St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-09
ASSOCIATED CHARITIES sECRE-
TARY JACKSON THINKS 1T IS
A GOOD THING.
WANTS TO PUSH 1T ALONG,
AND MAKE AN EVEN DEEPER
STUDY THAN WAS POSSIBLE
before.
HIS PAPER "a SCHOLARLY ONE,
And Will Be Embodied in the Annu-
al Report of the State Board
of Charities.

1
One of the most comprehensive stu
dies of the Pingree potato patch plan
and its resultsis the paper on that sub
ject by Secretary James F. Jackson,
| of the St Paul Associated Charities,
which as been submitted to Secretary
| Hart, of the state board of charities
and corrections, and which will be en-
bodied in his forthcoming annual re-
port. 1t is as follows:
The Pingree potato patch plan was first
tried in Detroit, Mich, in 1894, and bears
the name of the determined. but somewhat err
ratio, reform mayor of that city. During the
time when the unemployed were most nu-
merous and their condition was receiving the
attention of philanthropists, reformers and
others all over the land, Mayor Pingree con-
ceived the idea of providing employment by
utilizing the vacant city property as gardens.
For this suggestion he is entitled to much
praise. The conditions in the whole land were
new. Every city was inquiring into the meth
DDS used in every other city. This inquiry
was at its height when reports as to Detroit S
experiment spread abroad BY id-winter
every hamlet knew of the scheme, and every
city was considering its adoption. The plan
+ became SO much of a craze at to lead many
to doubt It's merits. In st. Paul, 1t naturally
came before the committee for the unem-
ployed, and subcommitte of five was ap-
pointed to investigate the work in Detroit,
and consider the advisability CT a similar
plan Tor 81: Paul. This committee reported
In part that in Detroit there had been some
5000 applications; that 945 families secured
tracts from one-Quarter to one-half acres in
area; that in most instances the ground was
prepared and the seed and tools provided by
the general committee. The mayor said that
no land was given except to those whom
careiui investigation proved worthy and
needy, and yet reliable authority declared
that in more than four-ffths of the cases The
women and children did all the work, while
the men remained idle. Systematic inquiries
OF Intelligent Detroit people developed con-
siderable difference Of opinion, and the testi-
mony as to the effect on the workers was as
Divergent as possible. The subcommittee s
report closed with the following:
Your committee recommend that a small
| subcommittee be appointed to secure the free
use of such land as worthy applicants may
apply for; that the land be secured under as
| favorable conditions as to time as possible;
that no family be allotted more than one-half
| acre of land; that the subcommittee be au-
| thorized to have the land plowed on terms
| equitable to the tenant but shall make no
further expenditure fer them.
This modified plan WILL we believe, fur
nlsh the desired opportunity to such as are
| needy and willing to work land which they
cannot now secure. We believe that such
applicants can, when necessary, secure suff-
cient aid from friends to enable them to
purchase seeds and garden implements.
This plan did mot neceSsitate large giving
from the general public; it did necessitate
individual initiative. 1t was adopted, and an
agent was appointed who went theoretically
to work to find out how many desired to
make of this opportunity. The registry
of the committee for the unemployed showed
the names of more than 1000 men. The mat
ter fully presented to them, and 1t was
urged in the press and elsewhere that every
one who needed, place on which to raise
his own vegetables should fill out an appli-
cation and return 1t to the committee.
During this time the agent was securing
| land not So easy a task as 1t should have
been. 1t was necessary to have tracts of a
number of acres in one piece and it was
sometimes difficult to obtain the owners
permission, especially as many holdings were
small. The largest aEdsmost accessible tracts
were ploMed by the committee but no at
tempt made to furnish seed or tools.
The lack of these kept few, if any, worthy
ones away, so far as the committee is in
formed. If a proper person had urged that
he could not secure either seeds tools, a
way would doubtless have been found to pro-
vide them. This plan was creditable to the
committee because 1t is far better to make
a just rule and treat exceptions according to
merit than to make a rule to fit exceptions
which is lily adapted to the considerable ma
jority.
cry charity in the city, but it was called
upon to investigate only one applicant for
free seed He was found to be single man
of bad repute, who had rented number OF
acres on shares, and. had already secured
considerable seed from one of the politicians
He had no land from the unemployed COM
mittee. rs:
If in any city careful comparisons were
made to determine statistically just what was
the result Of the potato patch plan. the TACT
has not come to my attention. The central
registration of the St. Paul associated char
tiles offers exceptional opportunities for COM
parative study, and determined to know, as
far as figures can show about the effect on
those Who worked patches; what proportion
had received no recorded aid; what proportion
had received aid and whether not aid from
the city was included Charity employment is
not here reckoned aidl.--Later the crops were
inspected, to see which of these arbitrary
classes seemed to do best work. Any espec-
| tally favorable or unfavorable circumstances
were noted from time to time with regard to
each one. This fall each ones crops will be
recorded to his credit Next spring each
mans record will be examined, to determine
whether he receive more or less aid than
usual, and what special reasons aside from
his gardening affected the result. 1t will GER
taiEly require until the close of seed time
next year to get any fair idea of the effect
| of this years PLAN.
| Half-acre tracts were assigned to 165 heads
| of families, including one widow. 1t appears
that " of the 165 had received no aid. 81 of
whom worked their land. % did not; of those
aided by the city, 40 worked and 10 did not.
OF those who had received private aid, 10
worked and did not. OF the total number
to whom allotments were made the largest
percentage of workers was in the class aided
by the city. q
The committe In charge has no record show
ing why At of the 165 failed to work their
| dllOtIneHlS, out IL Is llte opinion lndL III HOSI
cases they had god reasons. This is borne
out by the fact that employment was much
more plentiful at seeding time than at the
| time of filing applications.
AS to the quality of work done, it appears
that the best average work was done by those
who had received only private aid and the
! poorest by those who. had received no aid;
perhaps because their efforts were otherwise
more profitably directed. l am aware of the
fact that the numbers Involved are not great
enough TO warrant accurate general deduc-
| lions, however valuable the data may be in
! the case of each particular family. But they
are the best obtainabe and seem to point
toward several conclusions:
First-There are a good many people who
will work If some one else provides the en-
ployment for them.
Second-There are some people all ready
| to work until work is ready to be done.
| Third-The fact that the percentage of fail
ureS TO accept was greatest among those with
out aid appears to indicate that they are the
more stirring and self-reliant; therefore the
| first to secure more remunerative employ
ment.
Fourth-The plan seemed satisfactory to the
workers. and so far now can be deter
mined it seems to have been helpful
1t Is worthy of note that those who worked
these tracts were not drawn from a city's
slums, but were those who knew how to till
the soil.
The committee sent each worker blank,
or not he wanted patch next year. The
number OF replies received to Nov. 30 was
| eighty-two. There was only one who did not
want to continue. A number proposed to ask
nothing another year except the of the
/ land. Possible it would be best to require
moderate return in kind for whatever ex-
penditure is made for the workers, and thus
| have them feel hat thew ;yip