Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-10-17
(ContinTed next weekly
THE AMsNA COMMUNITY.
q Successful Socisilst!e Organization In
the State Of Iowa

"The believers in socialism should
visit a little settlement in Iowa. which
carries out the socialistic principles most
beautifully. and has done so for forty
years" sand Silas NJ. Young. ut Is
called the Amana Community, OF So
ciety of True Inspiration. Everything
is held in common-the land, farm
products, cotton and woollen factories,
sawmills, the store, the mineral spring,
and. greatest of all. the church.
There are about 1000 people in the
community, and they own nearly all Of
Iowa county. A few of them are well
to do. but the mjority were poorer than
the average Iowa pioneer when they
obtained their charter, in the first years
of lowa's Statehood. But every one
put whatever he had into the common
till. a chief clerk watched over the in
comes and disbursements. and they all
toiled hard. at first in the fields. but in
u few years in foundrics and mills ~
well, and to-day they are, per capita,
by far the richest people in the State.
They arc very economical, 10 be
sure. The regulation dress OF the wom-
en- is blue calico, and the clothing Of
the men blue jeans; and they have no
balls or theaters. But their life though
simple, is by no means pitiful. They
have plenty of milk arN butter from
their diaries, and good homegrown
vegetables and fruits, and their meal
time, which, German fashion, comes
five times a day, brings q great deal Of
good cheer. They eat together in large
cooperative kitchens, which the women
Keep wonderfully clean. and after sup
per the men smoke a placid pine, and
whoever wishes to can solace himself
with a glass OF beer.
The consequence OF their diligence
and thrift IS that their wares arc much
sought after by the outside world.
'Amana blue calico is known rs far rs
the State of Maine, aud whatever bears
their trade mark is sure to be exactly
what ii is claims.
The district which they own is beau
t9afaes inhieesesi, asa tsa air ol peace and
rest and refreshment. Once in a while
the young people grow weary of In,
monotony, aud the most reckless Of
them sometimes go far up the railroad
trac! of evenings and play French
harps. But this is not common. They
are generally contentcd, and no one
has ever been known 10 leave the COM
munity. Neither has there even been
a suicide in the community, nor q case
Of insanity. There is very little need
of doctors. One of theiC own number,
whom they sent abroad to educate.
tends to all their ailments. and, without
taking much medicine. they manage to
live to a vigorous old age.
Their religion is peculiar in its oh.
a and requirements. 1t forbids
.heir taking oath, or going to war, and
enjoins simplicity of life. They arc
sprung from the German rietisls. that
sect to which the Quakcrs can also be
traced, and they believe in the personal
revelation or divine truth. One of thcir
number, Barbara Heinemann Land
mann. who died in 1884, and now lies
buried in their little graveyard, was a
prophecies for many years, and il is
said that she foretold the civil war
years before it broke upon the nation.
Their church. like their houses, is
unadorned, and scrupulously clean.
VII lV" outSiucis dc atioNcu Nilnll
its precints, and none except those who
enter in a reyerent spirit. White mus
lin curtains screen the windows, the
floor is scrubbed and sanded, and an
old-fashioned brick oven warns the
room. The seats are plain. implanted
benches, with stiff wooden backs. On
one side sit the men, on the other the
women. and hither they all come each
day to worship. Whoever feels moved
to pray OIL preach will do so. and all of
them unite in singing psalms. They
take great comfort in their religion. 1t
Is their bond OF union, and their state
would doubtless have fallen long ago
h. it been built upon q foundation less
substantial. st. Louis Globe Democrat