his chief theme is unselfish co-operation, his chief purpose is to
exhibit the benefits, moral, physical, social and financial, that will
be showered upon the human family when they become wise enough to cease
competing with each other, and progressive enough to begin co-operating.

The story is the logical development of the following situation:

Fern Fenwick, an heiress to a vast estate, had promised her father
before his death to use a good share of the Fenwick millions in
bettering the condition of the race. Her first experiment is a
co-operative farm of about five thousand acres, whereon about two
hundred and fifty families settle and work out the many problems which
the author desires to discuss.

In all of these operations she has the able assistance of Fillmore
Flagg, a farmer's son, who, having seen his father and dozens of his old
neighbors crushed in spirit and broken in fortune by the resistless
trend of events under the competitive system with all its waste of
misdirected energy, has become disgusted with the meager results of farm
work and having by great energy obtained a practical education has
determined to do something for the alleviation of the miseries of a
competition crushed society.

He meets Fern Fenwick and is by her employed to superintend the
co-operative farm.

A very pretty little love story, which the author has told with pleasant
humor, is the result of their meeting, but the weightier themes with
which the book is filled are likely to more fully engross the attention
of the reader.

Co-operative ventures have usually been founded upon some "ism," and
were held together by its religious or other influence. In the Solaris
Farm colony a very comprehensive scheme of insurance against accident,
poverty, sickness and old age is the binding principle. The premium is
the profit which the co-operators collectively make by producing what
they want (or by buying at wholesale what they cannot produce) and
selling the same to themselves individually at regular market rates. The
excellence of their wares attract many purchasers from the outside and
the profits resulting therefrom also tend to swell the insurance fund of
the co-operators.

All kinds of business, and manufacturing are carried on by the
co-operators in addition to farming. Co-operative thinking solves the
knottiest problems for the colony, invention flourishes and, once
started, money flows into their coffer at a fairly satisfacto