allowed unless permission by a doctor was given. Violation of this ordinance was punishable by unemployment or expulsion from Llano. Llano’s downfall Dissent The political stability of Llano was threatened by internal power struggles between the Board of Directors, which was composed of seven (and eventually nine) members and the General Assembly, which was composed of all of the Llano Company’s stockholders, the members of the colony. Though the Board was efficient, it caused political dissent. Llano’s “Declaration of Principles” proclaimed “equal ownership, equal wage, and equal social opportunities.” However, Llano was not run in a democratic manner. The Board dictated all rules and regulations. Eventually groups developed, such as the “Brush Gang”, opposing the authoritarian rule of the Board. Some members also believed that Harriman lacked strong socialist principles. One of the founders of the “Brush Gang”, Frank Miller, believed Harriman to be “Czar-like” and against the democratic election of Llano’s leadership. Additionally, many “Brush Gang” members believed that not only the political but also the economic layout of Llano was counter to socialist ideals. However, rule by the General Assembly was also problematic. Its decisions were influenced by personal disputes, which created an ineffective political environment. Resolutions were disputed for hours, made, and then rebuked at the next meeting. In response to dissenters, one of Harriman’s supporter’s, RK Williams, wrote, “Newcomers arrived here filled with idealism and notions of a weird form of democracy that are utterly out of place in an institution dealing with... practicalities. It must be insisted that if this colony is to exist we must allow the well tried and wrought out formulas of corporations organized under capitalism... We are not attempting a Utopian phantasmagoria.’ Supporters felt that unseating the Board would result in anarchy and chaos and that central control was essential to the formation of a flourishing socialist colony. World War I Although Llano supported the Socialist Party’s pacifism, the threat of the draft was real. Llano attempted to ensure that all members were conscientious objectors, still the colony lost young men to the draft. WWI also posed an economic threat, because the wartime industry created jobs with higher wages and many less committed members of Llano left to work in the newly booming economy. Water During the early period of Llano, Harriman had secured large amounts of water for the growing colony. Though in theory Llano had enough water to sustain