Evening star., 1933-04-30

Nothing was privately owned. not even ones
house or furniture. Just for varietys sake. and
to break up whatever ideas Of ownership might
grow In Utopian minds More compelled each
Of his families to move into . new home every
10 years.
All the families in one city block, or in one
country district. dined together in . huge COM
munal hall. with must: and friendship and Joy.
Places Of honor were reserved for the older
and wiser men.
The children served passing the plates as .
good form OF discipline
After supper ended the people went straight
to bed, that they might rise early the next
morning to dance and sing or to read or hear
. lecture and finally to work for SIX hours.
With 20 much leisure, More believed every ono
would naturally turn to Intellectual pursuits
with . lot Of enthusiasm.
The father Of Utopia doesn't mention birth
control but he had q plan for population con-
troll To achieve . stationary population, he
provided that whenever the island found 1t had
too many people It should deport some.
And the populace fell below the specified
number some immigrants would be admitted
on condition that they be willing to undergo
Utopianizati0n.
alongside the men you may wonder who did
the housewo-k. Slaves" is More's reply.
CLAVERY was the Utopian form of punish-
- ment Instead of locking up a lawbreaker
where he is no good to anybody. More argued
why not put him in a chain gang and make
him co the dirty work?
So if an Al Capone had tried to organise
racket in bootlegged rouge the Utopians would
not have sent him of to prison for evading an
income tax they would have put golden chains
on him and made him sweep the streets.
The only housework done by women would be
t1a ~F fl4
came the women of the commune would gather
in the kitchens OF the communal hall, and
while the slaves peeled potatoes, do their united
best not to let the broth be spoiled.
More had definite ideas on marriage which
did not jibe with those current in his age. He
did not countenance Plato's communistic po.yg-
amy, but he believed in divorce in cases of In
compatibility as contrasted with the traditional
restriction to cases of adultery
Women had to be 18 and man % before they
could become as one in his Utopia, and then
the wedding could take place only after long
and serious consideration, and only with the
consent of the elder members of each party's
family.
These preliminary arrangements also included
q whimsical nude inspection" fer bride and
groom.
When they decided to marry. More said, an
elder should bring in the woman naked before
the man and the man should be brought naked
before the woman, for appraisal
As in our day, SO also in Mores the courts
did not always seem to deal out justice rightly.
His remedy was simple: Abolish the lawyers,
Lawyers are on the whole nuisance this
one stated and he wanted none of them in his
perfect island. The laws were to be so few and
simple that whenever disputes did arise each
citizen could argue his own cause
The sick were well cared for in what seemed
to More miraculous hospitals, four to each city.
But II q man knew he was suffering from an
incurable disease he could ask permission Of
the priests to commit suicide. Properly author
lied voluntary death was not only tolerated.
but was respected institution.
THERE could be no suicides due to losses on
the market. Utopia, its creator boasted,
was far above buying and selling. The chief
Of each family took the days products to the
market and gave them away. In return he took
home with him freely whatever he wanted
But what about boarding? More answers:
why should a man hoard when he knows
there will always be enough Of everything?"
He did not however, consider the question q