anny, political, religious, or financial, that was ever organised,
could survive one week."

The others, absorbed, attentive, approved, nodding their heads in
silence as the manufacturer finished.

"That's one reason, Mr. Derrick," the other resumed after a moment, "why
I have been so glad to meet you. You and your League are trying to say
'No' to the trust. I hope you will succeed. If your example will rally
the People to your cause, you will. Otherwise--" he shook his head.

"One stage of the fight is to be passed this very day," observed Magnus.
"My sons and myself are expecting hourly news from the City Hall, a
decision in our case is pending."

"We are both of us fighters, it seems, Mr. Derrick," said Cedarquist.
"Each with his particular enemy. We are well met, indeed, the farmer and
the manufacturer, both in the same grist between the two millstones
of the lethargy of the Public and the aggression of the Trust, the two
great evils of modern America. Pres, my boy, there is your epic poem
ready to hand."

But Cedarquist was full of another idea. Rarely did so favourable an
opportunity present itself for explaining his theories, his ambitions.
Addressing himself to Magnus, he continued:

"Fortunately for myself, the Atlas Company was not my only investment.
I have other interests. The building of ships--steel sailing ships--has
been an ambition of mine,--for this purpose, Mr. Derrick, to carry
American wheat. For years, I have studied this question of American
wheat, and at last, I have arrived at a theory. Let me explain. At
present, all our California wheat goes to Liverpool, and from that port
is distributed over the world. But a change is coming. I am sure of it.
You young men," he turned to Presley, Lyman, and Harran, "will live to
see it. Our century is about done. The great word of this nineteenth
century has been Production. The great word of the twentieth century
will be--listen to me, you youngsters--Markets. As a market for our
Production--or let me take a concrete example--as a market for our
WHEAT, Europe is played out. Population in Europe is not increasing fast
enough to keep up with the rapidity of our production. In some cases,
as in France, the population is stationary. WE, however, have gone on
producing wheat at a tremendous rate.

"The result is over-production. We supply more than Europe can eat, and
down go the prices. The remedy is NOT in the curtailing of our wheat
areas, but in this