SUNDAY, JUNK 11, 1008
THE ''MORNING. ASTORIAN, ASTORIA, OREGON.
13
A
jmukil;j'S EAR
LIEST ANARCHIST
The Man Who Invented the Cylinder Print
ing Press Was the Father of the Cult of
Peaceful and Philosophical Anarchism
Reminisccnses of Josiali Warren's Cel
ebrated "Equity" Stores and Com
munities of an Earlier Generation
UOSTON, June 13, l'M-WIm the
juiiircliUt are lum become pretty well
known in the patt lew weeks. Uncle
Sunt ha been buy discovering some
of tboitc whoce (lipitition i ittont
violent. Mom American have tin
doubtedfy approval hi activity
nguinut the Red,
Jut what anarchiini is, though, i
Mill unappreciated ty ninety-nine
people nut of a hundred,
That it to my, philosophical anarch
bin, although it hat existed a a phi
losophy of life for countlm centuries
nnd under it present specific name
for a good many yearn, is not popu
ylirly understood, Most people think
f of it u having dome connection with
inflammatory oratory and bomb
throwing They don't associate it
with Mich men a Tolstoy, Ibsen,
Walt Whitman,' William Lloyd Har
rison and many others who have tmt
been wild eyed fanatics, but who, have
believed so thoroughly in the free
dom of the individual that they have
itood opposed to what is called "coer
clve authority." Such men believe
that in power there I a quality which
lead to its abuse and that the ideal
condition is one in which enlightened
teb'i',hness and intelligence make each
individual a law to himself.
It s the fashion to speak of anarch
ism at a foreign and un-American
product, Very few people seem to be
aware that the founder of the cult of
philosophical anarchism . wa an
American, a 'member of one of the
most famous families of Massachu
setts, a man of strictly moral ami
helpful life, and a mechanical genius
to whom we owe, among other inven
tions, that of the cylinder ores, which
throw hundred of newspapers in
less than it took the old flat press
to print ten. This very able American,
Joiah Warren, born "in Boston in
1T98, and resident during a consider
able jart of hi career in and. near
Cincinnati, has had very little atten
tion in" the books on American history
and it is only very recently that a
little biography, written by William
flaillc, a. Boston manufacturer, who
is especially interested in the doc
trines of philosophical anarchism, has
thrown much new light on a most
rcmakable chaacte of the nine
teenth century, one whose theories
and observations had a large influence
upon such F.nglish leaders a Robert
Dale Owen, John Stuart .Mill and
Herbert Sncncer. Personally, Josiah
Warren was, of ooursc, a very differ
ent kind of anarchist from the fierce
reds of France, the story of whose
N strained relations with the police has
lately been described graphically by
Alvan'F. Sanborn in his "Paris and
the Social Revolution," the best book
ever written on the subject of the
foreign brands of anarchism against
which President Roosevelt's activities
have been directed. Warren, who was
a versatile Yankee individualist of the
same stock as the hero of Bunker' Hill
battle, was a man whom no one
would have wanted to deport, even if
there had boon an anti-anarchist agi
tation in' his day. He simply carried
to its logical conclusion the belief of
Thomas Jefferson and the anti-federalist
leaders of our .early history to
the effect that that government is best
which governs least. His favorite
doctrine was that "Everyone should
be free to dispost of his reputation
. as he pleases, but always at his own
cost." He claimed that "man seeks
freedom as the magnet seeks the pole
or water its level, and society can
have no peace until every member is
really free." Mr. Baillie's investiga
tions, .recalling very interesting in
cidents in the history of - what was
xthen the far West, show that although
Josiah Warren was not by nature a
great organizer, his undertakings
were much more successful than the
socialistic and communistic ventures
which were popular back in the nine
teenth century and which without ex
ception failed ' because they did not
' take into account the differences
which Nature has established among
individuals.
Tn Cinclnnatti, where Mr. Warren
got his start in life as a manufacturer
of lamps, he opened on May 18, 1827,
the first "equity store," designed to
illustrate what he called the "cost
principle.". This, was known as the
"Time store'' because of a peculiar
mid original method adopted' to fix
and egulate the amount of the mer
chant's compensation.-' All' good had
a certain price which was fixed by
their cost in money together with a
fair ltinding charge to cover the run
ning expenses of the store and then
a (.barge win also made for a much
of the merchant' time as was con
mined in making the purchase. In-
it v; va'warv , ?b ; -i i
JOSIAIf WARREN. ,
Inventor of the cylinder printing
press and founder of the cult dl
Philosophical Anarchism, From a
has relief.
cideiit were not unknown of econom
ical persons grabbing for goods from
the counter and getting off with only
one cent' worth of the merchant's
time. In payment for the time service
the customer ordinarily gave his
labor note, something after this form:
"Due to Josiah Warren on demand
thirty minutes in carpenter work.
John Smith," After Mr.Smith had ac
cumulated notes representing, say,
half a day's work he would be en
gaged by Mr. Warren to make need
ed repairs at the store or in his, house.
Profit in the ordinary sense of the
word was eliminated, and yet there
was f.but'dr.nt incentive to the merch
ant to exert himself to 'increase his
buMiiess.
The equity store was, successful,
was iniated clscwlnwc, and many of
the principles laid down by Mr. War
ren have been put into practice by the
great department stores of today. On
account, however, of his personal
feeling aga.inst land speculation ami
because the store was located on land
which he had leased from Nicholas
I.ongwortli for ninety-nine years, and
which was likely to make him a rich
man without his giving an equivalent
service to the community, he enter
prise wa s given up. '
Later, in the midst of various activ
ities as a manufacturer and inventor
Mr. Warren was concerned in the
establishment of several "equity com
munities," the most famous of which
was that at Brentwood, Long Island,
where a little group of individuals
settled on a desolate tract of land
covered with scrub-oak, and built a
village community which has bad a
very considerable degree of prosper
ity. The original pioneers were hardy
people who believed thoroughly in
Mr. Wnrren's idea of self help and in
dividual initiative i and who in a sur
prisingly short time provided them
selves with homes and some of the
comforts of life. Later as a result of
sensational publicity given to the
enterprise by the New York papers,
the colony found itself almost over
whelmed with cranks, ignorant of the
ideas on which the village was found
ed. True, however to the principle of
philosophical anarchism which gives
equal rights to all in natural oppor
tunities the pioneers refrained from
taking any steps toward excluding the
newcomers, so long as they did not
invade the rights of others. ;
The invaders unquestionably how
ever, hurt the cause of the individual
ists. As Mr. Warren himself wrote:
"One man began to advocate plurality
of wives and published a paper to
support hi view; another believed
clothing to be a Mtpcrfluityv and not
only attempted to practice bis Adam
ic theories in person, but inflicted his
viewt upon hit hapless children. A
woman with an ungainly form dis
playcr herself in public, in men's attire
which gave rise to newspaper com
ment that: 'The women dressed in
men's clothe and looked hideous.'
Still another young woman had the
diet 'mania w severely that after lin
ing upon beans without salt until re
duced to a skeleton she died within
a year,"
The burdens which the real settler
at Brentwood had to bear on account
of these unbalanced persons were
very real but because they respected
the rights of others and accorded
liberty to do even the silliest things,
knowing that experience and the
principle which allows uch things to
be done at each one's own cost, would
work the surest cure, they never in
terfered. The financial depression of 18S7
bankrupted the paper box manufact
ory wlu'ch one member had establish
ed at Brentwood as a means of pro
viding work for others and of making
a living for himself. After that indus
trial conditions caused many of the
pioneers and most of the cranks to
leave, although the co-operative tend
encies of the little community and the
pleasant external features of Brent
wood have lasted down to this time,
two or three of the original pioneers
still surviving.
Mr. Warren himself, although
greatly interested in theories of in
dividual initiative and although very
practical and competent so far as his
own work was concerned, had the
weakness of his qualities in that he
lacked the gift of leadership. This
lack, together with the difficulty of
co-ordnating the activities of a srm.il
community with a big business world
run on extremely different principles,
is held by Mr. Baillic to account for
the circumstance that while his
F.quity villages never failed dismally
as communistic and socialistic at
tempts have failed, none of them has
proved an unqualified success. His
press in the years 1830 to 1832 was
his rnosj monumental achievement.
Improved methods of stereotyping al
so received a great deal of his atten
tion about 1840 to 1845, and the pro
cssess which he invented are now in
use in the finer classes of stereotype
work. He died at Princeton, Massa
chusetts, in 1874.
The conceptions which now go
under the name of "philosophical an
archism" spread from Mr. Warren's
few public addresses and scattered
writings to England and other coun
tries, where the American idea of ac
complishing results through individ
ual effort and voluntary association
instead of by governmental fiat ap
pealed strongly to advanced original
thinkers. In a letter written toward
the end of his life Mr. Warren sum
med up his philosophy of society in
the following statement: "Almost
with fear and trembling I ventured
years ago to offer one, on condition
that I should preserve my freedom to
change it whenever 'increasing know
ledge' should show its defects: and I
gave the 'SOVEREIGNTY OF
EVERY INDIVIDUAL over his or
her Person, Time, Property, and
Responsibilities'; and here I add, Rep
utation." That is the kind of anarch
ism which first grew up on American
soil.
Sore Nipples.
Any mother who has had exper
ience with this distressing ailment will
be pleased to know that a cure may
be effected by applying Chamberlain's
Salve as soon as the child is done
nursing. Wipe it off with a soft cloth
before allowing the babe to nurse.
Many trained nurses use this salve
with best results. For sale by Frank
Hart and leading druggists.
THOUGHTLESSNESS CRUELTY,
Most of the cruelty of the world is
thoughtless cruelty. Very few people
would intentionally add to another's
load or make his burden in life heav
ier or his path rougher. Most of the
great heart-wounds are infficted . by
thoughtless thrusts, flung out often in
a moment of anger, when perhaps, we
were too proud to apologize or td try
to heal the 'grievous wounds we had
made.
Can anything be more cruel than to
discourage a soul who is struggling
to do the best he can, to, throw stum
bling blocks in the path of those who
are trying to get on in the world
against great odds?
No life is the same after you have
once touched it. Will you leave a ray
of hone or one of despair, a flash of
light or a somber cloud across some
dark life each day? Will you by
thoughtless cruelty deepn the shadow
which hangs over the life, or will you
WW
luilk
rw
haps Our Oxfords Are the Bel. We
Think They Are.
The styles or the workmanship could not be better. Every
woman likes them so much daintiness--so much beauty
about them.
Oxfords in patent kid, Corona kid and colt skin. The new
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Handsome creations in ribbon ties with French or buckle
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Oxfords should be fitted correctly. We are experts at fitting.
No gaping or slipping when we do the Oxford fitting.
ASTORIA'S BEST SHOE
479 Commercial St. '
M Mt
;)
era F
. . .... :.'. ' J
hrT) TV W
M rdiS Mr
Grays River, Win
Siatarday Eve.,
j Dance Will Be Given in Meserve's New
FLOOR MANAGERS: Jack Malone,
Music Will Be
i Tickets for Dance, $1; Including Supper, $1.50
;; THE STEAMER WENONIA WILL RUN AN EXCURSION FROM ASTORIA, LEAVING CAL
LENDER DOCK AT 3:30 P. M. Will call at Knappton and all way points, arriving at Grays River
;; at 7:00 O'Clock P. M. ' , .
A PICNIC DINNER will be served during the day in the beautiful park; a patriotic program is being
j; prepared for the occasion by the Dramatic Club. All are invited to come.
( ,
'by kindness dispel it altogether? No
matter how you feel or what is dis-
turbing your peace of mind, never
1
We Never Sold
Women's Oxfords as
FasT: as We Are Now
4
Selling Them.. Per
I
1QOS - :: -
AT
Hall
Sailing, Frank Sorensen
Furnished By Grays River Orchestra t
W. N. MESERVE
.!'.'
allow yourself to send out a dis-
couraging, a cruel or an unkind word
or thought. Success Magazine.
0)
11
J
y
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