[Illustration]
Nellie stood looking out of the window one morning early in the spring,
and as she hummed a merry tune and was so bright and happy, she seemed
to reflect the brightness in everything about her. The sunshine smiled
and the very trees breathed contentment. This was her first spring in
the country and the arrangements for the coming colony were bringing
some funny experiences. A large number were there already and each day
more were applying or inquiring about the resources before venturing,
questions would come up and have to be answered until Nellie said she
could fairly sing the answers, for they had told so many the same thing.
She laughed aloud finally and Tom, who was reading, looked up and said,
“What is it?” “Oh, I was thinking of the men who were here yesterday,
and do you know, Tom, most of them had the same helpless expression as
the calf you liberated last fall. Do you remember how helpless and
perplexed it looked? You unwound the cord for the calf, and now you have
some cords to unwind in dealing with these people, for they need their
freedom as much as the calf, but don’t see how to go about it.
“Ideas and actual demonstrations are necessary to teach most of them. It
seems so simple to us who have studied the situation from every
standpoint, and when one of them asked you how you are going to collect
the rest of the materials for building without money, he looked so wise
in his own conceit and convinced that he had you in a corner, I noticed
he winked at the rest. I had to leave the room, for I knew I would laugh
aloud if you ever tried to show him up in his ignorance. He certainly
did deserve it. Every one of them were from ten to twenty years older
than you are. All had a trade or some means of earning a living, yet had
to appeal to you to explain every working plan separately.”
Tom replied: “I told them that as members they would not only receive
their wages at the time, but have an interest in the permanent buildings
and improvements. That instead of a capitalist owning the property the
different labors each produced, the society got it and kept it in trust
for those who earned it.
“It was hard to make them comprehend that it was a Wealth Producing and
a Wealth Distributing Society, giving to all industrious people an
opportunity to secure for themselves the full value of their industry,
and explained that all buildings represent permanent wealth and so did
fruit trees. The trees remaining but the fruit was consumed; that when
we give up the tree, we have no right to the fruit.
“I further explained that as members of our society they had an interest
in all the wealth created, whether it was fruit trees or buildings; that
fruit would pay for any necessary article or food needed. I tried to
make them see that it was just as good as money to them and represented
a part of their wealth. I succeeded at last in making them see that when
they worked for the society, they received their wages the same as when
they worked for an outsider, with this difference, they still retained
an interest, for the buildings represented the value of their shares in
the society, and that the materials they spoke of were produced in the
same way. I told them we were already making bricks and producing lime
and also had a sand suitable for mortar, which were brought within the
control of the society by the industry and perseverance of individual
members, who over and above actual necessities were leaving all they
produced with the society, for knowing it was safe and that their labor
was as valuable to the society as money it could be entered in the books
to their credit; that we kept an account of their labor as the banks do
of money. Before another year, I told them, we expected to control a
lumber district and saw mill, for all classes were awakening to the
necessity of protecting themselves and their own labor, which is wealth,
and they never could do so under any other system, and all other
exchanges were meeting us half way at least.
“The wealth each member creates belongs to him or her individually and
by the society’s holding its value would be increased to a greater
extent than if held separately. As the society increased in numbers and
resources the necessity of money would decrease. When I made this
explanation one of the men wanted to know if they did our building what
they were going to do for cash with which to support their families. I
told them they could come out here and live, if they had to pay rent in
the city, for we allowed them to build tent houses to live in during the
summer, or until the permanent brick ones were built, or until they
owned shares enough in the society to entitle them to live in the
apartment we were building. I tried to make them see that the economy
they could practice would be more to them than big pay in the city. A
little inconvenience at first and patience would place them on their
feet in a short time and their homes would be secured with almost no
expense. Being able to buy food where it is grown, cuts down expenses to
a very small amount comparatively. When I told them this, one of them
acknowledged that he could see that they would have less expense, but
that they would still have need of money. ‘You bind us to take all we
earn in scrip or shares for our labor?’ one of them asked of me.
‘Certainly,’ I said, ‘that is the protection of the society.’ But I told
them they could buy money with their scrip. ‘Oh,’ they cried, ‘it is
money that we want.’ ‘All right,’ I said, ‘if we are in need of you, we
will send for you, but I don’t wish to raise your hopes, for we have so
many among our members who want something more substantial than money.
You can’t eat money,’ I continued, ‘but you need a home and clothing.’ I
tried to make them see that our members, according to our rules, come
first, and that the society wanted men and women to create wealth and
those who knew enough to keep it for themselves instead of giving it to
the capitalists. The society was formed for the concentration of the
wealth produced by the industrious and for the purpose of bringing it to
one center; then all can have the comforts of the public buildings,
etc., at less expense than their earnings would eventually secure them a
pension in their old age. I pointed out to them the tent houses and told
them that some of these people own enough shares even now to live in the
first apartment houses that are built, but they intend living as they
are during the summer so that they can save for their temporary shares.
This was a surprise to them all, and one of them said, ‘Well, I would
have enough to keep me for life, if I had not been unfortunate.’ Then he
told us how one day he had lost every dollar. ‘I was taking the money to
the bank,’ he said, ‘and stopped in several places on my way and when I
reached the bank, it was gone. It represented the savings of all my
life. I had just gotten it in one lump, and intended investing it again
in another mortgage. When I found it was gone, I was nearly crazy, I
admit. Now you see I need money, not scrip.’ Then I asked if he was sure
he needed the money most, and told him about the member who had lost his
all last fall. You remember, Nellie, the one who had saved right from
the beginning to the society, the one who preferred scrip to shares, and
only left with us sufficient to secure the right to vote. He liked the
scrip best because it could be drawn out like money and he could always
get money for it. Well, when he was done working for us he obtained
other employment at good pay and saved it. He had so few expenses while
with us he had saved the most of his scrip to buy food direct from the
society and also clothing from our members who could use it in return
for their food stuffs. In this way, he had more than half used up the
scrip. You remember, Nellie, when the treasury bank failed all the money
he had saved was in it and he had lost it. He took all the scrip that
was left and went flying around to different members to get it cashed so
he could pay his rent and have car fare until his salary was due. Well,
he was a nervous sort of a fellow, and by some unlucky chance he lost
it, then came to our secretary like a madman to prevent any one else
from using it. Immediately all members were notified that the scrip of
certain numbers was lost and were forbidden to use it until it was
returned to the owner. It was found, but the money he had in the bank
that he prized so much more, he will never receive. Had he used it to
buy shares in the society, he could never have lost it. I explained to
them that we had no debts or mortgages, and if any one tried to use
scrip that did not belong to them, they could be very easily detected,
and now the man who lost his money goes to the other extreme and changes
all his money into scrip or shares to make sure that it is safe. And it
is safe, for we are represented by thousands already who are
accumulating wealth and bringing it to this center city we are building
and it is to be invested in factories, warehouses, dwellings, etc.,
where the earnings of the members can be saved for their own use.”