Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-01-27
A PHILANTHR0PIC DESPOT.
a WODEL COMMUNITY UHTCH mas
ErERrrHTNG BUT CUNTENTMENT
How the Town of puilman. IN Illinois, q
ManagCd-Thc IuVurics and Comforts
Its Citizens Enjoy. and Yet They
are not Happy Creatures
From the New York sun.

to the south Of Chicago II Is the seat Of the /
works Of the "palacc ear company of which
Mr. George NJ Pullman is president, and is
chiefly inhabited by the employees Of that
company and their GumiNrs Although the |
construction of the factories was not begun
until the spring of l,SO when the site of tho |
town was unbrokcn prairie land, the city of |
Pullman contained last September ropuia- |
ton of S,5l3 souls
The intention of Mr.. Pullman was to make !
it model community, in which the working |
man could obtain many Of the advantages |
ordinarily secured by wealth alone, and |
where the inhabitants could pass lives Of |
almost ideal order and beauty. He put the |
building of the town under the direction of |
a single architect. who was instructed to lay |
ont the pla"o on scientific principles, and was |
able TO preserve a unity Of design which !
would not have haon possible under other
circumstances.
The result is told very outcrtainingly Ivy
Mr.. Richard r. Ely in the last number of
HrYpcr'S NgGo,jur. and his descriptions
and observations are accompanied by many
illustrations Of much artistic moriL We
have also report upon the "iudUStrial, So
Cial, and economic conditions of Pullman
made toy the convention Of the commission
ers Of labor statistics Of the different states
That convention met last June in - Louis
and, according to agreement assembled
again in Pullman in September and spent
three days in studying the working Of Mn
rullmau's >or8l experiment
Both these authorities speak with admira-
ton Of the town in its superficial aspects, at
least II is Indeed n sight rs rare IA it Is de-
iighttul, SAYS Mr.. Ely. "Whlt might have
been taken for wealthy suburban town j.
given mp to busy workers, who literally earn
their bread in the sweat Of their brow
There are no droncs, and "clCrgymcn. officers
of the company. and mechanics live in ail Join
ing dwellings, Tho place has an ''all-pcr-
vadiug air Of thrift and providence and in
the "IaborerS' quarter: NOT a dtlaPtdated
doorstep nor a broken window, stuffed per-
haps with Old clothing IS 10 Zee fDund.'
The houses, which are Of brick. are built
in groups Of two or more, and even in blocks.
but each one has its architectural pecUliarI-
ties, and nCutlv-trimmed lawns sCuarate the
dwellings from the street The frontage OF
all the buildings extends along five miles of
solid paved streets, and there are fourteen
miles of railroad track laid for the use Of
those in the shops and the town. Great
care and expense have been expended on
scientific drainage and sewage system. and
water tower distributes through the town
supply Of water from Lake Michigan.
Among the public buildings are pi"tur-
csque hotel, a church, market house, and
an arcade, containing the only shops in the
town, a library, and a theatre. The streets
are wide, wei. built, and wherever possible
parked. The cheapest tenement is supplied
/ " lth Gg~ ana Win water ana WIN carnage
| outlets. The housokoopcr throws the
! garbage into a specified receptacle. and has
no more care OF it.
LIBRARY AND EEADING ROOMS.
! The library contains six thousand volumes
| the gift of Mr.. Pullman and has reading
room with many periodicals. The library
rooms are elegantly furnished with Wilton
carpets and plush-COvervd chairs, and the
walls are beautifully painted - for il is part
Ftt A. IL of fA M Il.
borcrS, rs far rs possible, with ali the priVi-
/ lcgus of large wealth. Nothing being free
/ in the town, the annual subscription 10 the
/ library j. three dollars. An attempt has
been made to induce the subscribers to i'm
| prove their taste in reading; but aS i usu-
! ally the case with such libraries, thrco-puar-
! tiers Of the books taken out are works of ne
! ton. There i a handsome free school build
/ ing, common livery accommodations are pro-
yided, and the Pullman company sustains a
| fire department,
In fact, the Pullman company sustains
| everything in Pullman. Itowns all the land
and all the buildings, which now number
over fifteen hundred, and which are rented
. at rates varying from II a month for tn"
. cheapest flats Ia 500 month for the largest
, private house in the place. Tho rent usually
| paid varies from slt to So a month and, is
! q business enterprise, Pullman is sucCo- sful.
/ for it yields q handsome interest on the
| money expended. aud the land has vastly
/ increased in value. II is also remarkable for
/ its hcalthfulnes~, the death ratio being only
/ about one-half that Of the nearest town.
/ The " silent educational influence Of their
/ surroundings we are told, works great
/ change in the inhabitants. SlOycnly house
| wives are Shamcd into habits Of cleanliness
| aud order by tho good example OF their
| mcghborS, ana the spick and span condition
| OF the town generally. "Mcn who are
/ accustomed to lounge on their front stOOpS
! smoking pipes and in dirty shirt sleeves,
| soon act and dress more in accordance with
| the requirements of society
EyERYrHIHa But coNTENrHENr.
| And yet. Mr. Ely tolls US, the inhabitants
Of this model city are not contont and why {?
! Because Mr. Pullman Is resolved that they
shall be happy in the way he appoints and
in no other They cannot own their dwell
lngS, tor these all belong to the company.
which will not sell them. They have no
part in the municipal government and moth
| ing to say in regard TO it, for the company
controls everything with a dcspOtiC hand.
THE power of Bismarck in Germany j.
utterly insignificant" saws Mr.. Ely, ''whcn
compared with the power of the ruling
authority Of the Pullman Palace Car company
in Pullman Every tenant holds his house
on a lease which may be tol minated on ten
days notice, and that no reason need be
given for the notice the lease expressly stipu
lalcs.
The consequence is that people who try
this model community, and come under the
lIlidNlllDllc btslotlslil Ol MI. lulllldll' are
usually very tired OF 1t after a short resi-
dence. Tho velvet carpet and plush covered
chairs Of the library, the green and closely
shavcn lawns, the prevalent rcspcctability
and even the low death rate, do not cOmpcn-
safe for the loss OF freedom and spOntancity
II is all very nice and proper, but II would be
more to their taste to sit on tho stOOp in
their shirt sleeves and smoke pipe, when
they felt 80 inclined. The uuvarying order
becomes oppressive and as the statistical
commissioners say, " sometimes causes n
sigh for the lOu,cr ways and the consequent
lOOsCTs morals of other communities One
woman told Mr.. Ely that she had been in
Pullman two years, and that there were only
three families Of her acqIantanCcs who were
there when she came. d" We call il camping
out she added.
IN inhabitants being all dependent on the
company, are afraid to express their real feel
ings Large as the place il, there is no news
paper through which complaints might tnd
utlcTanCC, and everybody j. timid and dis
tru~tful. " The men believe they are watched
by the company spOtter.' The educational
advantages Of selEguvernnent are lost. ''The
citizen is surrounded 10y constant restraint
and restriction, and everything is done for
him, nothing by him. lie is not even al
lowed liberty of criticism.
l. II any wonder that this model comnu-
nifty Is remarkable for petty JcalOusics and
suspicious, that changes among its residents
are 50 frequent, and that there is an 4" all
pervading feeling Otiusecurity | II il run
IN accordance with beautiful theory, hut
ono which, unfortunately, il fundamentally
defective, IN that IL takes 10 account OF hu-
man nature.
Asa speculation Pullman may be "a sue
Cussful venture, but its failure as "A social eN-
pertinent was inevitable from the start. Peo-