The Communistic Societies of the United States Part 25

The _Shaker and Shakeress_, a monthly journal, edited by Elder Frederick Evans and Eldress Antoinette Doolittle, is the organ of the society; and in its pages their views are set forth with much shrewdness and ability. It is not so generally interesting a journal as the _Oneida Circular_, the organ of the Perfectionists, because the Shakers concern themselves almost exclusively with religious matters, and give in their paper but few details of their daily and practical life.

POPULATION RETURNS OF THE SHAKER SOCIETIES.

I give here, in a convenient tabular form, figures showing the present and past numbers of the different Shaker Societies--males, females, and children--the amount of land each society owns, and the number of laborers, not members, it employs:

______________________________________________________________________ | |No. of Families| Adults. |Youth Under 11.| | Society. | or Separate |______|________|_______|_______| | | Communities. | Male.| Female.| Male. |Female.| |____________________|_______________|______|___ ____|_______|_______| | Alfred, Me.........| 2 | 20 | 30 | 8 | 12 | | New Gloucester, Me.| 2 | 20 | 36 | 4 | 10 | | Canterbury, N.H....| 3 | 35 | 70 | 14 | 26 | | Enfield, N.H.......| 3 | 29 | 76 | 8 | 27 | | Enfield, Conn......| 4 | 24 | 48 | 18 | 25 | | Harvard, Ma.s.s......| 4 | 17 | 57 | 4 | 12 | | s.h.i.+rley, Ma.s.s......| 2 | 6 | 30 | 4 | 8 | | Hanc.o.c.k, Ma.s.s......| 3 | 23 | 42 | 13 | 20 | | Tyringham, Ma.s.s....| 1 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | | Mount Lebanon, N.Y.| 7 | 115 | 221 | 21 | 26 | | Watervliet, N.Y....| 4 | 75 | 100 | 20 | 40 | | Groveland, N.Y.....| 2 | 18 | 30 | 3 | 6 | | North Union, O.....| 3 | 41 | 44 | 6 | 11 | | Union Village, O...| 4 | 75 | 92 | 20 | 28 | | Watervliet, O......| 2 | 16 | 32 | 3 | 4 | | White Water, O.....| 3 | 34 | 51 | 6 | 9 | | Pleasant Hill, Ky..| 5 | 56 | 114 | 25 | 50 | | South Union, Ky....| 4 | 85 | 105 | 15 | 25 | |____________________|_______________|______|_______ |_______|_______| | | | | | | | Eighteen Societies.| 58 | 695 | 1189 | 192 | 339 | |____________________|_______________|______|________|_______|_______|

______________________________________________________________________ | | | | Acres | | | Society. |Total Population,| Greatest | of | Hired | | |1874.| 1823. |Population.| Land. |Laborers.| |____________________|_____|___________|___________|________|_________| | | | | | | | | Alfred, Me.........| 70 | 200 | 200 | 1100 | 15-20 | | New Gloucester, Me.| 70 | 150 | 150 | 2000 | 15-20 | | Canterbury, N.H....| 145 | 200 | 300 | 3000 | 6 | | Enfield, N.H.......| 140 | 200 | 330 | 3000 | 20-35 | | Enfield, Conn......| 115 | 200 | 200 | 3300 | 15 | | Harvard, Ma.s.s......| 90 | 200 | 200 | 1800 | 16 | | s.h.i.+rley, Ma.s.s......| 48 | 150 | 150 | 2000 | 10 | | Hanc.o.c.k, Ma.s.s......| 98 | -- | 300 | 3500 | 25 | | Tyringham, Ma.s.s....| 17 | -- | -- | 1000 | 6 | | Mount Lebanon, N.Y.| 383 | 500-600 | 600 | 3000 | -- | | Watervliet, N.Y....| 235 | 200 | 350 | 4500 | 75 | | Groveland, N.Y.....| 57 | 150 in | 200 | 2280 | 8 | | | | 1836. | | | | | North Union, O.....| 102 | -- | 200 | 1335 | 9 | | Union Village, O...| 215 | 600 | 600 | 4500 | 70 | | Watervliet, O......| 55 | 100 | 100 | 1300 | 10 | | White Water, O.....| 100 | 150 | 150 | 1500 | 10 | | Pleasant Hill, Ky..| 245 | 450 | 490 | 4200 | 20 | | South Union, Ky....| 230 | 349 | 349 | 6000 | 15 | |____________________|_____|___________|___________|________|_________| | | | | | | | | Eighteen Societies.|2415 | -- | -- | 49,335 | -- | |____________________|_____|___________|___________|________|_________|

The returns of land include, for the most part, only the home farms; and several of the societies own considerable quant.i.ties of real estate in distant states, of which I could get no precise returns.

THE PERFECTIONISTS OF ONEIDA AND WALLINGFORD.

THE PERFECTIONISTS OF ONEIDA AND WALLINGFORD

I.--HISTORICAL.

The Oneida and Wallingford Communists are of American origin, and their members.h.i.+p is almost entirely American.

Their founder, who is still their head, John Humphrey Noyes, was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1811, of respectable parentage. He graduated from Dartmouth College, began the study of the law, but turned shortly to theology; and studied first at Andover, with the intention of fitting himself to become a foreign missionary, and later in the Yale theological school. At New Haven he came under the influence of a zealous revival preacher, and during his residence there he "landed in a new experience and new views of the way of salvation, which took the name of Perfectionism."

This was in 1834. He soon returned to Putney, in Vermont, where his father's family then lived, and where his father was a banker. There he preached and printed; and in 1838 married Harriet A. Holton, the granddaughter of a member of Congress, and a convert to his doctrines.

He slowly gathered about him a small company of believers, drawn from different parts of the country, and with their help made known his new faith in various publications, with such effect that though in 1847 he had only about forty persons in his own congregation, there appear to have been small gatherings of "Perfectionists" in other states, in correspondence with Noyes, and inclined to take him as their leader.

Originally Noyes was not a Communist, but when his thoughts turned in that direction he began to prepare his followers for communal life; in 1845 he made known to them his peculiar views of the relations of the s.e.xes, and in 1846 the society at Putney began cautiously an experiment in communal living.

Their views, which they never concealed, excited the hostility of the people to such a degree that they were mobbed and driven out of the place; and in the spring of 1848 they joined some persons of like faith and practice at Oneida, in Madison County, New York. Here they began community life anew, on forty acres of land, on which stood an unpainted frame dwelling-house, an abandoned Indian hut, and an old Indian saw-mill. They owed for this property two thousand dollars. The place was neglected, without cultivation, and the people were so poor that for some time they had to sleep on the floor in the garret which was their princ.i.p.al sleeping-chamber.

The gathering at Oneida appears to have been the signal for several attempts by followers of Noyes to establish themselves in communes. In 1849 a small society was formed in Brooklyn, N.Y., to which later the printing for all the societies was entrusted. In 1850 another community was begun at Wallingford, in Connecticut. There were others, of which I find no account; but all regarded Oneida as their centre and leader; and in the course of time, and after various struggles, all were drawn into the common centre, except that at Wallingford, which still exists in a flouris.h.i.+ng condition, having its property and other interests in common with Oneida.

[Ill.u.s.tration: J H NOYES, FOUNDER OF THE PERFECTIONISTS]

The early followers of Noyes were chiefly New England farmers, the greater part of whom brought with them some means, though not in any single case a large amount. Noyes himself and several other members contributed several thousand dollars each, and a "Property Register"

kept from the beginning of the community experiment showed that up to the first of January, 1857, the members of all the a.s.sociated communes had brought in the considerable amount of one hundred and seven thousand seven hundred and six dollars. I understand, however, that this sum was not at any one time in hand, and that much of it came in several years after the settlement at Oneida in 1848; and it is certain that in the early days, while they were still seeking for some business which should be at the same time agreeable to them and profitable, they had sometimes short commons. They showed great courage and perseverance, for through all their early difficulties they maintained a printing-office and circulated a free paper.

At first they looked toward agriculture and horticulture as their main-stays for income; but they began soon to unite other trades with these. Their saw-mill sawed lumber for the neighboring farmers; they set up a blacksmith shop, and here, besides other work, they began to make traps by hand, having at first no means to buy machinery, and indeed having to invent most of that which they now use in their extensive trap shop.

Like the Shakers with their garden seeds, and all other successful communities with their products, the Perfectionists got their start by the excellence of their workmans.h.i.+p. Their traps attracted attention because they were more uniformly well made than others; and thus they built up a trade which has become very large. They raised small fruits, made rustic furniture, raised farm crops, sold cattle, had at one time a sloop on the Hudson; and Noyes himself labored as a blacksmith, farmer, and in many other employments.

Working thus under difficulties, they had sunk, by January, 1857, over forty thousand dollars of their capital, but had gained valuable experience in the mean time. They had concentrated all their people at Oneida and Wallingford; and had set up some machinery at the former place. In January, 1857, they took their first annual inventory, and found themselves worth a little over sixty-seven thousand dollars. Their perseverance had conquered fortune, for in the next ten years the net profit of the two societies amounted to one hundred and eighty thousand five hundred and eighty dollars, according to this statement:

Net earnings in 1857.....$5,470.11 " " 1858..... 1,763.60 " " 1859.....10,278.38 " " 1860.....15,611.03 " " 1861..... 5,877.89

Net earnings in 1862....$9,859 78 " " 1863....44,755.30 " " 1864....61,382.62 " " 1865....12,382.81 " " 1866....13,198.74

During this time they made traps, traveling-bags and satchels, mop-holders, and various other small articles, and put up preserved fruits in gla.s.s and tin. They began at Wallingford, in 1851, making match-boxes, and the manufacture of traveling-bags was begun in Brooklyn, and later transferred to Oneida. Trap-making was begun at Oneida in 1855; fruit-preserving in 1858, and in 1866 the silk manufacture was established.

Meantime they bought land, until they have in 1874, near Oneida, six hundred and fifty-four acres, laid out in orchards, vineyards, meadows, pasture and wood land, and including several valuable water-powers; and at Wallingford two hundred and forty acres, mainly devoted to grazing and the production of small fruits. They have erected in both places commodious and substantial dwellings and shops, and carry on at this time a number of industries, of which some account will be found further on.

The two communities, whose members are interchangeable at will and whenever necessity arises, must be counted as one. At Oneida they have founded a third, on a part of their land, called Willow Place, but this too is but an offshoot of the central family. In February, 1874, they numbered two hundred and eighty-three persons, of whom two hundred and thirty-eight were at Oneida and Willow Place, and forty-five at Wallingford. Of these one hundred and thirty-one were males, and one hundred and fifty-two females. Of the whole number, sixty-four were children and youth under twenty-one--thirty-three males and thirty-one females. Of the two hundred and nineteen adults, one hundred and five were over forty-five years of age--forty-four men and sixty-one women.

They employ in both places from twenty to thirty-five farm laborers, according to the season, and a number of fruit-pickers in the time of small fruits. Besides, at Oneida they employ constantly two hundred and one hired laborers, of whom one hundred and three are women, seventy-five of whom work in the silk factory; sixty-seven of the men being engaged in the trap works, foundry, and machine shops. At Wallingford the silk works give employment to thirty-five hired women and girls.

Originally, and for many years, these Communists employed no outside labor in their houses; but with increasing prosperity they have begun to hire servants and helpers in many branches. Thus at Oneida there are in the laundry two men and five women; in the kitchen three men and seven women; in the heating or furnace room two men; in the shoemaker's shop two; and in the tailor's shop two--all hired people. At Wallingford they hire three women and one man for their laundry.

These hired people are the country neighbors of the commune; and, as with the Shakers and the Harmonists, they like their employers. These pay good wages, and treat their servants kindly; looking after their physical and intellectual well-being, building houses for such of them as have families and need to be near at hand, and in many ways showing interest in their welfare.

The members of the two societies are for the most part Americans, though there are a few English and Canadians. There are among them lawyers, clergymen, merchants, physicians, teachers; but the greater part were New England farmers and mechanics. Former Congregationalists and Presbyterians Episcopalians, Methodists, and Baptists are among them--but no Catholics.

They have a great number of applications from persons desirous to become members. During 1873 they received over one hundred such by letter, besides a nearly equal number made in person. They are not willing now to accept new members; but I believe they are looking about for a place suitable for a new settlement, and would not be unwilling, if a number of persons with sufficient means for another colony should present themselves, to help them with teachers and guides.

In the year 1873 the Oneida Community produced and sold preserved fruits to the value of $27,417; machine and sewing silk and woven goods worth $203,784; hardware, including traps, chucks, silk-measuring machines and silk-strength testers (the last two of their own invention), gate-hinges and foundry castings, $90,447. They raised twenty-five acres of sweet corn, six acres of tomatoes, two acres of strawberries, two of raspberries; half an acre of currants, half an acre of grapes, twenty-two acres of apples, and three and a half acres of pears.

Silk-weaving has been abandoned, as not suitable to them.

At the beginning of 1874 they were worth over half a million of dollars.

From the beginning, Noyes and his followers have made great use of the press. Up to the time of their settlement at Oneida they had published "Paul not Carnal;" two series of _Perfectionist; The Way of Holiness_, the _Berean_, and _The Witness_. From Oneida they began at once to issue the _Spiritual Magazine_, and, later, the _Free Church Circular_, which was the beginning of their present journal, the _Oneida Circular_. "Bible Communism" also was published at Oneida during the first year of their settlement there. They did not aim to make money by their publications, and the _Circular_ was from the first published on terms probably unlike those of any other newspaper in the world. I take from an old number, of the year 1853, the following announcement, standing at the head of the first column:

"The _Circular_ is published by Communists, and for Communists. Its main object is to help the education of several confederated a.s.sociations, who are practically devoted to the Pentecost principle of community of property. Nearly all of its readers outside of those a.s.sociations are Communists in principle. It is supported almost entirely by the free contributions of this Communist const.i.tuency. A paper with such objects and such resources cannot properly be offered for sale.

Freely we receive, and we freely give. Whoever wishes to read the _Circular_ can have it WITHOUT PAYING, OR PROMISING TO PAY, by applying through the mail, or at 43 Willow Place, Brooklyn. If any one chooses to pay, he may send TWO DOLLARS for the yearly volume; but he must not require us to keep his accounts. We rely on the free gifts of the family circle for which we labor."

This paper was published on these terms, at one time semi-weekly, and at another three times a week. For some years past it has appeared weekly, printed on extremely good paper, and an admirable specimen of typography; and it has now at the head of its columns the following notice:

"The Circular is sent to all applicants, whether they pay or not. It costs and is worth at least two dollars per volume. Those who want it and ought to have it are divisible into three cla.s.ses, viz.: 1, those who can not afford to pay two dollars; 2, those who can afford to pay _only_ two dollars; and, 3, those who can afford to pay _more_ than two dollars. The first ought to have it free; the second ought to pay the cost of it; and the third ought to pay enough more than the cost to make up the deficiencies of the first. This is the law of Communism.

We have no means of enforcing it, and no wish to do so, except by stating it and leaving it to the good sense of those concerned. We take the risk of offering the _Circular_ to all without price; but free subscriptions will be received only from persons making application for themselves, either directly or by giving express authority to those who apply for them.

"Foreign subscribers, except those residing in Canada, must remit with their subscriptions money to prepay the postage."

They print now about two thousand copies per week, and lost last year six hundred dollars in the enterprise, without reckoning what would have had to be paid in any other work of the kind for literary labor.

A list of the works they have issued will be found, with the t.i.tles of works issued by other communistic societies, at the end of the volume.

Aside from its religious and communistic teachings, the _Circular_ has a general interest, by reason of articles it often contains relating to natural history and natural scenery, which, from different pens, show that there are in the society some close observers of nature, who have also the ability to relate their observations and experiences in excellent English. In general, the style of the paper is uncommonly good, and shows that there is a degree of culture among the Oneida people which preserves them from the too common newspaper vice of fine English.

Their publications deal with the utmost frankness with their own religious and social theories and practices, and I suppose it may be said that they aim to keep themselves and their doctrines before the public. In this respect they differ from all the other Communistic societies now existing in this country. That they are not without a sense of humor in these efforts, the following, printed as advertis.e.m.e.nts in the _Circular,_ will show:

GRAND FIRE ANNIHILATOR!--AN INVENTION for overcoming Evil with Good MEEK & LOWLY.