316 THE UTOPIAN COMMUNIST
cal tailor, the gifted thinker, the founder of German communism."
The writer of the obituary thought the Evangelium deserved re
publishing, though he knew that Weitling had lost his following
completely after the fiasco of the Arbeiterbund and the colony.
"Men ceased to believe in him," the article continued, "and the
waves tossed him upon the beach. The last words we heard him
utter many years ago were—'why talk to men about liberty? I
recognize no liberty, only order.' " Disillusioned by his ventures
in social revolution and labor reforms, and unable to attract or hold
any appreciable number of disciples in an America of relatively
equal opportunity and rugged individualism, the tailor had re
turned to his old trade, become an inventor, and sought "the
harmony which he could not find among his fellows, under the
stars." "Throw no stone at him," the obituary notice concluded,
"for he proved to be a man amidst the storms of life, and his driv
ing motive was something higher than ambition and selfishness."