had seen, during my never-to-be-forgotten journey, many worlds without gaseous air.