Читать книгу Other Worlds - Lena Jane Fry - Страница 8

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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.”