The Topeka state journal., 1897-09-27
EVENING sEPTEArBER 81 1897

| a defender of government.
There is plenty of idle land in thi
| country. There are numbers of idl'
hands. 1t is the purpose of the leader.
of the Salvation Army to bring the idlt
| hands to the idle land. Therefore WI
| welcome the Salvation Army command
| ers as representatives of a practical re
| lgion. We would not welcome a pena
| colony in our midst, but we give a hearty
| welcome to all honest, Industrious men
Industry, frugality, Christianity temper
| ance, are, as I understand it, the founda
| ton principles of the Salvation Army.
have faith in this scheme. I have faith
/ in any scheme that will bring men nearer
| to country life.
Colorado owes much to colonists. Gree
| ley was colony. Colorado Springs was
| a colony, and 1 was a member of it.
have faith in this scheme as have faith
in Commander Booth-Tucker. have
faith in his Christianity, and 1 believe
that there is no doubt that he will ac-
complish good. 1 have pleasure in intro
ducing. Commander Booth-Tucker."
Booth-Tucker stepped forward and was
greeted with applause. He is a tall,
slender man, and while waiting for an op-
portunity to speak he did not seem to be
a man of commanding force.
After the first few words the audience
became closely attentive, and as he pro-
ceeded all of his hearers conceded that
Booth-Tucker was an orator. He was
attired in the uniform of a general of the
Salvation Army.
He spoke as follows:
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentle
men: am glad to meet you again. When
1 was here last I spoke in regard to our
proposals for the poor. 1 reminded you
of the terrible condition of the poor of
hQf
that painful fact that from 1900, 900 to A.
100000 people were in absolute penury and
that there was no possible excuse for it.
I told you that, side by side with a
great wastage of labor, there was a great
wastage of land, not to speak of the
wastage of capital. I told you of this,
and you agreed with me that we should
not stand it.
81 may say that have met with moth
ing but encouragement from one end of
the country to the other.
81 have had the pleasure of speaking at
some length. to President Mckinley. 1
told him that the prosperity of the ma
ton depends upon the prosperity of the
poor.
'I said that to herd the poor in the
cities was a false economic principle.
Then, again, said that it seemed to me
to brand poverty as a crime was a false
state of things. I said that because
man had a hole in his coat was not
reason why we should conclude that he
has hole in his character.
Major Mckinley said to me that he
should watch our efforts in helping the
poor with increased interest.
From twenty-three states we have had
most liberal offers of land, varying from
10000 acres upward. presume we should
have had offers from the other states, ex-
cept that they were in the position of
the old lady who lived in her shoe. She
had many children she didn't know
what to do. Gaughter)
Now, we must have a Colorado para
disc. There is a saying in Colorado that
we always find out who has done the
best and then we do one better.
1--WE propose to place the poor of our
cities on ten-acre blocks of irrigated land.
We will send a pioneer party ahead to
prepare a reception for the colonists. The
land will be plowed, houses built and
there may even be few chickens await
ing the settlers. For these farms we ex-
pect to charge $1.50 a week. I hope that
we will not have to charge more than 81
week. Some of my friends think I am
too sanguine, but 1 hope results will
prove that am not.
I'VE are not going to pauperize the
We are going to try to
make the workingman into a capitalist. |
We are going to try to put him in the |
shoes and see whether he will |
not behave himself.
Now, I will endeavor to answer some |
objections. Some people say, oh, they |
won't co. Well my answer is. Won't |
hey? If you had been with me in San |
Francisco and looked over the register of |
sOS adults, and if you had seen that 90 |
per cent were agriculturists who had |
lrifted to the city and could not get back |
20 the fields, you would not question that |
We can get colonists. Take the man who |
has been raised on a farm. He has mar
,ied and has encunbrances. Farmers
want to employ single men. Again, what |
ire the wages offered for farm laborers? |
Fen dollars month and board. Thank |
you for nothing says the laborer, I'll |
stay where I am and take my chances |
Now this is not simply a plan for giving
to the poor. We give them
IN interest in the land.
1--WE are told that men in cities do not |
know how to farm. This ignorance of ag-
1 beg leave to say, is all moon
shine. The people we find in the slums
If our cities were not born there. A ma
ority of them came from the country,
md they would be glad to return.
'I don't see why agriculture should not
,e an essential part of the course of edu-
cation in our public schools.
People say, is it wise to interfere? |
Let it alone I am willing to let well
enough alone, but I am not in favor of
citing ill alone. You might well ask
he people of New Orleans to let yellow
lack alone; and, by the way, 1 may say
hat the newspapers are giving too much
space in their columns to Yellow Jack
compared with the Yellow Jack of pow
erty.
I'VE are asked, Are you going to make
Colorado into a Botany bay% No. we are
lot going to send you a lot of scalawags.
# we do by accident send you scala
vag we'll convert him. and YOU know a