goods at the place where they were produced or manufactured with twenty
per cent. added for freight and other expenses, was punished by six
months' imprisonment at hard labor, and if not a citizen of the Republic
of Eurasia, was expelled from the country after serving out his sentence,
for, as a prominent officer remarked to me: "We do not permit any
Standard Oil methods in our country." There were no tariff duties
levied. Every article produced or manufactured (except those produced or
manufactured by the Government, which were prohibited) were admitted
free, provided the Government of that country admitted articles produced
or manufactured in Eurasia free; if not, then a non-intercourse decree
was issued by the President of Eurasia to be in force until the other
country accepted free trade. The railways were built directly by the
Government, employing soldiers to do the work, and no contracts were
allowed, Government superintendents and foremen bossing theconstruction,
even to getting out ties in the Government forests and the rails made in
Government mills and foundries. The Government built railroads at less
cost than they were built for in any other part of the world and
politicians had no chance to get their political friends into soft berths
at the expense of the taxpayers. No money was paid by the General
Government for right of way.

All claims for damages arising out of the building of railways had to
be presented to the District Court, and the law provided that the
District Court could grant such compensation as was just, but in no case
could it exceed the assessed value of the land per acre that the owner
had sworn to previously as the full value of his land, to be paid out of
the funds of the district. There were only two forms of taxation in
Eurasia, a land tax and a graduated income tax. There was no tax on
improvements of any kind, either on city or country property, but on the
land only; by this wise system of taxation encouraging the people to