under the terrific structure of profits that it itself has reared. And
in that day there won't be any destruction of the machines. The struggle
then will be for the ownership of the machines. If labor wins, your way
will be easy. The United States, and the whole world for that matter,
will enter upon a new and tremendous era. Instead of being crushed by
the machines, life will be made fairer, and happier, and nobler by
them. You of the destroyed middle class, along with labor--there will
be nothing but labor then; so you, and all the rest of labor, will
participate in the equitable distribution of the products of the
wonderful machines. And we, all of us, will make new and more wonderful
machines. And there won't be any unconsumed surplus, because there won't
be any profits."

"But suppose the trusts win in this battle over the ownership of the
machines and the world?" Mr. Kowalt asked.

"Then," Ernest answered, "you, and labor, and all of us, will be crushed
under the iron heel of a despotism as relentless and terrible as any
despotism that has blackened the pages of the history of man. That will
be a good name for that despotism, the Iron Heel."*

* The earliest known use of that name to designate the
Oligarchy.

There was a long pause, and every man at the table meditated in ways
unwonted and profound.

"But this socialism of yours is a dream," Mr. Calvin said; and repeated,
"a dream."

"I'll show you something that isn't a dream, then," Ernest answered.
"And that something I shall call the Oligarchy. You call it the
Plutocracy. We both mean the same thing, the large capitalists or the
trusts. Let us see where the power lies today. And in order to do so,
let us apportion society into its class divisions.

"There are three big classes in society. First comes the Plutocracy,
which is composed of wealthy bankers, railway magnates, corporation
directors, and trust magnates. Second, is the middle class, your class,
gentlemen, which is composed of farmers, merchants, small manufacturers,
and professional men. And third and last comes my class, the
proletariat, which is composed of the wage-workers.*

* This division of society made by Everhard is in accordance
with that made by Lucien Sanial, one of the statistical
authorities of that time. His calculation of the membership
of these divisions by occupation, from the United States
Census of 1900, is as follows: Plutocratic class