The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-06-30
COsME COLONY.
An English Cooperative Experiment in

An English Cooperative Experiment in
Paraguay Described by Member.
The notices about Cosme colony from
| time to time appearing in your columns
] have caused many of your readers to
! become interested in our doings and
| tempt me to trouble you with an ac-
count of our present position and pros
| poets,
For the sake of those not conversant
with our history, it will be needful to
| state that Cosme is a, cooperative set
Element of English speaking people To-
Gated in Paraguay 1t was founded
rather more than five years ago by
| party of Australians, and has since
been joined by various people from Bli-
tain. The aim of Cosme is to restore in
fuller measure than of old the free home
life which for generations has been
weakening among the English; to re-
build on foundations Of broadcast fellow
ship the village commune which bred
the freedom loving hardihood of our
Saxon forefathers; to gather once more
into family kinship and unite in the
bonds of brotherhood the hearthess and
the landess of our race and to win
again the lost birthright Of the English
mana place among his own people.
Cosmans are co-operators, working to-
gether in complete copartnership; COM
munists, sharing equally the results OF
their cooperative work; democrats,
governing themselves by authority
based on the majority vote Of members;
conservatives holding fast to the whole-
some Institutions of marriage and fami-
ly life, and teatotaers, knowing that
the only way to cure the drink faint SO
prevalent in the race is for all to alb
stain from intoxicants.
1t is for some reasons regrettable that
the work Of Cosme is not being carried
on nearer Fleet street, OF at least in
some part or other Of Great Britain
But ParaeuaY--the country of our adop-
ti0n-has certain great and overwhelm-
ing advantages In favor of cooperative
land settlement, particularly when the
settlers are as poor az We're the pioneer
Cosmans For Paraguay Is in the ub-
tropics, and shelter rough but passngly
comfortable can be rapidly built at only
bare labor cost. In Paraguay drouth
Is unknown and crops are always RI
penng The ParaGuayan land Jaws are
most liberal, putting to shame the legis
lation Of more civilized countries. The
government gave Cosne twenty-eight
thousand acres of land; exempted the
colony from all direct taxation for ten
years; granted complete selfgovern-
ment, appointing colony dominates;
magistrates; established a postal SER
vice. paying salaries to the colony paid
II, nd railroad ia If
grants; and now through the state bank
had supplied Cosme on favorable terms
of payment with valuable machinery for
the development Of the colony resources.
No barren gift is this Cosme land. It's
wide, grassy camps would pasture hum
dreds of cattle. Its virgin flower
crowned forests thick studded with val
liable timbers marketable even in Para
quay, only wait the axe and sawmill to
give meterial for cosey cottages and the
WhereWithal to obtain needful outside |
exchange" For much less game than |
the deer and other animals that abound |
in the coverts, hundreds of crofter fami-
lies have been evicted in Bonnie Scot |
land while the fish in the rivers would |
in law-loving England mean the prison |
ing of many a hungry poacher. No |
keepers guard the game, no notices |
warn off trcspassers. Holdaying Co.'S |
mans picnic peacefully with Wife and |
children on the banks of the rivers and |
angle unmolested in the splashing wa
ters. And the fertile farmland, hard |
won from the forest giants by axe and
fire, whether lying new ploughed in the
soft winter sunshine or dressed in the |
rustling beauty of tasselled corn or the |