The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-11-11
ADYING COMMUNITY.
The Rich Rappists Near Pittsburg
Have Only Nine Members Left.
CPittsburg Dispatch.)

NFIttSDuTg DlSpatch-)
A few miles down the Ohio from Pitts |
burg is d station marked Economy On |
the top of the steep bank you discover
a quaint brick village, embowered in |
trees and pleasantly diversified with gar
dens. This village is the abode of the /
Economics or RappiStS. whose society |
was founded in 1870 by George Rapp, or !
Father Rapp, as he is called among his
followers Wurtemburg farmer who
came to America with about goo corelig-
ion1sts. At first they settled in Harmony,
IA, where they Wof ked a farm of 1900 I
acres. After while they moved into
POsey county, Indiana
But the new site proved a rough, IN
healthy place so the Rappists shifted
eastward again, arriving in their present
village in 1920
built comfortable houses and several
mills, and had the ADVANTAGE of touch
with the markets. for PittSburg is only
seventeen miles away.
Money making is apparently as pleas
ant an occupation for communities il
Is Tor others. ana these Shrewd Germans
made as much of il as they could The
shops and mills were run on full time,
outside hands were engaged to work in
the farms and vineyards. and at one per-
lod the industries of the place were 50
considerable that the employees outnum-
beTed the society ten to one Then the
society began to speculate. There WAS
discomfort. more losses in speculation. q
decline in the market. the mills were
closed Outsiders were hired to keep the
were 50 generous that the treasury was
depleted and they had to be dismissed
Then came the trouble that almost
every community suffers sooner or later.
Several of the members sued the society
to get larger shares or to break mp the
OrganiZa ton and make it sell out and
from the outer world sued to draw out the
shares of dead relatives The courts have
been invariably on the side of the society.
but law suits are financially eXhaustiug,
and after several Of them. together with
dull trade and deSerti0nS. the profits had
practically disappeared and there was
debt Of 81 10000, although the money was
borrowed from itself-that is. from the
bank il owns in Beaver Falls. and which
had advanced large sums to pay for out
side labor. The debts have been much re-
duced by judiciOUs manageme 1T and by tn
yield of the dozen or twenty oil wells. 20
that the society is now regarded as in
good shape again.
There are only nine communists left,
and most Of them are old. They control
the village. however. so that the hun
drcdS OF others who rent houses and shops
and farms have to conform in a measure
! to their ways of life.
The Rappist aims to make his religion
his life. In the matter of creed il can
hardly be said that he has one A dozen
years ago the RaDpiStS included not only
/ PrOtestants but Catholics and agnOstics.
/ Anything may be preached in the church
/ that is in accordance with public and
I private morals
/ Like the Amarites the Rappists are de-
/ seconded from the Pletists and live simple
( upright lives Their neighbors testify TO
/ that effect and like to deal with them.
/ They are sober in their recreations and
/ until lately did not even smoke. The boys
| play ball and the girls knit tides. but
: there are no picniCs, no dances, no spark
/ ms no shOws-nOthing nearer than per-
. mission to a circus agent to use the sides
/ of one barn for his pOsters-and no late
The present head of the Rappist com
munfty is John Samuel Duss. who has a
family and is young and energetic. He
( entered the society only eleven years ago
at the age of 20. and found himself con
D fTOnted by several pretty serious PROD
! lens There was a debt, the desertiOns
1 had been rapid, and il seemed to be a
matter of only a few years before there
! would NOT he a member of the community
left Some of the deserters had received
| money from the treasury after q fair and
/ pleasant fashion established years ago.
/ which was based on the SuppositiOn that
( "A man reared and living away from the
world would require few dollars 10 spend
/ till he should fall INTO the world WaVS
and this drain on the reserve had helped
to exhaust il. Several of the people came
/ home again presently. saving that the
world was a failure. and asked to be taken
back They were once more admitted.
| Mr. Duss is man of business; he is also
the head of the church: he breaches: he
leads the brass band-indeed the band is
known BY his name; he writes music for
it: he must keep in touch with the various
department of the society, ne is, In
fact the father Of a family who must pre-
serve the peace. satisfy religious faith
and keep his charges occupied, lest they
| eXpend their forces on evil and their time
in fruitless gossip.
| Naturally the dwindling of the com
munitv to only nine members has mar
| rOwed its functions The factories in
which they used to work have been CLOSED
and the looms have been taken from
| them: their fields are plowed and Feape6
bv strangers; even the village admins
| tration is consigned to paid agents: still
it is required of all who are permitted
to settle here that they shall live live:
} of moderate usefulness and excellence
I that they shall not be noisy and rude II
; ! the streets and although the lamps ii
the streets burn all night against emereng
| encips fl is understood that the window:
! shall he dark after the bell rings q Every
-,,enber of the society is abed by tina
hour.
A. I'm OF her coUlfnuneS.. the span of llfi
/ is long Most Of the members who nav
died fD F3conony have seen the a1H4te,