The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-01-03
MORE ABOUT THE ICARIANS

,dren OF the vanguard pioneers, 1t was
decided to come to Nauvoo, since the
Texas attempt had failed and Nauvoo
mad been abandoned by the N1ormOn5,
leaving a number OF empty houses
there.
The story OF Icaria Is simply the
story OF enthusiastic and weil-mean-
ing human beings who deceived them
selves on the possibility Of reaching
perfection. Although above the aver
age in morality and ability, the lear
ians made radical failure. because
they were demanding of mankind
more virtue than mankind Is capable
of exhibiting. Is not this the evil
dence given by 1900 years OF attempt.
ed so-called christianity the world
over?, Witness the present war.
In order to show the actual value
as citizens, OF the lcarians, We need
only to call attention to the rem
,nant. OF some OF their, families in
our midst. The Jules Remand and
Couloy families, in Keokuk. the LIE
roys and Lefebvres in Hamilton, the
Couloys and Bxters in Nauvoo, and
many others Of equal worth, are de-
scendants of the original lcarfans.
One of their leaders, Caudron, be-
came president Of the Warsaw wool
en- mills in the sixties.
Even the community which branch
ed from the Nauvoo Icarians and set
tied at Corning, Adams county, Iowa,
is now defunct. But there are in
that vicinity number of descendants
OF the Icarians. Their last PRESIDENT
Bettannier, whose wife was the
daughter OF one of their leading men,
finally closed the affairs OF their as.
ISOLATION and moved to California,
where his children occupy responsible
positions.
The Icarians were not a sect. The
religious views of these reformers
were similar to- those of the Unfair.
ians, but there was no attempt made
by them to dictate either religious or
political tenets to any OF their mem
bers. Their admiration OF Christ
was confined to His neral and social
teachings. There was nothing In
Icaria resembling the methods OF the
Oneida community.
It may be well to add that the
Icarians, as early as 1850, gave proof
OF their progressiveness by adopting
among their families the methods
Of hygiene taught, in the first half Of
the nineteenth century. by the SCI Pm
tist, Raspai1, who, far ahead 81 the
schools of medicine, asserted that
most diseases are due to microbes
and bacteria. His remedies, in dis
ease, were mainly antfseptics, at a
time when the influence of microbes
upon health was derided by the fac
ulty, who then relied more upon
fasting, bleeding. water cure and
dangerous mercurial remedies than
upon antiseptics. Our Icarians were
healthy because they relied more up
on camphor and other disinfectants
and antiseptics than upon ypoisons in
curing diseases. Since the discover
cries Of Pasteur and others have
shown that nearly all diseases are
due to bacteria, great reaction has
are taught everywhere.
A most important work on Icaria
and its Founder" was published at
Paris, 1907, by Jules Prudhommeaux.
who came to the United States to
study the different communities which
have attempted reform of society.
He quotes another writer, Nordhoff.
who said: I'm that village (NauvOo)
are buried fortunes, noble hopes, and
the aspirations Of good and great
men like CADET 1t and it
alone represents in America, great
idea-rational democratic commun-
ISM beautiful but impossible.
G. p. DADANT.
Hamilton. H.. Dec. go. 1916.