St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-12-09
THE cHlLDRHN.s LAND.
It Ii Located In new Mexico and
Certainly II . Most Remarkable
COAAUNlty.

On tract of land nearly 1000 acres
in extent, and situated about six miles
north of Las Cruces and about so miles
north Of FL Paso, in New Mexico, is the
most remarkable community in the
world. Here fraternity. with new
civilization. new religion and a Bible
of its own, is being reared, with the idea
of the perfectability of the human face.
which was the dream of it's founder.
From the raw material of castaway in
fants and foundlings new kind of peo-
pie is intended to result.
The adults composing this commune
ty are spiritualists and vegetarians.
but the children reared under this
strange system are the chief hope Of
the believers. 1t is they, and not the
grown men and women who live in the
Shalam, who are to demonstrate to the
world the possibility of new economic
and social fraternity. Through theE,
earth is to be regenerated and man led
out of the darkness of the competitive
system into one where private prop
erty, if not wholly abolished, is made
subject to q sort of communism with
which writers of the order of Mr.. Bel
lamy have made us familiar.
The founder of this community was
DIR. Newbrough, New York dentist
and spiritualist, who died in 1890. He
wrote q mammoth work, which is the
Bible Of the sect, and is called "Oahspe, !"
word meaning earth, air and sky in
. language spoken before the flood. 1t
is said to have been written on the type
writer by DIR. Newbrough, his hands
being guided by supernatural beings.
and was printed without being read by
the doctor. 1t is certainly a work with
out counterpart, filled with extraordi-
nary phrases and with more peculiar
illustrations, but il is the sacred book
of unique community. which was
founded to establish the religion il
teaches. and out of the spiritual and
economic doctrines set forth therein
to found new race. And the few who
constitute the fraternity not only fol
low its economic doctrines and refrain
from considering anything as theirs
they call themselves "Kosmons," which
is said to signify in the language Of
their sacred scriptures nOn-owners of
any and everything; but the children
are taught to revere the book as the
inspired dogma of their religion.
The community of Shalam is called
''the children's land" and number of
buildings have been erected. The chill
dren's building. built of brick, is the
largest; the fraternum of adobe is an
other. The walls of the latter are hung
with q number of the most extEaordi-
nary pictures ever painted, the work
of DIR. Newbrough.
The greatest care ID! exercised in
bringing up the children. who. under .
special law Of New Mexico. are adopted
by the ''faithists," as the rules of
Shalam call themselves, and become
thenceforth their children. The young
er children are taught by kindergarten
methods. and the older ones are. in
structed in such trades as they show q
liking for. At suitable age" they
are taught spirit communion. There
is so much, however. that is reasonable
and practical in the tuition and regimen
prescribed thst one is inclined to over
look the extravagances.-J0seph d.
Miller, in Every Month.