La Réunion, a French Settlement in Texas

by William Jackson Hammond; Margaret F. Hammond

1. Associates in capital and in labor 2. Associates in labor 3. Associates in capital, working of their own accord 4. Workers not associated, salaried by the association 5. Some non-associated, or semi-associated residents working of their own accord 6. Pensioners, or boarders, orphans, old and infirm, etc.

Only the first two groups were to have a full fellowship, the others merely held rights in the company and participated in its activities in a small degree.[22]

Outside of the above practical and semi-practical purposes, and underlying the whole idea of the colony was a theory, novel, interesting, and at times fantastic. In the first place, the colony was not communistic but socialistic; that is, a socialism partaking of both present day socialism and advanced capitalism. Several times Considerant voiced his objection to communism and once stated that nearly all new societies had been ruined by a “gross and rudimentary form of Communism.”[23]

In La Réunion a person was to be either worker or proprietor, and no equal division of earnings was ever to be made. Each person was to reap the reward of his own labor, and partake of the profits of the company as they accrued.[24] In fact, the whole success of his program depended upon unearned increment, and co-operation with the capitalists in the whole undertaking.[25]

He proposed, however, very advanced actions which progressive capitalists accept today, namely, a maximum and a minimum wage scale to be determined by the members of the society; co-operation “in credit, of exchange, of mutual insurance, by provisions of cases of sickness, and social guarantees in behalf of old age and infancy.” These regulations were to be basic, but were subject to change, not being regulatory after the society determined that there was a need for change.[26]

Considerant did not object to private establishments, even being willing to aid them in reaching the new country and in getting established near the colony. He thought that if they were to establish themselves in proximity to the colony it would help increase the value of the colonial lands. Any benefits derived from collectivism would also be extended to the individual owners surrounding the colony. The unified efforts would be to such a great advantage, it appeared, that no one would long desire to remain outside. The colonists “must possess every moment, not only an abstract and theoretical kind of liberty, but a practical guarantee, by the very nature of organization, of the faculty to detach themselves from it at their individual pleasure.” The colony was to be an example of co-operation one with the other. The members could work in communities practicing “individualism” and take advantage of the co-operative organizations in so far as they desired. One might live several miles from the colony, or he might live in the colony, and work as an individual or in a group (phalanx). One could change rapidly from the individualistic to the co-operative or vice-versa. Anyone might enter the colony or leave it as he might desire. No compulsion was to exist, no regulatory demands made on any person.[27]

The society itself was not to be exclusive: all other societies that desired to co-operate—whether of the same opinion or not—had the right to participate. The function of the European-American Colonization Society was to prepare a place of liberty and prosperity and to represent liberal doctrines. Other societies were invited to come to try out their doctrines by experience and application, and if they were proved workable, then the Fourieristic society would accept them, for there existed no right or reason for the members to attempt to impose any pre-conceived plan upon the colonists. This seemed to Considerant to be so rational there was no need to insist upon it.[28] However, it seemed to him that there were certain principles of colonization already established by the trial and error method recorded in history which should not be disregarded. These were simple maxims, such as local self-government, avoidance of extreme communism, and freedom of action.

Another part of his scheme was that of instruction or teaching. One day was to be set apart for the teaching “of the social aims and of the common faith, to the discussion of the general ideas and expressions of the harmonic or the religious sentiment of the population.” Certain functions that were unitary and of utilitarian value were to be considered and voted upon by the whole body, and were to be developed out of the religious emotions of the people. Favorable attitudes toward progressive measures were also to be created, taking care, however, that the whole movement was one of spontaneity and not one of passive acceptance.[29]

A university and primary schools were to be provided wherein the French and English languages and literatures were to be taught: art, physical and mechanical sciences were to be taught by men of approved ability, giving an opportunity to every person to follow the trend of his own inclinations. A library was also to be provided, supplied, no doubt, from the expected gifts of books to be received in subscriptions to the stock of the company. The whole educational system, however, was to allow for spontaneous acceptance of the program without any appearance of compulsory education.[30]

Perhaps the most illusory part of the dream was that concerning commerce. La Réunion was to become the center of a gigantic commercial system. Colonies were to be established in all the states of the union, especially in the Southwest, and they were to carry on their commerce with one another, and through the mother colony connection would be made with Europe. Considerant visualized great wagon trains winding through the valleys and over the hills converging at La Réunion with their loads of foods, metals, and manufactured goods ready for the European markets. In fact, the shorter distance from Dallas to the Gulf of Mexico than from Santa Fe to the same port was one of the determining factors which led to the selection of the land near Dallas for the center of this undertaking. At La Réunion the plan was to have the colony self-sustaining and able to manufacture various materials for exportation, such as furniture, pottery, brass work, glass, smelted iron, as well as articles of food, especially pickles, and meat products.[31]