"These two young men are now engaged in the general business of the Community, T. R. Noyes as director of finances and silk-dyer, and G. E Cragin as superintendent of fruit-preserving. At the same time they attend to the sick and wounded, and look after the general hygiene of our camp.

"This account of our young people is by no means exhaustive. Many creditable examples are necessarily omitted. If it were intended to be a roll of honor, it would be very incomplete. But it is sufficient as an answer to those who disparage our rising generation, and pretend to foresee the failure of Communism, in the degeneracy of its children."

Readers who have thus far perused this account of a new and novel sys tem of society, springing up right in the midst of our own, will unquestion. ably feel interested in the following extract of a letter by a physician respecting the health of the women of the Community, for it is well known to every reader, how common it is for those living in our system of society to possess and exhibit physical infirmities of some kind. The letter was addressed to the Communists and published in their paper in 1868, and I transcribe it entire, with the qualification that while my observations during one visit to the smaller Community at Wallingford do not enable me to indorse all that he says, I saw nothing to cause me to doubt the correctness of his entire testimony.

"I too," writes the medical man, "would like to give my impressions on first visiting your family; that you may better understand me, I will tell you briefly the circumstances which led me to make my first visit. I had observed in my practice as a physician, that in all cases of chronic disease of women there was sexual derangement, and that physicians who ignored this would only alleviate present symptoms and not effect a permanent cure. Nor could they secure as good results as with men. I saw that I could have no success as a physician, by prescriptions that would produce present comfort without reaching the radical cause of the disease. If I relied upon hygienic means I must understand all the causes of derangement, as well as the physiological condition to be established.

"The most superficial observation convinced me that the cause of this frequent prostration of woman must be in her sexual experiences. All could not be congenital, or from any other cause that makes woman's life different from man's. It needed but little reflection to be convinced that the divine law was not sought-was habitually broken-and the consequences fell most heavily upon woman. The cause was soon apparent, and I became enthusiastic in my investigations and reflections, and they resulted in the conviction that the sexual relation has a double purpose-physical and spiritual—that both are ignored in the common practice of the world in cohabitation, in and out of marriage, and lustful desire, most frequently on the part of one, was substituted for divine law. I never thought of ques

tioning the sanctity of marriage, but only of reforming its abuses. I had analyzed the consequences of the sexual love, seen the distinct spiritual and physical effects-knew that the one could be secured without the other. But how to educate men and purify the relations of marriage I could not see, and I was sure the diseases of women must increase till there was a change.

"While deeply exercised on these points, a young man from Illinois came into my family and school, then in Jamestown, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and showed me the first copy of the Circular I ever saw, and gave me the first knowledge of the O. C., I ever had. An article on Education, I think from Mr. Noyes, so interested me and was so in accord with an essay I had published, that every thing about you interested me, and nothing more than the young man's statement that you rejected the institution of marriage on religious grounds. Crude as were his ideas of your motives and practices, they led me to say that, If I could once put my eye upon the women of such a community, I could satisfy myself whether or not my own theory was correct.' This was the sole object of my first visit, though I had held to a community of property for ten years. I was received hospitably, and spent three days very delightfully, asked few questions, and none about your social relations, but probably made as careful observations of all social aud affectional expressions as have been made before or since. I am sure no one ever prayed more earnestly for light, for I felt that the whole human race was rushing into a terrible emergency.

"On my return I reported that the women of the Community seemed more healthy than the average,-they showed more intelligence, they had more and better use of the physical faculties; but what interested me more than all, was that in their social intercourse, which seemed very free and unrestrained, there seemed less of that morbid craving of one sex for the other, than I had ever known in any people I had visited. I had studied the effects on the countenance of uterine disease until I could often determine quite accurately from the countenance the phase of disease that afflicted the patient before me, and I was rejoiced at not finding any of these signs in the countenances of those I met while at Oneida.

"I was not blind to the advantages of varied occupation, better food than the average, extended social privileges and many other things that go to make up the advantages of community life, but I was sure the practices of the Community in the sexual relation did not enfeeble women as in marriage. Still I had only the most general idea of your theory, and I have since learned that then I had not a correct idea. I was not ready to express my own convictions, nor did I care to bias my mind by the conclusions of others until I had further confirmed the result of my own previous obser⚫ vations.

"After four or five visits to the two Communities, I have frequently said to those who inquired of me, that I had never seen elsewhere, women that showed such harmonious and integral culture, so many indications of physical health, so cheerful and thoughtful expressions of countenance, and so much general ability to execute what they undertake.

"Since my first visit I have had much experience, medical and social, that has made this social question of more interest to me, especially while making insanity a specialty. I am satisfied the terrible wrongs resulting from the prevailing social state, must soon be corrected. But I need not dwell on that. I wrote only to express my admiration of the effects of community life on all its members, but especially on woman. My opportunity to judge of the relative condition and promise of the children has been limited, and I pronounce no opinion, but for myself I have no doubt."

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Next I will introduce the reader to a "Declaration of Principles" as held by the Communists and promulgated in one of the issues of their weekly paper. The article is headed "FREE LOVE." "This terrible combination of two very good ideas-freedom and love,"—they remark, was probably first used in our writings twenty years ago, and originated in the Oneida school of socialists. It was, however, soon taken up by a very different class of speculators scattered about the country, and has come to be the name of a form of socialism with which we have but little affinity. Still it is sometimes applied to our Communities; and as we are certainly responsible for starting it into circulation, it seems to be our duty to tell what meaning we attach to it, and in what sense we are willing to accept it as a designation of our social system.

"The obvious and essential difference between marriage and whoredom may be stated thus:

"Marriage is a permanent union. Whoredom is a temporary flirtation. "In marriage, communism of property goes with communism of persons. In whoredom, love is paid for by the job.

"Marriage makes a man responsible for the consequences of his acts of love to a woman. In whoredom a man imposes on a woman the heavy burdens of maternity, ruining, perhaps, her reputation and her health, and then goes his way without responsibility.

"Marriage provides for the maintenance and education of children. Whoredom ignores children as nuisances and leaves them to chance.

"Now in respect to every one of these points of difference between marriage and whoredom, we stand with marriage. Free love with us does not mean freedom to love to-day and leave to-morrow; nor freedom to take a woman's person and keep our property to ourselves; or freedom to freight a woman with our offspring and send her down stream without care or help; or freedom to beget children and leave them to the street and the

poor-house. Our Communities are families, as distinctly bounded and sepa rated from promiscuous society as ordinary households. The tie that binds us together is as permanent and sacred, to say the least, as that of marriage, for it is our religion. We receive no members (except by deception and mistake), who do not give heart and hand to the family interest for life and forever. Community of property extends just as far as freedom of love. Every man's care and every dollar of the common property is pledged for the maintenance and protection of the women and the education of the children of the Community. Bastardy, in any disastrous sense of the word, is simply impossible in such a social state. Whoever will take the trouble to follow our track from the beginning, will find no forsaken women or children by the way. In this respect we claim to be a little ahead of marriage and common civilization.

"We are not sure how far the class of socialists called 'free lovers,' would claim for themselves any thing like the above defence from the charge of reckless and cruel freedom; but our impression is that their position, scattered as they are, without organization or definite separation from surrounding society, makes it impossible for them to follow and care for the consequences of their freedom, and thus exposes them to the just charge of licentiousness. At all events their platform is entirely different from ours, and they must answer

for themselves. We are not 'free lovers,' in any sense that makes love less binding or responsible than it is in marriage."

Under the head of "A Social Analysis" they present the following disquisition on marriage, prostitution, old maidhood and Commuaism: "Let us," they say, "analyze the position of women in ordinary society, and see what are the chances that are offered to them. Wo

Fig. 169.

men require, like men, or

The Founder of the Oneida Community.

perhaps more than men, two things for their proper existence, viz.: 1, a guaranty of bodily support; and 2, love, or social appreciation. These tw

things sum up, for women, the primary natural wants around which all others are grouped. Now the last-named necessity-the love part-would take care of itself if allowed to act separately. The attractions with which women are created would secure their due supply of affection, free from all conditions or exactions, if they could have independent play. But the weakness of women on the point of support enables society to complicate this matter with the love question, so as to enforce their being treated together; and the consequence is that man is placed in a position to offer women certain alternatives, one of which she must accept. Having appropriated to himself the learned professions and the lucrative industrial pur. suits; having made it disreputable for women to pursue much other business than that of millinery work and attending the nursery, and having shaped their education accordingly; having in short got immensely the start of woman in the opportunities of self-support and made her substantially depend ent on him for her maintenance, he then comes forward with his proposal. He says to woman, I will furnish the two wants of your nature, love and sup port, if you will make yourself over to me, and become my property for life, be at my disposal, rear my children, and wear yourself out if need be in my service. This is the offer of marriage, which society sanctions and deems an honorable destiny for woman. As it is the best alternative that is offered, women generally accept it. Their youth is spent in looking at marriage, as the crisis of their life, hopefully it is true, for it is to be the advent of love; but misgivingly also, for it is to be the end of their personal freedom. Their attitude reminds one too much of the wistful gaze of a party of slaves about to be sold, seeking to discover their future fate in the faces of their masters. Their lot is fixed by marriage-the die for them is cast their liberty is surrendered--for better or for worse, their identity is sunk in that of their accepted lords. One cannot wonder at the solicitude with which such an event must be expected, or fail to admire the patient grace with which the sex has made the best of its hard conditions. Though in many cases the promises on the part of the man, of love and support, are left wholly unfulfilled, yet woman being married, disdains to complain, buries her wrongs in silence, and looks for happiness in the world beyond the grave.

"So much for the marriage alternative. But there are two others. Bear in mind that loving and being loved is a necessity of women, nearly as much as subsistence, and if for any reason they are deprived of the chance of secur ing both these wants by selling themselves in marriage, then they are under an inducement at least, to try to gain one of them regardless of the other To women in this situation men are always ready to say, We will offer you our love, or a passion which is its representative, providing it is to be temporary, and that you do not ask us to be responsible for your support. A class of