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The Communistic Societies of the United States by Charles Nordhoff

C >> Charles Nordhoff >> The Communistic Societies of the United States




"Having provided the associates and candidates with these facilities for
industry, and made them responsible each for his own support, and, at
first, for that of his dependents, the projectors propose to have them
distribute themselves into organizations for industrial operations, and
select or invent their own kinds and mode of cultivation and other
practical processes, under regulations prescribed by themselves. They
will be indulged with the largest liberty, consistent with the
protection of rights and the preservation of order, in choosing their
own employments, and their own industrial and social companions; in
appointing, concurrently with those with whom they are immediately
associated, their own hours of labor, recreation, and repose; and,
generally, in directing their activity in such manner and to such
purposes as their taste or interest may induce them to prefer. We hope
thus to demonstrate that interference with individual choice is
necessary only to restrain people from transgressing their own proper
sphere and encroaching upon that of others, and that restraints, even
for that purpose, will seldom be required, and not at all except during
the rudimentary stage of industrial organization.

"No efforts, therefore, will be made to select persons of similar views
or beliefs, or to mould them afterward to any uniform pattern. That
unanimity which is not expected in regard to practical operations, is
much less expected in regard to those subjects transcending the sphere
of human experience about which opinions are now so irreconcilably
conflicting. All that will be required is that each shall accord to
others as much freedom of thought and action as he enjoys himself, and
shall respect the rights and interests of others as he desires his own
to be respected by them.

"The apprehension that our experiment might be greatly embarrassed by
admitting the totally destitute to participate in it, compels us to say
that such cannot at present be received. The means applicable to our
purpose, considerable as they are, might become inadequate if subjected
to the burden of maintaining objects of charity; while but few could be
thus relieved, even if all the means at command were devoted to that
single object. Our system, if we do not misapprehend it, will, in its
maturity, provide abundantly for all.

"But though we insist that the first participators in our enterprise
shall not be pecuniarily destitute, the amount insisted upon is not
large. So much, however, as is required must be amply secured by the
following cash advances:

"First: rent of rooms and board paid two months in advance for each
person admitted to reside on the domain, including each member of the
applicant's family; and at the end of the first month, payment of these
items for another month, so that they shall again be paid two months in
advance, and so from month to month indefinitely.

"Rent of rooms will be reasonable, and board will be finally settled for
at its cost, as near as may be; but in computing it for advance payment,
it will be rated rather above than below its expected cost, to provide
against contingencies. If too much is advanced, the excess, when
ascertained, will either be repaid or otherwise duly accounted for.

"Facilities for cheap boarding, and for tables graduated to suit
different tastes and circumstances, will be limited at first, and until
associates become numerous enough to form messes and board themselves.

"Second: each person so admitted will be required to deposit, as may be
directed, the sum of one hundred dollars for himself, and an equal sum
for every other person admitted with him at his request, on which
interest will be allowed at the rate of six per cent, per annum. This
deposit is expected to be kept unimpaired until the projectors think it
may safely be dispensed with, but will be repaid, or so much thereof as
is subject to no charges or offsets, whenever the person on whose
account it was made withdraws from the enterprise and ceases to reside
on the domain; as will also any unexpended residue of the amount
advanced for rooms and board.

"This deposit, besides furnishing a guarantee against the destitution of
the person making it, is recommended by another consideration not less
important--it secures him, in case he wishes to retire from the
enterprise, because he can find no satisfactory position in it, or for
any other reason, against retiring empty-handed, or remaining longer
than he wishes for want of means to go elsewhere.

"In addition to these cash advances, each person admitted as an
associate or candidate will be required to provide furniture for his
room, and all other articles needed for his personal use, including,
generally, the hand-tools with which he works. But some of these
articles may, in certain cases, be rented or sold on credit to persons
of good industrial capacity who have complied with the other conditions.

"We should esteem, as especially useful, a class of residents who,
having an income, independent of their earnings, adequate to their
frugal support at least, can devote themselves as freely as they please
to attractive occupations which are not remunerative, it being such
occupations probably that will furnish the first good examples of a true
industrial organization. Next to be preferred are those having an
independent income which, though not adequate to their entire support,
is sufficient to relieve them from any considerable anxiety concerning
it; for they can, to a greater or less extent, yield to the impulses of
attraction with comparative indifference to the pecuniary results of
their industry.

"It is hoped and expected that the style of living, at least in the
early stages of the experiment, will be frugal and inexpensive. Neatness
and good taste, and even modest elegance, will be approved and
encouraged; but the projectors disapprove of superfluous personal
decorations, and of all expense incurred for mere show without utility,
and in this sentiment they hope to be sustained by the associates.

"As a general rule, applicants who comply with the pecuniary conditions
will be admitted on trial as candidates, to the extent of our
accommodations, without formal inquisition of other particulars; but
each applicant should state his age and occupation, and the ages and
industrial capacities of others, if any, whom he desires to have
admitted with him, and whether any of them are permanently infirm.
References are also requested, and photographs if possible.

"The cardinal object of our enterprise being, as has been said, to
organize labor on the basis of rewarding it according to the value of
its product, and in such manner as to divest it of the repugnance
inseparable from it as now prosecuted, the policy to which recourse will
first be had to effect this object will be to throw upon the associates
the chief responsibility of selecting functions and devising processes,
as well as of marshaling themselves into efficient industrial
organizations. Freedom to select their preferred occupations and modes
of proceeding is proposed, with the expectation that a diversity of
preferences will be developed in both, the respective partisans of which
will vie with each other to demonstrate the superior excellence of their
chosen specialties. Among the numerous merits which recommend this
policy, not the least important is that it will, as is believed, give
full play to all varieties of taste and capacity, and secure a more
perfect correspondence of functions with aptitudes than exists in the
present system of labor. But we are not so committed to any policy as to
persist in it, if, after being fairly tested, it fails of its purpose.
In that event new expedients will be resorted to, and others again, if
necessary, for we should not abandon our enterprise, though our first
efforts should prove unsuccessful. The failure of any particular policy,
therefore, does not involve a final failure, of which indeed the danger,
if any, is remote, inasmuch as care will be taken not to exhaust the
means applicable to our main purpose in a first trial, or in a second,
or even any number of trials. But we have great confidence that not many
trials will be necessary to construct a system of industry and of social
life far in advance of any form of either now prevailing in the world.

"The lowest degree of success--we will not say with which we shall be
satisfied, but to which we can be reconciled--is that the experiment
shall be SELF-SUSTAINING. By this we mean that the associates, aided by
the facilities furnished them, shall produce enough not only to supply
their own consumption, including education for children and subsistence
for all, and to repair the waste, wear, and decay of tools, machines,
and other property used, but enough also to reasonably compensate those
who furnish the capital for the use of it. Less production than this
implies a waning experiment, which must, sooner or later, terminate
adversely. But even though this low degree of success should be delayed,
the domain is indestructible, and being dedicated forever to associative
purposes, must remain unimpaired for repeated trials.

"An ample sufficiency of land will be conveyed to trustees in such
manner as to secure the perpetual use of it to the associates and their
successors. The land to be thus appropriated has on it a large peach
orchard now in full bearing, which yielded last season a large crop of
excellent peaches; 400 selected apple-trees, which have four years'
thrifty growth from the nursery, and a considerable number of other
fruit-trees; and a vineyard of about 1200 young grape-vines. A library
of 1200 volumes in English, besides a large number in French and other
languages, is now here, intended for the use of future associates and
residents.

"No fund is set apart for the gratuitous entertainment of visitors.
Those not guests of some one here who will be chargeable for them, will
be expected to pay a reasonable price for such plain and cheap
accommodations as can be afforded them.

"For a more extended explanation of the principles and aim of our
enterprise, and of some of the details of the mode of proceeding,
persons interested are referred to a treatise on 'Co-operation and
Attractive Industry,' published under the auspices of the departed and
lamented Horace Greeley, for which send fifty cents to the
_Tribune_, New York, or to either of the subscribers.

"[_Note_.--It should be understood that the foregoing exposition of
principles and policy, though the best that our present knowledge
enables us to make, is provisional only, and liable to be modified from
time to time as experience makes us wiser.] E. V. BOISSIERE."


"Williamsburg P. O., Franklin Co., Kansas."

On the back of the circular is the following description of Silkville's
position and other particulars:

"Silkville, at which 'The Prairie Home' is located, is near the
southwest corner of Franklin County, Kansas, three miles south of
Williamsburg, at present the nearest post-office; about twelve miles
nearly west of Princeton, on the L. L. and G. Railroad, the nearest
railroad station; and about twenty miles southwest of Ottawa, the county
seat. An open wagon, which carries passengers and the mail between
Williamsburg and Princeton, connects with the cars at the latter place
every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at about 2 o'clock P. M., which (by
special arrangement) will carry passengers with ordinary baggage between
Princeton and Silkville for sixty-five cents each. Fare from Ottawa to
Princeton, nine miles, fifty cents. Persons coming here frequently hire
a private conveyance from Ottawa.

"Through tickets to Kansas City and Lawrence (and perhaps to Ottawa) can
be purchased at the principal railroad stations. Fare from Kansas City
to Ottawa, fifty-three miles, $2.90; from Lawrence to Ottawa,
twenty-seven miles, $1.60."

Under date of March 30,1874, Mr. Boissiere writes me:

"The unitary building is complete so far as masonry and carpenter work
goes, but the plastering and painting will require two months to
complete. Our neighborhood has not settled as fast as I expected, and
will not afford a market for small industries. I would not invite
associates to come on until I establish more firmly the silk business
and some other industries. The country has not yet learned what crops
will pay best. Farmers, are now trying the castor-bean and flax for
seed, with some promise of success. I had information about an oil-mill,
but find it gives occupation to only a very few operators. I think now
of a factory for working the flax-tow into twine and rope, bagging, or
mats.

"I have plenty of patience, having lived a farmer's life; and I like
better to go surely than too fast. We have plenty of good coal around
us, selling at fourteen cents per bushel of eighty pounds. We had the
prospect of a railroad crossing our grounds from Ottawa to Burlington,
but the hard times prevent it. Yours, E. V. BOISSIERE."

It is difficult to foretell what will be the outcome of Mr. Boissiere's
effort. The offer he makes to "associates" is not very promising. Land
and employment outside of the great cities are both so plentiful in this
country that men who have capital enough to make the deposit required by
Mr. Boissiere are more likely to settle upon public land under the
homestead act, and carve out their own future.




A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES OF THE AMERICAN
COMMUNES.


COMPARATIVE VIEW.

I.--STATISTICAL.


Though brief accounts are given in the preceding pages of several
recently established communistic societies, it is evident that only
those which have been in practical operation during a term of years are
useful for purposes of comparison, and to show the actually accomplished
results of communistic effort in the United States, as well as the means
by which these results have been achieved.

The societies which may thus be properly used as illustrations of
successful communism in this country are the SHAKERS, established in the
Eastern States in 1794, and in the West about 1808; the RAPPISTS,
established in 1805; the BAUMELERS, or ZOARITES, established in 1817;
the EBEN-EZERS, or AMANA Communists, established in 1844; the BETHEL
Commune, established in 1844; the ONEIDA PERFECTIONISTS, established in
1848; the ICARIANS, who date from 1849; and the AURORA Commune, from
1852.

Though in name there are thus but eight societies, these consist in fact
of not less than seventy-two communes: the Shakers having fifty-eight of
these; the Amana Society seven; and the Perfectionists two. The
remaining societies consist of but a single commune for each.

It will be seen that the oldest of these communes have existed for
eighty years; the youngest cited here for review has been founded
twenty-two years. Of all, only two societies remain under the guidance
of their founders; though it may be said that the Amana Communes have
still the advantage of the presence among them of some of the original
leading members. The common assertion that a commune must break up on
the death of its founder would thus appear to be erroneous.

These seventy-two communes make but little noise in the world; they live
quiet and peaceful lives, and do not like to admit strangers to their
privacy. They numbered in 1874 about five thousand persons, including
children, and were then scattered through thirteen states, in which they
own over one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land--probably nearer
one hundred and eighty thousand, for the more prosperous frequently own
farms at a distance, and the exact amount of their holdings is not
easily ascertained. As they have sometimes been accused of being land
monopolists, it is curious to see that even at the highest amount I have
given they would own only about thirty-six acres per head, which is, for
this country, a comparatively small holding of land.

It is probably a low estimate of the wealth of the seventy-two communes
to place it at twelve millions of dollars. This wealth is not equally
divided, some of the older societies holding the larger share. But if it
were, the members would be worth over two thousand dollars per head,
counting men, women, and children. It is not an exaggeration to say that
almost the whole of this wealth has been created by the patient industry
and strict economy and honesty of its owners, without a positive or
eager desire on their part to accumulate riches, and without painful
toil.

Moreover--and this is another important consideration--I am satisfied
that _during its accumulation_ the Communists enjoyed a greater
amount of comfort, and vastly greater security against want and
demoralization, than were attained by their neighbors or the surrounding
population, with better schools and opportunities of training for their
children, and far less exposure for the women, and the aged and infirm.

In origin the Icarians are French; the Shakers and Perfectionists
Americans; the others are Germans; and these outnumber all the American
communists. In fact, the Germans make better communists than any other
people--unless the Chinese should some day turn their attention to
communistic attempts. What I have seen of these people in California and
the Sandwich Islands leads me to believe that they are well calculated
for communistic experiments.

All the communes under consideration have as their bond of union some
form of religious belief. It is asserted by some writers who theorize
about communism that a commune can not exist long without some fanatical
religious thought as its cementing force; while others assert with equal
positive ness that it is possible to maintain a commune in which the
members shall have diverse and diverging beliefs in religious matters.
It seems to me that both these theories are wrong; but that it is true
that a commune to exist harmoniously, must be composed of persons who
are of one mind upon some question which to them shall appear so
important as to take the place of a religion, if it is not essentially
religions; though it need not be fanatically held.

Thus the Icarians reject Christianity; but they have adopted the
communistic idea as their religion. This any one will see who speaks
with them. But devotion to this idea has supported them under the most
deplorable poverty and long-continued hardships for twenty years.

Again, the Bethel and Aurora Communes, whose members make singularly
little of outward religious observances, are held together by their
belief that the essence of all religion, and of Christianity, is
unselfishness, and that this requires community of goods.

I do not think that any of these people can be justly called fanatics.

On the other hand, the Shakers, Rappists, Baumelers, Eben-Ezers, and
Perfectionists have each a very positive and deeply rooted religious
faith; but none of them can properly be called fanatics, except by a
person who holds every body to be a fanatic, who believes differently
from himself. For none of these people believe that they are alone good
or alone right; all admit freely that there is room in the world for
various and varying religious beliefs; and that neither wisdom nor
righteousness ends with them.

It is also commonly said that all the communistic societies in this
country oppose the family-life, and that in general they advocate some
abnormal relation of the sexes, which they make a fundamental part of
their communistic plan. This, too, is an error. Of all the communes I am
now considering, only the Perfectionists of Oneida and Wallingford have
established what can be fairly called unnatural sexual relations.

At Icaria, Amana, Aurora, Bethel, and Zoar the family relation is held
in honor, and each family has its own separate household. The Icarians
even forbid celibacy. None of these five societies maintain what is
called a "unitary household;" and in only two, Icaria and Amana, do the
people eat in common dining-halls.

The Shakers and Rappists are celibates; and it is often said by the
Shakers that communism cannot be successful except where celibacy is a
part of the system. It is not unnatural that they should think so; but
the success of those societies which maintain the family relation would
seem to prove the Shakers mistaken. And it is useful to remember that
even the Rappists were successful before they determined, under deep
religious influences, to give up marriage, and adopt celibacy. Moreover,
the Rappists have never used the "unitary home" or the common
dining-hall; they have always lived in small "families," composed of
men, women, and children.

It seems to me a fair deduction from the facts, that neither religious
fanaticism nor an unnatural sexual relation (unless voluntary celibacy
is so called) is necessary to the successful prosecution of a
communistic experiment. What _is_ required I shall try to set forth
in another chapter.

The Eben-Ezers and the Perfectionists are the only communes which are at
this time increasing in numbers. At Icaria, Bethel, Aurora, and Zoar,
they hold their own; but they, too, have lost strength during the last
twenty years. The Shakers and Rappists, the only celibate communists,
are decreasing, and have lost during a number of years; and this in
spite of their benevolent custom of adopting and training orphan
children, to whom they devote money and care with surprising and
creditable liberality. The Eben-Ezers get the greater part of their
accessions from among the brethren of their faith in Germany; and they
live in Iowa in such rigorous seclusion, and so entirely conceal
themselves and their faith and plan from the general public, that it is
evident they do not wish to recruit their membership from the
surrounding population. The Perfectionists publish a weekly journal,
send this and their pamphlets to all who wish them, and have always used
the press freely. Their peculiar doctrines are widely known, and they
receive constantly applications from persons desirous to join their
communes. I believe the greater number of these applicants are men; and
I do not doubt that the peculiar sexual relations existing at Oneida and
Wallingford are an element of attraction to a considerable proportion of
the persons who apply for membership, and who are almost without
exception rejected; for it is right that I should here prevent a
misconception by saying that the Perfectionists are sincerely and almost
fanatically attached to their peculiar faith, and accept new members
only with great care and many precautions.

The Perfectionists are essentially manufacturers, using agriculture only
as a subsidiary branch of business. All the other societies have
agriculture as their industrial base, and many of them manufacture but
little, though all have some branch of manufacture. Also, it is the aim
of all to produce and make, as far as possible, every thing they
consume. To limit the expenditures and increase the income is the
evident road to wealth, as they have all discovered.

Much ingenuity has been exercised by all these communists in
establishing profitable branches of manufacture; and they have had the
good sense and courage in whatever they undertook to make only a good
article, and secure trade by rigid honesty. Thus the Shaker garden seeds
have for nearly three quarters of a century been accepted as the best
all over the United States; the Oneida Perfectionists established the
reputation of their silk-twist in the market by giving accurate weight
and sound material; the woolen stuffs of Amana command a constant
market, because they are well and honestly made; and in general I have
found that the communists have a reputation for honesty and fair dealing
among their neighbors, and where-ever their products are bought and
sold, which must be very valuable to them.

Saw and grist mills, machine shops for the manufacture and repair of
agricultural implements, and woolen factories, are the principal large
manufacturing enterprises in which they are engaged; to these must be
added the preserving of fruits, broom and basket making, the preparation
of medicinal extracts, and the gathering and drying of herbs, garden
seeds, and sweet corn, chair-making, and a few other small industries.
One Shaker community manufactures washing-machines and mangles on a
large scale, and another makes staves for molasses hogsheads. Indeed,
the Shakers have shown more skill in contriving new trades than any of
the other societies, and have among their members a good deal of
mechanical ingenuity.

All the communes maintain shops for making their own clothing, shoes,
and often hats; as well as for carpentry, blacksmithing, wagon-making,
painting, coopering, etc., and have the reputation among their neighbors
of keeping excellent breeds of cattle. The small shops and the improved
cattle are important advantages to their country neighbors; and a farmer
who lives within half a dozen miles of a commune is fortunate in many
ways, for he gains a market for some of his produce, and he has the
advantage of all their mechanical skill. I did not specially investigate
the question, but I have reason to believe that land in the neighborhood
of a communistic society is always more valuable for these reasons; and
I know of some instances in which the existence of a commune has added
very considerably to the price of real estate near its boundaries.

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He might be almost 90 years old in real terms, but Christopher Robin and his bear of very little brain are set to make a literary comeback after the estate of AA Milne agreed to authorise the first-ever official sequel to the much-loved children's books.

Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by author David Benedictus picks up from the poignant ending of Milne's last Pooh book, The House at Pooh Corner, in which Christopher Robin is growing up and heading away to school. "Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred," he tells the bear, and they leave together.

The estates of Milne and EH Shepard, who provided the simple but enduring illustrations for the books, said they had been searching for a sequel that would do justice to the original stories for "a good many years".

Although Disney has franchised the characters in a number of films, there has not previously been an authorised literary sequel to Milne's books, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, first published in 1926 and 1928. Milne wrote the books for his son Christopher Robin, naming Pooh after his teddy bear.

The sequel, to be published by Egmont Publishing in Britain and Penguin imprint Dutton Children's Books in the US, is due out on 5 October, illustrated by Mark Burgess. Benedictus, who is familiar with the world of Winnie the Pooh after adapting and producing audio versions of the books starring Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and Jane Horrocks, did not reveal any more details, but promised that the book would both "complement and maintain Milne's idea that whatever happens, a little boy and his bear will always be playing".

Michael Brown, chairman of Pooh Properties, which manages the affairs of the Milne and Shepard estates, said the sequel would capture "the spirit and quality" of the original books.

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One might say that Margarete Buber-Neumann had a charmed life, had it not been so horrible. She was fortunate - if that is the word - to be sent to a Soviet labour camp in 1939, during a momentary lull in the mass shooting of prisoners. Handed over to the Nazis in 1940, she was similarly lucky to be released from an SS concentration camp in 1945, just days before the remaining prisoners were forced on evacuation marches ending in death. It is a measure of the dismal times she lived through that such events marked her as fortunate, and it is a testament to her skill as a writer that this thoughtful, humane memoir (published in English in 1949) became an international bestseller. From the very first page we are with her, scurrying through Moscow surrounded by images of Stalin. We accompany her throughout the gruelling years ahead, encountering a host of characters, good and bad, and share in her dogged attempt to make sense of the madness of totalitarianism. This revised text is the definitive edition.

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