LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 335 . 973 Sh2i I • H • S • ICARIA Chapter in the History of Communism BY ALBERT SHAW, Ph. D. NEW YORK & LONDON G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 1884 COPYRIGHT BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 1884 Press 0/ G. P. Putnam's Sons New York :; 335-.

500 of the debt they succeeded in procuring the money. It was a fortunate deliverance. They were left with only a little more than eleven hundred acres of land ; but it was all they needed, for their number was now reduced (1863) to only thirty-five, including men, women, and children. The withdrawal of members in those years of hardship can not in all cases be attributed to selfish motives or an unwillingness to share privation. Members had to be fed, clothed, and sheltered ; and to a com- munity unable even to pay interest on its debt, membership may be a cause of added expense rather than a source of advantage and profit. For the ensuing twelve or thirteen years, life was any thing but ideal and poetic in Icaria, and we need not dwell at length upon its external features. There were few events to break the monotony of secluded farm life. These were years of patient, self-sacrificing struggle, devoted to the one object of securing a solid material basis for the happy Icaria of the future. With this end in view these " soldiers of humanity " shrank from no privation. Little by little they bought back portions of their land. Through their domain ran a stream known as the Nodaway River, overlooking which, on the bluffy upland half a mile away, was their cluster of a score or more of diminutive log dwellings grouped about a larger log structure which was used as common PIONEER LIFE IN IOWA. 83 dining-hall and assembly room. On the river they built a grist- and saw-mill, which was patronized by the neighbors, and was the source of a small net in- come. Their industry, intelligence, and upright con- duct gained the favor of all the surrounding country. Now and then an old Icarian family would return ; and by the end of the year 1868, they were able to report a membership of sixty, a domain of over seventeen hundred acres, fairly well stocked with horses, cattle, and sheep, their mills paid for, and their entire indebtedness lifted. Three years later we find the domain increased by two hundred more acres, steam introduced in the mills, a personnel of seventy members, a new framed central hall, sixty feet long and two stories high, carpenter, black- smith, wagon and shoe shops in operation, and rail- road connections with Eastern markets furnished by the completion of the Burlington and Missouri River (now the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy) Railroad. Such are the meagre annals, for a dozen years, of these disillusioned pioneers, who had hoped that by this time their brilliant demonstration and realiza- tion of a beautiful idea would have converted all civilized nations and transformed the face of the earth. Verily, the world had even forgotten their existence. Doubtless their care and toil for the means made them sometimes forget the end. It would have been strange had it been otherwise. When men and 84 ICARIA. women have spent the best quarter-century of their lives drudging for the bare means of subsistence and haunted by the spectre of debt, even if they do not grow sordid and hard, they tend to become cautious and conservative ; the generous enthusiasms and glowing ideals of youth are toned down and tem- pered by stern experience. The amenities of life had a poor chance in those miserably built, cramped log-huts, which were not half as large as the average one-room log-house of the American backwoodsman. But even in this condition the Icarians favorably impressed visitors, as the following extracts from letters will show. An intelligent gentleman who visited Icaria in 1869 wrote that he found in the "log-shanties" "a degree of cultivation, courtesy, and kindness not often so generally found among the same number of persons." The same writer con- tinues: "The Icarian community is a success. The best of feeling appears to prevail among them, and we could but feel elated that here at least was a demonstration of successful communism. We wish them that good success in the future to which their self-denial and perseverance so richly entitle them." ' In 1871, another visitor wrote as follows: "The most surprising thing there was the presence of so many intelligent persons content to live in such a squalid way. The kind, hospitable, and tolerant spirit of the association was perfectly fascinating, 'Letter from Dr. Briggs, in The Communist, 1S69. PIONEER LIFE IN IOWA. 85 and almost gilded the quasi hog-pasture in which they live. I thought I perceived in the young people a goodness and intelligence which will in another dozen years revolutionize their mode of living and doing business, and make their society a power in the land. Indeed, I think there is more vitality and virtue and hope for humanity at Icaria than in any other association." 1 About this time the finances of the community began to justify the building of better habitations, and as these were gradually erected (arranged in the form of a quadrangle enclosing the larger hall), the old log-huts were one by one abandoned. As Dr. Gaskin had predicted, the new generation began to exert a strong influence in the direction of improve- ments and "progress." Flowers and shade trees began to be cultivated, and the village took on a better appearance. Mr. William Alfred Hinds visited Icaria in the summer of 1876, and the following ex- tracts from a letter which he sent to the American Socialist give a true and graphic picture of life in the community at that time : "A dozen small white cottages arranged on the sides of a parallelogram ; a large central building containing a unitary kitchen and a common dining-hall, which is also used as an assembly room and for community amuse- ments, including an occasional dance or theatrical presen- 1 Private letter of J. W. Gaskin, of Chicago, printed in The Com- munist, 1871. Mr. Gaskin some years later proved the sincerity of this opinion by joining the community. S6 1CARIA. tation ; a unitary bake-room and laundry near at hand ; numerous log-cabins, also within easy reach of the central building — forcible reminders of the early poverty and hardships of this people ; a small dairy-house near the thatched stable to the south ; barns for the horses and sheep to the north : all these buildings on the bluff rising from the valley of the Nodaway River, and surrounded by the community domain of over two thousand acres of fertile land, of which seven hundred have been culti- vated, and including, with some timber land, extensive meadows and pastures, over which range 600 sheep and 140 head of cattle — the cultivated part having the present season 5 acres of potatoes, 5 acres of sorghum, 100 of wheat, 250 of corn, one and a half of straw- berries, besides vineyards, orchards, etc.: behold the present external aspects of Icaria. " At the sound of the bell all direct their footsteps to the central building ; and should you enter at meal-time you would see the entire community, now numbering seventy-five, seated at the oblong and circular tables, as lively and sociable as French people know how to be. Over the entrance door you would notice in large letters the word 'Equality,' and directly opposite the word 1 Liberty,' and at one end of the room the suggestive 1 1 776-1876.' You would notice also that upon the table there is an abundance of substantial food, but that every thing is plain. "Should you enter the same building at evening you might find most of the family assembled, some to con- verse, some to sing their songs of equality and fraternity. Or should you call on a Sunday afternoon, as was my PIONEER LIFE IN IOWA. 87 good fortune, you might hear selections from the writings of their great apostle, Etienne Cabet, or recitals by the young, or songs, perchance, which would stir your social- istic enthusiasm. One of these I heard had this refrain : ' Travailleurs de la grande cause, Soyons fiers de notre destin ; L'egoiste seul se repose, Travaillons pour le genre humain.' " A recital by a maiden of fifteen was very effective. She put great expression into the words : ' Mes freres, il est temps que les haines s'oublient ; Que sous un seul drapeau les peuples se rallient ; Le chemin du salut va pour nous s'aplanir. La grande liberte que l'Humanite reve, Comme un nouveau soleil, radieuse, se leve Sur l'horizon de l'avenir.' " It is indeed time that hatreds were forgotten and that all people rallied under a single flag. Shall that flag be Communism ? The Icarians will enthusiastically answer * yes ' ; and yet should one inquire whether all hatreds are forgotten in Icaria itself, would the reply be also ' yes ' ? >> 1 This last question of Mr. Hinds' was a peculiarly significant one as we shall proceed to show. 1 This letter is quoted by Mr. Hinds in his " American Communi- ties," pp. 67-69. VI. THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. VI. THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. Outwardly Icaria was in a promising state. Its assets were now equal to about $60,000 dollars, its membership was increasing, some of the convenien- ces and a few of the luxuries of life were finding admittance ; the lads had grown up to be good farmers; the library was freely used, and French and American periodicals were eagerly perused by bright minds. A generation had now passed since the great socialistic movement which had stirred generous souls in every country, which had given birth to so many enterprises besides Icaria, and which reached its climax in the eventful year of '48. And now a new tidal wave of socialism was sweep- ing Europe and America. It did not fail to reach Icaria; and the community was quickened with a new sense of its moral mission. The young people felt a thrill of that grand enthusiasm for humanity which in '48 had transformed peasants and artizans into heroes and philosophers. And so, with a solid, though moderate, material prosperity, with a hard- earned knowledge of the practical things of life, and yet with a high consciousness of a moral mission 91 92 ICARIA. which lifted them above that sordidness and men- tal sloth to which otherwise their mode of life must have degraded them, — with these conditions existing, what stood in the way of a proud and brilliant future for Icaria ? Alas, the Icarians were again to demonstrate the exceeding difficulty of maintaining harmony in a community based upon the principle of acquiescence in the will of the majority. Party spirit had broken up the great Icarian school in France ; it had di- vided the colony at New Orleans ; it had violently rent the society at Nauvoo ; it had precipitated the fall of Cheltenham. For some years the elements of a new tragedy had been silently brewing. A writer on American communities has well observed: " It is obvious that the process of transferring the interests of a community from one generation to another, which always has to be done sooner or later, will be at least a painful one. The highest wisdom is needed to make this transfer, and not mar the harmony of the society." The process may be a very gradual one, yet it necessarily involves a more or less serious crisis. The thoughts and man- ners and maxims of the fathers are not as those of the sons. In the Icarian contest, which we must now briefly describe, neither party was wholly right nor wholly wrong. As for motives of conduct, it must be as- sumed that each party felt itself justified. The THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. 93 party of the old people, who were in the voting majority, and whom we may call the Constitutional party, were undoubtedly more nearly right accord- ing to the tenets and written law of Icarianism ; but perhaps they may have been too rigid and too little conciliatory. The party of the young people, whom we may term the Revolutionary party, were chafing for change, expansion, progress, and to them the party of the majority seemed retrogressive and dead to the cause of humanity. It is not worth while to trace in detail the growth of these parties, nor the points at issue between them. Such breaches tend to widen constantly. The younger party desired changes in the business management, and improvements in the method of agriculture. They wished the franchise given to women, — only males above twenty years being voters. Perhaps they were the more anxious for the emancipation of the sex because it would have changed the voting majority in assembly to their side. They were for admission of many new members and for the intro- duction of a varied industry which would provide work and maintenance for a much larger number than could be supported or employed by ordinary agriculture. The older party were unwilling to try any rash or doubtful experiments, and their long experience had made them cautious and circumspect in admitting strangers. The younger party were eager for " propaganda." 94 ICARIA. They had been fired by the events of '71 in Paris, and felt strongly with the new Communism of France, the Social Democracy of Germany, and the Nihilism of Russia. The new ideas were taking sudden and rank growth in America. Socialistic labor parties and socialistic newspapers were spring- ing up in every city, and the movement was rapidly taking shape which was soon to culminate in the rash and unfortunate riots of 1877. ^ n tne West the Greenback party, honest and earnest in its rank and file, though misguided by fallacious doctrines and in some cases by false leaders, was proclaiming a form of socialism. The business depression that had followed the panic of 1873, and which kept thousands of workingmen idle, contributed above all else to the menacing form assumed by social agitation. With these new views, and with the anarchical spirit of the new agitation, whether in Europe or in America, the older party of Icarians had little sympathy. In its very essence the Icarian doctrine was one of peace and good-will. Its mis- sion was constructive or nothing. Its work was to teach the world the philosophy of a better social system, and to demonstrate the practicability of that philosophy. It proposed a peaceful and grad- ual evolution of existing society into the society of the future ; and violent subversions would only hinder progress. Such were the opinions of the older party. , THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS, 95 I would not affirm that this difference of sym- pathy was sufficiently defined to form a very dis- tinct issue between the two parties in Icaria, but it certainly contributed, consciously or unconsciously, to widen the breach. The young party wished to fall in line with the large movements outside, to wage a more vigorous propaganda, to make Icaria an asylum for communists. Distrust grew rapidly between the parties. The old people regarded every proposition to admit a new member as a wily move of the minority to gain a vote in the assem- bly. The following resume of the situation is from the pen of a versatile young Parisian communist who came at this stormy moment to join Icaria, and who afterward became prominently identified with the party of the young people. The reader should bear in mind that this account, written several years after the events it describes, is entirely from the standpoint of the young party: " Icaria was also to furnish proof that all things are born of suffering, and that progress is but the prize of brave effort, and of the discussion, the struggle, and dis- tress which accompany it. " For a long time isolation, privations, an absorbing labor, perhaps also the effects of age, had totally effaced in the eyes of the Icarians the moral mission of Icaria. Very little cared they for its socialistic character, or de- sired to yield to the consequences of its legitimate des- tiny. The age of generous illusions was past, the desire 96 ICARIA. for improvements extinguished ; internal progress no longer possessed charms for them. It is not always ego- tism which makes one a conservative ! The recollection of an unfortunate past, while inspiring exaggerated fears for the future, also forces people into inaction or immo- bility. " Meanwhile a new generation came upon the stage. Some old Icarians, in whom the fire of the cause of humanity still smouldered under the ashes of years, aided by communistic visitors who were attracted to Icaria by its ancient renown, communicated to the youth of the community the heat of their convictions and the light of their counsels. Nevertheless, as it is with the earth on which seed vainly falls, some of the young people remained insensible to this kind of magnetism. But, in general, the sons grew rapidly in the love of progress, and were not slow to manifest the impatience and discontent which were produced in them by the resistance, unconsciously systematic, opposed by their predecessors to every innovation. " This divergence of views soon created in the heart of the Assembly a distinction of groups. The law of affinity is irresistible ! The members yielded to its power, and formed parties, one to defend the progressive movement, the other to oppose it and favor inertia. " The struggle was at first pacific and quite fraternal. But soon came the bad habit of mingling personalities in the controversy. The friction of irascible characters and an old leaven of antipathy, brought from Nauvoo and revived in the heat of the combat, very quickly substi- tuted absolute incompatibility for the comparative homo- geneity which had previously existed. THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS 97 " Two opposing parties encamped face to face. One was that of the young Icarians, including some aged people ; the other that of the old Icarians, including some young people. There were the Progressives and the Non-Progressives. " As with all parties, those of Icaria sought recruits — with this difference, however, between them, that while the old party endeavored to increase their numbers from within, the young party, faithful to the principle of ad- mission, especially sought to increase their strength by new members. Nevertheless, by the law of admission, the first party possessed the ' open sesame ! ' of the doors of Icaria, and it was only with all the fears, all the anxieties of conservatism that they consented to pro- nounce the magic words. " The necessity of gaining the ascendancy became for each party more and more urgent. Menaces of ostracism had been lanced by the majority of the old party against the minority of the young people, and the latter, while conscious of the advantage it would probably gain by the admission of new members, was anxious, in its turn, about the future attitude of the candidates. It was necessary that these should offer to both parties the hope of a future support in order to overcome all resist- ance to their admission. " The logic of parties is to continually widen the gulf which separates them. Sentiment may deny this ; reason does not. Compromises may intervene ; they will never unite the incompatible. The skepticism which new ideas profess toward old ways and old notions is at first an obstacle to this. 98 ICARIA. " Subject to this rule, the Icarians were so separated at this point that each party foresaw the imminent rup- ture of the material bond which still held the two groups together. " This was in the spring of 1876. "On the 17th of April of the same year, the minority read in the Assembly a document in which it protested against the retrogressive acts of the majority, reproached them for the lack of regard for the rights and opinions of women, their hostility to propagandism, their perse- cution of the progressives, etc. It affirmed its devotion to the cause, and its purpose to pursue its ideal at all cost, and to this end signified its wish to be separated from the majority, amicably if possible, by legal means if necessary. The majority refused to consider such an unusual demand. " Meanwhile, four Internationalists had made applica- tion for admission to Icaria. Animated by the fears we have mentioned, each party considered it to be its duty to plead its cause in advance before these prospective mem- bers. The majority wrote to them : ' Our enemies desire a separation, that they may then divide the property among themselves.' The minority sent its reasons for demanding a separation. " Thus forewarned, the candidates left New York, in spite of a dispatch from the majority which told them to postpone their coming. On their arrival each party de- scribed to them the situation in its own manner. But it is in supreme moments that one trusts to chance. Either from confidence in the result, or because they were willing to risk every thing, the two parties united THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. 99 in admitting the new-comers after only fifteen days of novitiation." One of these new-comers was Emile Peron him- self, the author of the paragraphs quoted above, a young man who had come to New York after the downfall of the Paris Commune. Another was A. Sauva, who years before had come from France to join the Cheltenham Icarians at St. Louis, and had supported that unfortunate enterprise to the very last. He had then served in the Union army, and afterward had returned to France. He was a promi- nent member of the great organization of the In- ternational, and helped to make French history at Paris in 187 1. Both were men of marked ability. The new-comers bent their energy to a restoration of harmony, and apparently with gratifying success. It was during this lull that Mr. Hinds made his visit to Icaria and wrote the letter to the American Socialist quoted in the preceding chapter. The annual election, which came on the 3d of February, 1877, resulted most encouragingly. The directors of the two departments of Industry and Agriculture, those most susceptible of improve- ments such as had been clamored for, were chosen from the young party. With excellent taste the Presidency for the year was confided to Sauva, who had not identified himself with either faction, but had been a peace-maker. This election seemed to indicate a genuine spirit of concession on all sides, 100 ICARIA. and a disposition to sink party differences for the good of the whole which promised well for the com- munity. But Sauva did not find his administration a bed of roses. It soon became evident that the leaders of the young party were wholly disaffected, and were only waiting for an occasion to insist again upon separation. Although three or four more "men of '71 " — and certainly men of "progressive" views — were soon admitted, the young party were not satisfied ; and the refusal of the majority to admit a young candidate whom the minority espe- cially favored, brought to the surface again all the old animosity. Another point of controversy must be mentioned ; not so much because of its in- trinsic importance, as because it illustrates a phase of community life. This was no less a matter than that of " les petits jar dins" — the little gardens. Prior to 1870, while the families of the community still lived in the log- huts, the privilege had been granted each family of using a narrow strip of ground surrounding the house for a flower-garden, or for cultivation in any way that seemed good to the occupants of the house, in their hours of leisure. These poor pio- neers, with their Gallic love of flowers and of gar- dening, found genuine satisfaction in their bits of ground ; and here a vine, there an apple-tree, a tobacco-plant, or a fragrant bunch of garlic, were THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. 101 added to the original flower-bed feature. Every- where else in the community the Icarian motto, " All for each, each for all," was the invariable rule. If in the one matter of these tiny plots environing their humble domiciles, the Icarians allowe67"the idea of "meum et tuum " insidiously to enter, and if they found a keener enjoyment in the flowers or the grapes because of the forbidden but delicious sense of personal ownership, we must not condemn them too harshly, nor impeach their communism. There was something noble and pathetic in the manner with which these " citoyens " and " citoy- ennes " put away the accursed thing when they awoke to a realization of the fact that the gardens were introducing a dangerous element of individual- ism and inequality. This consciousness was arrived at about the time when the first half dozen of the new and more commodious houses were built ; and it was arranged that whenever a family should leave the hut for a frame-house, the wicked garden should be given up and no new ones should be made. 1 " Years rolled on," as the novelists say, and we come again to our point of departure, the inauspi- cious days of 1 877. Three citizens still abode in 1 It is somewhat interesting to note that this Icarian village com- munity, in its tendency to evolve individual proprietorship, began precisely at the same point as the primitive village communities, which maintained common ownership and use of arable lands and pastures and woodlands long after the homesteads and their imme- diate environment had become individual property. Evidently the " petits jardins " are a modern reproduction of the ancient " toft and croft." 102 ICARIA. their primitive log-huts, and maintained, therefore, their " petits jardins." To the young party this was a scandal and an abomination ; nor did the old party really approve of the conduct of the three selfish citizens in clinging to their truck-patches and vines. In the fall of 1877 there was to be a sale of grapes ; and a member of the young party proposed that, instead of gathering the fruit in the commu- nity's vineyard, there should be a confiscation of the grapes in the three little gardens. The proposi- tion was certainly in keeping with Icarian princi- ples. But the person who made it, and his manner of making it, were so offensive to the old party that they voted solidly against it. All compromises were now at an end, and the factions were openly at war again. Sauva had by this time identified himself with the conservative party, and Peron had become the fluent spokesman of the " progressives," as they termed themselves. On the 26th of September the young party an- nounced their fixed purpose to withdraw and found an autonomous branch on a portion of the domain, and a few days later they submitted a detailed plan by which the division might be accomplished. The land was to remain the common property of the two branches, but was to be assigned for use and control to the respective communes in a manner which they set forth in the following paragraph of their proposition : THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. 103 " That a division of land and stock be made pro rata, each stockholder, man, woman, and child, to be given ten acres of land ; that henceforth we carry on our affairs, agricultural, industrial, and financial, as two distinct branches of one com- munity; that the land be held on both sides in usufruct only, each branch having the privilege of mortgaging its land to one fifth of its appraised valuation ; that each branch admit to its ranks such new members as it may deem proper (births being reckoned as new admissions) ; and that the surplus of land remaining after the division shall be made according to the above proposition, shall be held in common at the disposal of both sides for the use of its new members. In case of death on either side, if the portion held in the name of the deceased is not taken up by a new admission within a specified time, the opposite party shall have the right to claim it." The nineteen voters of the old party were em- phatically opposed to the proposition, while, of course, the thirteen voters of the young party were agreed in urging it. The plan certainly was a very awkward one, and must have led, if adopted, to continual friction and misunderstanding between the two communes. Having thus failed to accom- plish a separation in lawful manner by vote of the assembly, the " progressives " assumed a revolu- tionary attitude. They might very easily have re- 104 ICARIA. signed and withdrawn, as at one time and another in the history of Icaria many hundreds had done; but they could have taken with them only a small portion of the property. At this juncture the Icarian constitution showed a singular weakness, which was taken advantage of by the revolutionary party. This faction had now resorted to the civil courts, and was doing every thing in its power to harass and destroy the community ; and yet the majority had no adequate defence, for the reason that expulsion required a two-thirds vote, whereas the rebellious minority cast one vote more than three-eighths of the whole number. Though plot- ting its destruction, the community was powerless to expel them. The legal proceedings, which were pending for some months, resulted in the forfeiture by the Circuit Court of the Icarian charter, and the appointment by Court of trustees to "wind up " the business of the community. Meanwhile many fruitless efforts at amicable adjustment had been made. A new colony in some remote region where personal frictions would be avoided was a plan promptly rejected by the revo- lutionists. Both parties devised plans of arbitration, but in neither case could the preliminaries be agreed upon. 1 The old party grew so generous as to offer 1 The old people proposed that arbitrators should be selected from among former Icarians, many of whom were scattered throughout the West. They maintained that a dispute between Icarian factions could best be understood and adjusted by those who had knowledge THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. 105 their disaffected young compatriots a cash bonus of several thousand dollars if they would withdraw- in peace and set up a community somewhere else. But the young people had other plans. It is, perhaps, not to be expected that, in a coun- try where the property rights of the individual are held more sacred by the laws than aught else, scarcely excepting life and personal liberty, the Courts should take into consideration the peculiar nature of a property accumulated, and held through an entire generation, on the principles of commu- nism. Many an old member whose toil had helped to build up the establishment, and whose donation of his private possessions on joining the community had added to the wealth of the society, had long since died ; or perchance he had for personal reasons withdrawn from membership, taking next to nothing with him, but consoled by the thought that what he had left behind would perpetually promote the good cause of communism. The purpose and prin- of and sympathy with Icarian principles. They thought the vital issue should be settled on the basis of communistic and Icarian doc- trines. On the other hand the young people proposed an arbitration by "old settlers" of the county, i. e., by their American farmer neighbors. Now the only point of view possible for such arbitrators must have been that of individual rights. With them separation would have been a foregone conclusion. Their only care would have been to secure an equitable distribution of the property among the members. Certainly the young party were right in regarding this plan as the most favorable to the end they had in view, that of sepa- ration ; while the plan proposed by the old folks was of course much more in accord with the peculiar principles professed by both parties, and much more likely to favor the object of the old party, that of preserving intact the domain of the community. 106 ICARIA. ciple of Icaria was radically different from that of an ordinary business corporation or joint-stock com- pany. Except as recognized in a very limited way in cases of withdrawal, there were really no individ- ual rights in the property of the community. Occupiers held only in trust, as it were, in a line of perpetual succession. Unfortunately, under the laws of Iowa they had been obliged to organize in the form of a joint-stock company under the desig- nation of an " agricultural society," and each mem- ber was nominally the holder of a share of stock. The Court saw fit to hold the community strictly and technically as a chartered business corporation. The plan pursued by the minority was to secure the abrogation of the charter by proving that the com- munity had performed functions in excess or in vio- lation of those granted. Of course the plaintiffs felt themselves justified in using every influence and every technicality to gain their end. Nevertheless, it did seem a little surprising when they gravely charged their elder brethren with being communists forsooth, and with making the establishment of communism the chief motive and purpose of their organization, rather than the tilling of the soil and the raising of live stock, as specified in their articles of incorporation! When it is remembered that the young party possessed several members fresh from the Paris barricades of 1871, and that the complaint against the old party all along had been its luke- THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. 107 warm zeal for communism, and when one further considers the wholesome horror that an Iowa jury- would be likely to experience when the word " com- munist " was mentioned in court, — these things taken into account, one is in condition to appreciate the fine humor of such- an accusation. The forfeiture of the charter seems finally to have been pronounced by the Court on the ground that a society which was incorporated for agricultural purposes had exceeded its powers in constructing and operating a mill on its estate, and in doing certain other things of a mechanical and manufacturing character. The man- ufacture of lumber and flour had really been a very subordinate part of the industry of the community, and the spirit of the charter had suffered no viola- tion ; for Icaria, even against the will of the accusing party, had remained an agricultural com- munity instead of becoming a manufacturing com- munity. But the Court doubtless believed a recon- ciliation to be hopeless, and being convinced that substantial justice to all parties required the disso- lution of the society, the technical ground already named was made to justify a forfeiture of the char- ter. In 1856 the Cabet party at Nauvoo had tried in vain to compass the abrogation of the Illinois charter; and after Cabet's death, his heirs, probably in behalf of the Cheltenham community, had fruit- lessly attempted to secure the real estate, the titles to which were in Cabet's name. Certainly the com- 108 ICARIA. munity had better cause to expect protection from the law in 1878 than in those former suits. The decision disregarded the nature of the Icarian estate as a perpetual foundation, with its own definite provision for the withdrawal of discontented mem- bers, — a foundation in which were involved the rights of hundreds of predecessors and the rights of an indeterminate number of prospective successors, as well as the rights of those immediately on the ground and which alone were regarded. Possibly the current feeling against communism, vague but strong, made the Court the more willing to reduce Icaria to its constituent atoms. On the 17th of August, 1878, the Circuit Court declared the charter forfeited, and appointed three trustees, who were charged with the task of an equitable distribution of the property. By mutual agreement between the factions, these trustees were superseded by a board of arbitrators chosen among the American neighbors ; and during the months of January and February, 1879, this board held ses- sions attended by the delegates from the two par- ties. In their apportionment the arbitrators took account of the amount individuals had originally deposited with the community, and the period of their service as members. Somewhat more than half of the property fell to the party of the old people. Meanwhile, it was understood that each wing would reorganize as a separate community, THE SONS VERSUS THE FATHERS. 109 and it was arranged that the domain should be divided into eastern and western portions, the old party remaining in the original village, and the young people building a new hamlet a mile to the eastward, where they had asked leave to colonize themselves two years before. VII. REORGANIZATION— " THE NEW ICARIAN COMMUNITY." VII. REORGANIZATION — " THE NEW ICARIAN COMMUNITY." It was expected that the old party would retain the old name and keep the old domicile ; but it hap- pened otherwise. The young people were some- what more prompt in their reorganization, and on the 16th of April they were the possessors of a new charter under the ancient title of " The Icarian Com- munity." The conservative ex-majority took the name of " The New Icarian Community" ; and upon receipt of a bonus of fifteen hundred dollars from their successful adversaries, they consented to be- come the emigrants, and accepted the eastern por- tion of the domain for their new home. There, with a patience and courage which enemies could but respect, they took up the broken threads of com- munity life, and quietly restored the order of their social economy. For President they chose Marchand, who had suf- fered with the first advance guard in Texas in 1848, and had ever since been a leading Icarian. They built a new dining and assembly hall similar to the one in the old village, and grouped about it eight of the frame cottages which had been assigned to them in 113 114 ICARIA. the division of goods, and which they removed bodily from the other hamlet. The subjoined diagram will show the plan of New Icaria : ■BH (Trees and Park.) (Hall.) mm f Hi mi The group of houses stands upon a level plateau many acres in extent, and commanding a view un- usually varied and charming for a prairie State. From the plateau the land slopes gradually to the meadows flanking the Nodaway, a mile to the north- ward. The stream is fringed with trees, and its winding course across the prairie is revealed for many miles by the waving timber line, now a mere fringe of underbrush, and now widening into a con- siderable grove. On the bank directly north of the hamlet is to be seen the mill, which in the partition fell to the portion of the old party. Half-way between the village and the mill passes the railroad. East and south of the village recede long stretches of rolling prairie, broken now into farms. To the west, among the trees, lies the old village ; and still further west, on the horizon, are the more ambitious uplands beyond the Nodaway, on the slopes of which a glimpse may be had of the town of Corning. Here, in the summer of 1879, some REORGANIZA TIOJV. 1 1 5 thirty Icarians resumed the seemingly discouraging experiment of communistic life. In the spring and again in the fall of 1883 it was my privilege to spend several days among them there. Their numbers had remained almost station- ary, and amounted now to thirty-four, including ■ twelve men, ten women, and twelve children all under thirteen years of age. In spite of its hardships, Icarian life has proved remarkably conducive to health and longevity ; and eight of the thirty-four people were past the age of sixty. While in one sense the whole community constituted one family, there was not wanting something of a private home- life in each of the humble cottages, in which one was sure to find books and papers, with perhaps a bird- cage hanging in the window, or a quaint picture or two on the plain walls. With no carpets, the scantiest furniture, and a sad lack of the small household ac- cessories, these neat and tidy Frenchwomen had man- aged to give an air of decency and even of comfort to their little homes. Quite regardless of the old scruple against the " petits jardins," a number of bright flower-beds environed the houses. The park upon which the cottages fronted had been laid out with some care and taste, and promised to be a charming place when the trees were grown. Young vineyards and orchards were flourishing. A large kitchen-garden supplied abundance of all ordinary greens and vegetables, together with a great variety 1 1 6 ICARIA. of extraordinary kinds known only to Frenchmen. The fare in the common dining-hall was wholesome, though not served in an elaborate manner. The visitor could not fail to be impressed by the intelli- gence of every one, the pleasant and polite manners of the women, and the bright and pretty appearance of the children. In dress the Icarians are necessarily very plain, though entirely free from the affectation of peculi- arities. At Nauvoo, when the colony numbered some hundreds, there was more reason for adopting uniformity of garb than in the small community of to-day where there is no temptation to extrava- gance or to rivalry in dress. A dark blue calico is the fabric most commonly worn by the women on week-days. The men wear the plain, substantial clothes of western farmers. Most of the members can converse in English, but French is used exclu- sively in the community, and it is spoken with great accuracy and purity. The government is, of course, purely democratic. The functionaries are a Presi- dent, a Secretary and Treasurer, and three Direc- tors, all of whom are chosen annually, on the third of February, the anniversary of the first departure from Havre. The President represents the society in its external affairs, and the Directors have charge respectively of agriculture, industry, clothing and lodging. The Director of Industry is superintend- ent of buildings, fences, the mill, etc. A woman is REORGANIZA TION. 1 1 7 generally chosen Director of Clothing and Lodging. The acts of all these officers are subject to discus- sion and revision in the general assembly, which holds frequent sessions ; and in more important matters, the officers simply carry into effect the decisions of the assembly. The women are entitled to vote on several questions, such as the admission of new members, amendments to the constitution, choice of a Director of Clothing and Lodging, and some other matters either of more than ordinary importance or of more than usual concern to the women themselves. On most current questions they do not vote. The community has its own tailor and shoemaker, but otherwise little is attempted besides agriculture. The land of the New Icarian Community amounts to about eleven hundred acres, of which two hun- dred are woodland. Since an abundance of good coal has been found in the county, timber land has not the relative value it once had, especially as very few of the trees are suitable for sawing into lumber. Fuel and fencing material comprise the total product of the timber land. The sawmill has ceased therefore to yield much income, and stands idle most of the time. The same is also true of the flouring mill which is under the same roof. The agriculture is of the usual western character, corn and hay being the principal crops, and cattle and hogs the chief marketable products. Il8 JCARIA. The amusements of the community are not of a very gay and hilarious character, and are not so prominent a feature of the social life as they would be, were the young members more numerous. (Al- though we have generally referred to this branch as the " old party," it was not exclusively composed of old people ; on the other hand the party of the young people contained several aged persons.) The younger members have some musical taste, and there is a cabinet organ in the hall. The library, now containing about a thousand volumes — an equal number having been kept at the other village, — consists chiefly of standard French works of literature, philosophy, history, science, and miscel- lany, most of them saved from the wreck of the Nauvoo library. A number of French and Ameri- can periodicals are taken, and their perusal is the favorite recreation. Sunday is kept as a holiday, and sometimes the little community gathers in the assembly hall for music, select reading, a dance, or an amateur play; while on other Sundays a quiet picnic is enjoyed under the trees on the Nodaway. The standard of morality is high, and the ethical sense of the community, trained by their unselfish mode of life, is superior; but, though permitting any form of belief among their members, they are not religious. Being materialists and positivists, philosophically, they exalt their communistic doc- trines into a so-called religion of humanity. Cabet's REORGANIZA TION. 1 1 9 views of the life and character of Jesus Christ, as presented in his " Vrai Christianisme," are those held by the Icarians to-day. Their relations with the outside world show ad- mirable discretion and good sense. If a marriage is to take place, the nearest justice of the peace is resorted to, and the knot is tied in a simple and legal manner. The school-house, which stands midway between the two villages and is patronized by both, belongs in the regular district school system of the county, and school-director and teacher are chosen in the usual manner. As there are only two or three families besides Icarians resident in the school- district, an Icarian is always elected director, and the teacher is appointed with particular reference to the character of the school. For several years an intelligent French lady, well educated in Cincinnati, and formerly an Icarian, has presided in the school- room. Until quite recently Icaria maintained its own schools, wherein Icarian doctrines, manners, and morals received much attention ; but the de- pleted membership of the communities has of late years made the present arrangement expedient. From the first the Icarians have been good American citizens, taking a quiet but intelligent part in public affairs, and showing high respect for our institutions and forms of government. Cabet and all his comrades took out naturalization papers in 1848, and showed ardent sympathy with 120 ICARIA. abolitionist and free-soil doctrines. They voted the Fremont presidential ticket in 1856, and Marchand is rather proud of having voted for every Republi- can President. All his fellow-members in the New Icarian Community remain Republicans. The other community has for several years thrown its political influence with the "Greenback" party on the ground that it represents dissatisfaction with the present state of society. If the colony had remained in Texas, its thorough-going ideas of liberty must have involved it in trouble with its neighbors, 1 and the war would have endangered its existence. A number of its members saw military service in the Union Army. They wisely keep aloof from the strife of politics, and enter its domain only as simple voters. An Icarian occasionally fills a township administrative office, but never is a candidate for any position the duties of which would interfere with his community life and work. As money-getters, the people of New Icaria are only moderately successful. However, by frugal living and faithful labor, they are reducing and will 1 Mr. Marchand informs me that the pioneer party in Texas in 1848, were everywhere asked if they were Democrats. Their igno- rance of the English language was only surpassed by their profound ignorance of American party distinctions. Of course they replied un- hesitatingly that they were " democrats," as they certainly had been in France ; and for some reason not then understood by them they found that this profession of political faith made the Louisianians and Texans uncommonly kind. Mr. Marchand thinks the Demo- cratic party wins the adherence of a great many foreigners simply on account of the prepossession they bring in favor of the word "democrat." REORGANIZA TION. 1 2 1 soon extinguish the debt in which their expensive quarrel and their re-establishment involved them. On the ist of January, 1883, the property of New Icaria was worth at a very low estimate $25,000; and their indebtedness approached $4,000. Their land is steadily appreciating in value, and one or two good crops will pay the debt and leave them in a financial condition which will amply justify the admission of new members and will permit the in- troduction of many comforts and luxuries now pain- fully lacking. Of their business policy and manner of labor, one who knew the Icarians before the sep- aration, made the following remarks, which are quite applicable to New Icaria to-day : " Having learned from bitter experience that debt is the bane of societies, as well as of individuals, the Icarians have adopted it as a fixed principle, to contract no liabilities, and to avoid all speculative and hazard- ous enterprises. They are content with small gains, and in an old-fashioned way study rather to moderate their outlays than to increase their profits. Naturally, as they own in common, they are not in haste to be rich. With them the acquisition of wealth is not a leading object of life. They have greater regard to independence, and give more thought to personal ease. They labor industriously, but not exhaustingly, and in such ways as to make their toil as comfortable and pleasant as possible." ' 1 S. W. Moorhead in The Western Magazine, Omaha, July, 1877. 122 ICARIA. To keep the world apprised of its doings the com- munity issues a small monthly paper the Revue Icarienne, which is printed on a curious and anti- quated little press — originally a lithograph press — brought from France by the early colonists. An edition of about three hundred copies is printed. These circulate among French people of Icarian antecedents in the United States, and in France among the friends of the colonists. Such, in brief, is an outline of the modus vivendi prevailing in New Icaria, as it has come under my observation. It is a plain, monotonous life ; yet I cannot hesitate to affirm that it seems in some re- spects a more rational and intelligent life than that which is to be found in the average American farmhouse of the West. Certainly a more serene life one will not often discover any where, in this age of turmoil, haste, and discontent. In their reorganization both parties undertook to provide against the recurrence of deadlocks and constitutional crises, but resorted to different expe- dients. The New Icarian Community (the old people), instead of filing articles of incorporation under the State law, decided to organize in the form of a general partnership. They drew up a comprehensive Contract of Partnership which they all duly signed and which was placed on record in the office of the County Recorder. This organization was found to give the community all the practical REORGANIZA TION. 1 2 3 advantages of an incorporated body, while avoiding some of the dangers and disadvantages. The con- tract is itself so satisfactory a statement of Icarian principles and of their ordinary modes of govern- ment, as well also as of their constitutional pro- visions for the protection of the society in case of future dissensions, that I have made a translation of it and added it as an appendix. 1 So far as the form of organization can protect a society and provide safeguards against its dissolu- tion, New Icaria seems to be well fortified by the main provisions of this contract. Each member agrees to relinquish all individual claims and to re- frain from any attempt at any time to recover a portion of the property. Permission is given to a majority to expel a minority when in an overt state of rebellion or insubordination. Under arti- cles of incorporation the society might at any time be dissolved for some technical violation of its charter on the information of an outsider ; but under this contract of partnership no outside interference is possible. But safeguards like these, while they may assure the existence of New Icaria for a long time to come, cannot give it life and success. The evils of stagnation are now more to be feared in New Icaria than those of dissension. If the jealousy of personal leadership could be laid aside, and if some strong man gifted with executive ability and full of 1 See Appendix I. 124 ICARIA. enthusiasm could be entrusted with the direction of affairs, an auspicious future might yet await the so- ciety. As it is, predictions would be worthless and superfluous. VIII. "LA JEUNE ICARIE. 1 VIII. "LA JEUNE ICAR1E." The new Articles of Incorporation under which the young party reorganized on the 16th of April, 1879, took care to provide against the fate of the old charter by stating the nature and purpose of the organization in terms so inclusive as to render it practically impossible for the community to exceed its lawful powers. Article II. reads as follows: '* This corporation, having for its object the mutual support of each other, and the creating of a fund with which to provide for the comfort of the young, the old, the sick, and decrepit, and the carrying out of the principles set forth in the preamble hereof [welfare and happiness of humanity and demonstra- tion of the feasibility of community life] ; for that purpose the general nature of business to be trans- acted shall be all kinds of agriculture, horticulture, stock-raising, mechanical arts of every kind and nature, milling, manufacturing in all its depart- ments, and the establishment and building of towns, villages, colonies, schools, and colleges, also the development of the fine arts and also all kinds of commerce." The articles provide that upon 127 128 ICARIA. withdrawal members shall receive the amount of property actually paid in by them, less a proportion of the indebtedness of the society, and shall further receive such sums for years of service as the by-laws of the corporation may specify. To show, however, that this liberal provision for a return to the selfish life of the world was not for their own benefit but rather for the reassurance and comfort of new- comers, the incorporators at once proceeded to draw up what they entitled an " Act of Donation to the Icarian Community," by which they relin- quished all personal claim upon the property. The essential paragraphs in this act of donation are as follows : " Know all men by these presents that we : Antoi- nette Cubels, Therese James, Louise Bettannier, Marie Mourot, Madeleine Vallet, Valentine Vallet, Louise Peron, Leonie Dereure, Francoise Leroux, Adele Gau- vain, Emilie Fugier, Maria Laforgue, Henriette Vallet, Caroline Gauvain, Jean Haegen, Michael Brumme, An- toine Gauvain, Emile Fugier, Alexis Marchand, Simon Dereure, Jerome Laforgue, Paul Leroux, Emile Peron, Eugene Mourot, Pierre James, Justin Vallet, Auguste Gauvain, Alexandre Vallet, being members of the Icarian Community of Adams County, Iowa, and being desirous of promoting its interests, and of establishing a perpetual fund for the promotion of the business and principles of said Corporation, do hereby donate, assign, and set over, unto the said Corporation, each for ourselves, the several sums, property, rights, and credits as follows, to wit : LA JEUNE ICARIE. 1 29 "All our right, title, and interest unto the several sums, subscribed by us, on the books of said Corporation, being the property and interest received by us as our share of the old Corporation of Icarian Community, and which we were found to be entitled to by a board of arbitration that was selected to settle up between the members of the old Icarian Community ; the same to be held by said Corporation to them and their successors forever, never to be divided between the individual members of said Corporation under any circumstances whatever ; but to be used by the Corporation for the general purposes of its organization, and in case said Corporation shall for any reason dissolve, and fails to keep its organization renewed from time to time, upon such dissolution the above amount as donated, after the payment of debts of the Corporation, shall be accounted for and paid over to any number of Icarians, who shall become incorporated on the same principles and for the same purposes as are set forth in the Articles and By-Laws of this Corpora- tion." In the following October Icaria adopted a new constitution which, in the picturesque phraseology of a member, " extends the right of suffrage to women, abolishes the presidency, overthrows the demi-gods and their Jacobin notions of political in- fallibility, associates the efforts of the community with those of outside socialistic agitation, formu- lates the Icarian creed according to rationalism founded on observation, and places it outside of and against all anti-scientific revelations." This consti- 130 ICARIA. tution, which abounds in felicitous and epigrammatic expressions pointing to Mr. Peron as its author, is a rather remarkable document. It has a long preface discussing the history of society and main- taining the philosophical and scientific basis of socialism. The second chapter sets forth in twenty- six articles the general principles of the community on the subjects of Society, Equality, Liberty, Fra- ternity, Unity, and Law. The third chapter is con- cerned with Social Organization, and states the views of the society as to community of property; the education of the young ; the institution of marriage, which is approved ; voluntary celibacy, which is dis- approved. The fourth chapter deals with the Political Organization. The government is as purely democratic as possible, and the office of President is given up. The only officers are four Trustees, two of whom are elected semi-annually. One of these is Secretary-Treasurer, and the others have charge respectively of Industry, Agriculture, and Commerce. These Trustees execute the mandates of the general assembly. Various matters of detail are entrusted from time to time by the general as- sembly to special commissions appointed and em- powered as the occasion requires. The general assembly is itself the government. It is not to be presided over by one of the Trustees, but by a chair- man selected anew at each meeting. The constitu- tion states that " it is the duty of the Community LA JEUNE ICARIE. 131 to set apart such sums of money as it may deem necessary to the propagation of principles which tend to the political, philosophical, and economic emancipation of mankind," and to this end a stand- ing committee of propagandism is provided for. For the information of the public and the con- venience of applicants and inquirers, a pamphlet was published containing this constitution and other laws and regulations of the Icarian Community. The " Law upon Admission " and the " Law upon Withdrawal and Expulsion ' are particularly full and minute, and they contain so much of frank con- fession and sage reflection, under the head of " preliminary considerations/' upon the difficulties of a community life, the differences between Uto- pian visions and existing realities, and the inevitable embarrassments of a sudden transition from the individualistic to the socialistic life, that it is thought worth while to publish them as an appendix. 1 Young Icaria, freed from the apron-strings of the conservative party, set in order its household economy with some flourish and a great deal of real energy. During the period of discord and interreg- num between the decision of the court and the reor- ganization^ number of people withdrew altogether. Of the eighty persons in the society before its disso- lution, forty-seven belonged to the young party and thirty-three to the old, although as has been ex- 1 See Appendix II. 132 ICARIA. plained, the latter party had a voting majority. Having paid their elders an indemnity to withdraw, the young party, with a total personnel of about thirty-five, largely women and children, found them- selves in undisputed control of the old village. Their enthusiasm proved contagious, and applications for admission came by the score. Before the end of 1880 there were upward of seventy names on the roll of membership, including those admitted pro- visionally. Good crops blessed their labor. The orchards and vineyards planted by the fathers were now yielding bountifully for the sons. Advanced methods in agriculture and stock-raising were eagerly adopted. The industrial branch of produc- tion was begun with a shoe-shop and a blacksmith- shop in the neighboring town of Corning, and a broom factory was started. All labored with a fine energy for a reduction of the debt of seven or eight thousand dollars with which the community property was encumbered. Peron made La Jeune Icarie, the organ of the community, a bright and able paper. He found some time for scientific experiments. In the winter he taught the inter-communal school ; and the electric telephone by which he connected the school- house and his own cottage was the first one used in the State. Among the new members were men of intellect and experience. The communistic world has its own channels of communication ; and the LA JEUNE ICARIE. 1 33 new vigor and promise of Icaria became known in the communistic world. Ten applicants knocked at the gate where one could be admitted. The com- munity had only eight hundred acres of land, and so long as its industry was chiefly agricultural, mem- bership could only be increased gradually, and could not safely pass a certain limit. Consequently it was the design of the society to develop a variety of industrial enterprises as speedily as circumstances would allow. The "Act of Donation," as an evi- dence of sincere devotion to the cause, had been highly approved by the communistic world, and young Icaria was enjoying an enviable reputation. And certainly its society was not to be despised. It had men who had seen military service on two continents ; men who knew languages, history, philosophy, and modern science ; men who could discuss current thought and were familiar with cur- rent literature ; men who had seen experience in other communistic societies ; old Icarians who had come back after years of absence ; agreeable women, and plenty of vigorous infants. So constituted, Icaria seemed to give promise of speedy and interesting achievements; but the promise, unfortunately, was not to be realized, — at least not without some adversity and delay. Under the first flush of excitement and novelty, the com- munity had seemed to be of one heart and one mind ; but when the group had become fairly ac- 134 ICARIA. customed to their surroundings and to one another, little inharmonies and incompatibilities began to appear. Decided differences of opinion as to the general policy of the community were found to be entertained. There were too many clever men, and no one with a gift of leadership sufficient to assimi- late and unify the group. To use a favorite Icarian word, there was no real "solidarity." There were no bitter party quarrels, there was no "crisis," nor even much unfriendliness ; but the most of the new-comers soon deemed it expedient to withdraw, and the community was, in a year or two, reduced to a membership of about thirty, most of whom were of the original " young party ' who had formed the incorporation and made the " Act of Do- nation." Of those who departed, some went into private life ; a family or two went to Florida with the purpose of founding there a colony on Icarian principles; and in the spring of 1881 a group of families went to California to inaugurate a com- munity enterprise which will again have mention in these annals. So many members having departed, it became for the present unprofitable to give attention to its new industrial enterprises, and the shops in Corning were given up, the community merely providing for its own needs in small shops on its own estate. The cultivation of corn and the cereals on a large scale was also given up, and the land was seeded to LA JEUNE ICARIE. 1 35 grass for the maintenance of flocks and herds, stock- farming having been found more profitable and less toilsome than plowing and sowing and reaping. But our friends were already becoming convinced that the business of general farming and stock- feeding in a Northern State is not the one best adapted to the welfare of a community like theirs. A certain amount of leisure for mental improvement must be regarded as an indispensable condition of success in a society based on Icarian or similar prin- ciples. Community life must provide something besides bread and butter, or it falls short of its main object. The young Icarians came to have a painful feeling that for them the arduous business of gen- eral farming was an impediment in the way of moral and intellectual progress, and they began to look forward to a removal at some time to a warmer climate, where horticulture, a business so congenial to the Frenchman, might take the place of heavy farming, which seldom suits the Gallic tempera- ment. Florida was talked of, and those who had gone thither sent glowing accounts of orange and lemon groves and cheap lands. A committee which was sent out to " prospect " for a location visited Ken- tucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and the neighborhood of the original Icarian station in Texas, now a flour- ishing region. The group of families who went to California had purchased a tract of fruit-land in 136 ICAR1A. Sonoma County, eighteen miles from San Francisco, and were sending enthusiastic reports from the Oc- cident, and were inviting their former associates in Iowa to join them. At length it came to be gen- erally understood that the community would leave Iowa whenever a favorable opportunity to sell the property should be found, and would resort to the pleasant fruit-lands of California. Under these cir- cumstances plans of enlargement and improvement were for the time postponed, and attempts at propa- ganda were held in abeyance. The future triumphs or failures of the community were not to be in Iowa, IX. IN CALIFORNIA—" ICARIA-SPERANZA." IX. IN CALIFORNIA. " ICARIA-SPERANZA." At length, in the winter of 1883-4, the negotia- tions which had been for some time pending, resulted in the adoption of a definite basis and contract of union between the little Icarian group at Cloverdale, California, and the Icarian community (young branch) in Iowa. It was agreed that as soon as Icaria could dispose of the Iowa estate, its members would remove in a body to California and unite for- tunes with their friends on the " Bluxome rancho." Of the interesting personal history of the little group already in California something more will be said in a subsequent chapter devoted to the por- traiture of various Icarians. Suffice it to say here that the leader of the colony was a Mr. Dehay, the son-in-law of an aged exile of '48, Jules Leroux, and that the sons of the latter, Pierre Leroux and Jules Leroux fits, with their families, with two or three additional families not of the Leroux connection, made up the entire membership. These families had left Icaria in the spring of 1 881, and had wisely spent several months in California before deciding upon a purchase. In September they found for sale the 139 HO ICARIA. Bluxome ranch on the Russian river, in Sonoma County, two or three miles from the town of Clover- dale, and eighteen miles from San Francisco. It contained 885 acres, and suited them precisely. The price demanded was $15,000. Mr. Dehay was pos- sessed of upward of $4,000, and the others were able to contribute enough to make up the first payment of $5 ,000. The remaining payments were considerably deferred, and the little colony set vigorously to work to pay the debt. At the -end of two years they had a farm worth $30,000 and their debt was reduced to $6,000. Though living in an associative way, they had not yet framed a formal and legal organization, that being deferred in anticipation of some such event as the fusion with the young Icarian commune. For a description of the character and capabilities of the farm, and its charms of situation, I may quote from an article which an editor in the neighboring town of Cloverdale inserted in his paper in Decem- ber, 1882. 1 " Two miles and one half below town, skirting the banks of our beautiful stream, Russian River, lies the extensive farm owned by the French colonists. * * * The commodious dwellings and barns are located on the Healdsburg road, where they were erected several years ago, and present a rare picture of rural comfort. Sweep- ing around over low, rolling hills and smiling valleys, is seen the body of the farm, which is destined in the near 1 The Pacific Sentinel, Cloverdale, Dec. 21, 1882. IN CALIFORNIA. I4I future to become one of the finest vineyards in California. The entire tract comprises 885 acres, of which about 400 is first-class vineyard land that is being rapidly cleared and made ready for the plow. Nine white men and six Chinamen are at work grubbing out trees and brush, pre- paring the land for cultivation, and acre after acre is rap- idly being added to the improved area. At present, forty-five acres are planted in rooted vines, principally of the Zin-fandel variety, and enough will be added in the spring to swell the area to fifty acres. * * * Besides the vineyard, one hundred acres of fair-grade wheat land is under cultivation, and at this writing it is all sown and some of the young grain is already above ground. A thrifty orchard of five acres stretches to the west from the Healdsburg road, and includes many choice varieties of trees. Some of the finest peaches we have ever tasted were produced here. * * * It is the intention of the proprietors to increase the area of the orchard as soon as possible, and they will engage extensively in the culture of French and German prunes. They intend planting nothing but the very best varieties, and hence will make a success of the business. They also propose establish- ing a first-class winery and distillery as soon as their pro- duction will admit of the outlay. As soon as practicable a French colony will be formed, duly incorporated, to include some twenty-five families, and with this force the large farm will soon be developed. * * * The site on which the dwellings intended for the colonists will be built, is located near the road in a beautiful meadow, sloping on a gentle incline to the banks of the Russian River, and is one of the most beautiful spots in this locality. 142 I C ARIA. " Standing on a vine-planted mound near the road, and gazing upon the beautiful valley, which will one day be the centre for so much life and prosperity, we must admit that it is naturally an earthly Eden. Geyser Peak stands boldly forth at no great distance from the lovely vale, and even Mt. St. Helena is plainly visible, towering toward heaven in the distance. The low hills on every side, the road winding along and almost parallel here with the curving river, the picturesque woods and the smiling vine- yards, all unite in forming a panorama transcendant in its quiet, peaceful beauty. Exclusive of vineyard and grain land, there yet remains about three hundred acres of rolling hill-land, suitable for pasture, and the colonists will utilize this by entering the cattle-raising business. They thoroughly understand this class of ranching, and prefer it to wool-growing." As thus described, the topography and the capa- bilities of the new Icarian station are most inviting. Certainly, if the writer were seeking the realization of a Utopia, his ideal would not be met in a com- munity of factory operatives, nor of toiling agricul- turists engaged in the rough labor of general farm- ing in a Northern State; but of all places and all occupations on earth he would choose as most con- sonant with the theories and purposes of com- munism — California and horticulture. In begin- ning life anew on the Pacific slope, an Icarian com- mune for the first time finds itself in an environ- ment thoroughly favorable to its development. Few persons outside of California have yet come to IN CALIFORNIA. 1 43 realize the marvels of its orchard products and the ''terrestrial Paradises" in which its opulent horti- culturists embower themselves. An acre there pro- duces more fruit, and of vastly superior quality, than ten or twenty acres elsewhere in the United States. The soberest recital of facts concerning the transformation, during the past decade, of wide tracts of California wheat-lands into orchards and gardens containing all the fruits and spices of the tropics in addition to all the fruits of the temperate regions, seems too extravagant for belief. Yet it is true that lands which a few years ago, as wheat- fields, gave employment to four men, now require at least four hundred fruit-gatherers during the picking season ; and the tract which, in wheat, fur- nished a comfortable income to a single proprietor, now enables fifty proprietors to live in comfort and refinement as fruit-growers. Taking, therefore, the roseate view of the future of the " Icaria-Speranza Community," as the fusion of the two groups is to be called, it is not hard to imagine that in a few years they will have trans- formed the Bluxome ranch into a veritable Paradise ; that in place of the primitive sheds of the Texas pioneers, the tenements of the sojourners at Nau- voo, the log-huts or the box-like frame structures in Iowa, the Icarians will dwell in commodious and beautiful houses with complete appointments some- what after the manner of those pictured by Cabet 144 ICARIA. in the "Voyage en Icarie"; that the educational and recreational, the scientific and literary, pursuits so highly esteemed by the Icarians will have found their long-deferred opportunity to flourish ; that the climate and the nature of the work will have proved remarkably adapted to the French temperament, and that membership will have increased rapidly, both from within and from without. Indeed, the very necessity of many active hands to gather in the fruit will compel the increase of membership as the area of orchard and vineyard increases ; and in work of this kind the women and children are as useful as men. On the other hand, the enforced leisure of six or eight months in the year will prove advantageous to the mental and moral interests of the community. But even while picturing this attractive prospect, one can hardly help remember- ing the unpleasant occurrences which were disas- trous to the first Paradise of which we read; and judging their future by their past, what guaranty can we have that our French friends will love one another and behave themselves discreetly in their Paradise ? Alas, there is the rub ! The new name, " Icaria-Speranza," was adopted as a compromise. The Messrs. Leroux were at- tached to the name " Speranza" because their uncle, the famous philosopher, Pierre Leroux, had given that title to a Utopian romance he had published, in which he pictured a social organization somewhat IN CALIFORNIA. 1 45 like that advocated by Cabet. The name " Icaria- Speranza " perpetuates, therefore, the memories and unites the similar social systems of two distin- guished contemporaneous writers and radical politi- cians, Etienne Cabet and Pierre Leroux. The new constitution of " Icaria-Speranza " is in the form of a " Contract and Articles of Agree- ment." Like the " New Icarian Community," they have concluded that the form of a general partner- ship is preferable to that of a corporation. This new constitution contains many important innova- tions ; and as it is the fruit of the combined reflec- tion and experience of men who know well the problems of community life, it is worth careful study. 1 Among the cardinal principles of the old Icarian constitution were these three: i, the abso- lute authority of the majority except in a few speci- fied cases ; 2, the absolute community of property ; 3, the absolute control of the individual by the so- ciety — i. e., the abnegation of personal liberty. The new constitution considerably modifies these three principles, as we shall proceed to show, after having explained the framework of the government. The General Assembly is composed of all full members of both sexes, above the age of twenty-one. In January of each year, five standing committees are elected, having charge of the following subjects : I, Works ; 2, Home Consumption ; 3, Education ; 4, 1 This constitution will be found in full as Appendix III. 146 ICARIA. Commerce ; 5, Accounts. These committees in a collective capacity constitute the Board of Adminis- tration. The Board has vested in it the titles to the property of the community. Ordinary matters of administration are attended to by the individual committees, or if more important, by the entire Board. Regular meetings of the General Assembly are held only twice a year ; though special meetings may be called at any time by the Board, or by a certain number of members concurring in a written request. No action whatever can be taken by a com- mittee, or by the Board of Administration, unless with the unanimous consent of every member of such Commit- tee or Board ; and no decision of the General Assembly is valid unless stistaincd by a three-fourtJis vote. In many matters,such as admissions, expulsions, etc., a nine-tenths vote of the whole voting membership is required. To amend or change certain of the Articles of Agreement, a unanimous vote is requisite, for other articles a nine-tenths vote, and for the rest a three- fourths vote. The evident object is to have as little government as possible, and to leave routine administration to the committees instead of dis- cussing every detail in frequent meetings of the as- sembly. This will have a marked tendency to miti- gate that bane of communities, — too much politics. While majority tyranny will evidently be impossible, minority conservatism may at times block the wheels of progress. But this power of the minority IN CALIFORNIA. 1 47 can be exercised only negatively — i. e., as a veto power ; and the intention that changes shall not be made without a very general concurrence of view, would seem favorable to the stability of the society. Party action under this system will have much less scope than under the old majority rule. A useful device to facilitate elections of officers is introduced. For election on the first ballot a three-fourths ma- jority of all the voting membership is requisite; on second ballot a simple majority elects ; and on third ballot the person receiving the highest number of votes — that is, a plurality — is elected. But the greatest innovation in this new constitu- tion lies in the admission, to a limited extent, of the principle of private property. Each family is to have exclusive and absolute ownership in articles of apparel, furniture, and in general in the equipments and utensils of the household. This will give greater freedom and independence to personal and family life. Up to an annual value of fifty dollars, individuals may receive, and keep as their own, presents from friends outside the organization. The book-keeping of the community is to provide in the following way for the contingency of withdrawal : Upon entering the community, individuals place all their property in the common fund, and the amount is credited upon the books. An inventory is taken at the end of every year, and the surplus, or net profits, is calculated. This sum is divided I48 ICARIA. into two equal parts, one of which goes to augment the common indivisible fund, and the other is divided into as many equal shares as there are voting members, such shares being credited on the individual accounts in the community's books. This, however, is not so great a departure from communism as it might at first seem ; for no one has any right or claim to the sums placed to his credit until he has relinquished all his membership rights, and has actually returned to the world and its ways ; in which case this method of book-keeping readily determines the amount that shall be paid him. Of course under this constitution the famous " Icarian Donation " is still respected, and the most of the charter members would not be entitled to withdraw their original deposit in case they should retire, although they would be entitled to the an- nual sums placed to their credit, and also to a bonus of two hundred dollars provided for, to meet their case, in an article of the new contract. The feature of this constitution most open to criticism is that of the so-called " labor-premiums." To each person above the age of sixteen who en- gages in the common work of the community, there is to be J paid a monthly " labor-premium " of one dollar and a half, provided he has lost no working- time. If he has lost not more than half a day in the month, he will receive one dollar; and if not more than a day, fifty cents. No excuses whatso- IN CALIFORNIA. 1 49 ever will be accepted in lieu of lost time. The Icarians are neither hermits nor fanatics ; and from the nature of their surroundings they must come so much in contact with the outside world, as to make a little private spending-money a convenient thing. Furthermore, in the theory of communism there can be no serious objection to having such spending- money, provided the distribution of it is not upon objectionable principles. This plan of labor-premi- ums would seem designed to reward good health and a mere show of " putting in the time." The man who is sick a day, or who is kept from work by reason of sickness in his family, may have served the community during the other days of the month in such a way as to be ten times as valuable as another who has lost no time ; yet the former sacrifices his pit- tance of spending-money. " From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs," is the original Icarian motto ; and this labor-premium ar- rangement is not at all consistent with it. One might infer that the chief practical difficulty in a communistic society arose from the disposition of members to shirk steady labor ; and yet as a matter of fact that is not the case. With the possible ex- ception of Robert Owen's motley congregation at New Harmony, no community has ever been troubled in that way. With all their other adverse experiences, the Icarians have never been annoyed by the presence of lazy members. An atmosphere I50 ICARIA. of industry pervades community life which is prac- tically irresistible in its influence. There seems no good reason whatever why the distribution of a little pocket-money once a month should be made upon so arbitrary and unreasonable a plan. In our opinion the labor-premiums will be found impracti- cable, and will in time be superseded by a simple and even-handed method of distributing from time to time among all faithful members such sums as may seem desirable. The matter of clothing illustrates the greater per- sonal freedom permitted by the new constitution. Instead of furnishing necessary articles of raiment without regard to individual choice, the Board of Administration will open accounts in the name of each individual member with merchants in the neighboring town ; and each may buy such clothing as pleases him, within the limits of the sum placed to his credit for that purpose. Parents provide for their children on the same plan. The credit is to be renewed twice a year, the " budget" being pre- pared by the Committee of Home Consumption, and subjected to the approval of the Assembly. For other interesting features of this constitution, the reader is referred to the document itself. 1 The following extract from a letter written me by Mr. Peron is a good general comment upon the new instrument : 1 See appendix III. IN CALIFORNIA. 151 11 We have abandoned the legal form of a corporation, and have adopted that of a general partnership, living under the clauses of a covenant containing a good many more provisos for liberty than our former constitution does. * * * We consider the adoption of our new modus vivendi as a pacific revolution in Icaria. We have all lost the greater part of our faith in the principles of majority rule, and adhere more every day to the higher doctrine of assent by all to any act affecting common in- terest. Therefore we reject all the more the primitive notions of leadership, temporal or spiritual, have no use for Presidents, high-titled officials, etc., and rely mostly upon everybody's sense of duty and responsibility to keep our machine a-going morally and materially. In fine, it is our first leap in the brilliant avenue which leads to social anarchy — understood in its good sense — or to the very attractive doctrine of ' Do as you please,' so cleverly and humanely expounded by our immortal French phil- osopher, Rabelais. Of course narrow minds, the common- place tribe of grocers, will call it a mad leap ; but we except, stating that we know our high business as well as they understand theirs, which is limited to the very small circumference of a hysteric dollaromania." The material prospects of Icaria-Speranza are de- cidedly good. The community begins with an a gg re g ate capital of about $60,000. Besides its fruit-culture and wine business, it will engage in the breeding of blooded live stock, and will have good expectations of a bountiful income after a season or two of preparation. The combined membership at 152 ICARIA. present is fifty-two. Such is the Icarian movement in its latest phase. There is no middle ground for " Icaria-Speranza " ; it must be either a bright success or a dismal failure. Which it shall be will depend, not upon external conditions, but upon the devotion, forbearance, harmony, and what in general we may term the associative capacity of its members. X. PERSONAL SKETCHES. X. PERSONAL SKETCHES. A BOOK might be filled with sketches of the re- markable men who have at one time or another been connected with Icaria. Thus, of the colony in its palmy days at Nauvoo some one has written : " A physician who had received diplomas from two Ger- man universities, and an ex-military officer who had won distinction in Algiers and had been decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honor, were enrolled in the corps of wood-choppers. A civil engineer who had superintended the construction of a great French railroad was put in charge of the wheezy old engine of the flouring mill. An accomplished young architect and builder from Normandy was retained by the President as a private secretary, and spent most of his time rendering Cabet's good French into bad Eng- lish for publication in The Popular Tribune, a dingy little five-column journal devoted to the glorification of the ' new philosophy of life.' And so on through the list." Another speaks of a " talented fresco- painter who was set to digging coal, at which em- ployment he was able to make the magnificent sum of fifteen cents a day." But these remarks may be 155 1 56 ICARIA. somewhat misleading as to the general personnel of the colony. Only a few had been men of mark in France. Saint-Simonismhad appealed to the highly intellectual classes, and so, to a less exclusive degree, had Fourierism ; Icarianism had gone home to the ouvrier class, — the sturdy young tailors and shoe- makers and mechanics of the provincial towns all over France. But, none the less, they were a re- markable body of men. The very nature of their experiment had been a sifting process, had developed their intellects, and had made them men of thought and character. The young architect referred to in the passage quoted above, was scarcely more than a lad when he joined the advance guard of Icarians who left Havre for Texas on Feb. 3, 1848. On reaching New Orleans and learning of the outbreak of the Revolu- tion in Paris, this young man, A. Picquenard by name, was in favor of returning to France ; and abandoned the pioneer party. But with a young man's curiosity he determined to see Indians before returning home, and spent a year or two among the tribes in the Indian Territory. Meanwhile Icaria had become located at Nauvoo, and Picquenard there rejoined the society. His first large achievement as an American architect was to have been made in the completion of the great Mormon temple and its transformation into Icarian assembly-halls and school-rooms. Picquenard was absent on business PERSONAL SKETCHES. I $7 connected with this building project when a great storm demolished the temple walls. He never re- turned, but took up his abode at St. Louis, wherein later years he made a reputation as an architect second to none in the country. The two finest buildings in the West, the new State-houses of Illinois and Iowa, will for centuries be monuments to his genius. He died in 1876. 1 There are several surviving members of the first band of Texas pioneers. One was too sick to follow his comrades away from Texas, and he re- mains to-day a flourishing citizen of Dallas. A few others are scattered through the west, at Nauvoo, at St. Louis, or in different Iowa towns. But while nearly all the old Icarians keep their faith in the principles of their youth and retain sympathy with the struggling little community, only one of the first advance guard remains an active Icarian. Alexis A. Marchand has been a prominent man from the first. He was the Secretary and Treasurer of the Texas party, a young man of such courage and devotion as only the spirit of '48 could have pro- duced. He had been a student at Paris and a clerk in an attorney's office, and was regarded as having more literary ability than the young mechanics who surrounded him. At Nauvoo he was made useful in the work of education and especially in the busy 1 More than one young and rising architect owes his success to asso- ciation with Picquenard, among the number being Mr. M, E. Bell, the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department. 158 ICARIA. printing-office. He was one of the leaders of the party which withstood Cabet, and he edited some very strong numbers of the Revue Icarienne, in justi- fication of the action of the Nauvoo majority, for circulation in France after Cabet's withdrawal and death. In 1857 ^ e was made president of the com- munity, and was also the first president after the reorganization in Iowa two or three years later. Since that time he has repeatedly filled the presi- dential chair. He is now a man of benign and ven- erable aspect, but in full vigor of body and mind. No one can know him without being impressed with the purity, dignity, and unselfishness of his char- acter. Serene and kindly in manner, lofty in his standards of right and duty, almost a mystic in his devotion to communism and the welfare of mankind, Marchand is a true type of the altruist. To have produced a few such characters as Marchand is itself enough to redeem Icarianism from the charge of utter failure. He was a prominent member of the party of the old people in the unhappy division of 1877, which not only cleft the community in twain, but also divided families, — his son, Alexis Marchand, going with the young party. On a farm of five or six hundred acres adjoining the land of the New Icarian Community lives a a man who has made himself a part of Icarian his- tory, — Jean Baptiste Gerard. In France he was a young cabinet-maker, of bright mind and remarka- PERSONAL SKETCHES, 159 bly strong characteristics. Though only twenty-five years old, he was the leader of the third advance guard, which left France in the fall of 1848 and met the retreating Texas pioneers at New Orleans. He became at Nauvoo a member of Cabet's administra- tion, filling the office of Director-General of Finan- ces. In the quarrel with Cabet he became the most prominent figure, and was made Cabet's successor in the presidential office in 1856. In 1857 ^ e found it necessary to resign and retire temporarily from the society in order to act as assignee for the community. This duty occupied him a number of years, and to his honorable discharge of the trust were due the payment of the creditors on the one hand and the preservation of the society on the other. Many a long and weary journey on horse- back or on foot did he make over the several hun- dred miles of almost uninhabited prairies between Nauvoo and western Iowa, in the prosecution of his unpaid task. In 1863 he had fully completed the duties of the trust and was about to re-enter the society (his withdrawal of course had only been technical); the community was not very rich nor prosperous, but it was on a safe footing and had fair prospects ; Gerard had no other home, and his family had always remained in the community; what it retained of fortune he had a right to feel was due to him more than to any other man. But there was a prominent member with whom he was l6o I C ARIA. not in accord, and he feared that his return might endanger the harmony of the society. He was forty years of age, and had given the community fifteen years of talented and self-sacrificing service. With the pittance of twenty dollars apiece which the Icarian constitution at that time allowed to with- drawing members, he took his family and departed to find a new home. It is not apprehension of their own failure in the competitive struggle which im- pels such men as Gerard to seek community life. As we have said, he owns to-day a magnificent farm of several hundred acres; and he is surrounded by a phalanx of sturdy, manly sons who do him honor. Gerard has never lost his faith in communism, nor has his success made him a mere sordid money-get- ter. He has always remained a friend and adviser of the neighboring community, and has kept abreast of the social movements and thought of the day. In the Icarian quarrel of 1877 he espoused the cause of the old party, and published in their defence a tract entitled " Quelques Veritas sur la derniere Crise Icarienne." The Icarian split had attracted wide attention among French socialists both in this country and in Europe. Communistic bodies in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Keokuk, and else- where, had endeavored to prevent the separation, and various French papers had published accounts favoring one party or the other. Under these cir- cumstances Gerard constituted himself the cham- PERSONAL SKETCHES. l6l pion of the old party, and in 1880 and 1881 pub- lished several numbers of a paper which he called LObservateur. This engaged in lively controversy with La Jeune Icarie, the organ of the young branch, and also contained valuable reminiscences of early Icarian days. In this plain and simple-hearted old French farmer on the Iowa prairies is the stuff from which statesmen and generals are made. Force, patience, sagacity, and a certain largeness of mind and character mark him as one of nature's noble- men. The leader of the second advance guard was P. J. Favard, whose letter from Texas to Cabet has been quoted in a former chapter. In the Nauvoo controversy Favard sided against Cabet, although his brother-in-law. He soon after withdrew from the society, and is to-day a merchant in Keokuk, Iowa. Of the Cheltenham leaders, the young lawyer Mercadier whom Cabet designed to be his successor, and who was president at Cheltenham for the first year, is now a gentleman of wealth and influence in St. Louis. Charles Raynaud, who was equally prominent in the Cheltenham movement, is, with other ex-Icarians, resident in New York Citv. There are some vigorous specimens of manhood among the second generation, who have spent their lives in Icaria; — for it must be remembered that Icaria is more than a third of a century old. Eugene F. Bettannier preferred to remain with the old 1 62 ICARIA. party. He is a man whose good sense and shrewd intelligence would be recognized in any sphere of life. His father, long since dead, was a leading man at Nauvoo. Eugene Mourot and Emile Fugier were, from the first, chief agitators in the young people's movement. Mourot was born in Paris, the son of E. Mourot, a revolutionist of '48, who was a victim of the bloody contest of the " bourgeois re- action " of June. His young children were sent to America and brought up as Icarians. Fugier is a native of Lyons, that cradle of revolution, and in early childhood accompanied his father to Nauvoo* Both Fugier and Mourot are men of energy and practical ability, and Icaria-Speranza will doubtless owe much to them. Antoine von Gauvain, who died at Corning, Iowa, in January, 1883, was an Icarian of blessed memory. Born in Berlin of a French Huguenot family, the son of an army ofricer, he became an army ofricer himself. At twenty-five he came to America, edited a French paper in New York for a time, was a teacher in several different States, and at length joined Icaria at Nauvoo. He served three years in the Union army and then reentered the community. He sided with the young party in the division ; but two years before his death he with- drew and made his home in Corning. Gauvain was one of the most scholarly men ever in the com- munity. He was acquainted with languages, litera- PERSONAL SKETCHES. 1 63 ture, philosophy, and history. His was a spirit so gentle and so guileless, though so brave and soldierly, that every one loved him. He was of noble blood and of still nobler nature. The admission of six Internationalists to member- ship in Icaria in 1876 has been mentioned. Their careers and characters are of sufficient interest to have more particular attention. The six were : A. Sauva, Emile Peron, J. Laforgue, A. Tanguy, S. Dereure, and Charles Levy. Arsen Sauva is by trade a tailor. Of his early history I have learned nothing. In about i860 he came from France to join the Cheltenham Icarians at St. Louis. He re- mained in that community until its dissolution, and then entered the Union army serving until the end of the war. He returned to France and fought through the Franco-Prussian war. He played an active and prominent part in the commune rising of 1871, being an officer and acquainted with all the leaders. After the collapse of the commune gov- ernment he took refuge in this country. He was a member of the notable Congress of the International Society at the Hague in 1872, and aided in the ex- pulsion of Bakounine and the Anarchist faction. Returning to this country and working at his trade in Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, he joined the Iowa Icarians in 1876, where he was soon elected to the presidency, and threw his influence with the Conservative party. Sauva is not a man of many 164 ICAR1A. words, but he has seen the world, and does his own thinking. Two pamphlets in my possession, "La Crise Icarienne " and "Icarie," prove that he is master of a brilliant and cogent French style, while the books in his humble home show him to be a student of the French social philosophers. The sin- cerity and thorough integrity of Sauva's character are manifest to all who know him. Since the bitter quarrel in which he and Peron were so active upon opposite sides, the two men have not been on terms of friendship. Yet even Peron bears the following high testimony as to Sauva's character : * " I have so bitterly fought Sauva's course of action during Icarian troubles that one might expect me to write about him with a pen dipped in gall and aloes. Well, it would not be right ; for Sauva with all his shortcomings is certainly a high type of man. His errors, blunders, and mistakes, his straying judgment and reason on men and events, do not impair his faith and commendable devo- tion to principles that we claimed to be wrong but that he believed to be right. * * * If all social work- ers had his perseverance, endurance, devotedness, and moral courage, the world would soon adopt better modes of social relations. Sauva is a fine example of the faculty of altruism as discovered by A. Comte, for he can suffer, work, and live for others. Is not that very much in a man, especially in a country where the dollaromaniacal disease is so prevailing ? " Emile Peron himself is a younger man, and has 1 I take the liberty to quote from a private letter. PERSONAL SKETCHES. l6$ not so long a history. He too was engaged in the Paris Commune of 1871, and came to New York im- mediately after. He was a machinist by trade, but a philosopher, critic, and scholar, by natural in- stinct. In the workingmen's clubs of Paris, at night lectures, and in one way or another, he managed to find food for his voracious intelligence, and when he arrived at New York, though only a young prole- tarian of twenty-three or thereabouts, his scientific baggage was very considerable. It is not often, even among those trained from early boyhood in the best schools, that one finds a young man who is so conversant with philosophy, history, belles- lettres, political and social economy, and the natural sciences, as this Parisian mechanic. Quotations al- ready given show that he has learned to write a very picturesque English. In philosophy he is an un- qualified Positivist. If he does not fully sympathize with Anarchists and Nihilists, he can at least make a very apologetic statement of their doctrines. His keen critical faculty makes his conversation sparkling and epigrammatic. It is to be hoped that Icaria-Speranza may afford Peron time for system- atic study and for literary work; La Forgue and Levy follow their trades in Iowa towns, and seem to have lost somewhat of their pristine fervor for social reform, according to the report of their former brethren in Icaria. This is not the case with Tanguy and Dereure, both of 1 66 ICARIA. whom have returned to Paris. Tanguy is an ac- complished fresco-painter. He was an active Com- munist in 1871, and was obliged to flee for his life, first to England and then to America. After the amnesty he left Icaria and resumed his old calling, among the palaces and salons of the gay French capital. But he plays his part in the work of social agitation, and is known among the " militantes." As for Simon Dereure, he is no ordinary man. He was a member of the Commune Government of Paris in 1871, and also with Sauva a member of the Inter- national Congress at the Hague in 1872. Dereure is a shoemaker of superior skill ; and while he shoes the Paris plutocracy for a living, his real calling is that of a social agitator. He is a man of force, energy, and convictions, — one of the sort whom revolutions bring to the front. As has been said, the Leroux family constitute the nucleus of the California colony. The name Leroux is entitled to occupy a prominent place in the history of modern French socialism. The two brothers, Pierre and Jules Leroux, were among the group of brilliant disciples of Saint-Simon. Pierre, the elder of the two, had already made his reputa- tion as a distinguished Parisian journalist, and in 1829 his paper, the Globe, was transformed into an organ of Saint-Simonism. 1 After the breaking up of Saint-Simonism into rival sects, Pierre Leroux 1 For the part played by Pierre Leroux in the St.-Simonian move- ment, See Booth's "St.-Simon and St.-Simonism." PERSONAL SKETCHES. 1 67 withdrew and became a socialistic philosopher on his own account. He founded the so-called Hu- manitarian School, the doctrines of which were of a rather mystical and transcendental character. He wrote many books, which at the time made a marked impression on the intellectual people of France. For years he was intimately associated with George Sand, and exerted upon her philo- sophical opinions an influence as strong as was that which afterward Mr. Lewes exercised upon those of George Eliot. Like most other dreamy philoso- phers, Pierre Leroux also indulged in the construc- tion of an ideal society, which he named " Speranza." Jules Leroux, born in 1805, was seven years younger than his brother, and though also a man of ideas and of literary talents, he was not so prominent as Pierre, with whom he was intimately associated, and whose views in general he shared. Both brothers became Representatives in the Legislative Assembly after the Revolution of 1848, and both were exiled, victims of Louis Napoleon's coup d'etat of December 2, 185 1. They found homes in the island of Jersey, where for many years they maintained their families by agriculture. It was not a small mitigation of their hardships that in their exile they enjoyed the company of Victor Hugo. In 1869 Pierre Leroux returned to Paris, where he died in 1871. Jules Leroux resolved to make a home in America ; and in 1867, with his family of now full-grown children, 1 68 ICARIA. he settled on government land in Kansas, where he and his sons acquired homestead claims. Here, in 1872, they were joined by Adam Dehay, who after- ward married the youngest daughter of Jules Leroux. Dehay was a young Frenchman who had seen life in various parts of his native country, had spent some years in London, and had come to America in 1866. He bought the homestead of his father-in- law, and undertook the formation of a community thereon, but without success. In 1877 Paul Leroux, one of the sons, went to Iowa and joined the Icarians, whither he was followed by his father and mother, and afterward by his brothers and by Dehay. The old hero of '48 lived for several years in the Icarian community, but did not become a member. He had begun in Kansas the publication of a little French paper expository of his views on social and religious philosophy, and continued its publication in Iowa, and afterward in California up to his death in October, 1883. The last number of his paper, " L' Etoile des Pauvres et des SourTrants," was com- pleted a few days after his death by his son, Pierre Leroux, and contained a touching account of the old philosopher's life, doctrines, and personal traits. Jules Leroux was undoubtedly a man of pure and noble character and of a strong religious nature. His sons revere his memory and his opinions ; and it is their desire to honor and perpetuate the associated labors of their uncle and their father which has led PERSONAL SKETCHES. 1 69 them to insist upon the retention of the name "Speranza" in the title of the community. Dehay must be regarded as the prime mover in the Cali- fornia enterprise. His purpose in joining Icaria had been to found a colony in a warmer climate after having gained some practical experience of community life. " Icaria-Speranza " may trace its lineage on the one side to Cabet, and on the other through the Leroux family to Saint-Simon. The story of Emile B£e furnishes a rather charac- teristic Icarian biography. Bee was a tailor's son in northern France, and became a tailor himself. At the age of sixteen he went to Paris, where he found the tailors very active in the secret revolutionary society of Barbes and Blanqui, under which influen- ces he became indoctrinated in Communism. He identified himself with the numerous disciples of Cabet, and subscribed of his humble means to aid the grand Icarian colonization. He was one of many thousands who were arrested on occasion of the coup d' 'Mat of Dec. 2, 1851, and he soon man- aged to leave France for the gold mines of Califor- nia, where he spent some years. In 1862 he re- turned to France. As a member of the 69th Battalion of the National Guard, he was actively engaged in the defence of Paris in 1870, and in 1 871 served the Commune. He found it expedient to return to California the same year, and became ac- tive in the San Francisco section of the International 17° ICARIA. Society. A few years later he joined Dehay and his friends in the purchase of the Cloverdale estate, and is now a peaceful citizen of Icaria-Speranza. Such are a few hasty pen pictures of some of the men whose lives have been identified with Icaria. Many more, perhaps equally interesting and adventurous, might be given ; but these will suffice to show that French Communists are not necessarily the tremen- dous villains or the blood-thirsty wretches which we Americans are generally taught to believe that they are. Some of their doctrines may be dangerous to the existing order of society ; probably they are. History may render her final verdict in condemna- tion of many of their actions ; probably she will. But good men may mistake in their opinions and may honestly err in their actions ; and we can never understand the history and meaning of social move- ments in France, or in any other country, unless we render due credit to the sincerity, devotion, cour- ageous self-denial, and grand enthusiasm for hu- manity, of many of the participants in those move- ments. XI. SOME KINDRED SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS. XI. SOME KINDRED SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS. ONE cannot long explore the history of a social experiment like that of Icaria until he has discov- ered that the seeming isolation of the experiment is more apparent than real. He encounters threads of connection and lines of influence extending in most unexpected directions ; and if he follows those threads they will lead him into the labyrinths of a world of whose very existence, probably, he had been unaware. The past ten years have been full of earnest inquiry and discussion, in the larger circles of American society, touching all matters of social reform ; but the persons engaged in those discus- sions have been almost absolutely ignorant of the equally earnest efforts embodied in the obscure literatures and obscure social experiments which this same decade has produced in out-of-the-way nooks and crannies of nearly every State in the Union. There is no formal organization among these obscure experimenters and theorists ; their ideas are infinitely varied ; they are unlike in every thing except in their despair of the present struc- ture of society, and also in this, that they have made 173 174 ICARIA. themselves peculiar by their views or their prac- tices ; and these two things supply a bond of loose federation. These people constitute a little world within a world. The large world is not even aware of their existence ; while they have the advantage of know- ing their own world and also of knowing the great world perfectly well. This network, interwoven with all manner of curious, intersecting influences and lines of intercommunication, constitutes what we may term the Communistic World, for lack of a better designation. Viewed in the aggregate, it contains those persons whose convictions or whose traditions make them the foes of modern individual- istic, competitive society. Its unity is of a negative rather than of a positive character. Each element of its membership is working in its own chosen way to compass the transformation of society. It comes to the surface most prominently in such manifestations as those of the International Society and the Socialistic Labor Party ; yet, in such active measures the Communistic World is never in agree- ment and union, and perhaps the organizations named might better be regarded as forming a con- necting link, or a transitional stage, between the ob- scure Communistic World and the substratum of the larger society. Newspapers, travel, personal corre- spondence, are the means of communication in this unseen world. Yet, though their papers are num- KINDRED SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS. 1 75 bered by the score, and are not printed on secret presses, nor designedly kept from the perusal of the larger society, few people have read any of them, or even know of their existence. If this seems a little strange at first, it is really not so strange after all. Ordinarily people are much more interested in what goes on in their own world than in the things which pertain to worlds beyond their own. It does not, therefore, necessarily brand a man as an ignoramus if he has never heard of The Sociologist, published at Adair Creek, in the mountains of East Tennessee ; or of The Communist, published near Glen-Allen, Bollinger County, Missouri ; or of the Matrimonial Review, which issues from Farmersville, Pennsyl- vania ; or of The Agnostic, whose home is Dallas, Texas, or of fifty more reform sheets which now exist or have existed within half a dozen years. Nevertheless, to read these papers and to learn the personal history of those who publish them, is to enter a new and a very curious field of sociological inquiry. In the last sixty years there have been hundreds of attempts at associative or communistic organiza- tions in this country, all but a few of which failed in their very inception. Thousands of people have been engaged in these short-lived enterprises. What becomes of these people ? Has their futile attempt freed them from illusive hopes and unattainable ideals? Have they been, as we should suppose, I?6 ICARIA. completely cured ? Generally not. It was the tes- timony of the community at Brook Farm that : " The life which we now lead, though to a superficial observer surrounded with so many imperfections and em- barrassments, is far superior to what we were ever able to attain in common society. There is a freedom from the frivolities of fashion, from arbitrary restrictions, and from the frenzy of competition. * * * There is a greater variety of employments, a more constant demand for the exertion of all the faculties, and a more exquisite pleasure in effort, from the consciousness that we are laboring, not for personal ends, but for a holy principle ; and even the external sacrifices which the pioneers in every enter- prise are obliged to make, are not without a certain ro- mantic charm, which effectually prevents us from envying the luxuries of Egypt, though we should be blessed with neither the manna nor the quails which once cheered a table in the desert." Some such feeling as that seems to be perma- nently retained by almost all who have ever engaged in community life. It is a notable fact that many of these people who have enlisted in what they deem the work of human amelioration have their wits wonderfully quickened thereby, while the one- sidedness of their development tends to deepen and confirm opinions once received. The ill-fated colo- nies of Robert Owen had passed into the history of " extinct socialisms " a generation ago ; and yet the writer hereof might designate one and another and XINDRED SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS. 1 77 another of the now venerable associates of Owen, still fresh with enthusiasm and warm with sympathy for every proposed social reform. The last of the Fourierist Phalansteries disappeared before the war; but many of the men who were engaged in them may still be found wrestling with the problems of cooperation, or pounding away at something more radical. Icaria once numbered its hundreds of dis- ciples. Most of them have disappeared, seemingly swallowed up in the mass of American society; but if the truth could be ascertained they would, in all probability, still be found to be communists at heart. One would not unnaturally suppose that the at- tempts to form new communities would be made by new men who had not experienced the almost insuperable difficulties of such an enterprise. The fact is that the new propositions almost always come from men who have had abundance of dis- heartening experience, but who have a limitless stock of hope and faith. Widely different as are the American communities in point of origin, objects, and policy, there is still a strong sympathy among them all. Thus I found that a leading member of the Oneida Perfectionists was regarded as a friend and counsellor by the Icarians, widely divergent as were their religious views. I made the acquaintance at Icaria of an Ohio Shaker, who is in the habit of paying long and welcome visits to the French 178 ICARIA. materialists of Iowa. I found the Icarian women clad in calicoes manufactured by the prosperous German community known as the " Amana Inspira- tionists " ; and I found that friendly correspondence and acts of courtesy brought Icaria into relations with various other communistic enterprises. One of these, with which Icaria has a peculiarly intimate relation, is the new colony known as the " Mutual Aid Community," located at Glen-Allen, in Bollinger County, Missouri, a hundred miles or more below St. Louis, on the Iron Mountain Railroad. Its actual working existence began only in the sum- mer of 1883, and it has as yet only twenty or thirty members, with a small capital. Its principles and organization are essentially Icarian, though its mem- bers are Americans. Its founder is Mr. Alcander Longley, who in 1867 was a member of Icaria. The story of Mr. Longley's career is one so typical of a certain class of American social reformers that I shall give its outlines. Mr. Longley comes very honestly by his advanced views. His father, who was a Universalist minister at Cincinnati, took a leading part in about 1843 m forming the Cler mont (Ohio) Phalanx, which however lived only three years. The Fourier movement was at its height in those days and young Longley heard of little else in his boyhood. At eighteen he proposed to found a Phalanx himself, but without success; at twenty-one, in the year 1853, he found himself a KINDRED SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS. 1 79 member of the famous North American Phalanx, which was '■' the test-experiment on which Fourier- ism practically staked its all in this country." 1 Horace Greeley was its Vice-President, Charles Sears was its practical chief, and Albert Brisbane was its sponsor. Longley did not remain here many years, for in 1857 we find him undertaking to establish a Phalanx at Moore's Hill, Indiana. In 1864 he appears at Black Lake, Michigan, as the founder of a Cooperative Association. No failure could suppress Longley. In 1865 he is founding another Association at Foster's Crossing, Ohio. The year 1867 finds him and his family converted from the complicated system of Fourierism to a be- lief in Communism pure and simple, and admitted to membership in Icaria. But it did not suit Longley's temperament to be a quiet Icarian farmer ; he was born to be an apostle. So in 1868 he withdrew, went to St. Louis, founded his paper The Communist (which he has published ever since), and advertised his purpose to establish a community on Icarian principles. So came into being the " Re- union Community" in southwestern Missouri, in the county of Jasper. In the spring of 1870 " Re- union" had twenty-seven members, among them being several remarkably intelligent men, and the prospects of the establishment were counted good. 1 The story of the North American Phalanx is best told by J. H. Noyes in his " History of American Socialisms," pp. 449 to 512. l8o I C ARIA. But suddenly the enterprise collapsed. Longley had good old-fashioned views about marriage, while some of his companions were inclined to the doc- trines of free-love ; and on this rock " Reunion " split. Mr. Longley returned to St. Louis in the best of spirits, and The Communist began to publish an extended prospectus of the " Friendship Com- munity" which Mr. Longley proposed to establish in Dallas County, Missouri, near the town of Buffalo. In 1872 "Friendship Community" was an actuality. Its ups and downs, hopes and possibilities, were food for the issues of The Communist for a period of five years. " Friendship " never attained a large membership or a strong financial footing. It did not win the favor of the stalwart Missourians of Dallas County, who regarded it as something essen- tially equivalent to Mormonism, and a disgrace to good Missouri society. Accordingly they organized a " Committee," and Mr. Longley was warned that his institution must go. Means were taken to give emphasis to the warning. So the " Friendship Community" closed business in 1877. Again Mr. Longley returned to St. Louis. This was the year of strikes, riots, labor unions, and socialistic political organizations. Mr. Longley's paper became, temporarily, an organ of the socialis- tic labor party. Meanwhile he published the prospectus of a " Liberal Community," to be or- ganized in St. Louis. This community never ex- KINDRED SOCIAL EXRERIMENTS. l8l isted except in prospectus. In 1879 we find The Communist published at Cincinnati, energetically proposing to revive the "Friendship Community," and meanwhile giving much attention to politics and the state of the country. Two years pass and The Communist in 188 1 is issued from the " Principia Community," Polk County, Missouri, in which community Mr. Longley has now become a social pillar. His sojourn in " Principia " is brief ; for in January, 1882, we find him once more domiciled at St. Louis and advertising to the world the doctrines and prospects of the " Mutual Aid Community," which he desired to found at Glen-Allen, Bollinger County, Missouri. " Mutual Aid," though a humble and small outfit, became a resident fact in Bollinger County in July, 1883. To predict that it will live long and prosper would be the very climax of reck- lessness after the history we have just narrated ; though it is right to say that the " Mutual Aid " has some reasons for regarding itself as on a more solid basis than its predecessors. As for Mr. Longley himself, he is doubtless a gentleman of good conscience, of complete faith in communism, and of such buoyant spirit and fine pluck that he never acknowledges himself beaten. His paper has been an organ for other enterprises besides his own, and its files are a storehouse of information con- cerning the crude and obscure communistic enter- prises of the West during fifteen years past. A 1 82 ICARIA. hobby with Mr. Longley is inter-communal or ganization. He advocates a loose union, or at least an occasional delegate convention of all the com- munities in the United States for the furtherance of such views and ends as they have in common. From such a beginning he pictures the gradual transformation of the whole country into a congeries of united communities. One of the most remarkable men associated with Mr. Longley in the " Reunion Community " was William Frey. Though never an Icarian, he has visited Icaria, and through association with Mr. Longley he may be regarded as having gained some of his afflatus from our little French centre of in- fluence. Frey is a Russian, and was an astronomer in the service of his government, with a brilliant career before him. But his communistic views sub- jected him to political persecution, and he came to America in 1868. In the spring of 1870 he went west, and entered Mr. Longley 's " Reunion Com- munity " with his family. After the collapse of that enterprise we find him, with another of its recent members, on government land in Howard County, Kansas, proposing to found there the " Progressive Community." There he remained for several years, publishing a paper called The Progressive Communist, and endeavoring to found a colony on hygienic and high moral principles. It had neither length of days nor temporary success. For several years following KINDRED SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS. 1 83 that effort, I do not know his history, though from the recent appearance in Boston of a little book en- titled "The Religion of Humanity," I infer that he must have spent much time in thought and study. With a profoundly philosophical mind, and at the same time a deeply religious nature, Mr. Frey adopts and expounds the religion of Positivism with the moral earnestness of an apostle. He is at present engaged in a most interesting work. In Douglas County, Oregon, a company of thirty young Russians founded the " New Odessa Community " in the fall of 1882. They had great confidence in Mr. Frey, and asked him to live with them and be their teacher and guide in the theory and practice of Communism. They have seven hundred acres of land, and their material prospects are not bad. But Mr. Frey is not chiefly concerned to win a material success. As he says in a letter to the writer : " I am convinced that a proper communal life must be a school for moral improvement, a cooperation for mutual assistance and support in realization of the common ideal of a better life; that, in short, moral aims must pre- dominate over material." Mr. Frey is fully con- vinced that no bond except religion can permanently unite men in communistic societies, and he is under- taking the ethical culture of these young country- men of his as the only means of saving their enter- prise. How he is succeeding may be seen from the following sentences which I extract from a private letter written by an intelligent observer : 1 84 ICARIA. " I find the thirty Russians full of good feeling ; they embrace each other each day like devoted brothers and sisters. Every act of their social life is dominated by the ideas of conduct imposed upon them by the teaching and personal magnetism of Frey. Frey's idea of happiness is to eat two meals a day of crackers and raw fruit, to touch no kind of stimulant, to do all the labor between meals so as to be free after to study, — the evenings in his com- munity to be devoted to study and moral and social ex- hortations in which all should join. This includes per- sonal criticism with the purpose of perfecting character. In the morning there is music and singing, which exercise is supposed to make those who join in it feel more friendly to each other, so that if you meet one of them before the music he hurries by with a cold " good morning " ; but if you meet him afterward he warmly shakes your hand and kisses you. As a friend of Frey's I am both surprised and delighted at the success he has made. The disciples are all young and full of devotion ; it is charming to see such persons, resolved to love each other, and determined to do what is right. It is unquestionable that these persons have given up bad habits for a social purpose, led to do so not by superstition, but by a rational conception of personal and public duty. For instance, they were nearly all smokers, and without exception have given up the habit as unwholesome and unsocial. * * * It is a charming spot amongst the mountains which these Russians have secured. I like the people very much in- deed, and believe they will be successful in establishing such a society as they aim at." Mr. Longleyin Missouri, and Mr. Frey in Oregon, KINDRED SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS. 1 85 are instances of what one may discover by following the threads he finds radiating from such a centre as " Icaria " ; just as he would have discovered "Icaria' if his point of departure had been the " Mutual Aid," or just as he would have found the " Mutual Aid " and " Icaria " if his investigation had begun at "New Odessa." Almost equally striking is the story of N. T. Roumain, an associate of Longley at one time, and an applicant for admis- sion to Icaria at another time, who, in 1877, founded the " Esperanza Community" in Kansas, — an enterprise which had its bright day, but ended in sadness and disaster. Or one might make a long tale of the adventures of Earl Joslin, who was Longley's associate in his earliest attempts at Pha- lansteries, who has since been in various enterprises, and who, at last accounts, was endeavoring to or- ganize a "Cooperative Association" in Rice County, Kansas. Though these sketches might be multiplied, it is not my object to give a catalogue of abortive attempts at association, but rather merely to suggest the curious ramification into which an apparently isolated social experiment is likely to widen before the investigator, and to call attention to a kind of sociological study deserving of more consideration than it has received. Beginning with a single community and with no object of studying American communities in general, I have incidentally discovered and could enumerate 1 86 ICARIA. probably not fewer than fifty distinct attempts to found communistic or semi-communistic associa- tions in the United States since 1870. Most of them were obscure, fruitless, and ephemeral. They attracted almost no public attention, and some of them were perhaps worthy of very little. If they had been in Europe, they would doubtless have thriven on the persecution of government and the calumnies of the press, and such opposition would have cemented and preserved them ; while in this country their very liberty to be or not to be, to become incorporated, to buy and sell and get gain, to wear peculiar garments, to preach peculiar doc- trines, and to worship strange gods, has been a centrifugal force that community bonds have seldom been able to stand against. XII. APPENDIX. APPENDIX I. CONTRACT OF THE NEW ICARIAN COMMUNITY of Adams County, Iowa. In order to form an association whose object is the realization of Community on Icarian principles, and the formation and establish- ment of a common fund for the assurance to each of us and of our children of our wants, intellectual and material, in all conditions of life — infancy, old age, health, sickness, and infirmity, — and being re- solved to give to our association a solid basis and to place its exis- tence beyond the risk of all misunderstanding and of all controversy which might arise among us, — We, the undersigned, members of the ex-Community Icarian of Adams County, Iowa, do freely and voluntarily make, admit, sign, and accept this contract for the formation of an association which shall be known under the name of the New Icarian Community of Adams County, Iowa. Consequently we give and transfer freely to our said association all property of every nature and of every kind immovable, movable, and mixed — which we have and possess now, and also all property of every kind which we may acquire in the future — by inheritance, gift, or otherwise, to be during our lives and after our death and for ever the exclusive property of the New Icarian Community. We promise and agree freely and formally that, at no time and in no case will we, or any of us, make any reclamation or demand, nor will we claim any pecuniary compensation for any property which we give now or which we may give in the future to our association, either for interest or for capital, for work, labor, or any other service which we may have performed for it. We formally enjoin upon our heirs and upon their guardians, in perpetual succession, not to make any reclamation against our said 189 I90 I C ARIA. association for any thing which we have freely and voluntarily given to it. We consent to submit our children during their minority to the care and the absolute control of our association, giving it the same rights and the same powers over them, and charging it with the same duties toward them, as if they were under its guardianship conform- ably with the laws of Iowa. We, who sign this contract, engage ourselves and enjoin upon our heirs, and upon their executors, administrators, and guardians, never to bring any suit in law or in equity against our said association, neither to recover any property which we have freely and voluntarily given to it, nor to obtain any salary or pecuniary compensation for labor or service done or rendered by us or them for the said society. We engage ourselves to give all our time, all our strength, and all our capacities for the service of the association, during all the time while we are members of it, and at every time and under all circum- stances without opposition or murmur to obey the laws and regula- tions which shall be adopted conformably to this contract, and to the following articles : Article i. — The place of business of the New Icarian Commu- nity for the present, and until it may be changed, shall be Icaria, Adams County, Iowa ; the nature of the business, which shall com- mence on the first of May, 1879, shall be : agriculture, horticulture, industry, art, commerce, mills, and manufactures. Art. 2. — This association shall last for ninety-nine years, and shall not be dissolved before that time for any reason whatsoever, without the unanimous consent of all the adult members. Art. 3. — The capital or the property of the New Icarian Commu- nity shall consist of all which the founders may have recovered, in im- movable or movable property in the liquidation of the former Icarian Community, dissolved by a judgment of the Court of Adams County, Iowa, rendered the 17th of August, 1878 ; and of all the increase re- sulting from the operations of the agriculture, horticulture, mills, manufactures, commerce, and arts of the said society, of all gifts made by strangers, and of all money paid, or property given by new members when they have been admitted to final membership. APPENDIX. 191 Art. 4. — The social capital shall be common and indivisible. It shall be recorded in the name of the New Icarian Community. Art. 5. — The affairs of this society shall be conducted and ad- ministered by five directors, chosen among the members, as follows a President, a Secretary-Treasurer, a Director of Industry, a Director of Agriculture, a Director of Clothing. Each director shall hold office for a year, and shall be elected separately in a general assembly, which shall meet on the 3d of February of every year after the year 1879 for this especial purpose. Art. 6. — No member of the association who has not reached the age of twenty-five years at least shall be eligible to the office of di- rector, and no one shall be eligible to the presidency who is not at least thirty years old and has not been a member of the society for at least five years. The founders of the society are excepted from this rule. No member shall be chosen director more than twice con- secutively, and after a member shall have been elected director twice consecutively, he shall not be re-elected director until after having been a year out of office. Art. 7. — The title of all the fixed property which the society now possesses, or which may hereafter be acquired, is and shall be vested in the name of the five directors hereinafter named, or of their suc- cessors in office, for the use and benefit of the said association ; and may be sold, conveyed, or mortgaged by a vote of the association as hereinafter described, and the five directors shall sign and acknowl- edge all the conveyances, and set upon them the seal of the associa- tion. Art. 8. — In all transactions relating to movable property, the President of the community alone may buy, sell, and contract in the name of the community, after authorization of the general assembly. Every contract, sale, or purchase which has not been made by the President, or upon an order written and signed by him, shall not in any manner bind the association. If by any reason not provided for in this contract, it is impossible for the President to attend to the affairs of the society, the other directors shall appoint one of their members to act temporarily in his place. Art. 9. — The directors of this association are responsible before 192 ICARIA. the general assembly, and can be suspended or removed from their office by a vote of the majority of the male members. In case of the death, suspension, dismissal, withdrawal, or expulsion of a member of the administration, the assembly shall fill the vacancy eight days after either the death, suspension, dismissal/withdrawal, or expulsion of a member. Art. 10. — Every business transaction exceeding in amount $100, must be signed by the President and the Secretary, and must bear the seal of the society in order to be binding. Art. 11. — All male adult members who have been definitely ad- mitted, are eligible to all the offices of the society subject to Article 7 of this contract, and will participate by their vote in all decisions. The adult members of the ' ' sexe f eminin "have the right to vote upon all admissions and exclusions ; they are both electors and eli- gible for all committees and for the office of the Director of Clothing. They have the right to vote upon the revision of this contract, upon the dissolution of the society, and in general upon all matters of moral and intellectual interest, such as education, propaganda, and amusements. Minors and members admitted on probation have no right to vote in any case. Art. 12. — The suffrage shall be exercised in the general assembly and in person ; no vote by proxy or substitute will be permitted. The vote in general assembly may be taken in any manner whatsoever, except in the following cases : admissions, exclusions, and the elec- tion of the Board of Directors, which votes shall be by written bal- lot, signed or unsigned at the will of the voter. Art. 13. — Provisional admissions and definitive admissions shall take place in general assembly by a vote of at least nine tenths of the members having the right to vote. Adult candidates, when they are admitted definitively, shall pay $100 ; minors, $20. They shall con- form to all the special law on the subject of admission. Provisional admission must take place, at the latest, fourteen days after the ar- rival of the candidate at Icaria ; six months after arrival, a second vote likewise is necessary for permission to continue the novitiate. Definitive or full admission shall take place one year after the pro- visional admission. Any admission not made conformably to the APPENDIX. 193 terms of this contract is null and void, and does not confer any right. Art. 14. — When a candidate has not the means to pay a part or all of the sum required by Article 13, the society may exempt him by a vote of nine tenths of the voting members. Art. 15. — No stranger may reside more than fourteen days in the association without the consent of nine tenths of the members having right to vote. Art. 16. — The adults and minors admitted provisionally are held to obey the directors and to perform the labor assigned to them by decision of the assembly general. They shall labor at all times ac- cording to their strength and their capacity, and shall receive in com- pensation for their labor, proportionally to their needs and to the means of the society, their lodging, food, clothing, care in sickness, attention and care for the children and the aged ; but no other com- pensation of any sort. Art. 17. — Minors who have lost father and mother in the associa- tion, shall be supported and shall remain under the surveillance of the society, which shall take the same care of them and give them the same support as the children whose parents are living. When the minors, having arrived at their majority, desire to remain in the as- sociation, they shall state the same in writing to the general assem- bly, and shall sign this contract. They shall then have all the rights of members admitted definitively by this contract. Art. 18. — The principal object of this association in conducting the affairs described and considered in these articles, being that of creating and establishing a fund which shall provide for the needs and comforts of the young, the old, the sick, and the infirm, no dividend shall be paid to any member ; but every accumulation of wealth shall be added to the common fund. Art. 19. — Every member who has decided to retire from the so- ciety shall give to the general assembly fifteen days' notice in writ- ing. Every member retiring in this manner shall receive from the society the pledge of a gift of $100 if he be an adult, and $20 if he be a minor. This amount may be increased by a vote of three fourths of the general assembly, in the meeting which is held on the 3d of 194 ICARIA. February, for trie election of the Board of Directors, upon the propo- sition of five members of the society. 1 Art. 20. — The sale of annual products may be made when it is authorized by a vote of the majority of the adult men present in the general assembly, and the majority may decide upon the use and the disposition of such products and of the proceeds of their sale. Be- sides these annual revenues of the society, the majority may — but not more than once in a month — decide upon the use or the disposi- tion of a portion of the social capital not to exceed $100. Every dis- position of the social capital beyond the amount of $100, must be made by a vote of nine tenths of the voting members, and the dis- position of the fifth part of the social capital may not be made except by the unanimous consent of the members voting. Art. 21. — This association does not approve the borrowing of money as a general rule ; but as it may sometimes be necessary, the President may, by a vote of the general assembly, borrow money to the amount of $100, when the loan does not require mortgage ; but this may be done only once a month. Art. 22. — No loan under any other conditions shall bind the so- ciety, unless by the consent of nine tenths of the voting members. Art. 23. — All the ordinary affairs of the society shall be con- ducted and decided by a majority vote of the adult men who are present In the general assembly at the moment of the vote, ex- cept in cases specified and provided for in the other articles of this contract. Art. 24. — The general assembly of this association shall be com- posed of the members having the right to vote ; and its decisions shall bind the association when the half plus one of the men having the right to vote are present at the meeting. In case of urgency recog- nized by the majority of the men having the right to vote, that ma- jority shall suffice to authorize the assembly to make decisions which shall bind the society when the postponement of a decision might be prejudicial to the interests of the society. 1 Note to Art. 19. — This article was revised at the meeting of Feb. 3, 1883. Under the new rule, a man when admitted simply gives the society whatever he possesses. If he retires, he receives two thirds the amount of his initial de- posit, and $25 additional for each year he has served the society. This rule applies to charter members and later admissions equally. APPENDIX. 195 Art. 25. — Any member of this association maybe expelled by a vote of nine tenths of the members having the right to vote, when that member has been guilty of voluntary disobedience, without any good reason, and of refusing repeatedly to perform the orders of the directors, or when he refuses to conform to the decisions of the gen- eral assembly, if, by his conduct, the said delinquent member has seriously prejudiced the moral and material interests of the society. The expulsion will take place in a special assembly called for that purpose, of which assembly and of the charges preferred against him the said member shall have fifteen days' notice. The member ac- cused shall have every guaranty for the proof of his innocence and for the explanation of the acts of which he is accused. In case of withdrawal or expulsion from the society of a member who is the head of a family, that withdrawal or expulsion shall imply the with- drawal of his children under the age of fifteen years. Art. 26. — If one or more members of this association shall rebel against its authority, or form a party detached from the common group, in the matter of nourriture (eating), of labor, of purchase and of sale, of loans and of gifts, or in any other manner ; or shall under- take to turn the society from its true end as specified above ; or shall leave the society for more than three consecutive days without the consent of a majority of three fourths of the members ; or shall labor repeatedly outside the community, or within its limits, for strangers, without the knowledge and consent of the assembly, that member or those members may be expelled by a majority of the members having the right to vote, but the member or members expelled shall have the right to receive the gift of $100 upon their expulsion, like members withdrawing. The member or members accused of offences against this contract shall not have the right to vote upon the penalty which shall be inflicted upon them by the assembly. Art. 27. — All the laws and regulations necessary to execute and to carry into proper effect the objects of this association, provided they are not inconsistent with or opposed to this contract, may be made by a majority of the men. Art. 28. — Five members of the association may, at every annual assembly for the election of the directors, propose the revision of any 196 ICARIA. part of this contract whatsoever, and if a majority of nine tenths of the members having the right to vote, vote in favor of the proposed revision, it shall be placed upon the order of the day of the general assembly, discussed and voted upon three months after its presenta- tion, and if at this last vote the nine tenths of the members having the right to vote decide in favor of such revision, it shall have full force and effect as part of this contract. Art. 29. — In case of the dissolution of this association by the unanimous consent of all its members, or by any other unforeseen cause, the social capital and the property shall be divided as follows : First, all the debts' or claims due or belonging to persons outside the society shall be determined and paid. Second, the members who were founders or who signed this contract at the date of its adoption, viz., May 1, 1879, shall receive, and shall be paid in money or in equivalent property the amount placed in the common fund by them at the date of the signature of this contract, or at any other later date, as the books of the association shall make evident. Third, the members who were not founders shall also receive in money or in equivalent property that which they have placed in the common fund of the association at the time of their definitive admission, or at any other time thereafter, as the books of the association may show. Fourth, the remainder of the property of the association, if there be any, shall be divided among the members according to the years of service of each adult member, reckoning from the time of his signa- ture of this contract. Every adult member shall receive a part pro- portioned to his time of service under this contract. The period of service of the founders shall be counted, in reckoning their years of service, from the date of this contract ; the period of the other mem- bers shall be counted from their definitive admission ; the time of children bom in the community, and of those who enter as minors, shall be counted from the day when they have attained their majority ; minor orphans shall have the right to ten years of service in making this division of the property in case of dissolution. We, the undersigned, in full possession of our faculties intellectual and moral, knowing well and comprehending perfectly the above con- tract and all its articles, do adopt and accept them freely and volun- APPENDIX. 197 tarily, and do engage ourselves not to make any reclamation of any sort or nature whatsoever against our said association which would not be in accordance with the terms of this contract. The directors chosen conformably to this contract, in 1879. for the year 1879, to remain in office until Feb. 3, 1880, are as follows : E. F. Bettannier, President ; A. A. Marchand, Secretary-Treasurer ; V. E. Caille, Director of Agriculture ; Armel Marchand, Director of Industry ; and Marie V. Marchand, Director of Clothing. [Here follow signatures, acknowledged before a notary public, and the minute of the county recorder.] APPENDIX II. LAW UPON WITHDRAWAL AND EXPULSION FROM THE ICARIAN COMMUNITY. 1 ' Section I. — Preamble. When a person has resolved to live in communism, and has made his demand for admission into Icaria, the greatest prudence, the most serious reflection, should be exercised in the accomplishment of the act, which, by its good or bad results may be classed among the most important acts of his life. No inconsiderate enthusiasm for the beauty of the Icarian system should influence his mind, nor have weight in his decision. It is im- portant that he separate from the causes of his determination all sentimentalism, all enthusiasm of a nature to conceal the truth from his eyes and make him conceive of the community as much more beautiful, more developed, more perfect than it really is, and its members better than they really are. In the distance defects are unperceived, forms harmonize, all is embellished ; men are exalted in their merit, and things appear more beautiful than they are. But if it is necessary that one should always be on his guard against mirages and illusions, it is especially important that he should do so in reference to an act which may result, in the future, in regrets to all concerned. Icaria does not escape the rule of illusions ! The experience of many years demonstrates, on the contrary, that the hope of amelio- rating his situation, the idea which he generally forms of Icaria and Icarians, the joy that he experiences in the thought of being able to live according to his principles, exercises over every distant candidate an irresistible enchantment, which in many cases suffices to conceal 1 See page 131 198 APPENDIX, 199 from him the inconveniences of our society of equality, and leave on his mind only a conception of its advantages. To these natural inclinations toward the transports of enthusiasm are added the great influence of the writings of Cabet, picturing the splendors that communism shall one day realize, and also the favor- able impression that the regular publication of La Jeune Icarie cannot fail to exercise over the mind, by its exposition of the organi- zation, the principles, and the grandeur of the end which the com- munity proposes to itself. But in all things — it is necessary to repeat — it is a long distance from the desire to the realization, from the principle to the fact, from the theory to the practical embodiment ; and what is true else- where is true also in Icaria. Those who desire to join it ought to be thoroughly impressed with this fact, and act only after having thor- oughly considered the gravity of the situation. For, let us not forget, enthusiasm is ephemeral ! When its inspi- ration has passed, deceptions, discouragement, succeed to the en- chantment, and a prompt return to individualism is often the sad consequence of it. Theoretically, quitting old society to embrace the communistic life should be an irrevocable act. Those who join themselves to the community should do it for all time ; and whatever property they possess should be deposited in the social fund without power of recall. For if it is reasonable that one should withdraw himself from the iniquities of individualism, to adopt a better form of associa- tion, there can be no reason for quitting the latter in order to live again under the yoke of laws which one has once rejected with all his convictions. Change for the better is logical ; returning upon one's steps, in the path of progress, is an absurdity. Moreover, withdrawal often involves a multitude of inconveniences for the society and the seceders. In what concerns the definite deposit of property there is, in fact^, a certain inequality in this respect, that one family can retain some rights over a deposit while others have nothing which belongs to themselves. 200 ICARIA. It is true that the inequality reappears only on the morrow of their departure. While persons live in Icaria equality is perfect as regards possession. But for the communists this difference with the seceders is not less an evil, which the financial weakness of Icaria can alone justify. Later, when the community shall have grown, when its produc- tion shall be better assured and its general situation prosperous, it will be able, while giving increased comforts to its members, to exact guarantees of stability, and to establish equality even in the case of withdrawing members. Meanwhile many inconveniences would result from holding too rigorously to principles deduced from pure reason, and upon this point, as upon others, it is necessary to conform to the exigencies of practical life. Nevertheless, the sincere and firm intention to remain perma- nently in Icaria should be the basis of the application of every can- didate. But since the weakness and variableness of men compel us to an- ticipate withdrawals, and since, on the other hand, a member may so disregard his duties that the Society will feel itself under obligation to exclude him, it is important to regulate in advance, in the interest of seceders and of the Society, the condition which shall govern vol- untary or constrained withdrawals. Section II. — Withdrawal. Article i. — Every member, provisional or absolute, can at any time, by giving notice to the delegates one month in advance, with- draw from the Community. Art. 2. — The withdrawing member shall give notice of his pur- pose in a written paper or letter of withdrawal. Art. 3. — The withdrawing member shall not be relieved of his duties until the Assembly shall have passed a vote accepting his resignation of membership. Section III. — Withdrawal in the Novitiate. Art. 4. — When a provisional member shall decide to withdraw, the money, deeds, jewelry, credits, tools, and other things that he APPENDIX. 20 1 may have deposited on entering, -with the knowledge of the trustees, shall be returned to him. Art. 5. — The provisional member, being considered in every thing save voting a full member, no interest, rent, or revenue whatsoever, be it :n money or in commodities which shall have been obtained by mone/. the credits or the property that he shall have deposited upon entrance, shall be returned to him. The revenue in all its forms be- longs to the community. Section IV. — Withdrawal of Full Members. Art. 6. — After having accepted the resignation of a full member, the General Assembly shall take into consideration the time that said member has passed in the community, the services that he has ren- dered to it, the value of his deposit, the condition of his family, his personal resources, and allow to him, under the title of gift, such sum of money or such property as the financial condition and interest of the community, being well considered, shall at the time permit it to give. Art. 7. — The withdrawal of the husband involves the withdrawal of the wife, and vice versd ; also the withdrawal of their children under twenty years of age. By a two-thirds vote the latter may be re-admitted upon their application. Section V. — Cash Deposits. Art. 8. — When a member who has deposited in the common treasury more than a hundred dollars shall have offered his resignation of membership, the general assembly shall designate the times and the successive payments in the refunding of such deposit. Art. 9. — Deposits not exceeding one hundred dollars shall be re- funded within one year after the withdrawal of the depositor. Art. 10. — The same amount shall be refunded that was deposited ; that is, it shall be refunded without interest. Art. 11. — Likewise, after the dismissal of a member, the sums which the community shall refund to him in partial payments, by the direction of the general assembly, shall not bear interest. The exact amount contributed shall be refunded. 202 ICARIA. Art. 12. — Articles 8, 9, 11 shall be in force until the present debt of the community is paid. Art. 13. — After that the General Assembly shall have the power to determine in advance the sums which shall be refunded yearly in case of withdrawal. Section VI. — Deposits other than in Cash. Art. 14. — When a member shall contribute to the community a deposit other than cash, such as houses, lands, credits, mortgages, horses, cattle, etc., the said deposit, with a statement of its character, shall be recorded to the credit of the member on the books of the community. Art. 15. — In case of withdrawal this deposit shall in the course of six months be returned to him in the condition in which it shall be at the time. Art. 16. — When the community shall have sold a part or the whole of the lands, houses, or property of any kind, deposited by a member, the net product of this sale shall be placed to the account of said depositor, and he shall be reimbursed just as though his deposit had been made in ready money. Art. 17. — The tools, arms, instruments, machines, books, furni- ture, etc., shall be returned immediately and in the condition in which they are at the time of withdrawal. Art. 18. — No damage or indemnity shall be accorded for tools, instruments, or property of any kind, which shall have been mislaid, used, damaged, or destroyed. Section VII. — Special Contracts. Art. 19. — When a candidate shall possess considerable money, and the conditions of the present law shall prevent his admission, the community may make a special contract with him respecting the manner in which his capital shall be refunded in case of his with- drawal. Art. 20. — Nevertheless this special contract shall not be in opposi- tion to Article 10, concerning the non-payment of interest for time anterior to withdrawal. APPENDIX. 203 Art. 21. — Special contracts shall be recorded upon the books of the community at the pages devoted to the contracting persons, and signed by the latter and two trustees. Section VIII. — Expulsion. Art. 22. — When a member shall not wish to conform to the laws ; when he shall refuse to fulfil his duties ; when he shall conduct himself improperly toward his associates ; when his general attitude shall constitute a real danger to the society, he can be expelled by a vote of two thirds of the members. Art. 23. — This expulsion can only take place when the accused has been notified of the misdemeanors charged against him ten days in advance of the day for their investigation, and he shall' have been given full liberty to defend himself before the assembly. Art. 24. — As in admission so in dismission, the expulsion of the husband implies the withdrawal of his wife, and reciprocally ; also the withdrawal of their children under twenty years of age. Art. 25. — Expelled members shall be settled with in accordance with the law upon withdrawals, as in the case of dismissed members. Section IX. — Revision. Art. 26. — The present law is subject to annual revision beginning from the 1st of May, 1879, by a majority of two thirds of the mem- bers of the General Assembly. This law was unanimously approved by the General Assembly Dec. 8, 1879. APPENDIX III. CONTRACT AND ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT OF THE ICARIA-SPERANZA COMMUNE. 1 Section I. — Society. Article i. — Know all men by these presents that we : Armand Dehay, Marie Dehay, Paul Leroux, Francoise Leroux, Pierre Le- roux, Josephine Leroux, Gustave Provost, Irma Provost, Emile Bee, Caroline Bee, Eugene Mourot, Marie Mourot, Emile Fugier, Emilie Fugier, Therese James, Michel Brumme, Alexis Marchand, Louise Mourot, Louise Peron, Emile Peron, and all others who shall be admitted and allowed to sign this Contract and Articles of Agreement ; being of age and in full knowledge of our action and deed, do hereby associate and form a society, under such name and conditions, and for such business and object as is hereinafter described. Art. 2. — The name of this society is ICARIA-SPERANZA COMMUNE ; and its location and principal place of business is on Bluxome Rancho, near Cloverdale, Sonoma County, State of California. Section II. — General Object. Art. 3. — The general purpose of the Icaria-Speranza commune is as follows, to wit : A. To establish for humanity as an example and in devotion to its welfare, a system of society capable of rendering it happy. B. To prove to our fellow-men that community, based on soli- darity, is realizable and possible. 1 See page 145 204 APPENDIX. 205 C. To perform such labor, and use such sums of money, from time to time, as the commune may deem sufficient in publishing, ad- vertising, and circulating the business and principles of the Icaria- Speranza Commune ; but the aggregate of sums of money and reasonable value of labor applied to such advertising shall at no time be less than fifty dollars per annum. D. To create a common fund, composed of money, real estate, personal property, and all kinds of other property, said common fund to be used for the mutual support and in the interest of all members composing this society ; for the supplying of their legitimate wants, their comfort, care, and education, in all stages of life, as well in in- fancy, sickness, infirmity, and old age ; and to be used also to carry out the principles, business, and various objects of the community, in accordance with the purport of an instrument styled, " Act of Dona- tion to the Icarian Community" dated April 22d, A. D., 1879, and recorded in Book II., miscellaneous, at page 378, in the office of Recorder of Deeds, Adams County, State of Iowa. Section III. — Dtiration and Dissolution. Art. 4. — The duration of the Icaria-Esperanza commune shall be ninety-nine years, counting from the date of the adoption of this con- tract, and its organization shall be renewed whenever it becomes necessary. Art. 5. — If for any reason whatever this contract should become annulled, or if for any cause whatever the Icaria-Speranza commune should be dissolved, its entire property shall be disposed of in the following manner. A. First, all outside creditors shall be paid up and settled with. B. Next, all credits to which the members of the commune shall be individually entitled to, and which sums shall have been entered on the books of the commune, below their individual name, as their exclusive property, shall be paid to them. C. The remainder shall be accounted for, paid over, assigned or transferred in accordance with the several donations that shall have been made to the Icarian Community, a true copy of which donations is hereto attached. 206 1CARIA. Section IV. — Capital Stock. ART. 6. — The capital stock of the Icaria-Speranza commune com- prises all kinds of property, and constitutes a common fund owned by the commune and applicable to all its wants through its proper agents. But said common fund shall not be mortgaged, alienated or in- debted to a greater extent than is hereinafter prescribed, unless nine tenths of the members having voting privilege agree, in general as- sembly, to such greater alienation. Art. 7. — The common fund of the Icaria-Speranza commune is composed of all sums of money or property of any description that shall have been either donated, transferred, assigned, or set over in any lawful manner to the commune, by friends, well-wishers, charter- members or later admitted members, by societies or any other com- munes ; and such money or property, as well as all accumulations thereof, shall be held in trust and used only in accordance with the purport of said donations, transfers, assignments, and the stipulation of this contract. Art. 8. — The common fund of the Icaria-Speranza commune is further composed of all sums of money or property whatever, owned or possessed by its individual members before entering this associa- tion. But such money or property as shall have been conditionally con- tributed to the common fund by individual members, is to be re- funded to them, in case of their withdrawal from the commune, un- der such conditions as are hereinafter agreed to. Art. 9. — However, each and every individual member has the ex- clusive use and ownership of the following property : A. Each and every article of his wardrobe. B. Each and every article of his furniture, bedding, and house- hold implements. C. Each and every article that shall have been given him as a present by persons who are not members of the commune, and who shall be still living at the time when the individual member takes pos- session of such present ; provided, however, that, in the aggregate, the fair value of the present, or presents, so received in the course of APPENDIX. 207 any one year, shall not exceed fifty dollars, and that all surplus shall be remitted to the common fund, and entered on the member's credit. D. Each and every article which shall have been given him as a present by any one member or members of the commune, who shall still be living at the time when the donee-member takes possession of such present ; provided, however, that, in the aggregate, the fair value of the present or presents so received by him in the course of any one year shall not exceed twenty-five dollars, and that all surplus shall be remitted to the fund. Section V. — Prodtiction and Business. Art. 10. — The general nature of production and business of the Icaria-Speranza commune is as follows, to wit : agriculture, horti- culture, viticulture, mechanical arts, milling, manufacturing, and commerce in all various branches ; also the building and establishing of schools, colleges, villages, colonies, and the developing of sciences and fine arts. Section VI. — Administration. ART. II. — The business affairs and common interests generally shall be conducted by a Board of Administration, composed of five committees, denominated as follows : A. Committee on Works. B. Committee on Home-Consumption. C. Committee on Education. D. Committee on Commerce. E. Committee on Accounts. Art. 12. — Each one of these five committees shall be composed of at least two members having voting privilege ; and when acting separately, shall transact only such business as comes within the lim- its of their conferred powers. Art. 13. — The duties, power, and scope of action of each com- mittee shall be defined in special by-laws to be adopted in general assembly. Art. 14. — When any unusual or contingent matter shall come before any one committee, the latter shall convene the 208 ICARIA. board of administration and lay such matter before them, either for final decision, or for reference to a special or to an ordinary meeting of the general assembly. Art. 15. — The board of administration may convene the general assembly in extraordinary session, whenever they deem it necessary ; and said board shall convene said assembly when any five members having voting privilege shall have made a written application for that purpose. Art. 16. — No decision or vote, taken either by a committee or by the board of administration, shall be valid unless it obtains the unanimous assent of its members. Art. 17. — The title to all common property, either real, personal, or mixed, is vested in the persons composing the board of adminis- tration, and in their successors in office, who shall, in this relation, be considered as trustees of the Icaria-Speranza commune. Art. 18. — Each and every member of the board of administration shall be elected by the general assembly in the month of January, for one year, and shall be, at any time, accountable to, and remov- able by, said assembly. Art. 19. — The names of the persons composing the board of ad- ministration until next January are as follows, to wit : Section VII. — Liabilities. Art. 20. — The highest amount of debts for which the property of the Icaria-Speranza commune shall become liable is thirty- three per cent, of the whole assets, as shall be yearly shown by a cor- rect inventory. For exceptions, see Art. 6. Art. 21. — The aggregate of debts, or the liabilities of any kind, shall include all credits which may, at any time, become due to the members, as shall appear from the books of the commune. Section VIII. — General Assembly. Art. 22. — The general assembly is composed of all members, of both sexes, who are at least twenty-one years old, and who shall have been admitted to sign this contract. Art. 23. — Minor members above fourteen years of age, and pro- APPENDIX. 209 visional members may be admitted to its sessions, but with consulta- tive voice only. Art. 24. — Its regular sessions are held semi-annually, but special sessions may be convoked according to the foregoing provisions. Art. 25. — The general assembly may adopt, at any time, such by-laws and regulations as shall be deemed necessary to the proper fulfilment of this agreement. Art. 26. — No decision or vote taken in general assembly shall be valid unless carried by fully three fourths of the voting members who shall be present at the session when such vote is taken. Art. 27. — A majority of fully three fourths of the members having voting privilege constitutes a " quorum," without which " quorum " the general assembly shall not open its sessions, except to adjourn twice, if necessary ; and, after such adjournments, a majority of half plus one of the members having voting privilege shall be deemed a M quorum " to transact any business. Art. 28. — All admissions of new members, all expulsions of mem- bers, and all elections to any office shall be by ballot upon unsigned tickets. Art. 29. Elections to any office shall not be valid, unless carried as follows, to wit : — A. Candidates must obtain a majority of fully three fourths of the members having voting privilege, to be elected on first ballot. B. Elections on second ballot shall be determined by a majority of half-plus-one of the members having voting privilege. C. A relative majority, viz. : the highest number of votes cast, shall carry an election on third ballot. Section IX. — Withdrawal Fund. Art. 30. — In the month of January of every year, the board of administration, through the committee on accounts, shall make a correct inventory in which every article of common property of the Icaria-Speranza commune shall be listed and appraised at its fair cash value. Art. 31. — In appraising some classes of property, especially real estate, the possible fluctuation of the market shall be taken into con- 210 ICARIA. sideration, and the average fair cash value, of such property, in two or more past years, shall be deemed the correct value. Art. 32. — One of the objects of the taking of said inventory is to fairly ascertain the surplus or net profit earned, year after year, by the Icaria-Speranza commune, said profit to be expressed in dollars. Art. 33. — When the amount of said surplus shall have been ascer- tained, and approved by the general assembly, said amount shall be divided into two halves ; one half shall belong to the commune and accumulate to the common fund ; and the other half shall be divided by the number of members having the voting privilege for the purpose of ascertaining each member's equal share. Art. 34. — The amount thus yearly found due to each member shall be entered on the books of the commune, below his individual name, together with any other credits that he may have ; but shall only be- come his exclusive property, and be paid him, in case of his with- drawal from the commune. Section X. — Consideration. Art. 35. — Besides all other benefits that each member may derive from this contract, the Icaria-Speranza commune, as a further con- sideration, shall enter on its books, and pass to the credit side of -each individual member having voting privilege, the sum of two hundred dollars, to come out of its property, and to be paid to said member in case of his withdrawal ; provided, however, that each such mem- ber shall have made a donation, transfer, or assignment forever of his property to the Icaria-Speranza commune, located at near Clover- dale, Sonoma County, State of California, within one year from the date of the recording of this contract, or, previously to such record- ing, to the Icarian Community situated near Corning, Adams County, State of Iowa. Section XI. — Labor Premiums. Art. 36. — Monthly labor premiums shall be given to each member, being above sixteen years of age, provided said member partakes in the common work of the commune ; said premium shall be paid in money, and shall not be less than fifty cents, nor more than one dol- lar and a half per month. APPENDIX. 211 Art. 37. — The member of the board of administration, acting as treasurer, shall not pay any money as labor premiums, unless in accordance with the following conditions : A. Every month he shall pay a premium of fifty cents to each member who shall not have lost more than one working-day during said month. B. Every month he shall pay a premium of one dollar to each member who shall not have lost more than half a working-day during said month. C. No excuse whatever shall be admitted as a substitute for working-time lost by a member, in relation to the payment of pre- miums. Art. 38. — The general assembly shall adopt a special by-law in which all labor of any kind that is to be considered common work, shall be defined. Section XII. — Inheritance. Art. 39. — Each and every signer of this contract formally agrees and stipulates that if he deceases while being a member, each and every article of his individual property, as well as all credits entered on the books of the commune, shall return forthwith to the common fund ; with such minimum exception, however, as the law may require. Section. XIII. — Clothing. Art. 40. — The board of administration, through the committee on home consumption, shall make a semi-annual budget of expenses necessary to properly clothe each and every member of the Icaria- Speranza commune, and to that effect they shall carry out the fol- lowing rule : A. They shall ascertain and express in dollars what sum is neces- sary to purchase the clothing, in the six ensuing months, of each full- grown female member. B. They shall find what sum is necessary for each full-grown male member. C. They shall classify all the children in as many series as shall be found necessary, and ascertain what sum is wanted to clothe each member of each series. 212 ICARIA. D. When the aggregate of all such sums shall be found, they shall submit the " Semi-Annual Budget of Expenses for Clothing" to the general assembly for correction or approval. E. After such proceedings, the member of the board of adminis- tration, acting as delegate to commercial business, shall open, in one or more stores of the nearest town to be designated by said delegate, a credit to each individual member, said credit not to exceed the sum found as his individual budget ; and the said delegate shall see, when necessary, that no credits opened in any store are diverted from their legitimate destination. F. All credits so opened shall be equal for each member of each series of persons ; but in cases of special wants of clothing for spe- cial common works, or common purposes, the committee on home consumption may cause such articles to be bought and delivered whenever deemed necessary, and every such article shall be common property to be used temporarily. Art. 41. — Within the limits of his individual budget, each mem- ber shall be at liberty to select whatever object of clothing that suits him. Section XIV. — Rights and Duties. Art. 42. — All who shall be admitted to sign this contract, together with their children, shall be members of the Icaria-Speranza com- mune, and shall have equally all the same rights and privileges, either express or implied, pertaining to such membership ; provided, however, that no privilege, so exercised by any one member, shall conflict with the expressed or implied provisions of this contract. Art. 43. — The committee on home consumption shall see that all food prepared and cooked in the common kitchen be wholesome, and that the menu, or bill of fare, be so varied and so complete as is reasonably compatible with the means of the commune. Art. 44. — As far as practicable and not objectionable, all meals shall be taken in common, in the common dining-room of the com- mune ; but each member shall have the privilege to obtain, from the menu prepared in the common kitchen, his reasonable proportion of food, and to take his meals wherever he pleases. Art. 45. — In cases of sickness each member shall be entitled to a APPENDIX. 213 private bill of fare, privately prepared, provided said bill shall not ex- ceed the ordinary and reasonable staples of food, and call only for such articles of food as shall be within the easy purchasing powers of the commune. Art. 46. — Except in special cases designated by the general as- sembly, each member shall reside on the place where the commune is located, in houses furnished for that purpose ; and said residences shall only be used for their legitimate destination, viz. : exclusively as dwellings for said members. Art. 47. — Each and every signer hereof formally agrees and stipu- lates that he shall never claim, nor attempt to recover, either directly or indirectly, at law or in equity, any other sums of money, or pro- perty whatever, than is herein specified and provided for as part of the compensation given by the commune for his time, services and labor. Art. 48. — He further agrees and stipulates that he relinquishes all rights of recovery from work, time, or services whatever given to the commune, by any one member of his family ; relinquishing also all rights of recovery either for services, damages, expectancy of life or estate, in cases of death or of any accident whatever that may have happened, by any reason or cause, to any one or every member of his family ; agreeing hereby that the benefits that he, and each member of his family, derived daily from the operations of this contract, are ample and sufficient compensation for the relinquishment of all such rights. Art. 49. — Each and every member of this association shall give his entire working time and abilities to the common use and works of the commune, as shall be amicably distributed among them by the committee on works, after a workers' consultation. Art. 50. — The Icaria-Speranza commune shall give to each minor member, at least until he shall have attained the age of sixteen years, as thorough and as complete an education, in both English and French languages, as shall be found reasonably compatible, at any time, with the various works, the financial means, and the professorial opportunities of the association. Section XV. — Admission. Art. 51. — New members may be admitted in the Icaria-Speranza 214 ICARIA. commune, and allowed to sign this contract, under the following con- ditions : A. Each and every applicant for admission should sufficiently know the French language to speak it and read it fluently. B. All admissions shall be, at first, provisional, and shall not be valid, unless fully nine tenths of the members having voting privilege, assent, by a vote in general assembly, to such provisional admission. C. After such provisional admission, each applicant shall stay in novitiate for a term of strictly twelve consecutive months, after which term he may be absolutely admitted in general assembly, by a vote of fully nine tenths of the members having voting privilege. Art. 52. — Upon the written request of five voting members, the board of administration may cause any provisional member, as well as any other person having sojourned for more than three consecutive days, to withdraw from the commune at any time within forty-eight hours from such request. Section XVI. — Withdrawals. Art. 53. — After having given ten days' notice of his intention to the committee on accounts, each member may, at any time, resign his membership and withdraw from the commune, but such formal, resignation shall be made on a written and signed instrument stating that the resigning member relinquishes all his membership rights for the purpose of obtaining a settlement of his accounts with the com- mune. Art. 54. — After such proceedings, the committee on accounts shall convene the board of administration, and lay before them such, letter of resignation for final acceptation and mode of settlement of the resigner's account, or for reference to the general assembly. Art. 55. — Within sixty days after he shall have tendered his resig- nation, each member shall receive, and be paid, all his credits that shall have been entered on the books of the commune ; provided, however, that within the twelve months preceding such resignation, the Icaria-Speranza commune shall not have paid out, as fund for withdrawing members, more than fifteen hundred dollars in the aggregate. Art. 56. — When within any one year the Icaria-Speranza com- APPENDIX. 2 1 5 mune shall have paid to withdrawing members a sum of money ex- ceeding fifteen hundred dollars, the board of administration, when requested to settle with any other resigning member, shall strike a balance of the account of said member, deliver him a due-bill or note for such balance, and shall be allowed one year's time to pay said bill. Art. 57. — In cases of married members, the resignation of the husband shall imply the resignation of his wife, and vice versd ; as well as of all their children under sixteen years of age. Section XVII. — Expulsions. Art. 58. — When the conduct, or general behavior, of any member above sixteen years of age shall be so obnoxious as to seriously en- danger either the material, financial, or moral interests of the Icaria- Speranza commune, he may be ousted from his membership and ex- pelled from the commune. Art. 59. — Each accused member shall have ten days' notice of the charges preferred against him, and shall have fair opportunities to de- fend himself in general assembly ; but no expulsion shall be valid unless carried by a vote of fully nine tenths of the members having voting privilege, the vote to be expressed in two different sessions, to be held at least thirty days from the first. Art. 60. — No member, or his wife, and vice versd, shall vote upon his own expulsion ballot, and in case he does vote, his ticket shall be refused. Art. 61. — The expulsion of a member husband shall imply the resignation of his wife, and vice versd ; as well as the resignation of all their children under sixteen years of age. Section XVIII. — Revisions. Art. 62. — Each and every article of this contract may be revised in General Assembly ; but the revision of any article shall not be valid unless the following rules shall have been strictly adhered to : A. The unanimous consent by vote is requisite to revise the fol- lowing enumerated Articles : I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, — 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35,-42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 43, 49, and 50. 2l6 1CARIA. B. The consent by vote of fully nine tenths of the members hav- ing voting privilege is requisite to revise the following enumerated Articles : 8, 9,-20, 21, 22, 23,-39,-53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62. C. The consent by vote of three fourths of the members having voting privilege is requisite to revise the following enumerated Articles : 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, — 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29,-36, 37, 38,-40, 41. D. The consent by vote of nine tenths of the members is requisite to revise Articles 51 and 52 ; but after a period of three years, from the day of recording of this contract, Articles 51 and 52 shall be re- visable by a majority of three fourths of the members having voting privilege. INDEX. Almanac (Icarian), 18. Amana Community, 178. American Socialist, 99. Amusements, 51, 52, 118. Arbitration, 104, 108. Baboeuf, 4, 15. Babouvism, 18. Barbes, 18. Bauer,^ Fritz, 67. Bee, Emile, 169. Bettannier, E. F., 161. Blanc, Louis, 30. Blanqui, 18. Booth's " St. -Simon and St.-Si- monism," 166. Briggs, Dr., 84. Brisbane, Albert, 179. Brook Farm, 22, 176. Buonarotti, II, 15. Bureau, Icarian, at Paris, 56, 69, 75- Cabet, Etienne, early career, 6 ; in political life, 7 ; in exile, 8 ; a communist, 10 ; his " Voyage en Icarie," 10-17 J colonization scheme, 19-25 ; reaches Amer- ica, 43 ; quarrel with majority, at Nauvoo, 53-58 ; death, 59 ; character, and writings, 60-63. Cabet, Madame, 56. California, 134, 136, 137 et seq. Campanella, 11, 15. Carbonari, 6. Cavaignac, 42. Channing, 22. Charters in Illinois, 54, 59, 77, 107. Charters in Iowa, 77, 104, 107, 127. Cheltenham, 67-72. Chevalier, M. E., 61. Chicago, 47. Christianity, 16, 18, 19. Clothing, 116, 150. Cloverdale, 139. Communist, The, 84, 179. Constitution at Nauvoo, 53-55. Constitution of " New Icaria," 122, 189. Constitution of "Young Icaria," 129. Constitution of " Icaria-Speranza," 145-150. Corning (Iowa), 78, 114. Creston (Iowa), 78. Dana, 22. Dehay, Adam, 139, 168. De 1' Eure, Dupont, 6. Democratic Party, 120. Dereure, S., 166. "Donation, Act of," 128, 133, 148. Ely, Professor R. T., "French and German Socialism," 30. Encyclopedists, French, 4. Esperanza Community, 185. Fathers of the Church, 15. Favard, P. J., 37, 161. 217 218 INDEX. Fenelon, II, 15. Florida, 134, 135. Fourier, 15. Fourierism, 18, 156, 177, 178. French Revolution, 4, 5. Frey, William, 182. Friendship Community, 180, 181. Fugier, Emile, 162. Fuller, Margaret, 22. Gardens ("les petits jardins "), 100-2. Gaskin, J. W., 85. Gauvain, Antoine von, 162. George, Henry, 15. Gerard, Jean Baptiste, 56, 76, 158-61. Gracchi, 15. Greeley, Horace, 179. Greenback Party, 94, 120. Grotius, 15. Guizot, 7. Harrington, .15. Hawthorne, 22. Hinds' " American Communities," 87. Hinds, William Alfred, 85. Hobbes, 15. Homestead Law, 80. Humanitarian School, 167. " Icaria-Speranza Commune," 137 -152. Intercommunal Organization, 182. Internationalists, 98, 163, 174. Iowa, 52, 58, 77. ' Jacotot, 6. 44 Jeune Icarie," 132. Jones, Lloyd, 61. Joslin, Earl, 185. Kansas, 182, 185. Labor Party, 174. Labor-premiums, 148. Lacombe, " Etudes sur les Social- istes," 10. Lafitte, 7. LaForgue, J., 165. Lamarque, Funeral of, 7. Lamartine, 30, 42. Ledru-Rollin, 30. Leroux, Jules, 139, 166-7. Leroux, Jules (fils), 139. Leroux, Pierre, 61, 144, 166. Leroux, Pierre, (fils), 139. " L Etoile des Pauvres et des Souffrants" 168. Levy, Charles, 165. Liberal Community, 180. Libraries, 51, 118. L' Observateur, 161. Locke, John, 15. Longevity, 115. Longley, Alexander, 178. Louis Philippe, 7, 8. Lycurgus, 15. Manuel, 6. Marat, 4. Marchand, Alexis A., 76, 113, 120. Marchand, Alexis (fils) 158. Marriage, 15, 119, 157, 180. Mercadier, 161. Mexico, 22. Moorhead, S. W., 121. More, Sir Thomas, 10, 11, 15. Morelly, 15. Mormons, 47. Mormon Temple at Nauvoo, 49. Mourot, Eugene, 162. Mutual Aid Community, 178, 181. Napoleon, Louis, 42. National Workshops in France, 30. Nauvoo, 47 et seq, 77. Nebraska, 71. New Harmony, 21. INDEX. 219 New Icarian Community, 113-24. New Odessa Community, 183. New Orleans, 29, 31, 37, 40, 43. Nordhoff's "Communistic Socie- ties," 50. North American Phalanx, 179. Noyes' "American Socialisms," 179. Oneida Perfectionists, 177. Owenism, 176. Owen, Richard, 61. Owen, Robert, 11, 15, 21, 22. Pacific Sentinel, 140. Panic of 1857, 76. Panic of 1873, 94. Paris Commune, 94. Party Spirit, 58, 92. Peron, Emile, 99, 102, 130, 150, 164. Peters Company, 23, 34, 37. Piquenard, A., 31, 156, " Plan Financier," 41. Plato, 15. Plato's Republic, 10. Plutarch, 15. Populaire (newspaper), 18-25, 39» 41. " Popular History of the French Revolutions," by Cabet, 18. Popular Tribune, 155. Principia Community, 181. Progressive Community, 182. Propaganda, 69, 93, 131. Pythagoras. 15. "Quelques Verite's," 160. Rappists, 21. Raynaud, Charles, 161. Red River, 23. Religion, 118. Republican Party, 120. Reunion Community, 179. Revolution, of 1789,4, 5. Revolution of 1830, 5, j t 14. Revolution of 1848, 5, 29. " Revue Icarienne," 76, 122, 158. Reybaud, " Socialistes Modernes," 11. Rheims, Levi de, 32. Riots of 1877, 94. Ripley, George, 22. Robespierre, 4. Roumain, N. T., 185. Rousseau, 4, 15. Saint-Louis, 59, 67. Saint-Simon, 15. Saint-Simonism, 18, 156, 166. Sand, George, 167. Sargant's, " Robert Owen," 23 Sauva, A., 9, 71, 72, 99, 102. 163. Schools, 50, 51, 69, 119. Sears, Charles, 179. Second French Republic, 30. Shakers, 177. Shreveport, 31, 32, 37. Smith, Joseph, 47. " Social Contract," 24, 53. Socrates, 15. "Speranza," 144, 167. Sulphur Prairie. 32. Tanguy, A., 165. Texas, 22, 23, 29 et seq. Thiers, 7. Voltaire, 4. " Voyage en Icarie," 10-17. War of the Rebellion, 81. Western Magazine, 121. Withdrawal, 54, 128, 131, 198. Young, Brigham, 47. Zoarite Community, 21. 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