Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-06-27

Ing experiment for the benefit OF other
cities. Pngree writes as follows:
"The plan will be tried at Detroit
this year on a more elaborate scale, as
the commission will have $4,000 to
work with. that amount having been
appropriated by the common council,
and they authorized me to appoint
commission to serve without pay,
which have done, That commission
is composed Of the best citizens, those
who have time to spare for the work.
The commission Is appointed to remove
the objection Of its being purely poor
commission object or charitable work.
We shall use the rolls of the poor COM
mission, however, to get the names Of
the needy.
"The land has not been all subscribed
yet, but as soon as it Is the street sweep
ings will be hauled to the different lots
and used for top dressing, and in the
future we will store these sweepings in
the winter on the lots of land in differ
ent parts of the city which are to be
used by the agricultural commission
the following season. The willingness
Of the poor to take advantage of the
offer and help themselves in every way
they can is shown by the large number
Of applicants who have already asked
for land.
"The returns this year should be
more than double those of last season
from the fact that the land can be
ploWed earlier and those who had their
first experience last year will profit
by it, and we will have more perfect
system of supervision. have obtained
from the agricultural board Of the state
the authority for the statement that
planting even as late as the middle Of
June is often attended with better re-
suits than planting done in May.
II would recommend to cities in
tending to try the plan that the educa-
tional part Of it is really worth more
than the thousands of dollars Of benefit
received in the crops. Every one will
concede that we have drifted from ma
lures own way Of getting livelihood,
The idea Of the many in rushing to the
cities and trying to get living by
their wits is not natures way, and this
agricultural plan will be, believe
step in the right direction. I would
advise the hiring of few paid men,
practical farmers, for short time dur
ing the planting season. and this is all
the help that need be hired. These men
should be very practical and men
whose hearts are in the work.
prom the results Of this plan I am
satisfied that in the future large cities
will do well to set apart certain Sec
tions Of land for permanent use in this
direction. This will become more and
more apparent as the large cities be-
come more and more populous, and no
man can do more philanthropic act
than to donate land for such use. 1
would even favor municipalities pur-
chasing for this purpose.
"These agriculturally cultivated
parks will, believe, be found as bene-
fetal in results as the purely plasure
parks, and will be as useful for the
prosperity of city's inhabitants; and
by this I do not mean to advocate at
all the giving up or lessening Of the
number of our breathing spots, the
parks devoted to pleasure and recrea-
ton.
"As the battle of life grows sharper
and more bitter and the cities increase
in age and size, the needs of such use
full agricultural parks will become more
and more evident. There will be no
trouble in finding those both competent
and willing to act as teachers and to
serve on the commission, and it will be
Of inestimable benefit to cities, from
a standpoint of mere utilitarianism,
from the fact that it uses the street
refuse, which is now wasted.