Daily camera., 1901-09-18
THE UNHAPpILY WE'D
Community Of womsa Whs Hav6
Found Marriage Z Hailufe.

Members Have Diasssnt Tsa1es ana
Prefessisns anA PreviAs ~
Each Others Needs WitAeue
Aals Assissanss.
Out in Mount Pleasant. one Of the
prettiest suburbs Of Warrington.
there is large brick house which shell
ters a unique community consisting Of
Is women under the government of
Mrs. Martha McWhirter. Most Of them
have found marriage failure and have
left worthless or incompetent hus-
banda to enjoy life In sistsrhood
where each can do exactly - she
pleases, provided she contributes her
share to the general purse, and does
nothing to disturb the harmony Of the
family. They do not live lives Of IDLE
ness, but each performs certain
amount of labor uudcr the direction of
Mrs. McWhirter. who seems 70 b.
woman OF remarkable personality Snd
executive ability. Gays the Chicago
Record Herald.
Some years ago. in . letter from
Texas, told an interesting story of
four women at Bolton, . little Texas
town. who. having bcen deserted by
their husbands and thrown upon their
own resources. established . board
ing house which soon grew into . hotel
and had the reputationo Of being the best
in the state. Nobody but women were
employed. except one negro man. who
did the heavy lifting and took care
of the horses. Thfs hotel became 10
popular that the proprietors started
several others like It at Waco and In
different parts OF Texas, and they
were all successful under the capable
management of Martha McWhirter.
They started laundries. also. and other
enterprises which brought large
profits. and within few years enabled
Mrs. AcWhirtsr 70 Sstirs from active
labor with money enough Laid by to
support herself I'D her companions in
comfort during the rest Of their hves.
In looking about the country for .
location which suited her health and
taste, Mrs. McWhirtsr found the eli.
mate and conditions at Warrington
agreeable. She bought two large
houses in Mount Pleasant. remodeled
them into . single mansion Of 20
rooms and invited to this shelter
limited number of distressed sisters
who had found the matrimonial yoke
wearisome and sought pescs.
The community has gradually
grown ane now consists Of 3s women
of 80 years old and upward, who are
living what they consider an ideal
life. Each one who enters the com
munity surrenders to II all the psop-
erfy she possesses. and II goes into
the common fund. which 10 quite
large. The amount 10 unknown. and
il is estimated Al the WAY from $780,
900 to $5oo.0o6, They agree also to
obey the orders Of their superior and
submit, to the rules of the organisa-
ton, which are few and simple. and
are chiefly for the regulation Of L.
Dor. Mrs. McWhirte. Rssigns the du-
ties OF her sgbordinAsss. There 10
only one man about the place. and he
is an aged negro. the same who WAS
employed by them st their original
venture at Belton, Tex. 30 years ego.
He does the heavy outdoor work. and
the women are assigned TO whatever
theF can do bess insids. One Of them
is a physician. who not only looks
after the health of the community.
but answers calls from the neighbor-
hood. Another - . dentist. who has
a chair and . case of instruments In
the reception-room Of the house.
which makes unprotected male visit
ors apprehensiss. Others are seam-
stresses and milliners. although ex-
travagance in dress 10 prohibited. and
one is q shoemaker. who not only
mends. but makes the footwear Of
the household Mrs. NcWhirter se-
lects the cooke and the Aossemaids
according to thsiE tsssss and quail
fications. and thus far. she tells M,
there have been NO ''kickess-"
Every woman In the community has
cheerfully accepted the situation and
performed the duties to which she
has been assigned. The labor y light,
being Distributed amsae - many.
and as the underlying principle Of
the community Is to promote the
peace. comfort and Happiness Of its
inmates. the effort of living has been
reduced to a minimum.
The women have no politics sAd DE-
not pretend ss bs rsyormsrs. Nor
do they interfere In any manner with
the outside world. They enter the
community to obtain relief from care
and anxiety and to avoid all responsi-
bility and everything that will inter
fere with thsie tranquility. II they
become tired of thetx restful sur
roundings and desire to return TO
scenes Of activity. tAey are allowed
to leave, but they forfeit whatever
they have cantDtb1tea 70 tbs common
fund. Two or three nervous crea-
lures who sought the shelter Of the
community found that they eould not
endure its peaceful atmosphere and
returned to their hAsbanas. ene If
them soon regretted hpr yseillation,
but they would not allaw hSs to
come back again. Each woman Il a.
lowed her own religion. No attempt
is made to inhuence the coascisnce.
No religious or political dise1ssioas
are permitted. Mrs. NcWhirter be-
lieves in strict inte!Yfstetien II
the Bible, and . literal obedience 70
the teachings Of Christ. GAe declares
that the theologians srs to blsms for
much Of the evil and RnAAppdAea
from whieh people euess n this
world, that controversy 10 destructive
Of happiness. but the teachings o.
Chrisf hrin9 neacA. -.-@