The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-04-29
WHERE HARMONY OWELLS.
An Interesting Colony of Socialists
In Tennessee.

| luhu 10 sui NdIltu ny Hills anu IeTlile
valleys, and cut by many streams, lies
the forlorn little town of Tennessee
City. 1t is legally city, having been
properly incorporated while under the
| influence of a boom which was assidu-
ously blown up by Chicago syndicate,
but which has now completely fattened
out.
Five miles due north from this
| pompously named absurdity lies Rus
kin, thriving community of some 200
souls.
OF these two places it is the village
that is the prosperous community.
Ruskin is 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 the dreams of their philos-
ophy. They could be more prosperous.
They 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-
7 gard for his rights and the rights of all"
That is the corner stone of the com
munity. Each member is an equal
stakeholder 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
nestle affairs. The association owns all
land 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 4 good school ard kindergarten going,
with 25 or 30 children.
The people in this little ideal world
! are nearly all Americans. There are a
few Germans. They come from all over
| the union, but there are few if any from
| the south. Ohio and Pennsylvania 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 city COM
munity.
There is no church or minister in the
place and no official religious servcea
| If anyone wished to start religious Serv-
| ices there would be no objection, but I
| 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 duty, but all of them adj
mire Jesus Christ and many are deeply
religious. The animating spirit of the
colony is distinctively altruistic
Imagine a community without police
or sheriffs. Such a place is Ruskin
There are no officials save that one mem
Der is a notary public and another post
master. There is no immortality, nc
thieving, no drunkenness. They do not
keep or sell liquors.
The principal business of the COM
munity is the publishing of a socialistic
weekly paper. This paper accepts no
| advertisements and prints no news, but
1t 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 a 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 their 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
cave region. The one in the bluff back
of the mill has a very imposing entrance,
1t is As feet high, 60 feet wide and eX.
tends back 200 feet or more At one
side of it a spring, or, rather subterra.
mean stream, comes out of the rock at
the rate of 20 gallons n 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 number of
winding passages, widening out into
spacious 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. 1t also 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-
animation in socialism. None but adj
vanced socialists are permitted to join,
and the admission standard is steadily
rising.-N. Y. Herald.
Too ExhilnrRting.