Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-09-27
COMMUNISM In THE UNITED
STATES.
From Linninoott,s Magazine.

From Lippincott's Magazine.
Nowhere in the history of the world
i have We any example of successful
communism. The ancient Cretan
and Lacedemonian experiments, the
efforts of the Essences am early Chris
tians, the modified con mites of St.
Anthony and several orc 4rs of monks,
the schemes of the Anabai'ists of the
sixteenth century, togelner with all
| the experiments of modern times,
have proved essential failures. Set
ting out with ideas of perfection in
the social state, and undertaking
nothing less than the entire abolition
of the miseries of the world, the COM
munists of all times have lived in a
| condition the least ideal that can be
| imagined. The usual course of social
istic communities has been to start
out with a great flourish, to quarrel
and divide after q few months, and
then to decrease and degenerate until
final dispersion by general consent
ended the attempt. During the short
existence of nearly all such commune
ties the members have lived in
want of the ordinary comforts
of life, in dispute about their
resptive rights and duties, at law
with retiring members, and bat
Ting with the wilds and malarias of
the countries in which alone anything
| like practcle communism has been
usually possible. The most successful
$50 far as any of these attempts can
be called successfully have been those
communities which have been found
ed on religion and which have con-
sisted entirely of members of one
faith. But all political communism
has utterly failed, and the name is
little more than a synonym for the
most egregious blunders, excuses
and crimes of which visionary and I'M
| practical people can be guilty.
The United States seem i'll suited
for the spread of communistic ideas,
Notwithstanding they contain almost
the only sociahstic communities to be
found anywhere. Though the people
are free to live in common if they de-
sire, and although land and every fac.
ility are offered on easy terms for the
realization of communism which is
not the case in Europe (and which is,
therefore, the reason why the New
| World is chosen for communistic ex-
periments) yet there is felt no need
/ - fIhnpo
neither the political nor the social in
ducements for it which exist in Eu-
rope, and all efforts to excite an en-
thusiasm on the subject have iDvaria-
bly, failed. Almost the only agitators
are foreigners, and nearly all the ex-
listing communities are composed of
foreigners. Of these, two only are
political, the Icarian and the Cedar
Vale, while the rest are religious.
The Icarian Community in Adams
county, Iowa, about two miles from
Corning, station on the Burlington
and Missouri River Railroad, is the
result of an effort to realize the COM
munistic theory Of VI. CADET, a French
writer and politician Of some note. 1t
is perhaps the most just and practical
of all communistic systems; for the
reader will remember that social sys-
| tens are as numerous in France as
religious systems are in this country,
and take much the same place in the
passions and bigotries of the people
of France, where there is but one re-
ligion, as our various sects do here,
| where there are so many. The sys.
tenn of Nj. CADET differs from the 9TH
ers in much the same manner as our
religious sects differ from one another;
which is not of much importance to
the outside world, as they all contain
the one principle of a community OF
goods. NJ. CADET first promulgated
his system in the shape of romance
entitled A Voyage to Icaria, in which
he represented the community at
work under the most favorable Cir.
cumstances and in high degree OF
prosperity. According to his system,
all goods are to be held in common.
and all the people are to have an
equal voice In the disposal of them.
Each is to contribute of labor and
capital all that he can for the common
| good, and to get all that he needs
from the common fund. "From each
according to his ability-to each ac-
cording to his wants." is the formula
of principles. The practical working
of the community will further illus
trate the system.
| In 1s4S, NJ. CADET, with some three
thousand of his followers, sailed from
France for New Orleans, intending to
take up land in Texas or Arkansas on
which to establish community, hav.
ling the promise that he would soon
| be followed by ten thousand more Of
his disciples. After spending several
months in recommending, during
which half of his followers got discon-
tented and left him, he settled with
about fifteen hundred at Nauvoo, Illi-
nois, where they bought out the prop
lerty of the Mormons, who bad recent
ly been driven from that place. There
they commenced operations, establish
ling a saw and grist mill, and carry
ing on farming and several branches
of domestic manufacturing. In lit
tie while they sent out branch colo
ny to Icaris, in Adams county, Iowa
where they purchased, or entered ur.
der the Homestead Act, four thousand
acres of land. In this place likewise
| they built mill and went to farming
and carrying on the more simple
trades. In a little while, however, {
quarrel arose in the principle commu
nifty at Nauvoo in regard to the use
and power, when, after rage of pas
sion not unlike that which they had
| exhibited in the Revolution of 1915
| in France, NJ CADET, with large mi
nority, seeded and went to St. Louis
where they expected to form another
and more perfect community. They
never formed this community, how
ever, and were soon dispersed. The
community at Nauvoo, being nov
harassed with debts and with law
suits growing out of the Withdrawal