The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-08
THE QUERY COLUMN
Lesson of the Topolo-
bampo Colony.
POPULATION OF TOWNS.
Are Brothers i'm Law Relations
Sinking of the Escambia-Mot-
toes on American Coins.

THE ToPoLoBAMPo CoLoNY-J. b..
City. The new idea of cooperative coffee
company in Guatemala may or may not
have had its origin in the TopoIobampo
Colony. Topolobampo Is bay on the
Gulf of Mexico, State of Sinaloa, midway
between Guaymas and Mazatlan and 200
miles distant from either OF them. For
many years it was the resort OF smugglers.
Fourteen years ago the natural advantages
OF tie bay attracted the attention of Albert
X. Owen OF Chester. Pa, a civil engineer.
Owen decided to locate there an experimental
cooperative colony. He induced the United
States Government to survey the harbor and
obtain concessions from the Mexican Gov
eminent exempting the cofonists from du-
ties. lie then began to get his colonists
together and formed stock company, called
the Credit Foncier, under the laws Of the
State of Colorado. About 5000 persons
Joined the enterprise. and the first party Of
colonists reached Topobolampo In Novem-
Der, 1886. Within a year over 400 colonists
had arrived The regulations of the colony,
which was to be managed by r board Of
directors, were specially devoted to prevent
accumulations of wealth in the hands OF
few, and so abolish the evils at the other
degradation.
The disastrous failure of the Topolo~
bamp0 Colony and the suiferlDgs OF some
OF the colonists are matter OF recent his
tory, and though it is said that few OF the
settlers still remain on the shores of Topo-
lobampo Bay the collapse is none the less
complete or instructive as an object lesson.
A less disastrous failure, but equally con-
vincing in its way, was that OF Brook Farm.
This is interesting, because some of the
master minds of the day had Endorsed it,
The Brook Farm project originated with
George Ripley, prominent humanitarian
OF Boston, and DR.. William Ii. Claiming.
The original plan was to make of IL re-
ligious and literary community, sup
ported by the joint labors Of all.
All were to live simply, and as the
hours of labor were to be brief abundant
leisure was to be secured for social and in
tellectual intercourse. All the members of
the community were to DO stockholders in
the community's property. some giving
money and the others contributing labor as
an equivalent. Among the members were
Theodore Parker, George William Curtis,
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles A. Dana and
others. The association was organized in
1851, and the place selected was West ROx-
bury. Mass. The associate life was broken
up in 1S47, and the Brook Farmers sought
other fields of labor All the societies or
gained in imitation Of Brook Farm proved
failures also.
NATIoNALITY-J. p. S., city. writes;
About thirty years ago a posthumous male
child, whose father was an Englishman and
mother a Canadian, was born In Pennsyl-,
vania, and has ever since resided In the
United States. Is lie by virtue Of bis birth
and continued residence In the United
States an American citizen, neither he nor
his mother having ever taken out naturaiiza-
ton papers, nor ever declared their inten-
ton of doing so? or is he, by reason OF his
British parentago and decentralization, a
British subject?"
In a case of this kind the courts would
probably rule, without exception or heslta-
ton, that tile man is nm American citizsn. He
was born on American soil. and has
since resided in the United States. Certainly
he Is not a British subject.
MILITARY SERvIcE-W. B.. City. ~ A
person who leaves the German Empire at
the age of IA years. and who desires 10 60
back on q visit, would. Ii born in Germany