The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-12
HUMAN DERELICTS.
Found for a Few of Them
by the Salvation Army.

IOF u rev Oh 1nenl
by the Salvation Army.
London Mail.
The resignation with which the majority
of life's failures bear their misfortunes, and
their steadfast Discrimination to cooperate
with any scheme for assisting them, are
most disheartening to those who seek a
practical solution of the unemployed
problem.
Probably no better idea ever occurred to
any philanthropist than to apply the sur
cultivation of the waste land of the coun-
try. The outcome of such an idea is the
farm colony of the Salvation Army. which
is situated on the estuary of the Thames
midway between Southend and Tilbury.
The farm comprises about 1,104 acres of
land, eight hundred of which are devoted to
farming and dairy produce, the bulk of the
rest being used for the cultivation of fruit
vegetables and flowers.
The dormitories, seven in number, and
each built to afford accommodation for fifty
coloniSts are roomy, well-ventilated and ex-
tremeIy comfortable. There is a hospital
capable of accommodating twenty patients,
word Hadeigh is such a model of what
establishments of this kind should be that
were General Booth to let it to seastderS in
the autumn, the place would be crammed
AS It is Hadleigh is never full.
1t is not that the place has bad name.
At Hadleigh each colOniSt is free to do as
he lsteth. If he does not care about attend
ing the barracks, which afford accommoda-
ton for 600 worshipers, he can stop away.
If he feels an occasional pipe ana a glass
ton of his independence he is free to go.
Should he tire of looking at the piggerieS
and their 600 odd inmates, or thinks lVO
job, there is plenty of other work on which
he may expend his energies
The aim Of Misunderstanding to so organize
the labor of the residents as to make it re-
muherative, every species of agriculture
which promises profit is practiced. So that
if a colonist thinks 200 sheep and lambs look
too much like hard work, the authorities,
knowing the uselessness of labor which is
distasteful, tempt him with horses, of which
there are only twenty.
The colony sends to Covent Garden every
year twenty-eight tons of strawberries,
three and a quarter tons or gooSeDerr1es,
eight tons of raspberries, two and nall
tons of red currants, over nine and a halt
tons of black currantS, besides vast guam
titles of other fruits and vegetables, and,
what is more wonderful still, has not only
won prizes and honors for it's poultry at
fourteen of the most important shows in
the kingdom, but has actually pierced the
secret. hitherto known only to the French,
of how poultry rearing may be made to
pay. No wonder that Hadleigh eggs for sit
ting now go all over the country
A really busy place this farm colony, and
opened a furious controversy ragged for
some time as TO the methods of the Saliva
ton Army and the futility of sinking money
in such a hopeless enterprise. But as the
money was expended, it must be evident
that what the public has to do now is to see
that it is being properly applied. Hadleigh
does not quite pay its way yet, though 1t
is said that it will clear expenses this year.
At any rate, no effort Is spared in the en-
deavor to make it self-supporting. For in
stance. Essex soil being heavy, brickfields
have been started Hadleigh now turns out
{, GOO 900 bricks during the year. in addition
to coo of superior quality.
As 10 200 tons of produce are dispatched
yearly, the traffic arrangements require the
keenest supervision. Hadleigh being on the
river, barges and steam cranes are, OF
course, much in evidence. Emboldened by
the success which has attended the railway
for loading and unloading of goods within
its farm, the management now propose car
rying all its goods in its own barges. 1t has
already purchased one, and before these
lines are in print will have added others.
The air of Hadleigh is so pure and the
appetites of the colonists so coed that 1T is
easy for any visitor to see that the colonists
enioy good health. But are they happy?
The authorities say, Yes and aver that
the spirit of contentment Is so universal
that from first to last only 19 per cent.
idleness or drunkenness.
Considering that the colony is open to all
classes, the deserving and especially the I'M
deserving. 1t is, indeed, astonishing that an
occasion has never risen when 1t became
necessary to call in the services OF an Essex
constable In fact, disturbances OF any sort
at Hadleigh are unknown. And yet, for all
the attractiveness of the place, the chances
If gives man of recovering himself, there
are only $50 coloniStS now in residence.
IT would occur to most people that not
only should the place be full, but that thou
sands should be waiting their turn Tor ad-
1icSin