The Washington times., 1895-05-02
OFFERS OF LAND COMING In
Central Relief Committee kill Be
Advised to Adopt Detroit Plan.
Both In ard Near the City Lots Are
rendered for Potato Farming.
Money Also Given

Relief Committee net yesterday afternoon
al O'Clock at the Evening Star office aud
| began and finished the consideration of
| the Detroit plan for the relief of the poor
and for providing employment for the un-
/ employed Mr.. L. S. Emery. Mr.. Theodore
W. Noges ands Mr.. T w. somervillc were
! present.
The committee decided 10 report favorably
! on the plan. which viii then i,c a matter
! for the generallcommittee 10 adopt, and
! they VIII undoubtedly ADOPT it by
/ considerable majority. One member of
! the committee 9 known TO be opposed to
! asking The District government to so into
! the track farInhufinessw when some Other, the
! usual plan, can meet all emergencies.
! From the fact that this committee has
! reported ii can be assumed that the Central
( Relief Committee viii enter with spirit
/ upon the enterprise, and may adopt this
! farnhIug scheme as the "peuuaheuJ plan"
1 on which the District Commissioners have
asked the Central ReicfCo toreport.
There Is an important significance in that
! letter of the District Commissioners. Ii
means, very probably, that there will be
new legislation on. charities, ibc details OF
which viii depend on what suggestions
are made to the Commissioners by the
Central Relief Committee. 1t is evident
that with the floating pauperism and
misfortunes OF the unemployed provided for.
the appropriations for certain reTDm or
penal Institutions. would by degrees be
come beautifully less.
Ten thousand dollars worth Of seed
and implements and tents at the right
time would make u $40, ,OC0 gift from
Congress a superiIuity.
How the Civic Center regards the propo-
sition may be seen in the following from
that body 10 The Times.
The members of tie Civic Center must
confess their qualification at the prompti-
tude and energy with which the the Commis-
sioners OF tie District, the relief commit
tee, and the Board of Trade have taken
up the project of helping our poorer iel-
ow-Citizens by what is called the Potato
patch" plan. The Center council and the
proper civil committees Will doubtless
give all the aid in their power 10 ascertain
the facts, and 10 lelp settle the neCes-
sary details TO make these benevolent
efforts as useful as poss lille, and to
establish plan OH IeImanent basis.
The Center council asks the especial
attention OF the committees on tie laboring
classes, and on the dependent classes TO "a
carfCul study of the facts connected with
the farm colonies in Europe. as wei as
at home, and TO the small or Intensive
farming of the peasant classes of Northern
France, Belgium, and Southern Germany in
which these patches OF farms have accom-
piished SO much for the poor"
1t may sound strange, but what is
chiefly lacking now is applicants for
work and for farms. 1t has been ten days
or more since it has been generally known
through The Times that offers of farms
have been made 10 the central relief COM
mittee. 1T has also been announced that
the board Of trade has received several
eligible offers of lands and moiley TO begin
work with, yet no one has asked for work,
member of the central relief committee
said yesterday that this was provocative
OF the suspicion that the prospective
farms might so TO ruin for the want OF
farmers
The question agitating those who are
thinking on the subject is, where is the
great army of the unemployed which was
so painfully III view i'll Washington last
winter?
There are two explanations,' said u
committeeman yesterday. They are eith-
er employed or are unemployed. We u2ean
to discover which; and we will do ii by adj
vertisng for tillers of the soil, for men who
are ont OF jobs and who want work on these
farms. The oifcrS made TO this class of
people are very gcneI oHs and call on them
will test their sincerity. There would
be neither justice nor reason in extending
charity next winter TO hundreds of n.en
who may be Idle now and who will not
respond for work when it is advertised
for
The responses to the Board of Trades re-
quest for lands and money are quite sat
isfactory. Two excellent aud generous
offers were made yesterday. One of these
is from Mr.. Chris Heurch, the well known
brewer. He dropped in at the board rooms
yesterday on his way out of town, and
offered the board twelve acres of good
land on the Eastern Branch. This was,
of course, accepted. 1t is understood that
another farm In this neighborhood will be
placed at the disposal of the board to-day
or very soon.
Mr.. Heurich also tenders the committee
the use of twenty lots in block g, and
twelve in Isberwood.
Mr.. Albert Reid offers Al 900 square
feet within ths city limits, and also sends
a check wherewith to buy seeds and TOOLS
There are several other offers which will
be made public when they have been en-
tered up.
The blank forms of applications and
contract will be sent to the printer
to-day, after which the Board of Trade will
be ready to go into the farming business