, 1886-02-26

ago, but the enterprise prospered SO much
that NJ. Godin soon found himself a rich
man, and might, had he cared for the
money alone, have retired from business
while in the prime OF life.
NJ. GoDIS's IDEA cARRIED OUT.
But he had been from his youth an
ardent student OF Fourier and had EN-
braced the doctrines Of Pere Enfantin.
Rejecting much that WA visionary in
their ideas, N. Godin, whose fund OF com
mon sense served to keep him clear Of the
Illusions which crazed so many apostles
of St. Simonism, determined to see II he
could not create n Phalanstery which
would work and pay its way, and, what
ever may be the fate Of the establishment
at Guise when the master mind which
brought 1t into being is no longer there to
direct, there can be no doubt that so far
M. Godin has succeeded, perhaps beyond
his own expectations. His main idea was
to assemble all those who worked with
him In one building, which he prefers to
call the Palais Social rather than the
Familistere, by which latter name IL is
generally known, and TO let each work
man have a share in the profits Of capital
propOrtionate TO the value of the work.
that is to say, proportionnte to the value
OF his part in the production Of those
profits" The idea has been 10 some OK
tent altered in carrying 1t out, but only In
degree, and the result Is that thogc who
work I'm conjunction with NJ. Godin arc
far better off than a great majority OF
those who AVE to get their living by man
ual labor.
The first thing to do was to erect n
home in which the workmen and their
families could live, and when the central
porto OF the large building, which now
has a frontage OF something like $50 feet,
was completed, NJ. Godin had great diff
Guilty to induce his men to come and live
in 1t. They dreaded what would, they
thought, be the loss of their independence,
and with the suspicion so general
among men of their class, fancied
that NJ. Godin was going in some
way to get the best OF them. This feeling,
however, soon passed off, for 1t was easy
to see that the apartments In the building
were so arranged that zach family would
be ms much at home and free from intru-
sion as If it were residing in a house of its
own. The additional advantages which
cooperation brings were soon perceived,
too, and the central pavilion, which is 2l6
feet long by 1888 feet deep, has now two
wings OF almost equal size, the whole
building containing rooms enough to ac-
commodate in comfort upward OF 400 fami-
lies. The rooms are lofty. being about ten
feet high on all the four floors, and they
would, II built in n town, form a street
more han a mile In length.
II SCHOOLS, STORES AND NURSERIES,.
The Palais Social does not end here, for
other blocks have been erected within the
three or four years to meet the increased
demand for accommodations; and then
there are the schools, the nurseries, the
theatre, the cooperative stores, the IL
brary and reading-room, the cafe and the
gardens, all of which are open to the
whole OF the inhabitants, without any re-
striction whatsoever. With regart to the
schools, OF which there are several differ
ent classes, the education given in them
is above rather than below the standard
OF good primary schools in other parts of
France, and the theatre, in which dra-
matte performances are given once or
twice a week by the troupe from the
neighboring town of st. Quenten, Is not
free, the charge for seats ranging from .
francs TO the eighth OF that modest sum.
The library and reading room are well
stocked with books and periodicals, relat-
ing chiefly TO questions Of social economy;
but the two most important TEXTURES out
1888 49, - ~ ~ " tAAAAA
the cooperative stores.
The stores, which supply almost every
article Of daily consumption, yield n larger
profit than the dwellings, but it is, /
think, very unfair to compare them to the
truck shops as more than one writer
hostile to NJ. Godin has done, for there Is
no compulsion upon the workmen or their
families to get their things from them,
although they ave every inducement to
do so, the profits made in the stores being
divided into equal proportions between
the association and the purchasers. The
nursery arrangements deserve special
mention, ms 1t Is a great convenience for
the mothers who have their household
duties to attend to, or who are employed
in the stores, the laundry, and the recently
opened workshop for stocking-making, to
be able to leave their" infants In safe keep
ing. Tho pavilion In which the nursery is
placed communicates with the main build
ing by means Of an open gallery, and II Is
divided into two parts, one for children in
the cradle and the other for those who are
just learning to walk
The infant in arms Is brought by the
mother from her lodging-where she has
a cradle Of her own-and placed In a sec
n cradle, where It remains until the
evening. There are nurses. of course. to
feed IL, but they are saved a great deal OF
trouble by a very clever invention OF NJ.
Godin, which has not, he thinks, been fol
lowed elsewhere, effective and simple as
IL Is. This consists in filling the cradle
with bran, which, covered with a cloth,
forms a soft and clean bed for the infant.
When the sheet Is wetted 1t can at once be
removed and. as the moisture does not
penetrate into the bran, the portion OF 1t
which has become ~coagulated, can be
taken out nj the same time.
NJ. Godin, for whom no detail OF man
agement Is o small. tried several other
plans before this, but all OF them were
open 10 some sort OF objection, whereas
thin worl4 NJ ".