Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-03-12
Big SOCIALIST PLANS.
Cooperative Colonies to Be Con-
centrated In One Section.
FOB BENEFIT OF UNEMPLOYED.

KIondike Millionaire to Purchase
100000 Acres of Land For Families
to Live on Comm unlstic Plan-Sev-
eraI Other Schemes Based on Col
IectIvism Seem to BE on the Point
of Success.
Three gigantic cooperative enter
prises for the benefit of the unemploy-
ed and of working people generally are
now under way in this country. A
scheme is being agitated by western
co-operators to get all the unemployed
in the country together in one state
and organize them into cooperative as
SociatiOnS.
Besides the big cooperative city plan
ned by the Illinois Producers association
in the vicinity of Hammond, Ind, Brad
ford Peck, n wealthy resident of Lew
iston, Me-. and George De Lion, a klon-
dixie millionaire, have planned big CO.
operative colonies and announce that
they are determined to put their plans
into operation.
De Lion announces that he intends
TO purchase 100000 acres of land, cut
it into 100 acre farms, build houses
and provide tools and find 1000 fami-
lies to occupy the farms and ike &C
cording to communistic plan.
Bradford Peck announces his inten-
ton of building n model city near Lew
iston, Me-, and has already started the
groundwork for this city.
He is making active preparations,
says the New York Journal, for his ma
tional cooperative society, to be con-
Iosl
ward Bellamy. He is at the head OF
this society, the purpose of which is
to absorb the government, to own all
land in America, to obtain possession
of all factories and industries and to
become the universal employer and
governor.
s. =. Walsh, a western cooperative
agitator, has placed plan before the
western cooperative societies to gath
er all the unemployed in the country
into one body and organize them into
cooperative associations of producers
in some thinly populated state or
states. Walsh's plan is described by
himself as follows:
LET a certain state. or perhaps two
of them in different parts of the coun-
try, the resources of which ape the
least developed by present day meth
DDS and the population of which is not
large be selected, and let the homeless
and unemployed go there. Let any de-
string a change of residence go there
In this the chief object would be the
conquest of political power. Public
ownership and industry could be eX-
tended, with its consequent good re-
suits The same could be done in the
case of cities. At the same time those
so inclined could form colonies which
would do Wei in the more friendly en-
vironment.
after the state is captured the first
steps would be to revise the conStitu-
ton and enact the initiative, referen-
dunn and imperative mandate, so that
demagogues would get their dues and
the powers of the legislature not be
used for selfish ends.
"a directory could be kept of all
those who went to the state and OF
those who intended to do so. Some of
our colony newspapers or political pa
pers would no doubt gladly keep and
occasionally publish this directory.
Each person would report when going
to the state or when he made up his
mind to do so.
81 am aware that this colonizing plan
was tried before, with the idea of pro-
viding homes and employment for the
emigrants. and that it failed, but con-
ditions then were not as ripe for the
movement as now"