Rum was a curse in
civilized society but that was because society was disorganized. Let
reformers come and help us reform society and this evil with many others
would be remedied. So it was that the popular lecturer after an hour's
earnest discourse came to the conclusion that these Brook Farmers were
very impolite indeed as they were all talking together about plans for
the new Phalanstery or some other equally important subject.
Lectures were not on the list of our favorite pastimes. This
indifference to the attractions of the Lyceum was all the more
noticeable as there were several lecturers of repute among our own
members. In the decade 1840-1850 a wave of interest in what was then
known as Social Reform swept over Europe and America, and in the public
discussions of the time the teachings of Brook Farm practical reformers
were in constant demand. Dr. Ripley, John Dwight, John Allen, Ephraim
Chapin, Charles A. Dana and others were called out on lecturing tours
extending all over the Northern states, and, as most of this service was
gratuitous, the cost to the community was a heavy tax on our limited
resources.
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