There would never be an egalitarian society in Middleton, a beautiful small town bordering an embankment of the St. Louis River. An elite family ruled effectively and the citizens were quite happy to have such elegant, although sometimes elusive, rulers. Each daily edition of the town paper spoke eloquently of their efficient town even listing improvements in the basic elements of life in Middleton. The recent flow of effluent into the basement of several homes in the town center was quickly cleaned up. The paper reported that five days had elapsed before the rulers of a nearby town had responded to a similar problem. In Middleton the problem was fixed and cleaned up within hours.