The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-05-17
THE P|AGREE Potato PATCH
Greatest Scheme Ever Invented to
Help the Poor.
Interesting Account of Its Inception
and Thorough Trial in Detroit.
Relieves Without Degrading
and Saves Taxpayers
Much Money.

AHo h"siSo pOtalo patcn mas come
to stay. The people of Brooklyn are
getting ready to have several "Pingree
potato patches right away. In Il year
or two every big city that has All army
of poor and hungry people will have
"Pingree potato patches :"
For pure benefcenoe and downright
practical results the scheme which Nav
or Hazen S. Pingree of Detroit intro
duced about a year ago seems to be
most farreaching, and its results, if in
dioations are worth anything, will be to
introduce an entirely now method Of as
sisting the unemployed who are willing
TO work. No scheme or plan ever origi.
mated by man of Michigan achieved
such success in its first year, and today
the name "Pingree potato patch" is
known from ocean co ocean in America
and even i'll some of tho effete munici
palities of Europe.
The winter of 1884 was hard orc
for Detroit's poor The municipal poor
fund was beggared aud tho emergency
fund for that purpose spent long before
the winter was over. When tho spring
ployed, and tho city was stared i'll the
face by the question of how to tako care
OF them and to provide for tho next Sc
we're winter.
During his official life the mayor has
produced many schemes and sensations
but his greatest one, and the one which
will always make his name thing of
fond remembrance to the poor. was de
yeloped on Juno last Wiseacres
laughed and shook their heads, the city's
best authorities on economics and mu-
nicipal matters jeered Mt the idea, and
even the wido awake newspaper men
did not believe it would succeed and
said so. But the mayor had carefully
conned the statistics, was sure of his
facts and figures and answered snecrs,
smiles and scofipg with the Same com
placence that he would have greeted
commentator
On tho afternoon of June last the
mayor came bursting into his office.
called the office boy and told him to
fetch the assessors quickly. The assess
ors came, and this was tho question
that was asked of them: How many
acres OF unimprovcd and untitled land
are there Ill the city limits?'' They
guessed, but the mayor knew better than
they did, and he sent them away to find
ont. Then the newspaper mon We're adj
mitted and the same question was asked
them, and they guessed all tho way from
5000 to 20, 900 acres.
Il will toll you, -" said the mayor
There arc within the city limits Of De
troit over 5000 acres of unused arabic
land TINT could be cultivated without
trouble or much work; Now, if the own
ers of these lands Will only lend them
to the poor, we can get the charitable to
supply seeds and plows, and the poor
can work the land and get whatever
product they are able out of it,
This was the start of the now famous
"Pingrec potato patch plan. After the
newspapers had given it publicity many
OF the landowners of the city came for
ward and offered their idle and unoccu-
pied acres to help out the scheme, and
applications for land to till began to
dow III from the unemployed poor who
We're willing to cultivate such land if
they could obtain the necessary seed TO
plant and the implements of cultivation.
Hundreds Of acres We're offered. some
of 1t SO far out of the city that il was
not available and then came the cues
ton OF getting money for the.seed. There
was some hesitation about starting
subscription for plows and seeds until
Mayor Pingree himself said, Now, I've
got good horse that I'm using every
day, but I'll give that horse toward
starting this thing along, and we'll sell
1t for what we can get " The horse was
sold, and it netted $3.50 Then tho PEG
pie began to see that the mayor was
really in earnest, and the plan began to
take. He personally labored with the
various employees of the city, and they
all contributed.
There was soon land enough in sight
but there was lack of funds to supply
the seeds and farming implements need
ed Tho mayors subscription of his
horse was but drop i'll the bucket.
The mayor issued personal appeal
to the pastors of tho city asking them 10
get their churches TO contribute to tho
good cause. and they very generally re-
sponded.
By this time the "Pingree potato
Satch" had grown beyond Mayor Fin
gree's available time TO handle. and he
appointed a commission. When the work
of this commission started, the commit
tee had on hand total Of 400 acres of