The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-07-08
SHAKER SECT IS
FAST DW|NDL|NG
Most Remarkable Of All Religious
Groups That Found Sanctuary
in Colonial America.
twelve COMMUNITIES LEFT
introduced Idea of Equal Rights TOR
Women Two Years Before Declara-
ton of Independence-Prac-
ticed Real Communism.

ticed Real Communism.
Washington, D. C.-The idea OF
equal rights for women was
In America two years before u Dec
laration of Independence declared all
men are created equal Spirit mani
festations, akin to the recent popu-
larity of other world communication,
had q vogue In the colonies before the
Revolutionary war.
These facts are recalled by the pro
posed abandonment Of the Shaker COM
munity in Enfield, New Hampshire,
which Is reported to have dwindled
from $50 members to only six sur
vivors, says a bulletin from the WASH
ington, D. c., headquarters OF the Ma
tional Geographic society.
"Of all the religious groups that
found sanctuary on the soil OF colonial
America the most remarkable, perhaps,
were the Shakers with their customs
that we're partly medieval and partly
far ahead Of their day." the bulletin
continues. "And the persistence OF
a firmly grounded religious belief Is
aptly illustrated by their survival to
this day although their virginia. vows
provided no younger generation to ar
ry on their tradition, and their delib-
crate isolation In self-sustaining COM
munities gave few opportunities TO
make converts.
"The Shakers never had more than
1000 members and the IL cOmmuni-
ties remaining today reported 1857 mem
bers In 1916, which means a population
Of not more than a thousand. Inc
longevity of Individual members, CON-
bined with their abstinence from meat
and fish, their prescribed manual labor
and hygienic living, have made their
communities interesting human expert
ment stations for the biologist as well
as the %geographer. The bodily move
ments as they worshiped closely re-
semble the MONDAY gymnasium exer-
cises Of many an American business
man.
Arrested for Gyrations.
"Ann Lee, se~lf-styled, Ann the
Word but known among her followers
as Mother Ann, founded the Shakers,
whose official title is United Society
of True Believers in Christ's Second
Coming After four children died In
their infancy Ann Lee sought solace
among an offshoot of the Quaker sect
in England, which had been influenced
by the early Eighteenth century wave
Of manifestations among what we
would call mediums Ann could not
read or write, and her husband later
deserted her. For her shouting, leap
ing and bodily g%yrations during her
exhortations she was arrested In Man
chester.
while in Jail the young woman as
serted that the Christ appeared to her
in a vision, told her he was n with
her, and upon serving her sentence she
gathered a few followers and set out
to America to proclaim herself the
embodiment of Christ in His second
coming.
ION the way across the ships cap
tain forbade the Shakers to indulge
in their athletic form Of worship.
Whereupon, according to Shaker liter
AZURE, a storm arose, a plank was
sprung and the vessel began to fill.
Mother Ann treasured the captain
saying two angels had appeared before
her in a vision to promise her safe
passage. Just as the crew was be.
-1.tox a~hot,Ctn1 from npnninu n
huge wave again struck the ship and
jammed the plank back into place!
"For two years Mother Ann worked
In New York as a washerwoman, then,
In 1776, she founded the first Shaker
village at Watervliet, New York.
"In such strange fashion was insti-
tuted, the year that America dates her
national birth, the Western worlds
first experiment in communism. Lat
err societies, or families grew up In
New York, Massachusetts, New Hamp-
shire. Maine. Connecticut, Ohio and
Kentucky.
The Shaker Platform.
1.-THE cardinal principles of the Shak-
erS TellSlOu are virgin puIity, COu-
fession of their sins, complete separa-
ton from what they term the worlds
vanities, and "A communism which ap-
proaches political socialism. If a mar
and wife join "A Shaker community
they are supposed to live as brother
and sister.
"Until recently they prohibited the
taking of photographs and they for
babe pictures of all kinds as idola-
trous. Even the cultivation of flower
gardens for decorative purposes was
frowned upon in former years. And
there Is still doubt among the older
members about the propriety of musi'
cal Instruments.
1.-THE Shaker community Is as nearly
self-sustaining as possible and about
the only importationS In their begin
nings were iron for their plough
shares. In their industrial and agri
cultural development they have con.
tributed many valuable ideas which
have been seized upon for general use
They are credited with the revolving
harrow, cut nails and the planning ma
chine. Raising herbs for medicina
use was one of their early major in
dustries."
SEALED BIDS will be received by tn
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