The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1911-07-06

remarkably like), he gently separated
himself from the church, though his
name is still on the books), and be.
gan to hunt for this honest way to
rid men of the fear of losing their
jobs. He found it. He named it. Eel
lowship Farms, $1,000 down and the
rest due in part payments for eight
years. 1t was composed of rs acres
of honest land, and the willingness to
work and rough 1t little.
Today when everything Is safe and
snug, and another farm, over in Nor
wood has been bought for smother 40
colonists Mr.. Littlefield is free to say
that there were months of ordeal
which tied his face into an anxious
knot. They were breaking new
ground in a double sense. And fail
ure meant more to this little gray
man than financial ruin. That part
of it will never need to be gone
through with again; he knows now
how as much as can be done with the
new farm in one year, as they did
with the first in three.
LEARNED AS THEY WENT ALONG
They learned as they went along
To allow for the natural desire OF
mer to have things of their own, Mr.
Littlefield wisely allowed each of the
40 to own one acre and hold the other
thirty-odd in common. Then he learn
ed that every fellow was hot to make
the most of his own and cool to-
wards the common lands. He did not
protest. He only waited and watched
Presently two things happened: First
when the settlers had done all they
could with their own plots, they came
willingly enough to the common plot
seeing that this was just as important
to them individually as their own
acres (Which were not yet developed
enough to support them without this
common land), and second: When
they began to produce more than they
could conveniently sell, they had to
get together to dispose of what they
raised. for in every 40 only five or
six have the knack of selling things
So the community now raises and
sells its produce as a cooperative as
sociation. The land has taught them
one of the first principles of govern
ment and society, that the welfare of
each is inseparable from the welfare
of all.
The founder had more than bust
ness acuteness He understood men.
And he understood social forces, also,
though he called them by no fancy
names. He had studied the history of
such experiments in the past and
analysed their causes of failure. They
had shut themselves off from the rest
Of mankind. They had had too much
government or too little; had hit the
extremes of communism or anarch-
ism. They had gone in for fanati-
cism. They had been, for one reason
or another. untimely.
This farm he started close to a big
market. He allowed for the jealous
desire OF men to own something of
their own, while he planned for their
owning something together He
guarded against class hatred by let
ting in a lot of genuine Christianity
the kind you can live with. Zone
thing about this man: whether his
church throws him out or not, you
feel instinctively that he is a Chris
tian, independent of brandt And
finally, he chose time when, surely
such chance to get away from the
towns and be our own bosses was
never more badly wanted. Westwood
was near enough so that members
who dared not yet give up their jobs
and take to the land could come out
and work evenings and holidays. The
wives of many of the men refused to
rough it in the shacks; so the hus-
bands stayed away until they could
build something in which their wives
would be willing to live.
Thus Mr.. Littlefield has done what
few of US are able to do nowadays;
he has Kept his ideals down to bust
ness methods, and his business meth
DDS up to his ideal The thing works
1t can be done. And It is going to be
done in large quantities as soon as IL
is generally known, for the spread
has already begun; one farm in Del
aware. copied from this, and others
out in Los Angeles, of group OF
people who decided they could not
wait for Mr.. Littlefield, to come out
and start them, 80 started themselves
and consult him by letter every
week.
UNSPOTTED FROM FANATICISM.
Though these people on Fellowship
Farms have kept themselves un-
spotted from fanaticism, their neigh
bors practiced 1t rather freely for a
time. They were described as a col
ony of free-lovers and what not-all
the roll-call of the dire things done
by those who believe differently from
us was charged against this little