Helena weekly herald., 1881-12-08

BOOM TO BENEVOLENCE.
A Million of Acres of Land in Montana
to be Devoted to Charitable PurpO-
ses--A big opening for Orphans.
New York Herald
An elderly gentleman, short of breath but
long of information, walked into the city de-
partment of the Herald Office yesterday. He
was interested in huge benevolent work,
and having gained the ear Of a reporter, he
began at the same time to unfold his projects
and large bundle of papers that he lugged
in under one arm. Despite the importance
of the subject, space will only permit us to
give the bare outlines of this gigantic scheme,
in comparison with which civil service re-
form and the Panama canal are baby enter
prises 1t is intended to benefit unfortunate
people of every description, and be a lasting
monument to the charity of the American
people. At the next session Of Congress he
will ask for grant of ,O0O, 900 acres of land,
and then mortgage it back to the government
as security of a loan for 81 100000. This is
an infringement of the Jay Gould method,
but he says that no member of Congress will
dare to vote against bill with such benevo-
lent purpose behind it. A commission will
be formed of one member from each State,
who will select the land wherever they
please-probably in the Yellowstone valley.
1t is to be laid in the form of square, and
precisely in the middle-or hub, as he termed
twill be erected a water tower 300 feet
feet high. Sixteen squares containing 1O,-
600 acres of land each, will be mapped out
around this tower, the four central squares to
be reserved by the commission for park.
Sheep will be pastured in one quarter of the
park, cows in another deer in the third and
buffaloes in the fourth. The remaining
twelve squares will be given away to those
agreeing to erect institutions upon them of a
benevolent or educational order.
GOOD MEMS MEMORIES.
Cen Grant is to have the call for one of
these squares to devote TO any charitable
purpose he sees fit, and in the same way plots
are reserved tor Peter Cooper and George w.
Childs. One square Of 10000 acres is to be
made the home of all the orphans in the
orphans, my orphans and
everybody else's orphans" as the philanthro-
pist said. They are to study four days in the
week, and pay for their living the other days
by watching COWS and sheep and picking
apples and potatoes" Ten thousand orphans
will be graduated every year after the insti-
tuition is once in full blast. They are to have
every advantage of first-class education,
and even theater will be established for
their delectation, wherein all the actors will
be stars and will volunteer their services, of
course. There are yet left twelve squares to
be filled. Whoever takes one Of them ON the
terms described will have his name carved on
q marble slab in huge memorial hall, to be
erected in some prominent spot on the reseI-
vation. This philanthropist shrewdly sur
missed that this would be sufficient induce
ment for many a rich man in the country TO
invest Outside the sixteen squares will be
aid out a stone road 100 feet wide for the
Use of all people travelling east, and further
outside will be another road of the same kind
or people travelling west This is to avoid
collisions and confusion. Still further out
will be road 300 feet wide, reaching clear
around the squares, with three steel tracks
aid down for the use of all the railroads
upon this point. Vehicles of
very description are to be made of the
same guage, and will also use these tracks.
70 that there will be no unnecessary noise.
No vehicles will be allowed inside the six
een squares, but instead there will be an
elevated road curving in every direction and
aking people wherever they want to 60 for
1othing The promoter has very appropriate
y put this down in his chart as the La
oyrinth railroad" The ground between the
roads just described is to be filled in with
forests and fowers-"and won't it be beauti-
full ?' he asked. Beyond the road with the
steel rails will be nothing but farms of 200
acres each filling up the rest of the reserva-
tion. Any man may take one of them and
keep it for five years for nothing; then if he
does not choose to lease it at a fair rate from
the commission the commission will pay
him for his improvements, and he may 60 to
Ballyhack or any other place he likes better.
EXTRAORDINARY ADVANTAGES.
Every family in the community will be
supplied with gas and water free. There
will be one lawyer, one doctor and one archi-
tect engaged, but they will be utterly shorn
Of their time-honored prerogative of charg
ing anything for anything. To sum up, the
said: There will be room
for a couple of cities on the reservation, and
one of them will be named after me. Then
we will have a river handy and establish
port of entry One man asked me where
the money would come FROM as if that were
not all arranged far in advance. He was
one of those chaps who listen to you for five
minutes and then know more about your
plan than you do, who has studied it five
years. That's New York! Why, see here
We get 81 100000 from the government to
begin with. Then twenty sister States will
yive $4,000 each as return for taking
heir orphans and blind people and Grip
oles off their hands. That makes $1,000
100 more Twenty of the richer sister States
will give 100000 apiece, which gives us $2,-
100000 more The legislatures will vote
hese sums, and they can take ten years to
10 it in if they want to, and ten years more
o pay it. The philanthropist had evident
y had experience with legislatures.) We
will make up S3,O0O,000 more by voluntary
contribution. We won't take less than ST.
700, and whoever gives that amount will
lave his name ON one of the marble slabs in
Memorial Hall. I calculate there will be at
east ten big fellows who will want to give
100000 each. Just think of it. Those
James will be read with grateful posterity
O,000 years from now. With $500 we can
et along until our rents begin to come in at
he end of five years. After that our yearly
ncome will be $10000,000 at the lowest cal
ulation. Make that clear in your paper,
Won't you? And if you or the Herald want
my favors out there you can get em.3d Un d
erstand ? The Graphic is going to print a
nap Of the whole thing. 1t will take up
,age, and their first edition willbe 100000
opies. Think of that! The reporter whose -
lead was swimming already, begged to be
xcuSed from thinking of il any longer lust