THE NEW HARMONY 287 



the other members would be jointly and indi- 

 vidually liable to pay the money out of their 

 own pockets. The organizer was fully prepared 

 to hear his audience decline to accept any such 

 responsibility, and he was agreeably surprised 

 when a man among the audience called out, 

 " Sure, that is nothing. Anyone would do that 

 to help his neighbour." Where, in fact, the 

 individual in Ireland is unprogressive, the com- 

 munity, operating in combination, becomes dis- 

 tinctly progressive, and a spirit is developed 

 which is deservedly regarded as one of the most 

 promising features of the whole economic cam- 

 paign. 



Of no less importance to Ireland, as a country, 

 is the fact that the new movement leads to the 

 gathering together, on one common platform, 

 of persons of all classes, creeds, and shades of 

 opinion. At first there were political differences. 

 When, in the early days, a meeting was held at 

 a town in county Limerick to discuss the setting 

 up of a creamery, one speaker declared, " We 

 will have nothing to do here witli butter that is 

 not made on Nationalist principles." In another 

 instance a dairy society came to grief because 

 the members disagreed in their views respecting 

 the late Mr. ParnelL A lew such experiences, 

 however, led to the rule being firmly established 



