The response was raucous as the woman sat down. Now, without preamble, the fully costumed red-blooded Native American was seen striding down the middle aisle and stopped. He reached out and plucked the woman in sunglasses to her feet. She pretended to struggle as Anne introduced him.
“That is Chief Running Cloud of the Ogunquit Tribe in New York State.”
Not speaking, he slowly removed his enormous feathered headdress and held it in one hand high, then delicately reached and took hold of the collar of the woman’s dress.
“Madam, it appears Chief Running Cloud has taken a fancy to your lovely dress, and is offering to exchange it for his very elaborate head-dress. What say you?
I – I say absolutely not. My dress costs—
“Two thousand dollars, yes. Chief, what is your head-dress worth?”
The Chief raised his fist, opened it and splayed five fingers. The woman laughed derisively.
“Are you saying,” Anne translated,” your headdress is worth five hundred dollars?”
Chief Running Cloud snorted as he displayed his fingers around to everyone.
“Five thousand?”
Aloud, he said in a surprising British accent. That is correct. Five thousand dollars is what I was offered by a museum. I only offered to barter with you, madam, because my wife likes your dress. Even chiefs defer to their squaws, you know.”
Laughter erupted as the oddly sounding Indian strode off to enter the dome. The woman removed her hat and glasses and bowed.
Anne said, “As you may have guessed, Shirley Bascomb is a well-known actress on the soaps and has kindly agreed to play the role of the rich woman. Chief Running Cloud . . . is Chief Running Cloud. He was educated in England, and when his father passed he came home to head the tribe and take over the operation of their successful casino. With its profits they have built playgrounds, schools and a hospital. I am pleased to announce that his tribe is going to fund the construction of a number of communes around Syracuse. Also, as the Earthen who were here long before us, some of them will leave the reservation and live lightly, following the seasons. They will ignore the cattle and the buffalo and replant forests.”
Now it was Richard. “Coinage was invented three thousand years ago. It seemed like a good idea at the time, replacing the ancient barter system and gave the current emperor, at least his face, a place in history. Instead of carrying a goat to market, a few coins jingling in one’s purse could purchase things of differing value. Then we got banks to keep the money safe, or to loan it. Then insurance companies to protect the money and businesses, homes and properties, even one’s life.
And when people had excess capital they invested it in companies to produce goods cheaply in factories, and we got, and still have, capitalism. What did capitalism beget? A wealthy upper class in what was originally conceived as a classless, social republic. We called them barons: railroad barons, lumber barons, steel barons, Wall Street barons. I ask you, do these barons live longer than we? Away from their mansions, outside their gleaming motor cars, beneath their silk dresses, their hand made suits . . . or our hand-me-downs, our animal skins, are we all not alike?
In that vein, I am happy to report that a group of registered nudists has applied for membership and . . . why not? We’ll have a fresh water pond and we shall allot them a private time for sun bathing.” A glance at Anne’s scrunched expression and he slunk away from the podium.
“Any more questions?”
A corpulent man with a beard slowly got his feet. I’ve been thinking about money, how it’s not such a good thing, dividing us into rich people and poor people, and how you figure to go back to bartering. I like it. And I can think of only one thing you can’t barter and that you need money for?
“And what is that?” Anne asked with some trepidation.
Vacations! Matter of fact, I have not so far heard a word about any time off from all the work you’ll have us do. He grumbled theatrically, Most of us get at least two weeks a year.
Anne and Richard gulped at each other. They laughed along with the crowd in the stands. Not the four hundred or so down front, of course. Their expressions were ‘caught ya, didn’t he?
Thinking on his feet, Richard called out. “Now whoa, Nellie, that just ain’t so. Like everything else, we barter for vacations. Yes, that’s right. You wanna visit California? Why, you just tap into the network of communal exchanges. You want a week at sea? There’ll be sailing ships that always need crew. Every working member of the American Society will be entitled to a—“
A month’s vacation! Someone from the stands shouted.
Two months!
One month on, one month off!
The laughter had Richard frowning questioningly at Anne, who replaced him at the mikes. “Every citizen will be entitled to one month a year to do whatever he or she chooses, or nothing, but . . . it is not accumulative. And, even without them, we have plenty of time off every day.
All those fine hand-made suits and dresses. Who’ll wear them and for what? Seems all we’ll need are over-alls or jeans.
“Shirley Bascomb is not only a fine actress, she is a graduate of Columbia University, and she is our entertainment councilor. Shirley - ?”
The actress received a burst of applause. Reading from a folder, “First let me say that I am a member of the Upper West Side Community of the American Society which – er – is yet to be built. Each member of the Society will be supplied not only with work clothes but an evening gown for the women and a tuxedo for the men. As well as the live entertainment Anne talked about, each commune will host celebrities, scientists, diplomats, visitors from other countries—excuse me, societies. Those occasion will be formal. In the larger communities there will be concerts, operas, plays, musicals. Dress is optional but evening wear is preferred. You will all be surprised at how often you will be wearing your hand-made gowns and dress suits.”
She stepped down to applause and Anne was up. “Now may we have a show of hands for Article Four—Compensation?” she called out and received the same portions of cheerful and grudging show of hands. It was unanimous, however.