ustoms and land taxation,
could easily raise the money for the cost of developing them.

So the "Syndicate" idea began to develop, and many capitalists who were
being driven out of Europe by the uprising of Socialism, came to
Australia and quietly invested in the "Syndicate" until the world saw
the anomaly of a Socialistic country having all its public works and
great armies of workers under the control of a capitalistic syndicate,
which was now getting the opportunity to extend its scope of action by
being offered tax-free land areas!

* * * * *

I will not soon forget the joy of having that letter from Australia. It
was the second I had received since the Great War began.

I read it to Helen in a pretty little house which was perched upon the
cliff above the Meuse, at Dinant, and which was our honeymoon home.
Madame had come in to spend some days with us, and as I read the letter
before the glowing fire, for it was in the winter of 1916, I could see
her eyes sparkle with interest.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The Age of Brain Passes.

The war was a blessing to Germany. In cutting out the old military
system it gave wider opportunity for manufacturing. Young men, instead
of spending their days in military training, went into business, and
things boomed.

The war had caused a great outcry against German-made goods, yet when
peace came and dropped the barriers, the manufactures of Germany began
to flood the world.

Germany's indemnity of L1,000,000,000 could only be paid from its
manufactures, so the Allied nations took every opportunity to see that
those goods got into circulation.

Though British, Russian and French merchants during the war had tried to
"kill German trade," as money was urgently required the Allies had to
let it live, and see that it had a vigorous life in order to get their
indemnity without delay. That was why Australia, as well as other parts
of the British Empire, was advised to lift tariff restrictions on German
goods. It was an extraordinary request, and later on was to have a
world-wide effect.

I remembered a remark Nap once made to me during one of our yarns whilst
waiting behind the fighting lines on the Aisne for the dawn to call us
into the air.

"It's blamed hard," he said, "to have this war in our life time. It's
going to throw the world back thirty years, and thirty years in a
fellow's life is a mighty big hunk. This war had to come. The world