Daily camera., 1897-05-01
LABOR PROBLEM SOLVED.
A Socialist Communi Y That Dwells
in Harmony.
Success of an Interesting Colony In
Central Tcnncssce-Eacb HEM
Der Receives tlIc Same
Wages, Sick or Well.

eastern part of Tennessee so wild have
not yet subsided into the wide, fertile
valley of the Mississippi, but where the
land is still varied by hills and fertile
valleys, and cut by many streams, lies
the forlorn little town Of Tennessee
City. 1t is legally a city, having been
properly Incorporated while under the
influence of a boom which was assidu-
ously blown up by q Chicago syndicate,
but which has now completely fnttened
out
! Five miles due north from this
pompously named absurdity lies Rus
kin, a thriving community of some 200
souls.
Of these two places it is the village
| that is the prosperous community.
Ruskin is a successful socialistic colony,
and probably the most interesting on
| the continent. Its people are persons
of high ideals, who seek to carry out in
actual life Jne dreams OF their philos-
ophy. They could be more prosperous.
sThey are happy and contented.
Every member of this association
shall surrender his natural freedom
which leads him to disregard the rights
of others, for the sake of civil or social
freedom which, being based upon the
principles of right and justice, has re-
gard for his rights and the rights of ALL
That is the corner stone of the COM
munity. Each member is an equal
IStockholder in the association, and all
share exactly alike. Every member is
guaranteed employment by all. a days
labor is fixed at nine hours. Every
member receives exactly the same
compensation for his work, no matter
what it is; if sick, his pay goes on just
the same.
There is no Interference with indi-
vidual tastes or private, religious or do
mestic affairs. The association owns all
and and means of production and dis
tributiOn, and owns all buildings, but
each member owns his own household
furniture and clothing. Members have
seperate houses, but there is a common
kitchen and dining hall. Some of the
best laundry machinery has been put
in, and will soon be put into operation.
Schooling, medicine and medical at
tendance are furnished free, and there
is a good school and kindergarten going,
with % or 80 children.
: The people in this little ideal world
are nearly all Americans. There are
few Germans. They come from all over
the union, but there are few if any from
the south. Ohio and p nnnsylvania fur
nish the largest quota. Very few come
from farms and those who do have lived
at least for few years in cities, so that
it can be said to be wholly a city COM
munitv.
There is no church or minister in the
place and no official religious services.
Ii anyone wished to start rel rious serv-
ices there would be no objection, but
doubt if it would be possible to get'them
officially recognized by the association.
Some of the members are pronounced
free thinkers. Almost all of them are
bitter against church organizations as
not doing their dBy, but all of them ad-
mire Jesus Christ and many are deeply
religious. The animating spirit of the
colony is distinctivnlv altruistic
Imagine d community without police
or sheriffs. Such place is Ruskin.
There are no officials save that one mem
ber is notary public and another post
master. There is no immortality, no
thieving no drunkenness. They do not
keep or sell liquors.
The principal business of the com
munity is the publishing of socialistic
weekly paper. This paper accepts no
advertisements and prints no news, but
it has an outside circulation of $4,000
copies, and on one occasion sold an edi-
ton of 100000. They also publish te-
legraphers' journal that has consider
able circulation, and issue yearly
number of books, chiefly on socialistic
topics. The authors and editors are all
members of the community, and receive
for Il air literary labor precisely the
same wages as woodchoppers and farm
ers and stablemen.
There are four known caves on their
lands, and probably more, as this is the
Of the mill has a very imposing entrance
1t is 45 feet high, 50 feet wide and ex-
tends back 200 feet or more. At one
side O. it spring, or, rather, subterra-
mean stream, comes out of the rock at
the rate of 70 gallons minute.
Half a mile down the valley is the
stalactite cave. This, as far as has been
explored, has no hall as large as the
one in the other, but it has a number of
winding passages, widening out into
sracious apartments. and these are
lined and festooned and punctuated
with stalactites and stalagmites of all
shapes and forms and some very beau
tiful crystalline formations. Italso has
a stream of water flowing through it
and many unexplored passages, but in
the known part there are more stalac-
tites than in the whole Mammoth cave.
Applicants for admission to the asso-
citation are required to pass a stiff ex-