Year: 1879

like ours and only affects Territories under the juris
dietion of the United States government; -
| CoRREsPoNDESr-Are not your peculiar views or
system sometimes confounded with those or the Nor
mons?


Mr. HISDs-We do not consider that the Community
has any similarity TO Mormonism. Common mar
riage creates property in women Mormonism gives
| man control over as many women he chooses.
| Communism acknowledges property in persons. /
do not know that there is communistlc property
at Salt Lake outside OF the Church property; far
general membership is concerned there no COM
munistic property


The analogy between the Oneida Community and
the Mormons. which is much insisted on IN certain
quarters. fails in many ways. and especially on TWO
very important points to which we commend tho
| attention of DR.. Mears and others, namely
! First-The Oneida Communists are and always have
been peaceable subjects of civil authority NO sedi-
tious act has been charged upon hem They have
never had thought of carrying out their communs-
public opinion OF the people among whom they dwell.
Soon after their first settlement at Oneida, the
occasion OF an attempted prosecution (Which brought
and was afterward withdrawn they explicitly offered
to sell out and leave II that was the wish OF their
neighbours; and they fully expected to do so, but
were stopped by voluntary petition to the contrary
signed by many respectable people in the vicinity.
! They assured at that time and many times
| atterward by lawyers of high standing that they
were not breaking any laws. They have substan-
tally repeated the same offer from time to time
| often there seemed to be danger of col
| lison with public authority private opinion.
1t lately been generally admitted, by their
enemies that they are not breaking existing laws;
and it is understood that new legislation is contem
plated II such legislation should be obtained the
| Community would certainly obey it, though they
might Justly complain of its post facto character.
| They will be faithful to their record of submission
to the powers that be- to the end In all this they
are the antipodes of the Mornons whose proclivity
to defiance and violent resistance is well known.


SecoId-The social theory and practice OF the Oneida
| Community, though liable to be confounded with
Mormonism by those who think carelessly of both
CUSTOM is really 1T the very opposite extreme from
MormOnisn. The entire scale Of sexual relations
may be distributed into three categories. indicated
by the three ttles-one wife, many wives no wife.
The first category is that OF ordinary society the
second that of the Mormons the third that of the
Oneida COMMUNISTS; and it is obvious that
| the difference between many wives and no
wife is greater than the difference between
| many wives and no wife, The Shakers well as
the Oneidians belong to the nowife category. and,
accordingly. there is great deal more analogy be-
| tween the Oneida Community and the Shakers, and
| more practical sympathy than between the Oneida
| Community and the Mormons.


| TIKI No-wHE SYSTEM.


| We hold, however. that the Primitive Church in
its best examples, those of Christ and Paul, its
most significant teachings. such as I. Corin-
| thians viii, in its communistlc tendencies seen
in the) Pentecostal revival and in it's avowed ideal
of it's heavenly home. was and is the true arche-
| ladder on which that Church ascending through
its whole visible career and ut the top of the ladder
| was this plain inscription, "No marrying here.
| Both the contrasts which have exhibited be-
tween the systems Of the Oneida Communists and the
Mormons may be summed up and combined in the


zone system represents the civilization of the Old
| Testament; the other that Of the New. War and
| polygamy appear on one side; non resistance and
freedom for women on the other"


CoRREspoNDENT-f special legislation is secured
| what will be the course Of the Community?


| Mr.. HINDs-Special legislation Is very unpopular
nowadays and finds but little favor If should
find ourselves in conflict with any locality should


CoRREsposDENT-wha form did opposition to tho
Community take on your settling here?


Mr.. HINDs-Some OF our neighbors became alarmed
over the settlement of Il Community Of which they
thnxr tod
radical views and the Community not
rich as it now is legal proceedings commenced
and efforts made to indct u.s. which did not sue
coed. Our neighbors finally became satisfied that
were peaceable and Industrious and when they
drew up paper which was signed by the larger pro-
portion of the people within few miles. asking us
to remain and guaranteeing us protection. No bill
dence offered upon which an indictment could
be found. There was some prosecution and perse-
cution in Oneida county but nothing resulted from
it; in fact. the whole matter was dropped. No at
tempt to indict the Community since then has suc-
ceeded. On two occasions seceders have tried
to make trouble for us. but there has been legal
| action. Their alleged grievance was founded upon
the idea that they were entitled not only to what
they put into the Community. but also proportion
| of what they might have earned. Our covenant de-
bars members from this course, and no action could
| be sustsincd


JUSTICE HUNTS OPINIONS


About thirteen years ago, in the last difficulty with
a seceder. he tried to get us indicted in Oneida
county, and for this purpose sought to obtain the
services of Counsellor Ward Hunt of Utica. now
Justice Hunt of the Supreme Court Of the United
States After hearing the mans story Judge Hunt
informed us that he did not like the man nor his
effort and he would have nothing to do with him
but. after knowing thoroughly our principles and
practices he very willingly espoused side in the
matter. and the effort for indictment was again
dropped


CoRREspoNpRNr-what form Of legislation do you
anticipate will be sought for against you?


Mr.. HNDs-We have no idea as TO how they intend
to declare Of life the acts of the Com
munity crime even misdemeanor. II the State
feels called upon to make special legislation shall
character that we felt IL we could pot conscien-
tiously conform to it then might conclude to
withdraw from our community form, or. for in
stance. turn Shakers In fact there is great deal of
similarity between communists and Shakers.


NO PEosELYTEs WANTED


Our Community is prosclyting institution.
All ask. and oil we have ever asked. is to allow
to go on our peaceful way. We have been quite
careful even IN our own paper to keep our radical
society principles in the background. For year at
least have not circulated at all any of our
In fnct, we have entirely Withdrawn them
from circulation, and ut present have in
tention of thrusting them on the public.
But supposing these members and self-appointcd
guardians of social morality should succeed In break
ing up the oneida Community what would be the re-
suit? It certainly would have this result:-It would
set free great many people here to go into this very
business of PROSECUTING. We have quite number of
than to spread principles by lecturing and all
means that usually taken advantage of for such
objects. And then these wise men ought to bear in
mind that no system dies long it is subject
to persecution. In fact. il these reverends had
genuine faith in the good old Gamaian doctrine they
would consider that they would do the most service
to the world by letting the Community severely
alone "For il this thing be of men il will come to
naught; If it be of God, they cannot overthrow it,
| YOUNG


Furthermore, it will do harm to remind tho
members of this sefconstutcd conference that they
each and all represent sects that very young in
years. II is scarcely hundred years since the
first Methodist was seen in Massachusetts. and
Congregationalists. Presbyterians, Episcopalians
and all the rest ncod not go back moro
than two hundred and Atty years to find
| that their sects were terribly prosecuted
| by other sects that happened to be in power. We
communists cannot expect a new system OF society,
based on a Interpretation of the Scripture, to
fare any better than the grandfahcrs of the dvncs
| who are to meet in Syracuse We probably shall
| go through some such experience rs tho Shakers
| have In this country. Everybody respects them
now and speaks well of them, but during the first
years of their history they subject to terrible
persecutiorm, maltrcated in various ways. their
| meetings broken up property destroyed
their societies threatened with violence
nc. They have lived down the opposition