Finally—John Bright and 173 members of the British House of Commons have signed the American Peace Memorial, nine of whom will come with the deputation to America.
The Sinaloa Colony.—Co-operation in some form is the only hope of philanthropists for a harmonious settlement of the labor question. Hence we must feel an interest in the Sinaloa Colony. I have always maintained that there are very few of the present generation (who are the outcome of war and competition) fit for co-operative life. Mr. Owen in his letter of last August says:
“The work we have laid out in Sinaloa requires, at first, men of frontier experience—those who can fish, hunt, cook, work the land and hold to a purpose in the face of privations and even death.
“We repeat again that if the women wish us to succeed they must not go to Sinaloa until we have gotten water, garden, and houses for them, and never without first obtaining permission from our New York office.
“The Credit Foncier company was conceived in kindness and love for mankind, and its mission was and is peace on earth and good will to every human being. It is to be regretted that the Company was not financially able from the beginning to guard its friends from discomforts and disease. Such was its endeavor, but the circumstances surrounding our movement have made this impossible. Of all times during the 19th century, perhaps, we struck Sinaloa when it was the least prepared for us. Our friends, however, would not be advised. Their idea of co-operation was that every one was to act as he or she pleased, at the time and place he or she selected; and that the Company was to be responsible for his and her employment, food, shelter, health and comfort at all times and in every place. So thoroughly did they believe this that they did not even think it was necessary to give the Company a hint that they were going to Sinaloa, how, when, or for what purpose.
“Well! what was the result of each acting for him and herself? Some 400 and more persons were dumped off at Topolobampo into the brush and cacti, and over fifty per cent of these were women, children, and aged persons, who became at once a heavy, constant, and ever increasing care to those who were physically capable of meeting the requirements of the movement. This actually put upon every able-bodied pioneer a child, woman, or aged person to attend to, to see sheltered, to have fed, etc., etc., besides his duties, and it added five times to the expenses in the field which the Company proposed at first to meet. But this was not the worst. The attention which it was necessary to give to these non-combatants took the men from the work that the Company expected to be done. This discouraged those who were able and willing to work and piled anxieties upon our best friends until they tottered under loads other than belonged to the cause. Disease, death, and discouragement followed. Those who remained in the States were frightened, and the Company was left almost moneyless and powerless to assist, even when it was most earnest in its work and in its wish to do so.
“Had an army preparing for a campaign been recruited in such a way, its friends would have demoralized and defeated it before an enemy had been met. The United States Army, during the late rebellion, was recruited in the following way: every man had to be stripped naked, measured, weighed, examined, and reported by a medical officer to be physically and mentally capable of enduring camp life, before he was enlisted, and even after this test and care, the records will show that thirty per cent each year, without going into battle, became sick, died, deserted, or went home, i.e., only 70 per cent of all those recruited for the war stood the trials, even to get the first smell of the burnt powder.
“Now that we have gotten our pioneers reduced to about 200, to a few more than we had in December at Topolobampo, and to which number we then urged that no more be added, we can organize and begin anew to follow out the details laid down in Integral Co-operation, strengthened by having veterans in the field and by an experience with our people which will be of value to them and to the Company.
“We are informed that some of those who returned in July, like those who came back in April, expect to go again to Sinaloa as soon as the Company is in shape to push its work. We wish to say to these friends that all who have proven themselves to be thoroughly with the movement will be welcomed in our midst, but that we positively order—and in this we have the support of every director and every good colonist—that every person who goes to our settlements hereafter shall apply for and obtain permission from the New York office. Our purpose is now to lead the movement and not to have the movement lead us. Any colonist who goes to our settlements in violation of these instructions will not be received as a friend, will not be employed, sheltered or provided for, and will forfeit stock and credits in the Company.”
When the pioneers in philanthropic schemes learn that their success depends entirely upon the persons enlisted, and when they select those persons by a psychometric knowledge of character or a thorough knowledge of their past lives, sternly rejecting all who are weak, unbalanced, passionate or selfish, success may be expected. The adversities at Topolobampo are the best preparation for success, by sending off all who were not fitted for such work.
There is evidently some good material at Topolobampo. Ida Hogeland wrote, July 30, 1887:
“Let not your heart be troubled. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, up to this last day of July that has interfered with our bodily comfort, though we live in tents yet. The showers are so gentle and refreshing that they serve as a perpetual delight.”
W. W. Green says:
“But whether stockholders do their part or not, we are here to do our part in solving the great question of Integral Co-operation, and if we fail it is their fault. But we do not intend to fail. We have men here of the right grit, and enough of them to hold the fort. So you need not be alarmed on that account. A. K. Owen has not lied to us about the resources of the country.”
Mr. Owen promises to bring in a hundred good colonists in November, and says the Mexican government manifests a friendly feeling.