Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-10-17
CONTINUED next weekly
THE AMANA COMMUNITY.
a Successful soclaIistlc Organization In
the State of iowa

"1he 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." said Silas NJ. Young. ut is
called the Amana Community, or So
ciety of True Inspiration. Everything
is held in common--thc land, farm
products, cotton and woollcn 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.
m and disbursements, and they all
toiIed hard, at first in the fields. but in
Il few years in foundrics and mills rs
well, and to-day they are, per capita,
by far the richest people in the State.
"They arc very economical, TO 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 OF theaters. But their life though
simple, is by no means pitiful. They
have plenty of milk and butter from
their diaries, and good homegrown
vegetables and fruits, and their meal
time, which, German fashion, comes
five times Il day, brings n 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 n placid pine, and
whoever wishes TO can solace himself
with a glass Of beer.
"Ihe 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, and whatever bears
their trade mark is sure TO be exactly
what il is claims.
"The district which they own is beau
tifully situated, and the air of peace and
quiet makes il n delightful place for
rest and refreshment. Once in a while
the young people grow weary of the
monotony, and the most reckless of
them sometimes go far up the railroad
tract of evenings and play French
harps. But this is not They
arc generally contentcd, and no one
has ever been known to leave the COM
munity. Neither has there ever been
Il suicide in the community, nor q case
Of insanity. There is very little need
of doctors. One of their own number,
whom they sent abroad to educate.
tends TO all their ailments, aud, without
taking much medicine, they manage TO
live to a vigorous old age.
Their religion is peculiar in its oh.
servancc and requirements. 1t forbids
!heir taking oath, or going to war, and
e~njoins simplicity of life. They arc
sprung from the German rietists, that
sect to which the Quakers can also be
traced, and they believe in the personal
revelation of divine truth. One OF their
number, Barbara lieinemann Land
mann, who died in 1884, and now lies
buried in their little graveyard, was a
prophecies for many years, aud it is
said that she foretold the civil war
years before it broke upon the nation.
Their church, like their houses, is
u%nadorned, and scrupulously clean.
Very few outsiders are allowed within
its precints, and none except those who
enter in n reverent spirit. White mus.
lin curtains screen the windows, tho
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 or preach will do SO, and all of
them unite in singing psalms. They
take great comfort in their religion. II
is their bond of union, and their state
would doubtless have fallen long ago
h. it been built upon a foundation less
substantially Louis G..obe- Democrat