Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-09-27
LANCASTER. WISCONSIN, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 81, 1877

lana, OF WHICH tnTce HuHuTeu dHu ulty
are under cultivation. They have
good stock, consisting of about one
hundred and twenty head of cattle,
five hundred sheep, two hundred and
fifty hogs and thirty horses. They
still have their saw and grist-mlll,
now run by steam, but give most of
their time to farming. They preserve
the family relation, and observe the
strictest rules of chastity. Each fam
lily lives in separate house, but they
all eat at a common table. BY an &C.
onomical division of labor one man
cooks for all these persons, another
bakes, another attends to the dairy,
another makes the shoes and another
the clothes and in general ono man
manages some special work Fsor the
whole. No one has any money or
need of any. All purchases are made
from the common purse, and each
gets what he needs The government
is a pure democracy The officers
are chosen once year by universal
(male) suffrage, and consist of a
president. secretary (and treasurer),
director of agriculture and director
ofindustry. They have no relig on,
but, like most of the European COM
munists, are free-thin kers They arc
highly moral, however, and much
esteemed by their neighbors. Some
of them are quite learned, and all OF
them may be pronounced heroic for
the terrible prlvations they have un-
dergone in order to realize their po-
litical principles, to which they are
as strongly and sincerely devoted as
any christian to his religion.
Such is sketch of the most per-
feet system and most successful ex-
pertinent of political communism in
the United States not very encour-
aging it will be confessed. The 9th
er example of political communism is
the Cedar Vale Com II unity i'll Hsw-
ard County, Kansas, which needs
only to be mentioned here, as 1T
has as yet no history. 1t was COM
mencei in 1871, and is composed of
Russian materialists and American
spiritualists They have no commun-
ity of goods like the Icarians, and in
general their principles are the same.
They had only about dozen mem
bers at last accounts. Another SIM
liar community was established in
1874 in Chesterfield county, Va
called the "Social Freedom Commun-
ity," its principles being enunciated
as unity of interest and political,
religious and social freedom ;" but
we cannot discover whether it is yet
in existence, at last accounts it had
only two full members and eight pro-
bationers. 1t will be seen from these
examples that the prospects OF polit-
ical communism are far from prom
ising. It's principal power has always
been as a sentiment, and it can be
dreaded only as an appeal to the
destitute and lawless to rise in. acts
Of violence. 1t has been powerful in
France in revolutions, riots and mobs,
and in this country in aiding the late
strikers in their work of destruction.
The other existing communities are
founded on some religious basis, be-
ing efforts on the part of their foun-
ders to secure their religious rights
or to live with those of the same faith
in closer relations. And although
their measures have been similar in
many respects to those of political
communists, they have resorted to
them not on account of any political
principles, but because thew believed
them TO be commanded by Scripture
or to grow out Of some peculiarly OF
religious faith or duty. Most of them
have been formed after the model OF
the society of the apostles, who had
their goods in common, and because
of their example. None, so far as
we know, have ever proposed to es-
tabiish communities by force or to
have the whole people embraced IN
them. Held together by their pecu-
liar religious principles, they have
been far more successful (espec-
tally when under some shrewd leader
whom they believed to have a spirit
ual authority than when actuated
purely by reason.
Perhaps the most successful oil
these religious communities is that Of
the "True Inspirationists," known as
the Amana Community, in Iowa
seventy eight miles west Of Iowa
City, on the Chicago, Rock Island
and Pacific Railroad. These are all
Germans, who came to this country
in 1912, and settled at first near Buff
alo, New York, on a tract of land
near Ebenezer, from which they are
sometimes called "Ebenezers." This
tract comprised five thousand acres
af land, including what is now a part
of the city of Buffalo. In 1855 they
moved to the present locality in Iowa.
They pretend to be under direct in.
spiration receiving from God the
model and general orders for the di-
rection OF their community. The
present head, both spiritual and tenn
poral, is woman, sort of Sibyl who
negotiates the inspirations Their
business affairs are managed by thir-
teen trustees, chosen annually by the
male members, who also che ose the
president. They are very religious
though having but little outward form
There are fourteen hundred and fifty
members, who live in seven different
towns or villages, which are all known
by Amana-East Amana, West Anna.
ma, etc They have their property fol
the most part in common. Each
family has house, to which food is
daily distributed. The work is done
by a prudent division of labor. as il
the Icarian community. But instead
of providing clothing and incidentals
the community makes TO each per-
son an allowance for this purpose
to the men of from forty to one hun
dred dollars year, to the women
from twenty-five to thirty dollars, and
to the children from FIVE to ten dol
lars. There are public stores in the
community at which the members car
get all they need besides food. and al
which strangers can deal. They
I