The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-12-05
WORLD CITY PLAN RECALLS
 OTHER UTOPIAN SCHEMES


 It is expected that representatives of all nations will assemble in Paris to-day to hear the first public plea for the building of a great interna- tionaI city devoted to all forms of hu- man progress and reform. If the elab- crate scheme for such a world center of progressive thought should be rea- lized on the scale dreamed of by it's promoters, this day may become one of the most important dates in his tory, but it is recorded that hundreds of somewhat similar projects have ended in failure. Since the days of Plato, and probably long before, men have dreamed of ideal communities based on the spirit of universal broth erhood, but racial and religious an tagonisrns have always prevented the retaliation of the vision.
 The leader in the latest 'Interna- tional city, movement is said to be Hendrix Christian Anderson, an American sculptor who resides in Rome. Some four-score peace and ptlilanthropfc societies of information al scope are said to have indorsed the plan.- The cost or Qu1lOlnE the C1Iy is estimated at $10O,oOO,000. Among the possible sites suggested ara q spot on the coast of Holland, near The Hague; the New Jersey coast, the Riviera, near Cannes; a spot on the St. Lawrence; the shore of Lake Heufchatel, near Bern; Tervueren. near Brussels; the Marmore coast, near Constantinople; the Mediterran- can coast near Rome, and St. Ger main-en-Laye. near Paris.
 The imaginary 'FUtopia.' of Sir Thomas Moore, described in his fa- nous political romance ''The Ideal Republic. which is the New Island of Utopia has for nearly four centur- 1 ies inspired men to seek the realiza- ton of the splendid fancy. Com l munists, socialists, single taxers, an- l archigts, spiritualists. theosophists. TO- l iigion1sts of many strangs sects and the opponents of religion have sought to build cities and communities to serve ton of their isms.
 New Harmony, Ind, now a conn monplace country or town of less than 1,5o0 people, is a. monument to one of the most interesting of Amer ican communistic experiments. In 1905 party of Harmonists, members l of a sect founded in Wurtemburg, em- igrated to America and settled first in Butler county. Pa About a century chased 27,OOO acres of land, and gave the name of Harmony to a settlement which was to be the center of the sect's activities. Tn 1924 the liar
 monists, who believed in a community of goods and cenbacy. sold their In dian interests to Robert Owen and lireturned to Pennsylvania, where the, started new ideal city, called Economy. Owen, the father of Eng.
 It was just a century ago that he pub
 1ished the first of his remarkable es
 says on "A New View of Society" Hi I purpose in coming to America. was tt establish a community where he couIt put into effect his scheme for the SO
 ciaI, economic and religious reorgan
 ization and regeneration of the world
 The town was renamed 'New liar
 rnony", and was operated collectivel.
 by the New Harmony Community e
 Equality Private property. ira,
 tional religion and the marriage insti
 tuition were denounced by Owen as tn
 trinity of mans oppressors. Tn
 scheme failed, and Owen, who had los
 most of his fortune in the venture
 returned to England. The word ESQ
 cialisnl'' first became current in tn
 discussions of the Association of Al
 Glasses of All Nations. formed b.
 Owen in 1885. Robert Owen was ac
 companied to America by his two sons
 Robert Dale Owen, later famous as
 pubhcist and congressman in tn