The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-11
NEW HARMONY COLONY.
Some of the Queer Reforms Under
taken by the Owens and others.

The Journal of recent date contained an
article giving an outline of the work un-
dertaken by the New Harmony coonists.
This article was read by Prof e. T. Cox,
former state geologist, but now a resident
of Albion, Fla, and he furnishes the fol-
lowing details: Robert Owen was thread
spinner, whose mills were at the falls of
the Clyde in the town of New Lenark, q
short distance from Glasgow, Scotland.
His son, DR.. David Dale Owen, the cele-
brated geologist, told me that his fathers
mill spun a thread every day long enough
to reach one and half times around the
globe For the making Of this thread the
seed was picked from the cotton by hand
and carded by hand cards. Therefore the
New Lenark mills gave employment to
thousands of men, women and children
Robert Owen was philanthropist and
great believer in the elevation of the char
acter Of the laboring classes and lessening
their hours Of labor and increasing their
comforts of living-indeed, to give them an
equal standing with all other men. To a
limited extent Mr. Owen put his new views
of society into practice at New Lenark.
Here he established schools, lessened the
hours of labor, taught sobriety, economy
etc So successfully did his plans work
for the amelioration of his operatives that
they attracted the attention of many of
the crowned heads of Europe. Emperor
Alexander, of Russia, visited New Lenark
to see Owens system in operation and to
study it's working.
What disturbed Owen was the invention
of the cotton gin and the machine cards
in this country, which were destined to
throw out of employment thousands of OPP
eratives and thus increase the misery of
the world. He reasoned that there was
something wrong in the organization of So
ciety when the Introduction of labor-saving
machinery proved sorrow instead of a
blessing to mankind. This brought Robert
owen to America. While here he visited
all forms of community organizations
Shaking Quakers Dunkards, etc. He also
visited the Harmonists under the leadership
of George Rapp, located at the town of
New Harmony, on the Wabash river, sixty
miles below Vincennes and sixty miles
above the mouth of the Wabash. He was
delighted with the beautiful location, the
admirable working of Rapp's community
and their rapid accumulation of wealth.
The Harmonists wanted to go back to their
old home in Beaver county, Pennsylvania.
owen finally bought the town already
made. with it's numerous manufacturing
establishments and thirty thousand acres
of good land. The Harmonists moved out
in body and owen took possession, with
his crack-brained followers from all parts
of the world. There were no factories to
build and no land to purchase All the So
cialist had to do was TO come in, take pos
session of a house if with a family, sign
the constitution and become a hail fellow
well met. The heading of the constitution
read:
Constitution of the Preliminary Society
of New Harmony. May l. 1926. This soci-
city is instituted generally to promote the
happiness of the world. This Preliminary
Society is particularly formed to improve
the character and condition of its own
members and 10 prepare them to become
associates in independent communities hay
ing common property Persons Of
all ages and descriptions, exclusive of per-