The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1877-07-13

To the Editor OF the indianapolis Journal:
I have felt q painful concern n
the evidences of want among a large
number of workingmen In our beau
tiful capital. AS all right-minded
people are anxious to suggest modes
of relief, it has occurred to me to
suggest homesteads in the west.
1t has, throughout our whole finan-
cial depression, been surprising to
me why hundreds and thousands of
Iaborers will remain unemployed in
our towns and cities while the gov
eminent Is saying to every citizen :
"Here are 160 acres of land for you
whenever You will occupy it."
This land will yield the fret year
from twelve TO twenty bushels of
wheat per acre. One man can break
and put in during the summer, with
two horses, from fifty to eighty
acres. This summers work will
yield him from 600 to LOCO bushels
of wheat, according to quantity of
ground and season. AT present
rates this would give from $500 to
$1,000. Here is the result of one
summers work. How long will it
take q man to earn this sum picking
up odd jobs, at low wages, half or
three fourLhs Of his time unemploy-
ed? Added to this the moment he
has broken an acre of sod that acre
has advanced $3.50 in value.
But your unbeliever says, Scan
one break up SO much, and will it
yield so much when broken Z" Facts
are the best evidence.
My son left Bloomington the I'D
day of March, a year ago; went
onto q piece of land near Lawrence,
Kansas; bought his horses, plows !;
tended fencing, ETC.. then with two
horses broke up eighty acres; hired
a few days help in sowing and drill
ing, and was back home on the 9th
of September. What has been done
may be done. Two days ago l re-
ceived q letter from 8 citizen whose
farm joins this field, and he says If
the season remains good till harvest
we can safely calculate on q yield of
"frcm II to 20 bushels per acre."
Your readers will excuse the per-
sonal in this, as give facts that 1
know something about; therefore
facts which hope will help the I'M
believer to believe. Unbelief kills
IN agriculture as we'll as religion.
But the objector says it will cost 80
much to fence this land. Answer-|
It costs nothing. In the "herd law"
regions no fence is needed. The
law is, no man fences stock out, but
all herd or fence stock in. A poor
man on arrival will have no STOCK
but two horses and q cow, and he
fences in three acres for them and
leaves his 157 acre field outside.
That's his cost for fence; no more.
This herd law embraces the western
half of Kansas, taking in all the Ar
kansas valley, that fat land for
wheat, where the yield frequently
reaches forty bushels per acre. /
think Nebraska has the same law,
possibly other States. So all q man
has to do is to go, pillow, reap, and
convert idleness and poverty to
work and competence, possibly
wealth. But how go? That's the
question. Well, the young man had
better walk and work his passage
than stand idly on the street corners
and waste his substance and his man
hood. The idler ought never to for
get that he is not only losing sub
stance, but that which is incOmpar-
ably more, manhood.
To men with families the Difficult
ties are greater, but for even some
of these submit whether cheaper
ed transportation and public aid
might not do something. I respect
fully submit to you men of proper
ty whether it will not be better to
aid these men, even to free trans
portation and q small sum to start
with, than to humble them and tax
yourselves to support them by pub
lie charity. Without going into de-
tails it seems to me here is q field
for genuine philanthropy. Indeed,
if it were practicable, I believe the
general government would do a Just
aud generous thing if it would take
100000 unemployed citizens from
the older States and, IN addition to
free homes, add free transportation
and $25 to $50 start-money to every
adult who would locate on q quar-
ter section of land and work it.
Paupers and tramps would be re-
duced and wealth increased. I do
not see the way for the government
to act, but action from some source
ought to come. The cry for bread
in this heaven-favored land ought
not to be heard. Starvation mid
plenty won't do. Can political ecou-
omists and statesmen devise no plans
for relief2 Are politicians too busy
holding and pulling the wires of
party to give these matters thought ?
Who'll bring relief2
GEORGE w. Hoss.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY, June 6.