“My brothers,” said he, in response, “I regret that you have called upon me to speak, because the thoughts which press for expression are not altogether in harmony with the gayety of our present festivities. I am sure that none rejoices more than I do for the safe arrival of our party in this beautiful valley. But my mind is not with to-day nor yesterday, but dwells with the future. The project which has brought us here is, in the light of all history, an exceedingly ambitious one. Failure, it is true, cannot result injuriously, but success will be a beacon light of hope to those many millions of men and women who are denied access to nature’s countless bounties.
“You, my brothers, have wives and children who will follow you ere long into this fair country. For you, as individuals, the world is opening out its avenues of comfort, but upon each of us here rests a responsibility such as few men have ever assumed. We are here not merely to benefit ourselves, but to benefit, by the force of example, the waiting and watching world.
“Co-operative enterprises have been successful in many commercial and mechanical pursuits. As a rule such enterprises have failed so far as land and its cultivation are concerned. But there is no apparent reason why they should be less successful than are the enterprises of commerce and manufacture. Our purpose is to combine all laborious or productive occupations. Behold, my brothers, this beautiful valley! God has secreted in almost every inch of its soil the gift of productivity. Yonder the mountains tower above us. God has made the forest to yield fuel and lumber for our use. High up on the white-capped summits and deep down in the cool cisterns of nature are the sources of these waters which flow in the rushing torrent, and which we may direct thither to moisten this soil. On the table lands which rise north and south of us our herds and flocks shall graze.
“You can see, my brothers, that if we fail in our enterprise the fault will be in us and not in nature. The duty which lies before us is to work in harmony. We must encourage competition in all lines of mental, physical and spiritual progress. But we must rid ourselves of competition in the simple acquisition of property. We must encourage individualism in all that makes men practical, self-reliant and manly. We must destroy it in all that makes men grasping and unsympathetic.
“My brothers, the great world beyond deems that man greatest who acquires the greatest fortune or wields the greatest power, but I say to you that man is greatest who induces the greatest number of men and women to do right. Such is the manhood we must honor, and upon the brow of such we shall place the laurel wreath of victory. If we work to such a purpose we shall succeed.
“My brothers, the most difficult part of our project lies in our foundation work. We will meet obstacles. Some of our number may, perhaps, be of opinion that the first year or two of our struggle here should be free from difficulty because our ideal is high. If so it were better that those immediately return to their eastern homes, because there is nothing for us, the pioneers of the Co-operative Commonwealth, but arduous labor. Your wives and children look forward to a time when they may come hither to homes which you have established where the old system which has forced you into this unsettled country cannot affect them. What will you do? Will you subjugate self, defer to one another’s opinions, and work always together, and so make your enterprise succeed? I believe you will.
“My brothers, this work is in your hands. I have been your leader thus far, but I now surrender the leadership and insist that the will of the majority be your guide hereafter.”
When Thompson ceased to speak some seconds elapsed before any one ventured to break silence. His words were fully appreciated and it was evident that all comprehended the magnitude of the task which was before them. Mr. Edmunds, ex-clergyman, voiced the general sentiment of all.
“You are not alone, Brother Thompson,” said he, “in your apprehensions. Most of us entertain the same doubts as to the future which you have expressed. But it is better it should be so than that we should, in such an enterprise, be carried away by enthusiasm. When soldiers approach the dangers of war, where death and glory mingle, their captain seeks to inspire them with a courage which dares but does not reason. No need of that with us. The task we have to accomplish is, in truth, devoid of danger. It is the easiest ever proposed to the intelligence of man. All that we need lies where God placed it centuries ago, and is ours, if only we will take it. If we make this task hard, it is because we will not reason. If dangers arise, they will not arise from the mountain, stream or valley, nor yet from yonder table lands nor grassy slopes. They will arise from ourselves. This we must study to avoid. This is our work. One thing, my brothers, we must do from the outset. Let our community be self-dependent. Let us call upon the outside world to help us as little as possible. Let us build our own homes, burn our own lime, manufacture our own furniture and crockery. Let us make it a rule that whatever we can make ourselves, no matter how much labor it costs us, that we will make. If we do this and work together success is certain.”
The clergyman spoke for nearly half an hour and finished amid great enthusiasm, for his speech was able and brilliant and calculated to produce confidence in our enterprise.