New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-02-18
why Need Men Suffer from Want.


To the Editors Of The N. Y. Tribune:
You say that you think there are lOO,o0o
persons in sight of Trinity Church that want work,
and consequently are short OF the necessanes OF
life Now. | can prescribe remedy for such evils
II your citizens would move West On to new lands,
thew could find plenty of work. and could live COM
fortably For instance. have men that moved into
this County with no property but an AZ which they
knew how and were willing to use, who have now
from 50 to 900 ac.es each of land, mostly under i'm
provement and have done it by farming, not by Spec
ulatpq. We yet have good wild land that can be
boue bt for from 81 TO $40 per acre There Is some
OF this land that has saw-mll timber enough on SIN
gle acre to build house, with hner TIMBER enough
10 fence IT, and wood enough to last family one
year. When the acre is cleared, IS iIequen'y
worth $40 more than in wild state; AS soon as
cleared it may be narrowed thoroughly and town
with wheat, and 1t Will produce from IL 70 % ousn
els, which will pay for clearing then, by burning
the siubble, IL may produce a good crop OF rye Dy
narrowing well then seed II down and II VIII pro.
duce from one to two tun, OF grass for series OF
years with no trouble but that OF cutting or, when
The roots of the stump are rotten, by plo~ing and
planting corn it will produce from 40 to 100 bush
els Thus YOU see that If man would cultivate
few acres of good land he need not stsrve
Yours, q. $.
Remarks.-We see nothing in the way OF the
cure all of want, idleness and restitution sug
pested by G. w. s. except these little impede
ments-namely:
l. The suffering Poor OF our City are destitute
of the means OF getting rothe cheap lands of the
West 2 They have no axes, and no money
wherewth to buy them. 3. They don't know
how to chop, and couldn't clear of an acre each
of such timber as our correspondent describes in
three months 4. They don't know how TO
fence, SOW or plant keep off the wild animals
and destructive vermin, as he does. s. They
would starve to death before they could get the
land cleared house built and crop grown that he
places so invitingly before them.
For those who know how to chop and raise
crops, we have very little pity. If they ~iH come
here and starve, we can't help it. But there are
tens of thousands here who were never taught
those useful and honorable arts which our cor
respondent so we'll understands, and are really
unable to earn living in winter by employment
in which labor is wanted They cannot exist
ons the Root, hog or die y principle; they
must be somehow encouraged and helped to
reach the lands and learn the arts of husbandry
above described. We drive off all we can; but
there will always be thousands left and G. w.
S. wouldn't board, cIothe and teach them to work
for all they can do. They would have hard
fight for life, even in the West but they could
do better there than here, and we will do our
best TO start them. Let our Western friends be
prepared to advise them, direct them, employ
them, teach them, and use patience with their
Deficiencies for their case is indeed most ptlable
led