Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-08-28
A DESERTED VILLAGE
Present State of a Once Flourish.
ing Shaker Community at
Lebanon, \. Y.
WOMEN 0UTNUMBER THE MEN.
Only One Hundred and Twenty Mem.
bars of the Peculiar Sect
Left There.
Special Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
Mount Lebanon, N. Y, Aug 4-The
Shaker community in this village so
long the pride Of that peculiar sect not
only because Of the number Of It's
members. but because Of the value OF
the property owned in common, is fast
sinking into oblivion. Not great
many years ago COO Shakers called Mt.
Lebanon their home. There were FIVE
prosperous families here, with acres Of
seed producing crops and mills ana
factories which were never idle. Now
there are four families, with only l2O
members. The women outnumber the
men five TO one, and the majority OF
both sexes. are old. The fierce compe-
tition Of the modern market has closed
the mills and factories, and the seed
business has been abandoned because
other seed ralsers appropriated the
name shaker" and cut prices.
The article against marrying and Civ
ing In marriage Is an imperative one
in the Shaker constitution, and the
ranks OF the sect have to be filled by
recruits from the outside world. The
recruits are no longer coming In, and
the absence OF children to perpetuate
the faith of their fathers makes II APP
parent that with the death Of the pres
ent dwellers in the Shaker communities
their sect will practically disappear.
There are today In the 10 Shaker set
Elements Of the United States between
500 and 800 believers" one hundred
years ago the Shakers numbered l,6I2.
Twenty-Five years later they had add
cd 1000 TO their membership. In 1870
the entire membership OF the Shaker
societies was 5000, but since the civil
war the decrease has been rapid. Only
the unusually long lives Of the faithful
has kept the sect from being almost
entirely obllterated.
The Shakers themselves admit that
they are losing ground, but they are
not losing hope. They say that when
life becomes less strenuous than 1t IL
now, when the contest between capital
and labor is ended. the minds OF pen
will have time to turn again to re-
llgion, and then prosperity will return
TO the communities.
Despite their failing fortunes the
Shakers never become shiftless Their
community may look like deserted
village, but II is not tumbledown VII
lage. Cleanliness and neatness are with
them indeed next TO goodness
or the four families comprising this
community each has It's special duties,
The North family, which lives in sew
eral fran houses painted white with
green shutters, the first met with on
entering the village, looks after the en-
tertainment and instruction OF visitors,
The Church family occupies large
modern brick dwelling adjoining the !
houses Of the North family. This fam |
ily forms a higher branch Of the order |
and holds services every Sunday, the |
secrets OF which are closely guarded |
Near their house Is the old church In |
which public services used TO be held !
but Of late strangers have tried TO
break up the meetings, and they have
been discontinued. The Second and |
South families live In houses llka those |
Of the North family still farther along !
the road.
Each family Is presided over by an |
elder and an eldress. The women have |
equal rights with the men. The wo- |
men do the housework and make the |
fancy articles from which SO much Of |
their income is derived, while the men |
are expected to farm the 5000 acres |
which comprise the community's real |
estate holdings. There are not enough |
men to farm the land as Il should be |
done. and the difficulty Of hiring male |
help renders much Of the land useless. !
Plenty Of old and disabled persons |
apply for membership in the oommum- |
IT, but these are not wanted, The Sha- |
kers work for one another and those |
who cannot work they say, must not |
expect to come into the order and en- |
joy in idleness the comforts the labor |
Of others bring
To Join the shakers persons must first |
sever every worldly tie Debts must |
be paid, and II the applicant Is mar
ried a legal divorce must be obtained.
II persons have relatives dependent |
upon them they must be provided for. |
All property that remains Is turned |
int othe common treasury of the order.
II is not necessary, however. for an APP
plicant to bring In funds; most OF those
who join now have nothing.
The Shakers and Shakeresses dress
very simply. They wear no iewelry, |
md the women garb Themselves In blu
sh gray. with large white collars.
Their hair is hidden under peculiarly
shaped bonnets something like those
worn by salvation Army lasses. In
zach house there are separate living
sections for the brothers" and for the
sisters"