Evening star., 1895-04-27
Methods Of Relief Discussed by the
Board of Trade.
porATo PATCH IDEA NDoRsED
proposed Establishment of Board
of Charities.
VARIOUS PLANS OUTLINED

Inc board OF trade held the last meeting
of the present season at Builders Ex-
change Hall last night, and transacted
some very important business relating to
the charities Of the city and the means of
relieving the poor during the coming win
ter. Resolutions were adopted favoring
the introduction here of the Detroit potato
patch scheme and the Indianapolis market
plan. and also favoring the abolishment Of
the office Of superintendent Of charities of
the District, and the establishment instead
Of board Of nine citizens having in charge
the whole subject matter Of local charities
organization. There were about half a
hundred members present when President
Warner called the meeting to order at 8
o'clock There was no general business
and the special order Of the evening was
quickly reached. This was the subject of
the District charities, and the program as
carried out Consisted of two parts. First
were considered specific plans for the re-
lief of the poor during the coming winter,
and then was taken up the broader and
more important matter of the entire chari-
ty organization of the District.
Chairman MoOre's Statement.
Mr.. Frederick L. Moore, chairman of the
committee on charities, took the floor to
explain that after careful search of the en-
tire field it has been ascertained that there
are two plans Of relief worthy of consid-
Grafton and trial here. The first was known
as the Indianapolis plan, which involves
the establishment Of a market where GER
tain of the poor may obtain supplies
through the winter. Mr.. Moore read from
a report on this subject, submitted by the
managers of the plan in Indianapolis, which
made a most favorable showing. The
scheme was to raise a comparatively small
fund wherewith to start market or store,
to be run exclusively for the benefit of the
poor, where provisions could be had at low
rates and in regular quantities on credit.
Applicants for credit at this establishment
were examined carefully as to their needs,
their artecedents and their chances of or
tanning employment. The object was to
give relief to those who would have work.
ed had there been Opportunities, and whose
enforced idleness caused them to become
objects of public charity. So far as possi-
BILE the notion of being given anything out
right was discouraged, and the recipients
OF aid were given to understand that they
must eventually pay for everything given
to them. They were furnished with credit
books. in which entries were made of both
goods delivered and payments made A
ration was established in order to prevent
wasting.
At first the following standard for the
weeks provision cfs.a family of four or
twelve podhds; corn meal, ten POUNDS;
hominy, ten pounds; fresh pork, four
pounds; SALT pork, 1.-TWO - pounds; bread,
eight loayes. salt. one7half pound; soap,
eigEty-two cents being the actual cost to
the committee in charge. Complaint was
made in a short time that~there was not
enough in this ration, and 1t was increased
by adding half a pound of lard, half
pound of coffee, one pound of sugar, and
one quart 9f sirup, and changing the ration
of bread SO as to give ten "loaves, six
somny an so@ancs @ 0Saa % saasa e ear to Ths she
pei nds This ration cost one dollar a week
Later coal and shoes were supplied at
very low rates. and a great deal of mission
ary work was done by the agents of the
market in securing leniency for their Gus
tom ers from landlords who were threaten
ing to evict their delinquent tenants.
About one thousand men pledged them
selves to pay for their4credits, and as many
as could not find work in the general labor
market were set to work by the city in
various ways. There were also about 800
able to pay their bills by, washing, and
some through the labor of their sons. The
plan worked nicely through, the winter,
though the funds ran low toward spring.
Of December. and was not closed until
April Z. At the end of the business there
was a total arrearage on the accounts of
but 81, I1641, this representing what It had
cost in the way of money actually put out
to the direct aid of the poor of over twelve
hundred families. a4 aT'- FN
Mr. Moore said, that-he had studied the
Indianapolis plan very carefully, and saw
ton of the board
The Potato Plan.
He then took up the ot1Ief plan that had
been favorably brought too.his attention,
the Detroit potato scheme, and as an ex-
planation of its features. read the follow
ing letter from the author of the project,
pfr,Dr nf nntr
been received. The mayor wrote:
The plan of utilizing vacant lands in the
suburbs ofuthe- city of Detroit was first
conceived by me when the hard times of
1894 compelled so many people to be with
out employment. They We're standing idly
about the city, and as a majority of the
working element of every city come from
the country and are accustomed to and
skilled in tilling the soil, the idea suggested
itself that with such a vast amount of
vacant, unused land as surrounds the city
there was great opportunity to put these
men in way of securing a sufficiency to
live on during the ensuing winter, by Civ
ing them a chance to cultivate this land
l made the request and several thousand
acres were placed at our disposal within
short time. Owing to the late
ness OF the season not all of the land Of
fered us was used, and many of the ap-
plcants had to be denied. More than 5000
families in Detroit eagerly sought to take
advantage of the offer. However, only about
l,VUV COulu De accommodated. Ihe work
was carried on under the supervision of a
committee specially appointed for the pur-
pose, which committee was aided by the
poor commission of the city, ard applicants
were given piece of land to cultivate ac-
cording to their needs. The same plan will
again be carried out this year, but upon a
much larger scale, as the common council
has appropriated 5000 to defray expenses.
such as purchasing seeds, plowing, etc
One thing developed here was that at least
~ 1-2 per cent of the poor and unemployed
are willing to work If given an opportunity
and directed properly. and the matter of
educating them to assist themselves in
stead of being entirely dependent upon
charity is worth more than most people
realize I am convinced that If the plan
is put into effect in our large cities it. will
largely decrease the expenses of the police
departments. People are not likely to cause
trouble when employed, and especially so
if employed in their own interests. have
for several months been receiving COM
from all parts of the United
States and Canada on this subject, and the
matter is being looked up by the govern
ment officers of Prussia, Austria and
France. and is attracting considerable at
tention in England. In my opinion this
work should be carried on Independent Of
the poor commissions, except, perhaps, so
far as obtaining from them the people on
their books that need aid. think that
when the people look upon it as a sort of
charity arrangement they do not take as
s-~A- to- =