The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1844-12-05
BRANDON, Thursday, December s. 1874

| world as me prime mover OF the enter
prise but when he demands that others
should not only buy and sell through him.
but think through him also, and act in
obedience thereto, then comes the PINCH
this does not accord with our ideas OF a
Free Community. This is no guess-work
or blind insinuation; it is the essence oil
| his own remarks the last evening heard
him speak. Some OF his phrases were as
follows: eff man is not prepared TO car
ry out my ideas and think as 1 think, he
has NO business here, and if he is an hon.
est man, will eavethe ground" 81 have
the poo0er TO 0Uerthr0w this Community,
and make il just what 1 please; and I am
dete1 mined 10 use my power TO the utmost,
and That too, sooner than many of you are
aware" "Ifthose who do not agree with
me will leave quietly, shall be very glad;
if mol, Ishalt be obliged TO resort TO force"
If an emphasized speech, an hour long,
in the spirit of the above quotations, will
not drive the last ray of hope from the
mind of true Communists, then am l
entirely ignorant Of the philosophy OF
mind.
| have been tauntlngly called Collins
tie man>worshipper; do not know
how much of meaning there is embodied
in this expression, but if it means that he
ever appeared to me to be godit is mis-
take; never supposed him to be any
thing more than human, for that is the
highest order of Beings my feeble powers
ever take cognisance Of; but did think
he must be true free Community an
one of whom Speaking in fashion, the
race might be proud. But circumstances
constrain me to say am fearful even this
is not true. He appears 10 ne now, to be
an ambitious, rash tickle, unsafe man.
Dangerous mainly, because he has SO
much agreeableness in his manners and
such power 10 appear, what we most adj
mire in the human character; aud so very
nicely do such qualifications fit him tha
it is almost Impossible to believe they are
not his own, even after he has been strip
ped of them time and again before our own
ewes. But enough of this at present,-h.
has strong points of character and weaI
ones too, like the rest OF us.
It appears to me there has been. ant
still is, one grand point upon which re
formers. and especially Communities
are in error. They have been preaching
one thing and trying to practice something
else. All preach The brotherhood of thu
race-,hat the human family is unit
and cannot be divided without producing
, misery; and stil, in practice, they are try
ing every way they can think OF, to dc
the very thing they have asserted over ant
! over again to be an impossibiIily. Look
one moment at the position: the theory
is, that every individual Of the race of mai
; bears the same relation 10 the whole, lha
, each member of the human body does, Il
+. that body, and that so long as one mem
, Der suffers the whole must. The praclic
SAYS that fractional part of the great fam
(ily may live in communion, while the re
Y mainder live in isolation. Would not
4 person be considered insane who shout
I: build house for one of his arms, or hi
+, head 10 live in, while the rest of his bod
d was 10 remain outside? One thing c
r least is sure, our theory and practice d
n not agree. The great question then i
h which of the two occupies the advanc
d ground? With my present experience
am strongly inclined to the opinion lhi
n the theory is altogether in advance
- the practice, and with this belief the ide
of Communities as at present forming
as bubble burst. One Community, IL
. Gated the whole world over, and founde
~ upon positive science, is the thing and II
q only thing which will ever deserve tn
:, name it must have a slow and gradu
- erowth-must be the work OF ages; an
n here allow me to turn prophet, and prop
esv that all The mushroom Communlu
:, of the present time, will soon be numbe
y, y ed with the things which have been, s.
", not, Reformers have taken to themselvt
y wings and flown to heaven, but will
/" obliged 10 return to earth before they CT
~ =, find place to alght, The earth is OF
~ resting place, and here we shall be oblis
d ed TO stay therefore we may as well
- about fitting it up and making ourselv
Or contented first as last. Communists
y Millerites and ali, we cannot shake eai
.. other off, We are all Brothers togethe
- Yours, as ever,
y, for Truth and Humanity,
-. MARANDA B. RANDALL.