For conditions in this war are new in the world.  In every other war, soldiers have dreamed high dreams of their rewards.  But they have not taken them—­chiefly because their dreams were impractical, somewhat because the dreams that were practical were not held by a majority; or to some extent because if they were held by a majority the majority had no power.  Now—­even Henry admitted this is no mere theory—­we have a new condition.  In Europe for two decades the labour problem has been carefully thought out.  Labour is in a numerical majority and the majority has political power and political purpose.  Labour has been asking and getting about the same things in every country.  It has been asking and getting a broader political control in order to assume a firmer economic control.  But one day we read in the London papers of an incident that indicated how far the state control of industry has gone in England.  A strike occurred and an important industry was threatened—­not over wages, not over hours, not over shop conditions, but over the recognition of the union.  Pig-headed managing directors stood firm against recognizing the unions.  Then the government stepped in and settled the strike and has compelled the owners of the plant to remove the managing director and to put in men satisfactory to the workers!  Labour now is beginning all over Europe to formulate a demand for a place in the directorate of industries.  This place in the directorate of industries is demanded that labour may have an intelligent knowledge of the profits of a business so that labour honestly may share those profits with capital.  That this condition is coming in Europe no one will deny who sees the rush of events toward a redistribution of the profits of industry.

Having the vision and having the power to get what it desires, only the will to use the power is needed.  And that will is motived by the great shadow that is hanging over the world—­the shadow of public debt in this war.  Someone must pay that debt.  Heretofore war debts have fallen heaviest upon the poor.  Those least able to pay have paid the most.  But those least able to pay are coming out of this war too smart for the old adjustment of the debt.  Education, for the past fifty years has made a new man, who will refuse to be over-taxed.  During our visit to the front the soldiers were forever saying to Henry and me:  “We have offered our lives.  Those who stayed at home must give up their riches.”  And as we went about in England we were always hearing about the wisdom of a heavy confiscatory tax.  Among the conservatives themselves who presumably have a rather large share of the national wealth, there is a serious feeling that immediately after the war a tax-measure should be passed which would at once confiscate a certain portion of the property of the country—­one hears different per cents discussed; some declare that ten per cent is enough, while others hold that it will require 25 per cent.  This confiscatory