Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-06-12
PINGREE'S PATCHES.
GREATEST SCHEME INVENTED TO
 HELP THE POOR.


 Honey-To Be Adopted by All Big Cities.
 The "Pingree potato patch" has come to stay. The people of Brooklyn are getting ready to have several "Pingree potato patches" right away In year or two every big city that has an army of poor and hungry people will have "Pingree potato patches.
 For pure beneicence and downright practical results the scheme which May or Hazen S. Pingree of Detroit intro duced about year ago seems to be most farreaching, and it's results, if in dications arc 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 a man of Michigan achieved such a success in its first year, and today the name ''Pingree potato patcha is known from ocean to ocean i'll America and even in some of the effete munich palities of Europe.
 The winter of l8984 was hard one for Detroit's poor. The municipal poor fund was beggared and the emergency fund for that purpose spent long before the winter was over When the spring came. there was still an army of unem- ployed, and the city was stared in the face by the question of now to take care of them and to provide for the next se- were 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- veloped on June $ last. Wiseacres laughed and shook their heads, the city's best authorities on economics and mu- nieipal matters jeered at the idea, and even the wide 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 sneers, smiles and seoffing with the same com placence that he would have greeted commendation.
 On the afternoon of June last the mayor came bursting into his office. called tho office boy and told him to fetch the assessors quickly. The assess ors came, and this WAS the question that was asked of them: How many acres of unimproved 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 out. Then tine newspaper men were ad- mitted aud the same question was asked them, and they guessed all the way from 8 1000 to 20, 900 acres
 I will tell you, said the mayor There are within the city limits of De- troit over 8,000 acres of unused arabic land that could bo cultivated without trouble or much work Now, if the own CTS of these lands will only lend them to the poor, we can get the charitable to supply seeds and blows, and the poor can work the land and get whatever product they are able out of it. ''
 This was tho start of the now famous Pingree potato patch plan. After the newspapers had given 1t publicity many of the landowners of the city came for ward and offered their idle and unoccu- pied acres to heln cut the scheme, and applications fog land to till began to flow i'll from the unemployed poor who were willing to cultivate such land if they could obtain tho necessary seed to plant and the implements of cultivation.
 Hundreds of acres were offered, sOmo of it so far ont of the city that 1t was not available. and then came the ques- tion of getting money for the seed. There was some hesitation about starting 8 subscription for blows and seeds until Mayor Pingree himself said, 'sNow, I've got good horse that I'm using every day, but I'll give that horse toward starting this thing along, and we Il sell it for what we can get " The horse WAS sold, and 1t netted s380 Then the peo- 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 ofty, and they all contributed.
 There was soon land enough in sight, but there was a lack of funds to supply the seeds and farming implements need ed The mayors subscription of his horse was but drop ill the bucket.
 The mayor issued a personal appeal to the pastors of the city asking them to get their churches to contribute to the good cause, and they very generally re- sponded
 By this time the "Pingree potato patch" had grown beyond Mayor Pin gree's available time to handle, and he appointed commission. When the work of this commission started, the commit tee had on hand q total of 430 acres of ground scattered all over the city.
 As fast as applicants were registered they Were assigned to as much ground as the commission believed the appli- cants could work AS far as practicable the land was allotted near the appli- cant's home, but in some cases this was impossible
 As soon as the land was allotted the commission took charge of the blowing, narrowing and stalking off of each piece. To every applicant was allowed from