Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/688

 668 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

which I shall arrange according to De Greef's classification. We shall first consider the

ECONOMIC PHENOMENA.

At the beginning of the last decade a Mr. Wayland, who was publishing a socialistic paper, conceived the idea of starting a co-operative colony. He announced in his paper that, if his subscribers would increase the circulation of the paper to a satis- factory degree, a colony site would be purchased, the printing establishment moved to it, and a colony started. The circula- tion was increased as desired and a i,ooo-acre tract was bought at $2.50 per acre. Perhaps the first mistake was made in the selection of the land, for it was worthless. The farmers in the vicinity have told the writer that they knew the land well, but that it was not worth paying taxes on. Here, therefore, was $2,500 practically thrown away. The printing establishment was duly moved to the land, and set up, and the colony was started. Cheap buildings were erected and the town was soon in operation. They had a common dining-room and lived on good fare. In fact, their living was too expensive for colony pioneers, who ought to save every cent they possibly can for a sinking fund. Here was another mistake. Their only industry at first was the publication of the weekly paper, and they soon decided to start other industries. They engaged in the manufacture of stump pullers, hay presses, wood-sawing machines, and other machines. Patent rights were purchased, patterns and castings made at a distant city and shipped to the colony, where the machines were put together. But the machines, for some reason, would not sell, and all the money and time they had invested were lost. Anyone who has had any experience in the business of starting a manufacturing establishment can readily understand that thousands of dollars were lost in these experi- ments. They subsequently decided to engage in the manufac- ture of sash, doors, moldings, etc., and a lot of wood-working machinery worth about $2,000 was shipped to them on trial. They decided not to accept the machinery, and the manufacturer sued. The managers of the colony had included the machinery