The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-08-07
A Home Colony
As Planned by
Upton Sinclair
Cooperative Project, Outlined by
the Author, to Improve and
Simplify Domestic EiSe
of Mankind.
voluateers to Undertake the Enterprise
Win a. Few as Twenty Families.
Will Devote His Time to It For
Years II Need Below He
Would Solve the Serv.
ant Problem.


ent. June IL.
y HAVE problem to solve. I write
an article about It for the reason
that there ere others troubled with
1t, and believe that 4 number Of
paople might solve 1t together where
each would fail by himself.
In carrying out my purpose am
obliged to discuss what the world
would call my private affairs" Sc
explain at the outset that am a so
cialist and consider that the private
affairs Of most individuals constitute
the most important public affair now
existing. I discuss nay own because
they are typical and because they hap.
pen to be the ones with which I am
most familiar.
The problem Is the one commonly
known as the servant problem" in.
vite you to consider the situation Of a
man who is possessed Of small fam
uy and a sNall Income and wishes to
be free to turn his attention to intel
lectuai pursuits.
Ided piace to Re@ Child.
For the past two years we have lived
upon a farm, and farm is the ideal
place to bring up a child, you have
read in the books. At the outset q hun
ger for companionship seized our Da-
vid. and. be found his way to neigh
boris aud paa9ed with little girl who
stuts0red After q week or two we
founAsthet he>was suffering, too, and
stopped the Wits, but teo late, and
now, for all knew, he may continue
to say every word three times over as
long as he.lives. And when he was not
learning to. stutter. he was up In the
pear orchard stu61ng himself or behind
the house swimzaing TIE baby ducks
and his shoes'in tire washtub or ors in
the kitchen mixing himself q pudding
Of pepper cruets, candlssticig and
milk. SOFT wns.found necessary to get
some ons.to*talne. care Of him, SO little
by little the -prcb3en has arisen, for
you must understand that it is net
merely a question Of fading govern.
ess or kindergarten expert; It Is q
question Of setting Mp and keeping un-
der way q home for him, and it is q
question Of an establishment of serv.
ants. ~.
The mistake was in the beginning
you say-if you object to servants you
ought never to have married. But IL q
man to be,denied the privilege Of par
enthood just because he happens to
possess an intellect? And Is 1t for tho
best interests Of the race that its fu-
ture generations should be furnished
exclusively by the ignorant and cal
lous2 And,h authors, artists, scientists
and philosophers are to reproduce. their
kind what is to be done? Shall they
have to marry their housekeepers?
have made many sacrifices for my at,
but confess that that one would have
staggered me-
OF course we can do it II we must.
We can stick to the farm and raise all
our own food and keep our health and
do 1t all at moderate expense, but how
pitiful it Is! We cannot travel, we can
never hear any music or attend tho
theater: we can have only books and
our own thoughts winter and summer,
year In and year out. We cannot send
our child to a kindergarten, to school;
he can never be with other children.
Can a mere writer Of original books
afford a house in the city or city prices
for impure food? And Of course we
cannot keep wide awake boy in q
boarding house or apartment. No, we
must have our own home and In the
country, so our thoughts come back
from every flight. Let us make one des.
perate effort to try to get good serv-
ants and then pay them anything and
keep them, and then when we get the
machine running let US get a little
house near by and keep 1t for our own
and allow no one there ana go and live
there and eat cold food and do our own
work whenever we wish to be alone
with our thoughts.
That was our plan until i took tho
resolution to write this article. There
are hundreds and even thousands In
exactly the same plight, said. And
why should they all sink back and
reconcile themselves to the manstrous
absurdities of isolated housekeeping?
As a preliminary to explaining what
I wish to propose / xhall state one
thing that I do not propose. I am not
dreaming any sort Of self supporting
colony. to set new ideal and realize
the cooperative commonwealth. What
/ am making here IS o simple business
profession for an ASSOCIATION of people
who may possess moderate income to
secure the benefits of the application
Of the machine process 10 their domes-
dc affairs.
Living Like 4 FeudA Baron.
Here am I on my little farm living
n my ancestors lived, like q cave man
or q faudal baron. / have my little
castle and my retainers and depend
ents to attend me, and we practice o
hundred different trades-the trade Of
serving meals and the trade of clean.
lnQ AiShaS 40 Ac -