Industrial freedom. [volume] (Edison, Wash.) 1898-1???, 1899-05-27
EOUALITY'S STRUGGLES
FOR AN EXISTENCE.

In our annlverary edition of |. f. of Nov.
18th. 1898, wrote a short sketch giving a
brief and cursory history of the B and
Equality up till the arrival of N. W. Lermond
and other members of the National Board
upon the scene, which event transpred dur
ing the month of March. 1898
A large number of pioneers came on and
joined the colony during the months of March
and April, 9s, and the customary struggle
between Socialism and Individualism which
always occurs within ever, cooperative colo
ny. association or union of any kind began in
dead earnest.
Right here will take occasion to remark
that we Equalityites do not seek to hide the
disagreeable fact that we have had fair
share of the trials and tribulations that al
most invariably befall those who have the
temerity to quit the beaten path trodden by
the multitude and strike out boldly for them
selves on a short cut across lots towards
higher civilization. ~
THE handspring of all our troubles has
been, as usual. the childish weakness of HUI
man nature, intensified by our poverty. Had
we been made altogether, of the stern stuff
that is the composition of ideal pioneers
most of our foolish troubles might have been
averted, but, as a rale it was, except in theo-
ry, the average man that came to the colony,
and it is notorious fact that the average
man is incapable Of reason to any apprecia-
BILE extent.
y Our first serious trouble occurred over a
disagreement with the National Board over
the question of establishing new colonies
the Board desiring to go ahead and attempt
the same without awaiting developments at
Equality, while the colonists contended that
it was unwise and dangerous considering the
straitened condition of our finances to under
take the founding OF other colonies until
Equality had become nearly or quite self,
supporting, and that to divert any portion of
our energies to such purpose would endan-
ger the success of the whole movement and
almost surely would cause breakdown that
would leave us without any colony at all
This controversy lasted nearly three
months, and was finally settled by granting
perfect autonomy to the colony in every
thing except in the holding of land titles,and
the payment of monthly dues to the B G c.
The autonomy agreement left the National
Board free to establish all the new colonies
possible without protest from the colonists at
Equality.
Aside from the above disagreement there
has been nothing that seriously threatened
the existence of the colony. Our troubles
have been mainly of the minor order, but ex-
ceedingly irritating in their nature, and al
most continual in their recurrence
The underlying cause has been the undis-
putable fact that as socialists most of us were
pulled before we were ripe" We thought
we had reduced socialism to a science before
we had mastered the alphabet thereof And
furthermore we did not analyze our own ma
lures to discover how much of the old COM
petitive, murderous, individualistic spite yet
fingered therein. A mistake, but very COM
mon one.
The outcroppings of this spirit in Equality
have been more comical than tragical in
their manifestations. and the variations
thereof have been as numerous as the persons
affected.
One extremely prominent manifestation has
been on the part of many complete failure
to realize the very simple fact that we are
working for ourselves. The predominating
thought until very recently seemed to be
that the colony was a separate and distinct
entity of which we individually were not
component part and with which we had no
connection. In fact this idea prevailed to the
extent in some cases of a feeling that it was
sacred neutrality-suspicious. duty to do any
thing to beat the the colony "allee samee,n
trust or syndicate.
OF late there has been a remarkable gain
in this respect, The word they formerly
used in speaking of the colony is gradually
losing ground and being supplanted by the
more socialistic 1--WE"
A few drones got mixed in TO the human
hive, from time to time, and caused almost no
end of trouble. The mere loss of their labor
being but bagatclle compared with the per-
nicios moral efs;. their conduct had upon
others who were reasonably industrious I'M
der ordinary circumstances but not sufficient
~ phiOsUphic to bear with the shirkings of
others, and at the same time perform their
own share of labor.
2 The result was that at times there was a
chronic fear prevalent with large number
that most Of the membe,s were not doing
their duty, and the amount of time and effort
expended in watching one another for fear
that the ''other feller' wasn't doing his part
would have considerably Increased our mate
rial wealth had it been applied to productive
labor.
Less watching and growing and more
working is becoming the order of the day in