The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-10-19

anu tnAL ne 10 u Oout"biVtS
Is shown by his opposition to the
societys ence as shown In MS
paper. In nc first number ne oe'
clared himself for Independence,
Now and Forever; in the second ne
had advanced to such stage that
ne headed his paper Communism IS
Humbugism" In the third number
we find Communism Is Despotism.'
In the fourth, which, however, was
, never published, he points out clearly
the inequality then existing, and says:
Communism is curse to any and all
communities where established. IL
deadens all push, energy and ampi-
ton. 1t puts premium on idleness
and units a person for the battle
with the world for an existence Wnen
the time comes in which he will be
thrown on his own resources, whlcn
will sooner or later come to all mem
bers Of connmunistic societies. There
is no equality of rank and fortune In
a commuhistic society, nor In any IN
telligent community"
UNDERTAKE TASK OF DIVISION.
These Views were not held by the
majority OF Che members at the time
the PAPER was published, but in; q
little more than two years from the
appearance of the paper the society
had decided to disband, and measures;
were taken by which the property
could be distributed.
The work of surveying and dividing
the property and distributing 1t to
the members was naturally difh-
cult. task, and although the commits
sloners and trustees did their work
carefully. one learns on inquiry just
as would be expected, that each mem
ber thought he received too little and
his neighbor too much.
But what has eight years of COM
petition taught these villagers? How
do they like the new order of things
and how has the industry prospered?
One of the flour mills Is still running
and flourishing, the saw mill remains,
and the planning mill does work as
formerly. Most of the other indus
tries which at one time fourished
havesnot been revived, but as a mark
of the progress of the age, the old
wooden mill has been changed into a
storage battery pant and the water
power is utilized for running the
charging dynamo.
The schools have the same master
as before, but religious affairs are
changed. In fact, they are back at
the same place they were before the
founding of the Separatist sect. The
reading of Bimeler's sermons ceased at
the downfall of the society, and for
some time no religious services were
held In fact, long before this came
to pass, the sermons had been read
and reread so often that people had
lost interest In church affairs and the
attendance was very slight There
was no vitality, it had long been ex-
hausted.
RETURN TO LUTHERAN CHURCH.
The people, however, recognized
the Importance of religion and as one
of the older Inhabitants told me dur
ing our conversation:
'"The people recognized that it was
impossible to have a moral comml-
nifty without religion, and then, act
ing on the assumption, organized a
Sunday school and allied themselves
with the German Lutheran church,
from which they had separated while
in Germany. Services are held every
other Sunday in the old Zoar church.
This Is fitted up In no very elaborate
style, although there has been In
stalled small pipe organ.
There has been no marked change
49, ~ % tHn cir M
the change in organization. There are
some young men who depart from
the ways of their fathers and who
spend all they make for unworthy
objects, but this tendency was appa
rent during the declining years and
Zoar remains, for the most part, the
same peaceful, law-ahding Village.
Z. The villagers cannot change their
ways suddenly and have little or nc
q desire to do so If they could.
When questioned as to the desira
bi'ity of the present conditions, all
. seem satisfied. I was told that no one
% desired to go back to the old way OF
> living. They say the society lasted
only so long as the people were ig
'o'norant; with increase In education
people say that the boasted equality
was, In fact, slavery. They say there
are always rich and poor classes, and
snthat it Is contrary to the claws Of
nature. to try to make men equal
''They point out that during the ole
regime there were men who did moi
produce Eve cents a day and yet they
lived as well as those who labored
They point out that some wasted theii
time idiing and loungtng about town
e5s THIRD GENERATION IS IDLE.
One member declared:
'"Fhe frst generation worked al
right. the second worked less. and the
third did not work at ALL"