The advocate., 1894-05-23


tive methods of extinguishing life
matrimony and death. Such charact.
erS as ne wishes to rid himself of dur
ing the progress of the story, he kills
outright, but unless he chooses to imi.
tate that famous drama in which every
character in the play lay dead on the
stage at the close of the first act, he
must save some Of his people alive till
the story is done, and, in the last chap
ter, ne msrries these off and thus ends
them.
But why should matrimony be con.
sidered the rival of death as a means
of extinguishing human activityP It
is not always so in real life. Some men
and few women have achieved great
ness after their wedding day; and this
bids fair to be the case with Mason and
John COtterel and their wives. The
farms of OVerton and Mason and of
Sam Cotterell, and John Cotterell,
with FIVE other farms in the vicin-
lty, are under one management on
a plan proposed by John. A pretty
village has been laid off, and shops
and cottages for srtiZanS have been
put up. Ruble lives there and is
the community blacksmith. Slick
Blackburn runs an "express" twice a
day between the village and Golden,
carrying passengers and mails, so that
anybody can go to town at any time
without hitching up team needed in
the fields. Some ''tramps" CHANGING
to pass that way and proving to be
skillful workers at something useful,
have remained and are valuable aCces-
siOns. Hides are tanned in the village,
boots and shoes are made or repaired,
furniture and tinWare are turned out,
and corn is canned. Everyone, includ-
ing farmers, their wives, sons and
daughters, is allowed the same wages
for work actually done. In case of
sickness, wages are allowed as if the
patient were at Work-the whole COM
munity thus bearing equally the loss.
Although each has his particular occu-
patton, everyone is expected to help
with any kind of task when required.
AT stated periods, after allowing each
farmer a certain sum for the use of his
land and his tools, the remaining
profits OF the years production are
divided, and each member is credited
with an amount proportioned to the
number OF days work standing to his
credit. No one cares for money. Who
ever gets anything at the general store,
or has any work done, gives his 81. o.
U. for the amount, and this is turned
in and credited and debited on the
company's books. Three of the farms
are mortgaged, and the company pays
the interest and charges it on the
books. Taxes are all paid in the same
manner. John hopes to get in all the
farmers along the road to Golden, and
then build street car line and eStab-
lish telephone communications with
the outside world; and his dream is
likely to be realized. He and Mason
have not despaired of yet seeing the
homes of farmers Illuminated by
electric lights; and they are now urg-
ing the construction of an opera house
"a modest one, of course-sO that the
families of the community may enjoy
eleVating amusementS near their
homes.
Meantime Mason and John make
limited tours Of agitation, Mason
speaking in country school houses, and
John going among the workingmen,
and they are distributing literature
everywhere urging the actual produc-
ers of the state to carry out Johns pro-
gram and make all Kansas one gigantic
workshop and farm. They have sue
ceeded so far that some Workingmen
have recently taken up the idea, and
are now perfecting an organization
throughout the state with view to
associating all trades and crafts and
getting them ready, through fedora
tion committee, to meet like commit
tee of farmers, should they organize,
also. But the one great obstacle to
thn innrnadiata onnnaoo of fha nnhama ia