COMMUNIA, IOWA 247
but not entirely finished inside; that a brickyard was ready to
begin operations; that the carpenter and blacksmith shops were
heavily used; and that scaffolding had been erected for a barn
which would house a dozen horses. Though some of the colonists
still were living in three old uncomfortable blockhouses, everyone
seemed to be in a good health. Breakfast was served at 6:30, the
noon meal at 12, and the evening meal at 6:30; and in between,
milk, cheese, whisky, and coffee were available to all who wanted
them. He found the meals simple but substantial and wholesome,
the beer good, and the water excellent, even on the hottest days.
Meals were prepared in a common kitchen and eaten in a common
dining hall, save those of mothers with small children, who were
permitted to eat at home or in the kitchen. The sleeping rooms
were barren and austere, but the meeting hall (Saal) was at
tractive.
Weitling made an inventory of the property and found nearly
200 head of livestock, poultry numbering 3,000, and agricultural
implements valued at $600. Of the 1,240 acres of land, however,
only 160 acres were under cultivation. Total assets amounted to
$7,260, and he pointed out that this sum now had been added to
the resources of the Arbeiterbund. Of the twenty-three people
who constituted the colony in the spring of 1852, fourteen were
men; four, women; and five, children. Weitling asked "strong,
unmarried members" of the Bund who had the money for travel
expenses and who could make the initial deposit of $100 to report
at once to New York headquarters, for labor was badly needed in
the fields and to build houses and a milldam; and plans already
were being made for a post office and a railroad stop at Communia
to enable the colony to develop into a prosperous trading center.
The inventory seemed encouraging. But when he arrived in
the colony, Weitling found the colonists in an uproar. The women
refused to work, except for their own families; and violent an
tagonisms had developed among the older members and more
recent arrivals. The husbands sided with their rebellious women;
there was dissatisfaction with the local president of the colony;