Vol. LVII. No. 2508. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 19, 1898. 
#1 PER YEAR. 
A COOPERATIVE TOWN IN TENNESSEE. 
INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION DRIVEN OUT. 
Natural Storehouse in a Cave. 
The Ruskin Cooperative Association is, probably, 
the best known and most promising - of the recently- 
established cooperative communities. It was organ¬ 
ized in 1894 as an industrial, socialistic community, 
by less than a score of families, with the publication 
of a reform newspaper as the main feature. Amid 
many trials and disappointments, it has steadily pros¬ 
pered, until at this time, the Association numbers 72 
resident stockholders, with a total population of 230. 
The location is in Dickson County, Tenn., 50 miles 
west of Nashville. The community has erected over 
35 buildings, some nearly half the extent of a city 
block,and three 
stories high, for 
use in their 
various indus¬ 
tries, and for 
residence pur¬ 
poses, and now 
controls 1,800 
acres of land, 
about 600 acres 
of which are 
tillable, being 
mainly a strong 
clay loam, and 
the remainder 
w e 11-timbered 
oak upland. 
The indus¬ 
tries are now 
very diversi¬ 
fied, and gen¬ 
erally fairly 
profitable, util¬ 
izing among 
the members 
almost every 
trade and pro¬ 
fession, except 
lawyers and 
clergymen. The 
property of the 
Association 
now reaches a 
value of nearly 
$100,000, with 
liabilities o f 
less than 10 per 
cent of that 
amount, which 
is being rapidly 
paid off As 
Ruskin does ab¬ 
solutely a cash 
business, both 
in buying and 
selling, its financial standing is naturally of the 
highest, and the members severally have all the ad¬ 
vantages of this moderate concentration of capital. 
Among the features of Ruskin life, of probable in¬ 
terest to the readers of Tiie R. N.-Y., it may be men¬ 
tioned that economical equality is maintained between 
the sexes. Men and women receive equal compensa¬ 
tion, as do all members, regardless of their occupa¬ 
tion. Male adults over 18 years of age are required to 
labor nine hours each week-day, except Saturday 
aiternoons, which are kept as general half-holidays. 
Single women over 18 work the same number of hours, 
but their married sisters are required to put in only 
five hours per day in Association work,, the rest of the 
day being allowed for home duties. The compensa¬ 
tion, as stated above, is the same for all. and every 
child receives its maintenance and a stated sum per 
week until 18 years old. 
The principle of cooperation is carried out wherever 
practicable, public dining-rooms and a steam laundry 
relieving housekeeping of its most vexatious trials. 
Each family is furnished as rapidly as possible, with 
a separate home, either in a detached cottage, or in 
suitable apartments in the larger buildings, and owns 
and provides its equipment of household furniture ; 
but all buildings, land and machinery, in short all 
means of production and distribution, belong to the 
Association. A member can own but a single share 
of stock, which does not draw dividends, and is not 
transferable, except back to the corporation ; but this 
share, accompanied by his labor in his chosen voca¬ 
tion, insures him and family all the benefits of the 
Association, which may be briefly summarized as fol¬ 
lows : maintenance during health and sickness, medi¬ 
cal care, schooling of the highest grade for minors, 
and absolute insurance against want and the fear of 
want. Ruskin is a regularly organized school district, 
employing two teachers in the kindergarten, two in 
the grammar grade, one in drawing, painting and 
modeling, one for algebra, one for the French language, 
one for violin, guitar and mandolin, and one for piano 
and organ. 
Among the minor benefits arising from this coopera¬ 
tive system, is a department of recreation, which pro¬ 
vides for bi-weekly lectures, concerts, dances, etc., as 
well as occasional exhibitions of games of skill, a 
large circulating library, and the daily distribution of 
mail at the various dining tables, Ruskin having a 
post office of her own, which has increased until it has 
almost reached the Presidential class. All this in the 
woods of Tennessee, six miles from a railroad, has been 
accomplished by a few workingmen with but scanty 
capital, within a period of four years. 
Rut The R. N.-Y. is, naturally, more interested in 
the agricultural phases of this novel attempt to found 
a new civilization in the midst of our bitter competi¬ 
tive world. It was recognized at the outset that 
Ruskin should, as far as practicable, produce within 
her borders, all necessities of existence. The first 
purchase of land proved unsuitable for cultivation, 
and it was not until late in 1896 that the colonists 
found themselves in a position to buy two large and 
fertile farms lying four miles north of the former 
tract. On taking possession of their new purchase, the 
town of Ruskin 
was transfer¬ 
red to its pres¬ 
ent site, six 
miles north of 
Tennessee City, 
to which rail¬ 
road point a 
daily stage line 
and telephone 
connection was 
at once estab¬ 
lished b y the 
Association. 
Like most 
southern farms, 
the land had 
been cropped 
for many years 
in the usual 
slovenly man¬ 
ner, with but 
little attempt 
to return the 
fertility con¬ 
stantly drained 
away; the 
fences and 
buildings were 
in poor condi- 
tio n , and a 
flourishing 
stand of black¬ 
berry and sas¬ 
safras sprouts 
was in posses¬ 
sion of all un¬ 
occupied fields. 
However, there 
were compensa¬ 
tions in the way 
of many broad 
acres of rich 
deep ' "mulatto” 
loam, both in 
level bottom and upland, and an abundance of fine 
hardwood timber. The tracts are excellently watered 
by a clear, rapid stream of water and numerous 
springs. A fairly profitable general store and well- 
patronized steam flouring mill were practical con¬ 
siderations in deciding the purchase. 
Rut the main feature, the possibilities of which can¬ 
not now be estimated, is the possession of several 
beautiful and extensive caves underlying the lime¬ 
stone bluffs, close to the townsite. One of these re¬ 
markable formations is a dream of beauty in its multi¬ 
tude of crystalline formations, duplicating, in minia¬ 
ture, all the wonderful formations of the great caverns 
of Kentucky. Another, while devoid of stalactites, is 
of greater storage capacity than a city warehouse, and 
of such equable conditions of temperature and humid- 
