&OUAL.ITY NOTES
Edited by Mrs. Annie Billinasleu
Our colonists are hard at work as
usu.ii. anu reasonably happy and con
tented, ''.'lie colony buildings are on
a side 111!), surrounded by trees, and
from the top of the hill, the bay and
Bamlsh island can be seen. Farther
distant are the snow.capped Olympic
mountains, and resting on them are
often seen the clouds.
The scenery is beautiful: of course
we appreciate the fact that we can
not live on the beauty of the scenery,
but in providing for the needs of our
bodies we strive not to forget the
love of the beautiful that should be
fostered in our souls; for this life is
more than food and clothing, and
starved natures never fully expand.
The vegetation is green continual
ly, and near us are two fine springs
from which the water lions cold and
sweet. In time we expect to have a
lovely place; but as even Koine was
not built in a day, so we must expect
to use time and patience In perfect
lug the grounds.
The colonists are mostly kind and
considerate to each other and in
their intercourse with the. outside
■world. Our work is divided into de
partments which are overseen by
superintendents who regulate the
work according to the force under
them. As In a community of this
size there must necessarily be some
drudgery, we endeavor to divide it as
well as we can.
The people here are a very wide
awake class of people, and many per
sons not fully educated in this social
istic movement, would be surprised at
the amount of general Information
taat the "despised laboring class"
have gathered up. •
We try to live in peace and love
-with all; and in benefiting our fellow
man, to also benefit ourselves.
As C. E. Walker, our colony secre
tary and socialistic lecturer, says,
"If. we say 'Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done on earth as it is in hea
ven,' we must do all we can to bring
the kingdom here." Now we are try
ing to make us all homes here; real
homes, in the true sense of the word;
and we will. Fail is a word we do
not choose to learn; our aim is high
but in time we will reach it. We
feel that our hope and dependence is
in the young and rising generation;
and will do what we can to keep them
happy and contented, and to educate
them in socialistic principles. We
have a school for the little ones and
hope soon to have sufficient room for
them all. For recreation we have
music and dancing occasionally, and
have started a literary to be held
once a«week. Then with our regular
and special meetings our evenings
are very well filled. Our hearts are
in this movement, and we try to meet
the realities of life as men and wo
wen should, putting aside all little
prejudices.
We hope soon to have many things
we have not now, and in time all good
things will come. We are as a class
of people too ambitious, to let time
and opportunity go by. We know we
are building permanent homes for
ourselves, and our love and pride of
Independence will carry us through
all disagreeables. They are as peb
bles in th; way of a mighty army,
which is.fast Increasing in numbers
and strength, until it will reach from
fchore to shore and across the waters.
—As we feel that our comrades at
large will be pleased to hear from us.
we will tell you of how we are lixed
and what we arc doing:
-The shingle mill will be In opera
tion in a day or two,
"We will soon build a good road to
yd .-.on. which is much needed.
Tin- saw mill and planing mill are
doing their best and have turned out
some nice lumbar.
—We have a public bath room in
one side of the laundry building,
•hit. is very convenient.
- We are ulad to welcome our new
paper. Long may it live while light
ing for the rights of the many.
—We have quite a little library of
hooks, and will soon have them prop
erly shelved, and conveniently ar
ranged,
—We have made arrangements
whereby we cur. receive our mail dally
instead 1 of every two or three days as
formerly.
—We are usintf some of the .arse
sawdust to fill in a few of the bad
place- in the r.iad from the kitchen
to the barn.
—The little boys are helping to pick
up brush and keep the bonfires burn
ins. as we are burning up the old
stumps and trees. x
V - -Our new apartment house of
:Ixloft feet will soon be linished and
•-iii accommodate thirty families
and fifty single men.
—The spring near the apartment
b,-u*c ih be»ng, enclosed in stone ma
«o»ir,. about b feet squire aid will
also ye roofed ovftr. We hope soon
toha.e in pipes to carry the water
to the kitchen. The other spring |
close by is boxed up with lumber.
—We have an apiary, but as yet it
is small, only consisting of two hive-.
We shall endeavor to enlarge it
in the future.
—Our shingle mill is hard at work
and has already made some line shin
gles. Now the apartment house can
be finished In short order.
—Comrade Bridges, of the trans
portation department, still occasion
ally hauls another load of sawdust to
put in some of the bad places.
—Our fishermen returned today with
over 1,600 lbs of fish. They were
mostly herring, and are line .eating.
We salted down over two large bar
rels full.
—Let us all cheer for Equality Col
ony: and may the good work of the B.
C. C. go on, until many more colonies
are founded on the same socialistic
principles.
After the exercises were over the
room wa* cleared, and as many as
wished indulged in a social dance
until about 10*30, when we started
away well pleased.
—The manufacturing department
have made some things in the way of
furniture, such as beds and benches,
and expect soon to make good shelv
ing for our library books.
—The shoemaker is doing his level
best, but we were glad to welcome
last week as a new comer another
shoemaker, as there is work for two
or three men in that line.
—The blacksmith department is
continually busy keeping the horses'
feet in good condition: also the iron
parts of the farming machinery and
all work that comes in that line.
—Mrs. Beal came to the colony to
make a permanent home here. Mr.
Davis of Colorado also came this
evening. We understand he has
come to stay and is a baker by trade.
—The agricultural department are
also very busy gardening, plowing,
etc. The horses are busy in the
transportation department about all
the time, and they can all find plenty
to do.
—The educational department is
studying up that portion of the work:
it will take some conesponding yet
on the part of the colony secretary
before all matters in that line can be
settled.
—The Blanchard people kindly gave
some of us an invitation to a dance
to be held there on Saturday even
ing, but as it is the evening of our
weekly meeting we were obliged to
refuse.
—We will all be glad when we have
our new road to Edison, the road we
have now is bad and so round about.
We hope soon to begin the new one.
It will be a big step toward one re
form at least.
- The sewing department is busy
as usual, turning out some well fin
ished garments. All articles for
women and children are made; also
shirts, overalls and jumpers for the
men and boys.
—The nursery business Is still on
hand. We have planted over 3,500
trees, bushes, vines, etc., of many
different varieties, including berries,
cherries, apples and many others.
We expect in a year or two to have
plenty of fruit of our own raising.
—The members of the colony went
to Edison to an entertainment given
by some of the members who live in
or near Edison. We enjoyed the en
tertainment and hope they will soon
give another. The room was full
of spectators, many of them being
from the neighborhood about and
from Hlanchard.
—In the kitchen department of
course all arc very busy. In most of
the departments they all realize that
by the sweat of his brow shall man
cat bread. And all the people here
must be fed, so the kitchen depart
ment is kept pretty busy most of the
time. There are about 120 people
that are fed in this part of the colony,
so let all honor be given to those in
charge of that part of the work, as
that is about the most necessary.
Without that the rest of the work
could not be done. .
*
—The department of Education and
Recreation, Equality colony,needs the
addresses of educational periodicals
(or better, the journals themselves)
and catalogues of kindergarten sup
plies. Address Superintendent, Boa
32, Edisoni Wash.
Battle ( SEEK, Mich., April 18.—
Prof. George D. Hereon, the eminent
sociological author, lectured on '"The
Democracy of Power," under the aus,
paces of the H. C. '.. at the Auditori
um, in this city, on Monday evening!
April 25.
B.C. C. Buttons.
Lapel buttons of beautiful design
bearing the letters 15. C. C. are worn
by our members to advantage. Ulue
buttons, for the children, white for
women, and red for men, at 20 its.
each, cuff buttons 35 cents per pair.
Order today. National Secretary's
office, Kdison, Wash. '
EDISON, SKAGIT COUNTY, WASH., SATURDAY. MAY 7, 1898.
ASKED AND ANSWERED.
John Johnson's Questions and Our
Replies.
Our very numerous correspondent,
John Johnson, Everywhere P. <> U. S.
A., is asking us a thousand and one
questions about the Brotherhood and
Equality colony and the town of Edison
and the' Stale of Washington and other
cognate topics in which all our three
thousand members are interested. In
order that each of our thousand and one
correspondents may get the benefit of
whatever information We possess, we
publish some of the questions that the
secretary receives, together with our
replies:
1. What is the address of the na
tional headquarters?
Ans. Edison, Skagit county, Wash
ington.
2. Where is the colony situated':
Ans. The first H. C. C. colony is sit
uated at Equality (Edison postofflce),
Skagit county.Washington, three miles
from Edison.
3. How can I reach Equality?
Ans. Belfast. our nearest railroad sta
tion, is on the line of the Great North
ern railway, five or six miles from Edi
son. A stage from Edison meets the
northbound train at Belfast daily.about
noon: the stage fare is 60 cents, or four
bits, in the local lingo. Persons com
ing over a route other than the Great
Northern, may ticket to Seattle and
transfer to Great Northern depot, tick
eting there to Belfast! or they may
come by steamer from Seattle to New
Whatcom (15 miles from Edison), and
thence reach Edison by way of Belfast
over the Croat Northern southbound
train, or take steamer May Queen
(whose trips depend on tides and are in
consequence irregular if rom New What
com to Edison wharf.
4. What is your nearest express
office?
Ans. Belfast, Washington.
5. Who are the national officers of
the B. C. C, and where do they re
side?
Ans. President, Rev. Myron W.
Heed. Denver, Colorado; Secretary, N.
W. Lermond, Edison, Skagit county,
Washington: Treasurer. Miss Helen
M. Mason, Edison; Organizer, Rev.Geo.
Candee, IHI7 Detroit avenue, Toledo,
Ohio; Dean, Professor Frank Parsons,
Boston, Mass; Editor, Rev. W. H.
Kaufman, Edison: Master Workman,
Chas. 11. Swigart, Edison; Distributer,
E. F. Nolan. Edison.
6. Are you now taking in members
who wish to be allowed to work out
their membership fee in the colony?
Ans. We are not now in a position
to receive any into colony membership,
that have not the 1180 fee in cash. We
trust, that we shall soon be in a position
to accept all good Socialists, and
to allow them to pay their fee in
cooperative labor in Equality or some
other colony of the H. C. C; but at
present our resources are too limited to
permit us to be as liberal as we would
like to be.
7. I have an aged mother, a wife,
and three children: will the payment
of one fee of one hundred and sixty dol
lars admit-all of us?
Ans. Yes; the payment of a single
full membership fee admits to member'
ship at Equality all those who properly
constitute one family. But where there
an- any adults in the family, other than
the husband and wife, and they are
able to pay the fee, it is expected that
they shall do so.
8. Is the colony publishing a paper?
Ans. The national organ of the
Brotherhood is being published at K.li
son. and is called " INDUSTRIAL
FREEDOM": the colony as such is not
publishing a paper, but it is fully rep
resented in the Brotherhood paper.
We should like our readers of this
first number of the B. i.e. journal, to
let us know whether they think re
ABE publishing a paper, and, incident*
ally, to tell us what they think about
THEIR paper.
0, What is your religion at utility,
and do you have religious exercises?
Ans. The colony has no religion: in
this it Is strikingly similar to the United
States, which government, also, i- not
a religious body. Some of the tut ru
bers of Equality community have a
denominational religion, and others
have not; but the colony as such does
not ileal in denominations, the fullest
freedom in matters of dogma and creed
being left to every individual. When
ever any of the individual members
wish to follow any form of religious
worship, they are a: liberty, as ,ii
viduals and in the same manner as citi
zens of the United States throughout
the country, to follow their own private
convictions in their own private affairs.
We have no religious question here
any more than we have a tins- ques
tion, or a die) question. f
10. How is your climate at Kqual't v?
Doesn't it rain a great deal there/
Ans. Our geographical position 1 cm
the east or sheltered side of Puget
sound, between the coast range and the
Cascades; we have, therefore, a I va
fold ntage in that (1) thi: tempera
ture is mild and equable, almost to
the extent of a typically marine cli
mate, while on the other hand '_■ we
have a much smaller precipitation of
rain and a much greater amount Of sun
shine than in the region nearer the Pa
cific coast, on the wast side of the Coast
range. The climate in the sum
part of Skagit county is very I mild
in summer and ver,; mild in twin
tor: we have few very cold days and
very few hot days. The evenness of
the temperature" is remarkable: its an
nual average is about 80*, ranging
from about 35* for the coldest month
December) to 60* tor the warmest
month (July or August). "To the new
comer the unexpected warm winter of
the Washington coast or Sound re
gions," says the official report of the
State Hoard of Statistics, "is a genuine
surprise, especially'to one who has liv
ed in the same, or even a lower, lati
tude in some part of the country east of
the Rocky mountains or east of the Mis
sissippi. Ho contrasts the mildness of
the winters with the severity of those
he has formerly experienced, and can
hardly account for the difference and
for the absence of blizzards and severe
cold waves. This uniformity and
equability of temperature is due to
the fact that the prevalent winds
are from off the Pacific ocean;
as it is well known, on account
of that peculiar property of water
which gives it a high "specific heat,"
the temperature of the sea changes but
little, and winds blowing from off the
ocean bear its temperature with them.
The effect is intensified on the Wash
ington coast, because the part of the
Pacific ocean contiguous is traversed by
the warm Japan current. The warmth
and moisture cause grass, llowers and
various kinds of vegetation to grow the
winter through. That the same cause
which makes the winters mild and
warm, should make the summers mild
and cool, savors of the paradoxical,
yet it is strictly true; namely,
the blowing of winds from off a large
body of water which has a great spe
cific heat, and cannot, therefore, be
overheated like a large body of land.
Therefore very few hot days occur in
summer."
The general notion is that the rain
fall in this section is very excessive,
but such an idea is erroneous and
arises usually out of the mistaken
assumption that, since it is so rainy
on the immediate Pacific coast, it
must be very wet in western Skagit
county. A reference, however, to
the rainfall records of this neigh
borhood will readily disabuse our minds
of this notion. The observed and re
corded annual precipitation of rain in
the vicinity' of Equality for the near
est official stations, is as follows: Ana
cortes 21 inches, Olga 24, Stillaguamish
32, and West Ferndale 32. These were
the figures for 1895, which was a very
dry year: the more usual annual aver
age for our section would be from 40 to
."id inches.
We have a great many cloudy days
in the wet season, and the clear nights
in the spring are apt to be very chilly
and frosty; these two features are the
only disagreeable ones in a climate that
is, as a whole, very healthful and very
delightful.
11. "I don't know that I thoroughly
understand that scrip business. Could
colonies exchange with L. K. branches
for products needed but not produced
by the Brotherhood?"
Ans. The scrip system of the H. C. C.
is a good deal like the L. K. check sys
tem, the essential features of both be
ing identical. It is altogether probable
that an arrangement will lie made by
which B. C. C. scrip and L. K. cheeks
will be Interchangeable, the former be
ing received for Labor Exchange pro
ducts and the latter being % good
and sufficient tender for the prod
uct of the colonies of the Brother
hood. The H. C. C. Is now purchasing
in large quantities from the Labor Ex
change at Whatcom: it will aim
to buy the L. E. and other people's co
operative articles everywhere In pref
erence to the products of capitalistic
competitors; and It is anticipated that
the industrial and commercial relations
of the L, E. and B. C.C. will, as these or
ganizations progress, become more and
more reciprocal and advantageous.
12. "Can one pay his colony fee in
installments by the month.-"
Ans. Members of the Brotherhood
can join the list of colony -reserves''
and pay their fee in installments.weekly
or monthly, of such amounts as they can
afford; we have hundreds of members
on the reserve list, paying their fee in
that manner. When the total amount
has been paid in, the Secretary of the
H. C. C. will issue th* member a pass
port or certificate, and the colony se
lected is then ready to receive the
member on probation at any time there
after that he may choose to come. <)n
the expiration of six months after the
new member's entry into the colony,
the general assembly of the colony
passes upon his fitness for permanent
membership, and If two-thirds of the
members vote for his acceptance and
retention, he in adopted as a permanent
member of the colony. No good indus
trious Socialist need have the least fear
as to the result of this vote on his
application for permanent membership,
for Socialists of the pit,per kind are
even yet too rare for any colony P. re
ject them. If, when an applicant comes
to be voted on for permanent member*
ship, he should be rejected, the money
paid in by him for a membership fee
will be returned to him, out of the
Brotherhood funds.
How to Send Money.
In making remittances, send Post
Office Money orders for amounts of
one dollar and upwards; stamps will
be accepted for smaller amounts.. In
no Case send hank drafts or checks.
We will not accept them. - '-;
PUSH SOCIALIST PROPAGANDA./
JUST PRINTED FOR THE BROTHER
HOOD: A SPECIAL B. C. C. EDITION OF (
CIVILIZATION CIVILIZED,
With Blue Covers Containing B. C. C. Matter: 10 cents
per Copy; 78 cents per Dozen; $(5.00 per Hundred.
Bellamy's New Book—"EQUALITY."
Publisher's Price 11.26. Our Price to Members $1.00.
A PLEA FOR COMMUNISM [Fine):
5 cents per Copy. 35 cents per Dozen.
m^————^—■—^^—n^^—— mmmmmmm^^mmm «sjswg —SSS mmmmm^""T^ ™*"* mmt SSw^^"^ 1
lii LAPEL CUFF buttons.
Members should wear the Brotherhood
Emblem: The Rising Sun of the Co
operative Commonwealth. Lapel But
tons In blue for children, white for
women, and red for men. Order by
■ colors. Price 20 cents each. Cuff
buttons in red, white, light and dark
blue, and light green, at 35 cents
per pair. Address,
BROTHERHOOD OF THE GO-OPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH.
EDISON, SKAGIT CO., WASH.
ffIOTOORfIPHIG VIEWS
EQUALITY COLONY,
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS.
THIRTY QPNTS EACH.
The Set of Seven Different Views for 81.75.
* .
Remit by P. O. Money Order. Bank Checks,
Drafts, and Express Orders not accepted. Send
all Orders
B.C. C, Edison, Wash.
1 mono ■ stenoorafu! I
fe THE RAPID AND READABLE i
I SHORTHAND. I
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My Here Is a shorthand system, invented by a Socialist for Its *M
|U cialistic users and sold by a socialist commonwealth for its «£
Yff and your mutual advantage. It is the (Jl
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M MOST FACILE TO WRITE 1
I MOSr LEGIBLE TO READ, ig
m American Fonostenografy is endorsed by numbers of writers, (Jl
•jre teachers, and others, as the most RAPID OF READABLE, $[)
Wa and the most READABLE OF RAPID shorthands. W
llj It is especially adapted for MLF-OHTHtIC'I'iOW; It can be (M
|1(^ thoroughly mastered in a course of LESSONS BY .mail. m 9
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|iw Our Prices, by reason of the economy of co-operation, are "Ml
ijW lower than the lowest In the world of competition: Wf
ffo Part i (50 pages) Paper Cover 85 cents. ml
)]Ci „ V ,f„ Paper Cover 50 cents. Etf
Vif* Complete (Parts 1 and 2, ■' 51/
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fM For Free Circulars, Terms for Lessons by Mail, Terms for In- jfl\
KfV troduction into Schools, etc., Address (Jl
I Brotherhood of the Go-operative Commonwealth. §
jl SOCIALIST SHORTHAND,] • ? m
M EDISON, WASH. W
INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM
SUBSCRIPTION BLANK.
To THE PUBLISHER, EDUKJW, Wash.:
Find enclosed * for w h'ch send .
INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM for —ill lis
I. t
Full P.O. Address
RATE: Twelve Months, $1; Six Months, 5Cc; Three Months, 25c.
TO MEMBERS: 50 CENTS PER YEAR.
Nore-Cnt this out and send to INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM. /