The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-04-18


FouRrERIsx.-Some ten or twelve years ago 70
lousy, Goddess, Christless setn Of scheming va
gabonds, as Governor Wise of Virginia would
call them, but reformers, as they called them
selves, started up in this neighborhood and
down East. They had just made the grand
discovery that Fourier, visionary French
man, had hit upon the plan Of the millennium.
This plan, which they Immediately proceeded
to carry into effect as far as possible, consisted
Of the grouping of society into phalanxes, or
voluntary workhouse Unions, in which every
thing was to be held in common-women and
children inclusive. In these phalanxes labor
was to be classified and made "attractive;" and
the social amusements OF man in state of
natural innocence were to render these institu-
tions as sweet and romantic as the Happy VAL
ley Of Rasselas.
The leaders in this enterprise accordingly
applied to all the visionary old grannies and
spinsters Of both sexes within their reach, and
possessed of more money than brains to give
this new and glorious moral revolution help
ing hand. Money was raised, various fine
tracts of land were bought in several of the
Northern States, and Fourierite phalanxes were
established upon these purchases, and put in
operation, including good many loafers,
charmed into the novelty Of having labor
rendered attractive" and of having whole
community Of affectionate brothers and sisters
all under the same roof. But the theory, when
lamentable failure in every case. From
Brookfeld, in Massachusetts, SO delightful to
the sentimental Miss Bremen, all the way
round to the persevering North American
phalanx at Red Bank, in New Jersey,
one by one these phalanxes exploded, and
the happy communities were dispersed.
The loafers at these establishments, finding
that as far as they were concerned, even
Fourierism could not make labor !" attractive"
and preferring idleness to the drudgery of
every day work, and dancing and frolicking to
prudence and economy, were soon reduced to
the alternative Of bankruptcy and starvation.
Of course, then, these birds of evil omen
were dispersed from their rookeries, and driven
to pick up subsistence according to the old
rule Of each man for himself Some of them
found place Of refuge in a Seward newspaper
Office, here and there; and the motley crew, in
various DISCUSSES, have thus succeeded in en-
grating their atrocious doctrines into the poll
tical programme Of the Seward coalition. They
have given us striking illustration of this fact
in our new Prohibitory Liquor law, involving
the destruction Of an active capital among US,
Of from eighty to hundred millions, and the
interests and business more or less-of two
hundred thousand people. This is one Of their
expedients of moral reform, after their drunken
spree ut Blackwelps Island. A batch of others,
including the notification of the Fugitive Slave
law, for want of time, have been thrown over
to the next session.
Such are the measures Of reform of what Mr..
Wise would call that "lazy, lousy, Goddess,
Christless" clique, SO Enthusiastically repre-
scented by those theorizing Fourierites of the
New York Tribune and Times, for the last two
or three years. The new liquor law, however,
is but the beginning. Give these Fourierite
reformers the Legislature for another year,
and we shall probably have a law for the repu-
diation of State and individual debts, and
another establishing free farms and division
Of property all round, upon the broad principle
Of equal rights. Progress is the spirit Of the
age.