Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-02-11
Cooperative Community Owned
Colony HeaUed Ont of
the Woods.

an experiment is being tried out
in the way of providing work.
food and shelter for a group of
men in a community owned and
governed colony in the wooded
area. Already 500 men are at
work and the ranks will soon be
swelled.
They say that general back
to the land movement might do
much good for the country that
has gone too far in buying paper
securities. and they prefer to
build a new community rather
than stand in the breadlines.
The article concerning this new
venture was published in the Sun
day edition of The st. Paul Daily
News and reads as follows:
Concord Springs, Ark-Five hum
dred unemployed men who expect to
have their ranks swelled to 1000 as
soon as housing is available, have un-
dertaken to solve their own relief
problems here in an experiment with
out precedent in this section.
They are seeking to rahabilitate
themselves as self-supporting and
self-respecting citizens through a
community owned and governed col
ony hewn out of an 8,000-acre tract
of cutover Arkansas timber land.
Each member of the colony will be
a stakeholder and the worker of 10
acres of land. Their enterprise is
called the Arkansas issouri-Okla-
homa Development corporation, and
their holdings are in the center of the
Ozark timber region, near Fayette-
Vile
Concord Springs is already one of
the busiest hamlets in the country.
Application has been made for a post
office, a deputy sheriff has been as
signed to keep order, town-site has
been laid out and buildings are rapid
drawn for a dam to furnish water and
cheap power to the new town.
A community-owned sawmill is
turning out lumber to be used in
fashioning the houses which will fur
nish living quarters for all share
holders. Already many cabins, COM
missary, barber shop, shoe shop and
land office have been erected. A
canning factory is to be built as soon
as vegetables are ready for canning.
An eighthour day is being OBJ
served. "He who does not work can
not eat is the town slogan, and it is
observed literally.
Only persons with enough money to
buy the necessary 10 acres of land
and to buy food through the winter
are admitted, but the total amount
necessary is surprisingly small.
The real head of the colony George
Perrine, vice president, formerly was
big builder in Tulsa, but he had
but SO cents when he paid his colony
dues and landed at Concord Springs.
The movement started in Tulsa, Ok
lahoma.
His drawings of the townsite, cot
tages, commissary and other build
ings for the new town are professional
enough to suit anybody. Carpenters,
bricklayers, electricians, BARRIERS,
tradesmen, writer's, factory hands,
musicians, preachers are among the
strange crew who plan to carve them
selves new destiny out of wilderness
like their hardy forebears did in 40.
"Please say we are not Reds, Radi-
Gals. Communists, or a Soviet or Lit
tie Russia grOup," he said, I'VE are
merely American men out of work
who seek to solve our own relief prob
lens. We are not beggars and believe
that general back to the land move
ment might do much good for the
country that has gone too far in buy
ing paper securities. We have a plan
"a 10-year plan-for our own re-
Mobilization.
I've prefer to build new COM
munity for Mother Earth in the
Ozark wilds, rather than stand in a