Twelvemough seems to think so," sneered the young man. "But
whether it's human nature or not, it's a fact that they do it, and you can
guess how much a blacklisted man must love the country where such a thing
can happen to him. What should you call such a thing as blacklisting in
Altruria?"
"Oh yes," Mrs. Makely pleaded, "do let us get him to talking about
Altruria on any terms. I think all this about the labor question is so
tiresome; don't you, Mrs. Camp?"
Mrs. Camp did not answer; but the Altrurian said, in reply to her son: "We
should have no name for such a thing, for with us such a thing would be
impossible. There is no crime so heinous with us that the punishment would
take away the criminal's chance of earning his living."
"Oh, if he was a criminal," said young Camp, "he would be all right
_here_. The state would give him a chance to earn his living then."
"But if he had no other chance of earning his living, and had committed no
offence against the laws--"
"Then the state would let him take to the road--like that fellow."
He pulled aside the shade of the window where he sat, and we saw pausing
before the house, and glancing doubtfully at the doorstep, where the dog
lay, a vile and loathsome-looking tramp, a blot upon the sweet and
wholesome landscape, a scandal to the sacred day.
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