Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-01-29
AN EXPERIMENT
IN COOPERATION,
The Once Famous Oneida Com.
munity Seems to Have Died
OF Success.
ONE Of KIND THAT SUCCEEDED.
After Achieving Prosperity the Organ
izatiOn Dlsbanded--HOw Move.
ment First Was Started
Special Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
Oneida. n. Y, Jan 1S.-Most expert.
mcnts in cooperative living and work.
ing DE OF failure, The once famous
Oneila community however, seems to
have died of success. AT any rate, after
II ha been guided from small begin.
nlngs through desperate straits to
wealth, handsome living and college
education for It's young people, then It's
members in perfect harmony and ac-
cord as Always parted their goods.
consisting OF houses and lands, live
stock and factories and manufactured
articles, with scarcely Il ripple to indi-
cate the change from a common purse
to d divided household and separate
accounts and returned Ia the ordin-
airy Isolated family lie and economic
system, Maybe their Travelled, cultured
young people did not like 10 be known
as coming from the only socialstId
community on record that ever made Il
success Of Itself. Some OF the separate
families however, still live IN the com.
munity building and use the common
dining hall
Il Is TO be- specially noted that tho
INN anse community property. amount
Ing to millions I'm value, was divided In
proportion 10 the number of years
service each member had contributed to
the community and that the women
shared equally WIN the men IN the dis
tribution. John Humphry Noyes. who
In 1913 founded the association on the
Old indian reserve, near Oneida, be-
lieyed I'm womau's rights and woman's
economic value. Whatever profits the
little community gradually accumulat-
ed were divided member for member.
both sexes sharing alike The women
shared equally with the men the hard
ship, the toll and, what was still worse
for women, the social Obiquy the set
tlement encountered In its first years
I'LL II got some money ahead, and the
feminine half had It's full part Of the
cream and honey Of prosperity Maybe
this strict justice 10 women was one
reason for the great financial success
OF the community
Jonathan Burt had a little land and
a sawmill on Oneida creek, and he do
mated II TO the experimcnters. Henry
Thacker. one uf the members, showed
the rest how TO raise fruit The first
idea OF the pioneers was to live by
horticulture and farming. At II they
went, hoe spade and fist They soon
raised everything that %uuld grow
there, but there was no market near.
In the beginning, however, the menu
bers had solemnly pledged one another
In one word-agreement.
Not agreement alone, however nell
Their all the batch Of angelic qualities
together, ever brought man a material
living, For that he must hustle, The
community had no money Sewall New
house, a wOodsman and one Of the Onel-
da community, had a knack for ham.
merlng and welding powerful steel
traps with blacksmith's tools. He made
some Of these to catch wild game. In.
dams and boys came TO barter for the
traps Mr., Newhouse found they would
bring money That was actually thu
beginning OF the vast oneida commu-
nifty manufacturing business, which
now includes the making of steel goods.
sllverware and spool silk. The fame OF
the NeWhouse traps spread as far AS
Hudson bay and the company there
sent to oneida an order the size OF
which, the associations historian
writes, gave the community a long re-
membered thrill The pioneers began
10 get on,
In the days Of hardest luck one Of
the men members began peddling spool
silk in the country roundabout. Sew
eral others took hand at the same
business, BY and by some young men
and women were sent to New England
to learn silk spinning and thread max.
Ing. They came back and started a NJ.
tie factory Of their own That was the
beginning Of the Oneida spool silk
making, now so extensive an Industry.
A woman who learned the business in
Nov England is stll the supcnntend.
ent u all the spool silk making at
Oneida.
Mr. Thackcr, the Horticultural mem
Der, longed TO make the experiment OF
canning and putting ON the market
some OF the luscious oneida fruits. IL
was foolish and visionary the conserya-
tives thought stll, for the sake Of
agreement he was allowed to do az he
wished. and that was the beginning OF
another great and profitable enterprise.
The moral Of the story Is In that word
agreement II there Is any moral