Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-06-08
TAFT TELLS WHY
SOCIALISM FAILS
Speaker of the Day at the Gen.
tennial Celebration of New
Harmony Community.

NEW HARMONY, Ind, June s.
Reasons for the failure of expert
ments in Socialism were discussed by
William H. Taft today in an address
delivered at the centennial celebra-
ton of the founding of New Harmony
This town probably is the most
famous of places in the United States,
where the opponents of socialistic and
community ideas tried to prove the
practical value of their theories. The
former President outlined the history
of these experiments here and drew
his conclusions.
The most notable experiment at
New Harmony, he said, that of
Robert Owen, failed, as all socialism
must fail, because it found no sub
stitute for the motive essential to
arouse and make constant human eff
fort that is furnished by the institu-
ton of private property and the shap-
ing of reward by competition and nat
ural economic adjustment. The plan
was based on the assumption that
man was a different being from What
he is,
IF he were so perfect that his love
of human kind would Danish from
everyone in human form selfishness
and retain in him the same energy.
self-sacrifice and industry in behalf of
others that he now manifests in be-
half of himself and those near to
him, then there would be no need for
the organization of a socialistic conf
munity, because we would have it at
hand. Until men are perfect beings
of this kind, socialism must either
constitute a tyranny so rigid as to
destroy not only the right of liberty |
and to interfere with the pursuit of |
happiness, or it must be a failure"
New Harmony, as Professor Taft |
described, was the centre of two eX-
periments in Socialism of very differ
ent types. The first of these started |
a hundred years ago by George Rapp' |
German mechanic, was in motive |
primarily religious. 1.-The Rappites"
were classed by the speaker with the |
Shakers, the Zoarites, the Communes
of Amana, the Commune of Bethel
and Aurora and the Oneida Commu-
nifty "They were all successful for
years" he said, 'in the simple meth
DDS of manufacture and agriculture
to which their members devoted |
themselves. They are not examples
useful for the sociological student in
considering present-day Socialmism
because their members had not be-
fore them the working out of new
plan for society and social progress,
but rather a method of living a sat-
isfactory religious community exist
ence. In the intensity of their re-
ligious motive was found a spur to
industry and self-sacrifice and sub
stitute for the institution of private
which such communities
abolished. Until other forms of So
cialism find such a substitute they
are likely to prove futile, as the his
tory of several instances of practical
trials has demonstrated"
The Rappites of New Harmony sold
out their land to Robert owen and
his partners in 1925. The community
Rapp founded was a heterogeneous
collection of many different elements.
finally resulted; the vari-
Gus factions asked owen to exercise
his powers as a dictator until they
could reach a satisfactory adjust
ment. Five or six different constitu-
tions were adopted within two years
Then owen had an open breach
with one of his principal partners
over the adoption of the Pestalozzi
method of school teaching. The COM
disintegrated, but the Owenses
remained in New Harmony and the
family became leaders in the po-
litical and social life of the State.
81 shall not stop to discuss social
ism in general or what it means, for
it might be difficult to give an &C
curate definition, so varying are the
views of persons who call themselves
socialists" declared the eX-President.
But no one can read the history of
these isolated efforts in the direction
of a regeneration of society on the
socialistic principle and the abolition
Of the institution of private property,
without a most wholesome lesson.
They teach the danger of destroying
what we have that is good in society
and that has been tested by time. in
order to seek a millennium which
must rest for it's successful achieve
ment on the elimination of all the ele-
ments of human nature as we know
it and a reforming of ii that is pos
sibe only after hundreds of centur-
les"