The herald., 1897-03-11
PERMANENT WORK FOR THE
UNEMPLOYED

Is to give them charity. To give them
work there must be some systematic
plan devised for keeping them employed
at wages which will supply a family
with the necessaries of life. but not with
such pay as will induce men to remain
at 1t when work is offered them IN ie-
ultimate lines. The city cannot for very
long consign to a rock pile men who nave
families to support and who are willing
to engage in honest labor. To put men
at breaking rock smacks of punishment
to be meted out only to tramps and
men who prefer begging to working.
The city of Los Angeles has recently
been presented with tract OF more
than three thousand acres of land In the
frostless belt, much Of it tillable, abund-
antly watered and ready for immediate
occupancy But the city has no large
fund on hand to begin the system OF
park Improvement which the donor con-
templated when he decided the property
to the city. Even If funds for the entire
improvement were lying in the city
treasury the work of making public
park out of the Los Feliz ranch would
still require long period. Preliminary
work Is all that could be done at once
In any event, and this can be done In
manner to help ultimately solve the
problem of the unemployed. n. 8
Adjoining the Los Angeles river 'front.'
age of Griffith park there are several
hundred acres of fine garden soil, level,
fully watered, rich in plant food, and
splendidly adapted to the growth of
berries and vegetables. Why cannot this
whole tract be placed at once in the
in the pay of the city, and portion
of the worthy unemployed be given work
in planting it to vegetables and berries,
the crop to be sold in Los Angeles or
shipped elsewhere, and the proceeds
used in keeping other unemployed at
work? At the same time another force
of unemployed could be put at work in
preparing the ground over on the west
ern slope of the park. in the frostless
belt, preparing it for winter vegetables
to be planted hereafter.
1t is not necessary that all the work
done by the men to be put to work should
be such as will produce an immediate
return. Along with the culture of veg
etables and small fruits could go the
grading of driveways through the can
yons and the planting of trees along
the roads and on the hillsides. Griffith
park can be made a source of revenue
to the city in addition to its own i'm
provement, if a moderate sum of money
is advanced to begin the work. If the
property were in private hands it would
be considered a princely estate, and its
hills and valleys can be planted to such
fruits and timber as will pay interest on
a very large sum of money.
The suggestion of The Herald does not
the establishment of a
penal colony, home for tramps, or any
thing else of that sort. Mr.. Griffith
would rightly object if such thing were
even hinted at. 1t is only intended here
to suggest that the magnificent piece of
ground now lying idle be at once put
to use in furnishing work for needy
men, A place where an honest man.
with or without family, can apply for
temporary labor at a moderate wage, to
be promptly paid, and to which and
from which he can go without any
shadow on his good name. Such
place, properly managed, would at once
sift the worthy unemployed from out the
large mass of men who are too often
looking for work they do not wart to
find. To make such resort in Griffith
park would be unique attempt at solv-
ing the difficulty now lying in the way
CT taking care of those people among us
who say they are hungry and that they
are willing to work. --.-
In addition to the work which may
be done in the Griffith park there is an
enormous amount of similar work in
sight in Elysian park. The hills might
be covered with olive trees this spring,
which would yield large revenue in a
few years, if judiciously cared for
There are a dozen nurserymen in Los
Angeles county who would gladly do
nate from one to ten thousand trees
each to be used for this purpose, and
there are public spirited and liberal men
in Los Angeles who will freely contrib
ute the necessary money for preparing
the ground and planting such trees if
the city will agree thereafter to take
care of them.
We cannot establish work colonies here
on the plan followed in Europe, where
the men are kept under surveillance,
ard where there is no provision for car
ing for the families of the unemployed.
We can, however, establish market gar
dens on public land, where men and
women, needy and willing to work, car
always find employment at wages suffi-
cient to feed them. until such time as
they can find something better to do.
Such an establishment would not be
self-supporting, but it would furnish
an outlet for the money now expended
in cha ritv u,1ite often unwOrth hilv be-