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Communism In Iowa
Taught Them A Lesson
Would communism work here? Ask Iowa’s Amana Society. They tried it.
The Amana people, a small offshoot of the German Lutheran church, came to America in 1842, first settled near Buffalo, N.Y., later moved to Iowa. Today 2,000 strong, they own 25 000 acres, live in seven villages 20 miles west of Cedar Rapids.
Until 20 years ago, they practiced strict economic communism ate in communal groups, cooked in communal kitchens. The community owned the land and houses; each man took over a job he was thought best fitted for.
Farmers turned over their produce to a community storehouse. a poor worker received the same rewards as his skilled, more productive neighbor: free clothing, free medical care, schooling f<Jr his children and community support when he was too old to work.
It worked well—for a time. But many farmers and workers, knowing that hey would be taken care of regardless of their output eventually ceased to carry their share of the burden. By 1931 the society was $500,000 in the red.
Shocked into taking stock, Amana’s people overwhelmingly approved a new “capitalist” constitution. It gave each member a share of stock and extra shares for each year he had worked in the colony. Occupants bought their
75.7%