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The Communistic Societies of the United States by Charles Nordhoff

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




The young people were very fond of him. "He was a man before whom no
evil could stand." "When I met him in the street, if I had a bad thought
in my head, it flew away." He was constantly in the fields or in the
factories, cheering, encouraging, or advising the people. "He knew every
thing--how to do it, what was the best way." "Ah, he was a _man_; he
told us what to do, and how to be good." In his spare moments he studied
botany, geology, astronomy, mechanics. "He was never idle, not even a
quarter of an hour." He believed much in work; thought hard field-work a
good cure for spiritual as well as bodily diseases. He was an
"extraordinarily eloquent preacher;" and it is a singular fact that,
dying at the great age of ninety, he preached in the church twice but
two Sundays before his death; and on the Sunday before he died addressed
his people from the window of his sick-room. He was "a good man, with
true, honest eyes." He "always labored against selfishness, and to serve
the brethren and the Lord." He appears to have abhorred ostentation and
needless forms and ceremonies, for he sat while preaching; never
prescribed any uniform dress or peculiar form of speech; and neither in
their worship nor in their daily lives taught the people to make merely
formal differences between themselves and the world at large. That he
did not feel the necessity of such outward protests against "the world,"
and relied for the bond of union in the community so entirely upon the
effect of his teachings, seems to me one of the surest and most
significant proofs of his real power.

Such is the report of their founder and guide from the older men now
living, who knew him well. That he was a man of great force and high
character it seems to be impossible to doubt. It has often been reported
that he was tyrannical and self-seeking; and that he chose his people
from among the most ignorant, in order to rule them. But the present
members of the Harmony Society cannot be called ignorant: they are a
simple and pious people, but not incapable of taking care of their own
interests; and their opinion of their founder is probably the correct
one. Their love and reverence for him, their recital of his goodness, of
his abilities, and of his intercourse with them, are the best testimony
as to his character; and their continuance in the course he laid out for
them, for more than a quarter of a century since his death, shows that
not only did his teaching and life inspire confidence, but also that his
training bore wholesome fruit in them.

He made religion the most important interest in the lives of his
followers. Not only did he preach on Sundays, but he admonished,
encouraged, reproved, and advised constantly during the week; he divided
the people into companies or classes, who met on week-day evenings for
mutual counsel in religious matters, and with these he constantly met;
he visited the sick; he buried the dead--with great plainness and lack
of ceremony. He taught that they ought to purify the body, and he was
himself a model of plain and somewhat rigid and practical living, and of
self-abnegation; and I think no thoughtful man can hear his story from
the older members of the society who were brought up under his rule, and
consider the history of Economy, and the present daily life of its
people, without conceiving a great respect for Father Rapp's powers and
for the use he made of them.

Pecuniarily Rapp's experiment has been an extraordinary success. The
society is now reported to be worth from two to three millions of
dollars. By an investigation into all its affairs and interests, made in
the Pennsylvania courts in 1854, by reason of a suit brought by a
seceding member, it was shown to be worth at that time over a million.
In these days of defaulting bank officers and numerous breaches of
trust, it is a singular commentary upon the communal system to know that
the society has never required from its chiefs any report upon their
administration of the finances. The investigation in the courts was the
first insight they had since their foundation into the management of
their affairs by Rapp and his successors; and there the utmost efforts
of opposing lawyers, among whom, by the way, was Edwin M. Stanton,
afterward Secretary of War, failed to discover the least
maladministration or misappropriation of funds by the rulers; and proved
the integrity of all who had managed their extensive and complicated
business from the beginning.

As Father Rapp grew older, his influence over his people became
absolute. His long life among them bore fruit in an unwavering
confidence in his sound judgment and unselfish devotion. He appears to
have led them in right paths; for, though probably few will be found to
subscribe to their peculiar religious tenets, all their neighbors hold
them in the highest esteem, as just, honest, kindly, charitable,
patriotic; good citizens, though they do not vote; careful of their
servants and laborers; fair and liberal in their dealings with the
world.

Of Economy as it now is, what I have written gives a sufficiently
precise view. The great factories are closed, and the people live
quietly in their pretty and simple homes. The energies put in motion by
their large capital are to be found at a distance from their village.
Their means give employment to many hundreds of people in different
parts of Western Pennsylvania; and wherever I have come upon their
traces, I have found the "Economites," as they are commonly called,
highly spoken of. They have not sought to accumulate wealth; but their
reluctance to enter into new enterprises has probably made them in the
long run only more successful, for it has made them prudent; and they
have not been tempted to work on credit; while their command of ready
money has opened to them the best opportunities.

The present managers or trustees ("_verwalter_") are Jacob Henrici
and Jonathan Lenz. The first, who is also the religious head, being in
this respect the successor of R. L. Bäker, who was the successor of
Father Rapp, is a German by birth, and a man of culture and of deep
piety. He was educated to be a teacher; and entered the Harmony Society
in 1826, a year after its removal to Economy. Rapp appears to have
appreciated from the first his gentle spirit, piety, and sincere devotion
to the community, as well as the importance of his culture and talents.
He lived long in the house with Father Rapp, and was his intimate and
confidant. Upon Frederick Rapp's death, Father Rapp appointed Bäker and
Henrici to attend to the temporal concerns with which he was then
charged; and upon the Elder Rapp's death, these two were chosen to take
his place. When Mr. Bäker died, Mr. Henrici was chosen to fill his
place, and he selected Mr. Lenz to be his coadjutor.

Mr. Lenz was born in the society in 1807, and has lived in it all his
life. He also is a man of some culture, of gentle and pleasant manners,
and an excellent business man.

Both are aged, Henrici being seventy, and Lenz sixty-seven. Both are
tall, firmly built, and fine-looking men, with a peculiarly gentle and
lovable expression of face. They live together in the house built for
Father Rapp, where also live several of the older members, among them
Miss Gertrude Rapp, a granddaughter of the founder, a charming old lady,
with a very bright, intelligent face. All these old people are so well
preserved, and have so free and wholesome an air, that intercourse with
them is not a slight argument to the visitor in favor of their simple
manner of life.

There is a council of seven persons, from among whom the trustees are
chosen.

It is a curious fact that among the hired people of the society, living
in Economy, are a number whom they adopted as children and brought up,
and who conform their lives in all respects, even to the celibate
condition, to the rules of the society, but prefer to labor for wages
rather than become members.

The society does not seek new members, though I am told it would not
refuse any who seemed to have a true vocation. As to its future, little
is said. The people look for the coming of the Lord; they await the
appearance of Christ in the heavens; and their chief aim is to be ready
for this great event, when they expect to be summoned to Palestine, to
be joined to the great crowd of the elect. Naturally there are not
wanting, among their neighbors in Pittsburgh, people who are tormented
with curiosity to know what is to become of the large property of the
Harmonists when these old people finally, in the course of nature, pass
away. "The Lord will show us a way," is the answer at Economy to such
inquiries. "We have not trusted him in vain so far; we trust him still.
He will give us a sign."




THE SOCIETY OF SEPARATISTS,

AT

ZOAR, OHIO.



THE SOCIETY OF SEPARATISTS AT ZOAR.


I.--HISTORY.


The village of Zoar lies in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, about half-way
between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, on a branch of the railroad which
connects these two points. It is situated on the bank of the Tuscarawas
Creek, which affords at this point valuable water-power. The place is
irregularly built, and contains fewer houses than a village of the same
number of inhabitants usually has; but the dwellings are mostly quite
large, and each accommodates several families. There is a commodious
brick church, a large and well-fitted brick schoolhouse, an extensive
country tavern or hotel, and a multitude of sheds and barns. There are,
besides, several mills and factories; and in the middle of the village a
somewhat elaborate, large, square house, which was the residence of the
founder and head of the society until his death, and is now used in part
as a storehouse.

Zoar is the home of a communistic society who call themselves
"Separatists," and who founded the village in 1817, and have here become
quite wealthy. They originated in Würtemberg, and, like the Harmony
Society, the Inspirationists, and others, were dissenters from the
Established Church. The Separatists of southern Germany were equivalent
to what in New England are called "Come Outers"--protestants against the
prevailing religious faith, or, as they would say, lack of faith.

These German "Come Outers" were for the most part mystics, who had read
the writings of Jacob Boehm, Gerhard Terstegen, and Jung Stilling; they
cherished different religious or doctrinal beliefs, were stigmatized as
fanatics, but were usually, I judge, simple-hearted, pious people,
desirous to lead a more spiritual life than they found in the churches.

Their refusal to send their children to the schools--which were
controlled by the clergy--and to allow their young men to serve as
soldiers, brought upon them persecution from both the secular and the
ecclesiastical authorities, resulting in flogging, imprisonment, and
fines. The people who finally emigrated to Zoar, after enduring these
persecutions for ten or twelve years gathered together in an obscure
part of Würtemberg, where, by the favor of a friend at court, they were
permitted to settle. But even from this refuge they were hunted out
after some years; and, finding no other resource left, they at last
determined to remove in a body to America, those few among them who had
property paying the passage of those who were without means.

Their persecutions had, it seems, attracted the attention of some
English Quakers, who aided them to emigrate, and with kindly forethought
sent in advance of them to certain Quakers in Philadelphia a sum of
money, amounting, I have been told, to eighteen dollars for each person
of the company, with which their Philadelphia friends provided for them
on their landing. This kind care is still acknowledged at Zoar as an
"inestimable blessing."

They arrived at Philadelphia in August, 1817, and almost immediately
bargained with one Hagar for a tract of five thousand six hundred acres
of land, which they were, with the help of their Quaker friends, enabled
to buy on favorable terms. It was a military grant in the wilderness of
Ohio, and they agreed to give for it three dollars per acre, with a
credit of fifteen years, the first three years without interest.

Joseph Baumeler, whom they had chosen to be their leader, went out to
take possession with a few able-bodied men, and these built the first
log-hut on the 1st of December, 1817. During the following spring the
remainder of the society followed; but many were so poor that they had
to take service with the neighboring farmers to earn a support for their
families, and all lived in the poorest possible way.

At this time they had no intention of forming a communistic society.
They held their interests separately; and it was expected that each
member should pay for his own share of the land, which had been
purchased in order to be thus subdivided. Their purpose was to worship
God according to their faith, in freedom, and to live, for that end, in
a neighborhood.

But, having among them a certain number of old and feeble people, and
many poor who found it difficult to save money to pay for their land,
the leading men presently saw that the enterprise would fail unless it
was established upon a different foundation; and that necessity would
compel the people to scatter. Early in 1819 the leaders after
consultation determined that, to succeed, they must establish a
community of goods and efforts, and draw in to themselves all whom
poverty had compelled to take service at a distance. This resolution was
laid before the whole society, and, after some weeks of discussion, was
agreed to; and on the 15th of April articles of agreement for a
community of goods were signed. There were then about two hundred and
twenty-five persons--men, women, and children. The men were
farm-laborers, weavers, carpenters, bakers, but at first they had not a
blacksmith among them.

From this time they began to prosper. "We could never have paid for our
land, if we had not formed a community," the older people told me; and,
from all I could learn, I believe this to be true.

At first they prohibited marriage, and it was not until 1828 or 1830
that they broke down this rule.

On forming a community, Joseph Baumeler, who had been a leading man
among them, was chosen to be their spiritual as well as temporal head.
His name probably proved a stumbling-block to his American neighbors,
for he presently began to spell it Bimeler--a phonetic rendering. Thus
it appears in deeds and other public documents; and the people came to
be commonly spoken of as "Bimmelers." Baumeler was originally a weaver,
and later a teacher. He was doubtless a man of considerable ability, but
not comparable, I imagine, with Rapp. He appears to have been a fluent
speaker; and on Sundays he delivered to the society a long series of
discourses, which were after his death gathered together and printed in
German in three ponderous octavo volumes. They concern themselves not
only with religious and communistic thoughts, but largely with the minor
morals, manners, good order in housekeeping, cleanliness, health
observances, and often with physiological details.

In March, 1824, an amended constitution was adopted. Between 1828 and
1830 they began to permit marriage, Baumeler himself taking a wife. In
1832 the Legislature formally incorporated the "Separatist Society of
Zoar," and a new constitution, still in force, was signed in the same
year.

"As soon as we adopted community of goods we began to prosper," said one
of the older members to me. Having abundance of hands, they set up
shops; and, being poor and in debt, they determined to live rigidly
within their means and from their own products. They crowded at first
into a few small log-cabins; some of which are still standing, and are
occupied to this day. They kept cattle; were careful and laborious
farmers; and setting up blacksmith's, carpenter's, and joiner's shops,
they began to earn a little money from work done for the neighboring
farmers. Nevertheless their progress was slow, and they accounted it a
great piece of good fortune when in 1827 a canal was built through their
neighborhood. What with putting their own young men upon this work, and
selling supplies to the contractors, they made enough money from this
enterprise to pay for their land; and thenceforth, with free hands, they
began to accumulate wealth.

They now own in one body over seven thousand acres of very fertile land,
including extensive and valuable water-power, and have besides some land
in Iowa. They have established a woolen factory, where they make cloth
and yarn for their own use and for sale. Also two large flour-mills, a
saw-mill, planing-mill, machine shop, tannery, and dye-house. They have
also a country store for the accommodation of the neighborhood, a large
hotel which receives summer visitors; and for their own use they
maintain a wagon shop, blacksmith's and carpenter's shops, tailors,
dressmakers, shoemakers, a cider-mill, a small brewery, and a few looms
for weaving linen. They employ constantly about fifty persons not
members of the community, besides "renters;" who manage some of their
farms on shares.

They have now (in the spring of 1874) about three hundred members, and
their property is worth more than a million dollars.



II.--RELIGIOUS FAITH AND PRACTICAL LIFE.


The "Principles of the Separatists," which are printed in the first
volume of Joseph Baumeler's discourses, were evidently framed in
Germany. They consist of twelve articles:

"I. We believe and confess the Trinity of God: Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost.

"II. The fall of Adam, and of all mankind, with the loss thereby of the
likeness of God in them.

"III. The return through Christ to God, our proper Father.

"IV. The Holy Scriptures as the measure and guide of our lives, and the
touchstone of truth and falsehood.

"All our other principles arise out of these, and rule our conduct in
the religious, spiritual, and natural life.

"V. All ceremonies are banished from among us, and we declare them
useless and injurious; and this is the chief cause of our Separation.

"VI. We render to no mortal honors due only to God, as to uncover the
head, or to bend the knee. Also we address every one as 'thou'--
_du_.

"VII. We separate ourselves from all ecclesiastical connections and
constitutions, because true Christian life requires no sectarianism,
while set forms and ceremonies cause sectarian divisions.

"VIII. Our marriages are contracted by mutual consent, and before
witnesses. They are then notified to the political authority; and we
reject all intervention of priests or preachers.

"IX. All intercourse of the sexes, except what is necessary to the
perpetuation of the species, we hold to be sinful and contrary to the
order and command of God. Complete virginity or entire cessation of
sexual commerce is more commendable than marriage.

"X. We cannot send our children into the schools of Babylon [meaning the
clerical schools of Germany], where other principles contrary to these
are taught.

"XI. We cannot serve the state as soldiers, because a Christian cannot
murder his enemy, much less his friend.

"XII. We regard the political government as absolutely necessary to
maintain order, and to protect the good and honest and punish the
wrong-doers; and no one can prove us to be untrue to the constituted
authorities."

For adhering to these tolerably harmless articles of faith, they
suffered bitter persecution in Germany in the beginning of this century.

Subject to the above declaration they have a formal constitution, which
divides the members into two classes, the novitiates and the full
associates. The former are required to serve at least one year before
admission to the second class, and this is exacted even of their own
children, if on attaining majority they wish to enter the society.

The members of the first or probationary class do not give up their
property. They sign an agreement, "for the furtherance of their
spiritual and temporal welfare and happiness," in which they "bind
themselves to labor, obey, and execute all the orders of the trustees
and their successors," and to "use all their industry and skill in
behalf of the exclusive benefit of the said Separatist Society of Zoar;"
and to put their minor children under the exclusive guardianship and
care of the trustees.

The trustees on their part, and for the society, agree to secure to the
signers of these articles "board and clothing free of cost, the clothing
to consist of at any time no less than two suits, including the clothes
brought by the said party of the first part to this society." Also
medical attendance and nursing in case of sickness. "Good moral conduct,
such as is enjoined by the strict observance of the principles of Holy
Writ," is also promised by both parties; and it is stipulated that "no
extra supplies shall be asked or allowed, neither in meat, drink,
clothing, nor dwelling (cases of sickness excepted); but such, if any
can be allowed to exist, may and shall be obtained [by the neophytes]
through means of their own, and never out of the common fund."

All money in possession of the probationer must be deposited with the
society when he signs the agreement; for it a receipt is given, making
the deposit payable to him on his demand, without interest.

Finally, it is agreed that all disputes shall be settled by arbitration
alone, and within the society.

When a member of the first or probationary class desires to be received
into full membership, he applies to the trustees, who formally hear his
demand, inquire into the reasons he can give for it, and if they know no
good cause why he should not be admitted, they thereupon give thirty
days' notice to the society of the time and place at which he is to sign
the covenant. If during that interval no member makes charges against
him, and if he has no debts, and is ready to make over any property he
may have, he is allowed to sign the following COVENANT:

"We, the subscribers, members of the Society of Separatists of the
second class, declare hereby that we give all our property, of every
kind, not only what we already possess, but what we may hereafter come
into possession of by inheritance, gift, or otherwise, real and
personal, and all rights, titles, and expectations whatever, both for
ourselves and our heirs, to the said society forever, to be and remain,
not only during our lives, but after our deaths, the exclusive property
of the society. Also we promise and bind ourselves to obey all the
commands and orders of the trustees and their subordinates, with the
utmost zeal and diligence, without opposition or grumbling; and to
devote all our strength, good-will, diligence, and skill, during our
whole lives, to the common service of the society and for the
satisfaction of its trustees. Also we consign in a similar manner our
children, so long as they are minors, to the charge of the trustees,
giving these the same rights and powers over them as though they had
been formally indentured to them under the laws of the state."

Finally, there is a formal CONSTITUTION, which prescribes the order of
administration; and which also is signed by all the members. According
to this instrument, all officers are to be elected by the whole society,
the women voting as well as the men. All elections are to be by ballot,
and by the majority vote; and they are to be held on the second Tuesday
in May. The society is to elect annually one trustee and one member of
the standing committee or council, once in four years a cashier, and an
agent whenever a vacancy occurs or is made. The time and place of the
election are to be made public twenty days beforehand by the trustees,
and four members are to be chosen at each election to be managers and
judges at the next.

The trustees, three in number, are to serve three years, but may be
indefinitely re-elected. They have unlimited power over all the
temporalities of the society, but are bound to provide board, clothing,
and dwelling for each member, "without respect of persons;" and to use
all confided to their charge for the best interests of the society. They
are to manage all its industries and affairs, and to prescribe to each
member his work; "but in all they do they are to have the general
consent of the society." They are to appoint subordinates and
superintendents of the different industries; are to consult in difficult
cases with the Standing Committee of Five, and are with its help to keep
the peace among the members.

The agent is the trader of the society, who is to be its intermediate
with the outside world, to buy and sell. This office is now held by the
leading trustee.

The standing committee is a high court of appeals in cases of
disagreement, and a general council for the agent and trustees.

The cashier is to have the sole and exclusive control of all the moneys
of the society, the trustees and agent being obliged to hand over to his
custody all they receive. He is also the book-keeper, and is required to
give an annual account to the trustees.

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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.

Benedictus said all Milne's well-loved characters, from Tigger to Eeyore, would be making an appearance in his sequel, which features 10 stories and around 150 illustrations. The stories retain their original 1920s setting.

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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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