to the French
bureau, which in turn sends its order to our bureau. The same is done
mutually by all the nations."

"But how are the prices of foreign goods settled, since there is no
competition?"

"The price at which one nation supplies another with goods," replied
Dr. Leete, "must be that at which it supplies its own citizens. So you
see there is no danger of misunderstanding. Of course no nation is
theoretically bound to supply another with the product of its own
labor, but it is for the interest of all to exchange some commodities.
If a nation is regularly supplying another with certain goods, notice
is required from either side of any important change in the relation."

"But what if a nation, having a monopoly of some natural product,
should refuse to supply it to the others, or to one of them?"

"Such a case has never occurred, and could not without doing the
refusing party vastly more harm than the others," replied Dr. Leete.
"In the first place, no favoritism could be legally shown. The law
requires that each nation shall deal with the others, in all respects,
on exactly the same footing. Such a course as you suggest would cut
off the nation adopting it from the remainder of the earth for all
purposes whatever. The contingency is one that need not give us much
anxiety."

"But," said I, "supposing a nation, having a natural monopoly in some
product of which it exports more than it consumes, should put the
price away up, and thus, without cutting off the supply, make a profit
out of its neighbors' necessities? Its own citizens would of course
have to pay the higher price on that commodity, but as a body would
make more out of foreigners than they would be out of pocket
themselves."

"When you come to know how prices of all commodities are determined
nowadays, you will perceive how impossible it is that they could be
altered, except with reference to the amount or arduousness of the
work required respectively to produce them," was Dr. Leete's reply.
"This principle is an international as well as a national guarantee;
but even without it the sense of community of interest, international
as well as national, and the conviction of the folly of selfishness,
are too deep nowadays to render possible such a piece of sharp
practice as you apprehend. You must understand that we all look
forward to an eventual unification of the world as one nation. That,
no doubt, will be the ultimate form of society, and will real