Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-12-31

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Written for The Evenin. Star
THE HARMONY COMMUNITY.
| A visit to the Picturesque Town Of H.r-
mony.
THE ORIGIN OF A STRANGE RELIGIoUs SECT
THE REGULATIONS AND CUSTOMS OF THE
coNMuNiTY-Bow IT HAS DvISpLED-wILL
1T LIVE?
Old Father Heinrich is dead To those who
have visited the quaint little Pennsylvania town
Of Economy this statement brings up = vivid
memory of the leader Of the Harmony COM
munity. Bright piercing eyes in q gentle but
strong face, surrounded by flowing hair. tall,
slight figure, bent with age, and q peculiar
stride, rapid and energetic in spite Of his years.
make up the picture. He wore tho costume Of
the community tall PREDETERMINED hat and
a coat reaching to his knees. the skirts Of which
waved in the breeze a. he walked In the last
few years he had grown feeble. and now. at the
age Of Lightweight. he has been quietly laid
| away in his unmarked grave. He was note
worthy for his control of men and in the
shrewd business ability which enabled him to
manage with success the property Of the COM
munity, worth many millions Of dollars.
THE ORIGIN OF THE TOWN OF ECONOMY.
But Henrici WAS by no means the founder Of
Economy, nor even early member, for he
came from Germany as young man, while his
predecessors in the community had made that
voyage in 1908. Economy is q distinctly Ger
man town, its inhabitants having retained the
use OF their mother tongue and many foreign
habits. lts founder was George Rapp Of wur-
temberg, weaver Of remarkable intelligence
and common sense who dissented from the es-
tablishsd church and IN 1887, at the age Of
thirty, began to preach his doctrines to q small
congregation Of neighbors. He taught the
Bible according to his understanding, inculcat-
ing the belief that God, Jesus and Adam before
the tall were each beings Of a combined male
and female character and that to this ideal
state all the righteous will finally attain. All
mankind are to be saved, though almost all will
have to pass through period Of probation.
Rapp also taught that he would not die before
the second coming Of Christ, but since his
death his followers have construed his words to
mean only that the end Of the world IL near at
hand The main feature Of their belief, how
ever. is the need for pious lives and careful or
dering Of all things according to the Bible.
REBELLrNa AGAINST THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH.
This movement, begun by Rapp, was not a
solitary one. but in fact only a part Of the
spirit Of the last century in Germany. when
such seets sprung up all over the land from
Vienna to Holland, rebelling against the formal
and mercenary character Of the established
church. Everywhere, too these sects met
with opposition and even persecution from the
small rulers. and many itinerant preachers were
put to death. In several instances it happened
that these prosecuted ''Separatists." as they
were called, emigrated to America and
among the earliest to adopt that method Of
self-perpetuation was the little church founded
and guided by Rapp. He himself with a few
others came over In 1903 and selected lands for
settlement in the Connoquenesslng valley, But
Ter county, Pa, and here a large and prosper
Gus village was established within few years.
COMMON FUND.
The next great step in the history was the
signing of articles binding all to put their
property into one common fund to be managed
| for the good of the community in general by
Frederick Rapp, the adopted son of their re-
ligious leader. This in 1905. when they
numbered almost $50 persons, including chill
dren, but the fervor which had led them thus
| far did not stop here. In 1907, by almost
unanimous consent, the chief worldly Joys Of
the communists were abandonded-the use Of
tobacco was given up and celibacy was estab-
lished. The simplest method of doing this was
adopted. for changes we're made in tho
household arrangements, husbands and wives
living together like brothers and sisters in the
same home.
In 1914 the communists, not liking their loca-
ton, moved to Harmony, Ind, but that place
was SO malarious that they sold it in 1924 and
| finally settled at Economy on the Ohio river
between Pittsburg and Beaver. The village
which they had built in Indiana was bought by
Robert Owen and was the site of his famous
but short-lived New Harmony community At
this time the Harmony Society, as Rapps peo-
pie were called. was at the height OF its pros
perlty. for 1t numbered about 800 persons and
they lived in peace and harmony surrounded
by every comfort that German peasants cared
for. Very industrious workers were they and
their business manager was able that in
spite Of the two failures in land selection and
the consequent losses in selling and moving
they nevertheless prospered greatly.
THEIR HOMES.
They built their town we'll, laid out its streets
at right angles and erected substantial houses
of brick or of wood. surrounded each by its
garden. Most of the houses contain two stories
and an attic and have grape vines trained to
cover the strip of wall between the windows of
the two floors. The sidewalks are paved with
brick and are separated from the gardens by
tall, plain. Imprinted picket fences. Rows Of
cherry trees grow between the sidewalks and
the wooden troughs which serve cutters. At
frequent intervals stand tall iron tubes from
which at night great flames of natural gas arise
The view at night Is most picturesque when We
stand on the bluff and look down at the glim-
mering railroad tracks and still further down at
the winding river where, the ripples catch the
reflection Of the blazing gas. But this was a
sight which no one dreamt Of when Economy
was built To see what was there in early days
We must look the other way, into the pleasure
garden with its geometricai flower beds and
sequestered summer houses, where the honest
toilers gathered on Sunday afternoons to hear
the music Of their band. On the other side OF
this pleasure ground Is the spacious house. dis
tinguished only by Its size from its neighbors,
where Rapp and his successors have lived.
THE VILLAGE CHURCH.
Across the street from this house stands the
church, the focus Of the village. 1t is plain
and unpretentious like all the other buildings,
but the entrance is III rough short, square bell
and clock tower. with balcony around its up
per part and weather vane at its summit.
This church, where the people still gather. the
men sitting one side and the women on the
other. is one Of the Oldest buildings at Economy,
erected before brick superseded logs as building
material.
WHEN THERE WERE YOUNG PEOPLE.
Other streets tell different tale In the
halcyon days. about 1880, wooden and cotton
mills were running. filled with the youth
OF the village. for in those days there were
still young people i'll the community and
all places were gay with their songs and
bright with flowers. Orchards and vine
yards were cultivated and SO much silk was
grown sDun and woven nv tho uovpap that