Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-08
UNIQUE
Working Features Of a Socialist Community
in the State Of Washington.
FORMER OMAHA MINISTER is PROMOTER
How the Colony f. Managed, the
Rights and Privileges OF Members
and Thei Quotations and
Religious Tendenciea

Rev. W. E. Copeland, formerly Of Omaha.
now a member OF the Cooperative Brother
hood Colony at Burnley. Wash, and editor
OF its organ, the Co-Operator, contributes
to the New York Independent an interest
Ing account Of the. organization, purpose
and development Of the colony. He says in
part:
On one Of the fingers Of Puget sound is
Carrs inlet, at the end Of which is to be
found a village without church, saloon,
jail, almshouse, bank, money or police.
This town is Burley. so called from Burley
creek, a famous trout stream, at whose
mouth Is built the first Industrial center
Of the Cooperative Brotherhood. a bene-
fetal organization which insures against
accident OF death by providing homes and
employment for its members who by acct
dent or illness are incapacitated from pur-
suing an ayocation which will give them
support.
To reach Burnley one takes a steamboat
from Tacoma, and after a lovely ride OF
about an hour, enters Gig harbor, one Of
the numerous bays Of which Puget sound
has so many, none more attractive than
this land-locked harbor to which entrance
seems impossible and yet which can be
entered by large ships. The visitor taking
N4@ e4oAaA1o 1eaN ALN0N9 Inv HAL ahO
from the colony at Burnley. sometimes a
farm wagon, and sometimes a covered hack
and sometimes a blackboard. A drive Of six
miles through the glorious woods Of west
ern Washington and along the shores Of
Henderson bay brings the visitor to the
colony. Near the entrance gate is to be
seen the mill, where logs are made into
lumber, shingles and boxes, these being the
branches OF manufacturing in which the
colony Is now engaged. Driving through
the grounds the visitor sees. on the left q
blacksmith shop. a two-story building used
for a printery, carpenters shop and gen.
eral Offices, a cluster Of houses known to
the colonists as Circle City, and straight
ahead another two-story building, in which
is the postofice. store. dining room. kitchen
and rooms for single men. Clustered around
the hotel are a cigar factory, milk house,
laundry, root house. shoe shop and several
cottages. All these buildings are plain,
mostly covered, both roof and sides, with
shingles. In Circle City is a school house.
where there is a district school for nine
months, where preaching is to be heard
on Sundays, and dancing music frequently
on Saturday nights, and where the resident
member or co-operators hold their meet
ings.
The Colony Farm
West and northwest OF these buildings
lie the colony lands. Of which there are
294 acres OF rich land. known to settlers
in Washington as beaver bottom. OF this
land some seventy acres have been logged.
fifteen acres cleared and planted, forty
acres under fence and partially cleared.
This land rises in punches from the creek
and on the part Immediately west OF the
present village is to be built the perma-
nent town, which will have the advantage
Il good drainage and shelter from the
southwest winds, which during the rainy
season are far from pleasant. On the side
hill facing east will be the orchard and
beds for small fruits, all OF which can be
irrigated from abundant springs. which lat
ter will also give a plentiful supply for the
town. Last spring on a third of an acre
poorly cultivated, from lack of the needed
help, a ton and a half OF Strawberries were
picked. So plentiful and fine are the wild
berries, including raspberry. red and black,
huckleberry, blackberry, salmon berry,
salol berry and mountain raspberry, that
the Indians called the ~neighborhood
olalla or berry. The lands Of the brother
hood stretch from the mouth Of Burley
creek on both sides Of the beautiful
stream for a mile and a quarter. furnish
Ing a good water power and an abundance
Of alder lumber-the alder growing here to
be trees from thirty to forty feet high
with a considerable quantity Of cedar and
small AR.
Purpose of the Brotherhood.
The Cooperative Brotherhood was or.
ganized in 1898 as an outgrowth OF the
Social Democracy founded by Eugene
v. Debs) and in the month OF September
of the same year the clearing at the mouth
Of Burnley creek was begun in the midst OF
a thick underground.
The Cooperative Brotherhood was in
eorporated under the laws OF the state OF
Washington. Members were solicited and
Joined from ali parts Of the United States
OF these members there we're two CLASSES
Nonresident and resident. The nonresident
members pay dues for 12O months or the
sum OF $40 in a shorter time II desired
After the payment Of FIVE years dues (S6i
at present, though liable to an increase IL
the near f~uture). the Cooperative Broth
erhood agrees to furnish a home and EN-