Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-03-27

BISMARCK DAILY TRIBUNE, VI
Intellectual persons to do the cooking.
the washing, the cleaning ana other
necessary duties about the big house
was tried at first, but when found Inn
practicable it was given up In the
main, outsiders being hired.
Character Of The Colonists.
Most Of the colonists were authors,
editors, artists or devotees Of intel
lectuaI pursuits of some other. sort.
This is significant. People like to talk
shop. Birds of feather, you know.
The hod carrier prefers the society Of
another bod carrier to that Of the
bricklayer or the construction fore
man. So It is with those higher up. 1t
is quite conceiv able that Mr.. Sinclair's
associates, could they have happened
to get together In large boarding
house In the city, would have enjoyed
life just as well as they did at Helicon
Hall, but without cooperation they
could not get together SO they must be
Heliconized. s$ss,s
A somewhat widespread misconcep-
ton as to the Helicon Hall status led to
many annoyances. Mr.. Sinclair was
obsessed with cranks and nuisances Of
all sorts. Some there were who seemed
to imagine that the Hall was a sort of
free for all, that the Heliconians were
living in a state Of free and easy hos
pitality such as only the very rich can
afford and not even the very rich ever
dispense.
On one occasion Mr.. Sinclair received
q telegram from man OF whom he
had never heard to the effect that this
individual, with friends would ar
rive that evening. An hour later the
self announcer arrived, accompanied
by another man and a woman. All car
ried suit cases and announced that they
had come for a weeks visit. AS 1t
happened that every room In the Hall
was occupied and some colonists were
sleeping on hunks, the visitors were
delicately directed to the Englewood
hostelry. They made what is described
as a scene. and the ringleader filed
columns of newspapers with his denun-
Citations Of the colonists. II was ascer-
tained that at an anarchist meeting on
the east side In New York this man
had casually met member Of the col
ony, who had casually said:
Come up and see us some time"
Not Like Brook Farm. s.
Another error In relation to Helicon
Hall is to call it Brook Farm expert
ment. There Is scarcely anything
about the Helicon proposition to sug-
gest the celebrated experiment in CO.
operation which was tried for two or
three years by a small band oe enthu-
siasts near West Roxbury, Mass, early
In the forties. Brook Farm was alto
gether different proposition. Profess
sor George Ripley had theory that
men and women could dig living out
Of the dust of the earth by working a
few hours a day and could live on a
higher and more rational plane by so
doing. He gathered about him d band
of plain livers and high thinkerH.a They
founded Brook Farm Mrs. Ripley. a
highly accomplished woman = did the
community washing. Nathaniel Haw-
thorne is said to have fed the pigs. AS
the members were yegetarians this Inn
putation Is exploded. However: sever
al Of these afterward eminent persons
did farm labor and household drudgery.
Among them were Margaret Fuller,
Thoreau, George William Curtis,
Charles A. Dana and a. Bronson All
colt Mr.. Emerson also used to run
out from Concord and transeendental-
lie the enthusiasts, but he was not a
member of the community.
After q time Brook Farm got under
the influence Of Albert Brisbane, de-
vout Fourierite, who Fourierized 1t
and incidentally killed 1t off. The
farmers built phalanstery after the
teaching Of Charles Fourier, who held
that all mankind should divide into
aphalanxes'. of 1900 persons each.
One large building, or phalanstery
was to house all the 1000. In this
building and on the land around ii
they were to produce all things nenes-
| sary for their subsistence. They were
to provide their own music and amuse-
ments. The Brook Farm phalanstery
burned down one day. and the farmers
separated to become noted poets; phi
losophers, journalists and other things
| just as good .ssssg ~
Helicon Hall was something In the
order Of phalanstery. to be sure. but
1t was not Fourieristic. Mr.. Sinclair
and his associates surely must be ac-
credited with scheme much more
practicable than that which was dried
and found wanting at Brook Farm.
That Upton Sinclair Is not over
whelmed with fine haired theories was
proved by his athletic and corporal
iswatting Of the beef trust with his
club. called 'The Jungle" last wear.
The fire came too soon for him and his
associates to have a fair trial Of their
experiment 1t is well known that the
Ioriginal idea embraced the separate
cottage system, with the community
dining hall. Mr.. Sinclair and many
other members declare that the colony
must go on. and in the event of its