268 THREE ACRES AND LIBERTY 



board of trustees, is absolute, and the few cases they have 

 had to adjudicate have generally been caused by nagging 

 women. It is claimed in the press that these colonists are 

 literally without scandals, and that the life led by young 

 and old is a most peaceful and happy one. People who are 

 hard at work are not likely to be quarrelsome : good whole- 

 some food, much exercise in play and labor, and an abundance 

 of fresh air and sunshine are conducive to happiness, es- 

 pecially as the clothing may be of a primitive kind, or need 

 not conform to the dictates of fashion. 



A teacher remarked : "It is noticeable that since these 

 school children are engaged in lucrative work which does 

 not go beyond their strength, and since they see with their 

 own eyes the results of their labor, a sense of responsibility 

 is engendered which has a beneficial influence upon school 

 work also. Respect for all kinds of labor and a decrease in 

 the destructiveness so often found among boys are unmis- 

 takable effects of the arbor gardens. It is not easy work 

 which the children perform, for spade and rake require mus- 

 cular effort; but it is ennobling work, for it leads to self- 

 respect, self-dependence, and respect for others, as well as 

 willingness to aid others. The most beautiful sight is af- 

 forded when, on a certain date agreed on by the members of 

 a colony, a harvest festival is held. Then flag raisings and 

 illuminations and singing and music make the day a mem- 

 orable one." 



Most of the families had not the means to buy the lumber 

 and hardware to erect an "arbor," and yet they were the very 

 ones to whom the life in the open would be of the greatest 

 benefit. Hence philanthropy erected the structures. The 

 Patriotic Woman's League of the Red Cross built half of all 

 the "arbors" of the colony found on the "Jungfernheide." 



