The herald., 1897-08-29

you know the Pingree potato patches
farmed out by the Association for I'm
proving the Condition of the Poor here
in New York. have known a woman,
the wife of a poor clergyman, to take
one of those patches of disregarded land
and clear between 5000 and $500 profit
off it. We say to our colonists: We'll
find the capital; you furnish the work,
and pay the money back at 81 week.
1t is well for us to take the initiatory
step, because the poor, who have been
so long exploited by private capitalists,
have faith in us. There are three mil
lion superfluous people in our cities who
need only land to become self support
ing and prosperous. If we can make
the scheme go, capital will be quick to
follow suit, realizing that it is an, ex-
cellent investment to put people on
land. Railroad men in particular are
quick to see the advantages of having
populous and thickly settled communi-
ties pouring freight upon their lines in
stead of sparse communities Of ranches.
Railroad men are not given to dream
ing. The Santa Fe officials with whom
l have talked and eX-Gov. Osborn Of
Kansas, who has examined our plans,
are enthusiastic in their praise. Like
most of our Salvation Army work, this
is business proposition. Our Bowery
shelter is self-supporting. In London
we spent $493, 900 in humane work last
year, and $470,000 of it was repaid by
the people benefited. Most Of our en-
terprises are self-supporting, but of
course that cannot be the case with res
cue work. or with charities established
for children"
"How would you lay out a colony
site?" asked.
Commander Booth Tucker flshed out
of the litter on his desk a township plan
which shows careful thought. One Sec
ton in the exact centre is cut up into
lots and reserved for stores, shops, mar
kets. schools and public buildings.
66-foot road, as prescribed by law in
most of the middle western states, runs
along each section line, dividing the
township into thirty-six squares as
usual. But in addition to these, dag
onal roads traverse the township from
corner to corner after the French plan
employed by Major PEnfant in laying
out Washington, D. G. These diagonal
ways furnish a much shorter route to
the village site than the legal roads.
No one need travel more than four
miles to reach the centre Of the town
SHIP, even lIOlll lto loi liASoS WI hOh'
Zigzagging by the legal roads one must
travel six miles.
| Each section is subdivided into sixty
four plots of a trifle less than ten acres
each, the difference being accounted for
by the space used for roads. Each plot
is a quarter of a mile deep, less half the
width of it's facing road, and $50 feet
wide, less lie of the width of road.
| The exact size would be something ike
1926 feet by 1886.
Of the four strips of sixteen plots
each which make up a section, the two
outer strips abut upon the legal, Sec
tion-line roads, and there the houses
stand The two inner strips have ac-
cess to the world by way OF road cut
| ting through the middle of the section.
This, if desired, can be narrower than
the main road. A township Of 2240
families, besides the tradesmen living
in the central section, will thus be full
ly served by only 12S miles of roads,
which is so much less than the usual
rural proportion that the burden of
maintaining them will be comparative
ly little, while the enormous amount Of
hauling necessary will make excellent
roads necessary, and thus remove ono
potent cause of dissatisfaction in rural
lneighborhoods. The main water bitches
will follow the road lines, but each
farmer will construct his 81 subdi-
vided irrigation bitches to 1t HIM
self.
1.-THE great advantage Of our colo
ny plan is financial" said Commander
Booth-Tucker in conclusion. 1--WE give
man for $50 at 5 per cent interest
something that, by private contract,
he'd have to pay $1O0 and 10 per cent
for. We make every one, however, feel
that he is paying for what he gets,
: which is indeed the case.
"Thus we substitute independence for
dependence, and solve, we hope, part
at least of the problem of poverty"
JOHN LANGDON HEATON.
~ Copyright, 1897. by Bachelor Syndicate.