Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-03-20

iage community fund!
A large rope was attached to my
window with Fire Escape written over
II. and the wash basin for everybody
was in the sitting room downstairs.
Communal washing took place early,
most mornings, for breakfast was not
served after 7:30 o'clock. Dinner was
at 6 pm. We were in bed by o'clock;
swatting flies with an elderly, silent
German became monotonous after that
/ hour
The chief interest about this COM
munity that I had come so far TO see
is that It happens TO be the latest fall
ure of practical communism in this
country. On February 3, the citizens
| voted Overwhelmingly to abandon the
communism which they had been
practicing for exactly 90 years, and
to 90 in for the capitalistic scheme of
individual ownership Of homes and
businesses, and wages graduated &C
cording to the value Of the work done,
When I was there the proposed change
had been Endorsed by the trustees, but
was awaiting the decision of the peo-
pie A few weeks later the people gave
their deciSion-in a loud voice.
Many of the parlor theorists who
discuss communism IN America do not
realize that this form of government
has already been tried out in the United
States, not once, but many times, and
in many different places. Certain East
ern and Middle Western States are
literally dotted with the gravestones OF
communism The greatest in number
of communistie failures have probably
been in Pennsylvania, where large
sections, notably Lancaster County,
were settled by theoretical German
ro1iOiN1la lnfa Ag 1Vaie
| Impractical, 1t was given up by one of
these communities after another, one
Of the most conspicuous deserters being
Bethlehem, Pa.
. Other communistic experiments have
sprung into being, lived awhile and then
fizzled out in several sections of the
Middle West. New Harmony, Ind, was
| the scene of two such failures, the
second attempt having been made under
the beneficent eye of the Scottish phi
lanthropist, Robert Owen.
Started Back In TIA.
The Iowa experiment which I had
| come to see had begun as q religious
| organization IN Germany in 1714. It
had added communism to its program
when the group established itself In
this country in 1912. The members
l 1Aob RuA CI4oAC0
5000 acres at $40 an acre. Everybody
seemed pleased to see them except the
| Indians, who had thought that they
| owned the land-but who did not get
the $40 an acre. Eventually the Ger
mans got rid of them-but 1t was more
difficult to keep away the oncomine
civilization The Ebenezer Society, as
they called themselves, did not fee
that their new communism needed the
outside world. They sold their lands al
profit and in 1884 moved West to q
point 40 miles beyond Iowa City. Land
was cheap there, and there they
remained. They now changed theil
name to the Amana Colony-meanine
BE TruthfuP'-and settled down.
Religiously, they might be termed
Lutherans. In each of their villages
they have small meeting houses where
they pray each evening for 80 minutes
under the auspices of an elder And
| each Sunday they all come together to
| the main village of Amana, to the big
| prayer house. The men sit on one side
the women on the other. The women
| wear long, dark dresses, without jewelry
the men ordinary dark suits.
OF this community's many religious
regulations the most unusual Is that
concerning marriage. While they con-
| slider that marriage has TO be faced
! they do not encourage it too much. Nc
| girl may marry before she is 10 and no
man before he is 49, Their engagement
| must be approved by the trustees of the
community, and the couple cannot
marry until they have been engaged for
at least one year.
Seven villages Built.
THE oolo,o, La. .a.,a,, ,,;1l.oo~ ..oo-1,
| ], 400 members, over $4,000 acres of land
and wooden blanket factory; it is diff
cult TO say whether all this was built
| by religious enthusiasm or by the Com
| muniSt mode of life. The membership
/ has never increased much, nor has
proselyting been encouraged. The serv-
| ices are held in German; every one
| speaks German and nobody is wanted
who is not German. Undoubtedly the gov
eminent Of the community was thor
| oughly organized. in true German style
! the Communism 1t has practiced is
unexcelled, even in Russia. Now Com
| munism Is being abandoned, but to date
the colonly life has been continuing
| along Communistic lines.
In the colony one or two families
! occupy each house. The structures are
large and well built, and each person
over the age VI 10 Is entitled 10 d ScDd-
| rate room There are no kitchens in
| the houses-only communal ones at
| certain vantage points in the villages
| Where there Is a kitchen there Is also
an eating room. Here the villagers
| come and they may either eat here or
| take the food away with them to eat
| in their own houses.
The women are detailed in turns to
| do the cooking. Each village has its
bakery as well as q communal vegetable
| patch.
The food is healthy and comes most
| " from the community lands. The
| furniture is very well made by the local
carpenter of the colony. in Victorian
style, and clothes and other necessities
can be obtained at the village store.
| Obtained, not purchased with money
for no money is used by members Of
| the colony in dealing with one another.
Originally, all the members Of the
colony pooled their resources and
guaranteed to demand the return OF
only what they or their ancestors had
put in, should they decide to leave the
colony for good. In return for this.
each member was guaranteed board and
lodging and free care when sick for the
rest of his life. And this guarantee
is the very thing that has eventually
proved the colony's undoing. 1t made
life certain and it made life too easy.
Originally no wages we're to be paid
for work, but each year the rulers OF
the colony decided how much credit