The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-25
From the Detroit Mans

III PToN SINCLAIR may now find
WI literary opportunity in chroni-
cling the rise and fall of Helicon
han. AS its ancient prototype was sup
posed to be the favorite seat of Apollo
and the muses. when they wished to be
apart from the higher authorities who
reigned from Olympus, this latter day
Helicon was designed as a place where
literary men and reformers could be apart
from the world and revel In an atmos-
phere of pure reason, mingled with al
truism. Since the passing of the Olympian
deities we mortals have come to use the
term Helicon as signfying horn that is
so badly twisted In its pipes that it usual
ly goes three times around the man who
plays 1t, thus involving him In an at
mosphere Of his own breath. In its proper
significance then, Hellcon Hall may be
regarded as a place where all persons Of
twisted social theories might resort and
blow their respective horns without in
ficting misery upon normal people. and
where each would be willing to bear
the footing of other horns, for the sake
of getting an occasional chance to toot
his own.
These little nuclei that cheerfully I'M
dertako the task of setting society just
right on the great problems which have
vexed the ages command our admiration,
not for what they accomplish, but for
what they attempt to do. Their dissolu-
ton follows hard upon the discovery
that any artificial society lacks some i'm
portaul quality which has enabled nat
ural society to persist through the ages
in spite of its faults No one need be
ashamed of his connection with such an
enueavor. The doctrines of Fourier, ST.
Simon, Hughes anu Kingsley are capti-
waiting, but man is an obstinate creature
who cannot get on In the world without
a few detrimental qualities. By artful
manipulation man has been able to i'm
prove the animal and vegetable Kingdoms,
by comb ining what is good and useful
and eliminating what is useless and detri-
mental, but by SO doing he finds that he
mas impaired the species in one way as
much as he has improved il In another
The fopcy pigeon turned to shift for HIM
self in the third generation has reverted
to the original type The plant that is
loses stamina and is soon crowded out by
the unmodified weeds, IL left without
GU. .ure. Mammals darling, turned out In
the alley. has a bad time in competi-
ton with the wild and weedy gamins
wno reek of the soil and the garbage,
but who have certain sustaining qualities
in spite of all.
Helcon Hall was one of the latest ex-
periments in social reform. 1t is sure to
go up In smoke IL it survives its first
encounter with flames and dynamite. The
Brook Farm colony attracted some of
the brightest and most practical men of
the country in 1sl, but 1T soon faded
Only a limited number of people can
live off one farm. Where the time is
divided between filling the soil or house
ho.i duties and dreaming. it will develop
that most of the community prefer to
10 the dreaming. and let the other fell
low hustle around with the work In
the sta te of New York all sorts of
dreamers and reforms have had their
day. 1t is a very obscure reform that
has not had either its inception or adop-
ton there. The Shakers. the Ebenezer
sect, the Universal Friends. who under
the leadership of Jemima Wilkinson,
founded the first communistic society of
tbs country: the Perfectionists, who I'M
der John Humphrey Noyes. founded the
Oneida Community, and Joseph Smith.
all have a place in that mystic circle. AL
most joining hands with them are the
Fox sisters, who started the Juror over
spiritualism; the several founders of the
equal suffrage movement; Amelia jerks
Boomer, the dress reformer, who immor-
talized her name by lending 1t to femi-
nine trousers; Elizabeth Smith Miller, who
tried to immortalize herself by making
the first adoption of boomers; William
Miller and the Millerites, who thought
they had figured out the date of the
external judgment, and the Lord only
knows how many other freak move
ments and refprme-s,
Eventually such things perish from the
earth for the simple reason that man