Industrial freedom. [volume] (Edison, Wash.) 1898-1???, 1898-09-17
EQUALITY COLONY.
Mrs. Helen L. Young Writes of the
Cooperative Association.

hardest heart and the strongest first.
The ancient hero was he who had
slain his ten thousands: the modern
hero is he who has made wealth at
the expense of his neighbors.
But strife for an ideal is the key
note which vibratcs through all art
and thrills through the universe.
Right over the line in the state of
Washington is brave band of men
and women whose ideal is to live the
/ Christ life in the surroundings of the
day. They have named their colony
Equality" which is modelled after
Bellamy's "Utopian Municipality
They hope to evolve, by cooperation,
a system of Industrial freedom, and
new social order whose creed shall be
the brotherhood of man. Progress
has taught them to hope for anything
desirable, and to know If it is good it
shall not be denied them. This coun-
try is the kindergarten of nations,
and the whole world, which is looking
for reform, is watching its efforts to
adjust itself to conditions harmoni-
ouSly.
These colonists are hoping to solve
this problem. They have 600 acres of
rich land and are straining every
nerve to establish a cooperative com
monwealth. In less than year acres
of dense forest land have been cleared
and buildings erected from the cut
timber. There are 260 people from
all parts of the globe. for the colony
acts as a magnet, drawing interested
workers from all points of the COM
pass. Each day is a panorama of
visiting sympathizers, some of whom
stay and others go when they see the
pioneer work that confronts them.
1t was organized in November, 1897,
and the land was paid for by the
Brotherhood of the Cooperative
Commonwealth, which numbers over
5000 reserves. The object of the
colony, as stated in its bylaws, shall
be "to own, cultivate and improve
land, to establish factories and in
dustries, to build homes for its MEM
bers, to insure the members against
want or the fear of want, to provide
educational and recreative facilities
of the highes. order, and to maintain
harmonious relations OF freedom.
equality and unity on the basis of
social and industrial cooperation"
The colony has complete autonomy.
having ten departments of industries
J with superintendent for each. The
initiative and referendum is in use
throughout the whole brotherhood
Many smile and say this theory IL
IDEAL but of course not practicable.
The same thing was said of the penny
post, the steamboat and the cmancl-
patton of the colorcd slave.
These 2G0 John Browns of Equality
are as willing to sacrifice personal
interests and prudence, even life it.
self, for the freedom of the millions
of industrial white slaves as was John
Brown. whose soul goes marching
on" willing to die for the black man.
They believe in mans dependence
on man. if one suffers, all are hurt.
They feel it is waste of time to
fight employers, 50 they fight the sys-
TEN. They feel that time well used
on earth in the active love of man
must be as beautiful a. any equal
measure of eternity can be. The life
of Christ hereafter can be no better
than this life here. If we love not
the brother whom we have seen how
can we love the God whom we have
not seen?
The freedom which we breathe to-
| day like common air was once fought
| for by our forefathers. These colo
nists are the kind OF men who by toll
or soul save Us. They are practical
Christians trying to apply the Golden
Rule.
| To meet existing economy condi-
tions there has to be a fee of $50
paid by the head Of each family upon
entering the colony. They hope in
time to reduce the initiation fee.
The colony habit" seems to be like
the morphine habit-hard to give up:
for at Equality there are families
from Altruria, kaweah, Ruskin, and
even from Topolobampo in Mexico
The spirit of cooperation strengthens
with use, and one who has lived that
way naturally gravitates towards
cooperative system.
The line of progress in human
affairs is very far from being the line
of least resistance, and the pioneers
at Equality are doing hard work pre-
pairing for the winter season. Be-