The Portland daily press., 1886-10-22
A CITY IN sINALoA.
Disciples Of Henry George In Portland
and Cape Elizabeth.
Many Families Ready to CO to Mex
leo with Rev. w. r. Eaton.
Plans for a Cooperative Colony on
the Gulf Of California.
communistici Theories That Have
Taken Root In Our Midst.

reporter Of the PRESS who sought
out his residence at KnightYille yes
terday. Mr.. Eaton himself is well known
In this county, where he has lived much OF
his time for the last twenty years. In
Greenback times he was prominent leader,
and was a candidate for Governor, polling
1903 votes. He was originally Free Baptist
minister, then went into politics, and when
the reporter found him yesterday was en-.
gagged in job of carpentering. But this /:
only temporary occupation. Mr.. Eaton Il
now the sole New England director Of the
Credit Foncier, scheme in which many
people here in Portland and on Cape Eliza
beth are interested.
"Ycu see," said Mr.. Eaton. 1--WE have in
the State Of Sinaloa, In Mexico, $1,000 acres
Of land which we already hold In fee simple.
1t is on the Gulf Of California, In the Mexi-
can nation, and about 100 miles from the
extreme southern portion Of Southern Cali
fornia. The place to which we folks from
Cape Elizabeth and Portland are going Is
on the Bay OF Topolobambo, bay about ten
miles long by five wide. There on that bay
Is situated Pacific City, where we are 70
make our homes. The city Is seven and a
None Of 1t is built yet; but the ground Is
there, and we shall be at work on II before
December 1st. OF the land that we have
already got the Mexican government gave
us one-third, and we are to pay for the rest
a nominal price, about 81 an acre. Then
we can have 2OO, 900 acres more II we want
It, Why our company will have land enough
there for 4,000, 600 people,"
II suppose your company will take their
household goods with them, interrupted the
reporter. r
this city Of ours is to be cooperative,
and also great manufacturing city We
are going to make everything there. You
see Mexico has very few manufactures
Of her own. and so she IS just crazy to
have us start up our business In Pacific City
Then the land Is fitted for all the tropical
fruits, pine apples, bananas, etc. 1t Is below
year around"
But how many are going with you," Mr..
Eaton?"
There are over 1000 persons going from
al parts Of the country. mostly from the
Middle States About 60 are going from
Cape Elizabeth and Portland. Among those
going from here are II. w. Fletcher OF Port
land, J. r Turner Of Deering, II. A. Hin Of
Portland, three families of Str0uts at VIII
lard the Graffam family at Willard's Daniel
w. Bussel OF Portland, WinsloW c. Rose.
and good many others, / don't recall all
their names just now. Several families are
going, from right around here in Knight
yille."
Have all these bought land in Sinaloa %
on, no; none Of them have. This Is CO.
operative company Every one who goes
has to buy stock, that Is all. Each cOlCnist
must own at least one share. The shares
are $40 each. About 1900 shares Of the
stock Of the Credit Foncier have already
been sold. One thousand Of these shares
have been sold around here. All Of these
shareholders are not going at once. Two
hundred families of pioneers are going
ahead some time this month. You see we
were intending 10 take the families out there
at the expense of the company. and thsught
that we might perhaps get 100 families TO 20.
But when 1t got noised abroad more than 400
wanted to go; so we had TO make them pay
their own expenses to keep the number
down. 4 ou see, we must have people who
have some means to pay their own expenses
until we get to raising something. OF get our
manufactures started in Pacific City"
do you think you will like living under
the laws Of the Mexican government"
we are not going to. we shall make our
own laws. All men In our community are TO
De equal. and we are to rule ourselves,
the Mexican government having q general
jurisdiction, however. Why, we are to have
railroad all to ourselves, and there Is reom
enough there, as told you before, for four
million people. Shall we be swinging the
colony into the American Union when we
get all these settlers? Oh, well, that Is in
the FUTURE, and the eye of the easternmOst
director Of the Credit Foneier twinkled at
the thought.
Mr.. Eaton will take with him his family,
consisting Of a wife and a daughter Just
yerging upon womanhood. Mrs. Eaton, who
is large, comfortable looking woman. and
a very easy talker indeed, Is even more en-
thusiastic over the project than her husband
+" You see, II Is going to be just model colo
m bQ IL ~.
the community, that is TO the stockholders.
And person who owns one share Of stock Is
Just as good as anybody else. But il you
don't own stock you don't amount to any
thing, Mr. Eaton owns six shares Of stock,
or rather has four himself, and one for me,
and another for my daughter. This will as.
sure us position in the colony You see.
everything Is to be in common In a sense
You buy stock and go there, and then you
have house furnished you; you don't have
TO work on 1t yourself, for you may be work
ing on something else while they are build
ing your house. And you can live In that
house as long as you want to. Everyone in
the colony must work, but no one will work
over eight hours day, And there won't be
any Mexican or American money there, ex.
cept in the bank. We shall be paid for our
work in scrip. The women will be paid Just
as much as the men, IL they work as long
There Will be none of your three dollars "A
day for man and not more than seventy
we get for our work will represent what we
have done towards the common task. II we
want to 60 outside the colony, we can take
the scrip to the bank and get Mexican or
American money.
Then we shall have no jails, nor courts, nor
such things in Pacific City. and no punish
ments such as we have here. III a person
does wrong, he will be summoned before the
directors and by them reprimanded. IL he
repeats the offence, they will summon him
again, and write in a public place that such
an offence has been committed in the COLONY
but calling no name. But il the person Of
tends third time, his name Is written ON
the board, and he Is expelled from the colo
ny. II will be beautiful there won't it?"
How long have you and your neighbors
was asked.
about two years. You see Mr.. Albert
X. Owen, of Chester, Pa, wrote book some
time ago called Integral Cooperation" We
got to reading 1t, and talking Of ii. And
gradually more and more got Interested un-
til now we have regular colony meetings
every week in the city. We start this month
just so soon as rates can be arranged on the
railways. We shall have to pay our fares.
This Is because so many were anxions to 20
ilrst with the pioneers; But to recompense
those who stay back, Mr.. Owen has arranged
that they shall be taken out free after the
colony Is started. This Is generous Of him,
we think. He is one Of the best men,"
Mrs. Eaton thinks she shall like in Mexico
very much, and when she Is describing the
future home Of the colonst in Sinaloa, she
finds such ready words to describe the beau
ties of the coming Pacific City, as to show
that she, fully as much as her husband, Is
the propagandist Of the communal union Of
Cape Elizabeth and Portland.
Integral Cooperation" the book which
is at the bottom Of the movement In Cape
Elizabeth and Portland, is book Of about
200 pages, and has been for sale on several
news stands. Ii is written by Albert X.
Owen, tho promoter of the ENTERPRISE, and Is
about equally divided between glowing de-
scriptions of Sinaloa, and dissertations on
the social problems of the day. He finds
that the two great problems OF the day are
Production and Distribution, and incidental
ly mentions that "Man has been the problem
Of the past century. Woman Is the eonum-
drum of the new era" The solution OF the
problems he finds In the formation OF ineOr-
porated cooperative bodies, where "Duty,
Independence and Equity shall be the mot
to. Other parts Of the book are devoted 10
descriptions which represent SlnalOa as a
land flowing with milk and honey There
are highly colored maps representing the fu-
ture city of Pacific, and diagrams Of residen-
ces with centralized kitchens and laundries.
Other pictures represent a falr city by
spacious harbOr, with railroad
running of into the interior, and steamship
lines branching off on TO the ocean to Aus
tralla and the nations of the ooulent Orient
lhere are To be no mosquitoes there, yellow
FEVER has never reached the spot and gnats,
snakes and wild animals are said to be
peaceably disposed. To show the chances