Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-03-25
HOMES IN THE COUNTRY.

How to Tarn the Trend Toward City
Life Back to the Sell
An intelligent Nfft ees' Of Maryland adj
aress his letter to Gen. Felix Andrus,
himself a tiller OF Gods given acres:
Would yon kindly allow me space
through the columns of your widely
read journal to place my views before
your readers regarding the best means
of relieving Distress already existing,
and increasing annually throughout
these United States2 Distress and. des-
titution exist in all the large cities of
the union. Thousands of dollars are an
nually distributed all over the country,
charitable institutions and other means
of relieving this distress, but, neyerthe-
less, the number of those destitute and
depending on charity is increasing. Can
this state of affairs be improved upon.
and if so, how? At least so per cent.
of the immigrants coming to this coun-
try were reared in agricultural districts
in Europe, but on arriving at New York,
Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, ETC.,
they think no more of farming life, to
in the already overcrowded towns and
cities. Besides this, the tide of immi-
grafton, even at home here, has the
wrong turn. 1t is from the country to
the city, when the reverse should be the
case.
"There is hardly a state in the union
which has not it's thousands of areas
hor md
agement of the agricultural labprer.
Not state in the union but is trying
to induce colonists to settle within its
borders. know hundreds of large land
owners in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana.
Alabama and other states, who have
thousands of acres for sale and open for
settlement. But they want cash for
their lands, and SO the land lies on their
hands.
snow, supposing, the state of Mary
land would set the ball rolling and try
the following experiment.: Let her
(the state) buy what lands she can,
how she can, and at as reasonable
figure as she can. Let her COLOMBO these
lands with agricultural laborers, not
from Europe, but right here from their
own Baltimore. Say, for instance, the
state fund in Baltimore, 100 families,
more or less, who are actually depend
ing on charity for living. Give each
family 100 acres, more or less. Build
them house, give them the necessary
stock and agricultural implements to
cultivate these 100 acres, the necessary
seed for the first year, build a school in
or for eaeh colony, give them also med
icine and medical attendance for the
first year, and appoint a special agent
to attend to all this. Give them the
proceeds of their farm work the second
year free, and thus give them o good
start. Let each family begin to pay
back to the state the third year so
much, the amount to be stipulated after
thorough consideration, per acre per
year, as rent for ten years, when the
land shall become the property of the
colonists.
"This scheme is simple, and it may
be considered visionary, but have seen
it worked.
Each family, now almost starving,
no work, no home, nothing but distress
and poverty on all sides, will find them
selves owners of their own homes, pro-
ducing all the necessaries of life. They
will be away from the trials, the sick
ness and vicissitudes of city life. They
could have their churches, their schools,
their innocent and healthy amusements.
their school entertainments, and, after
awhile, the country life would be the
desired and desirable, not the disagree
able and avoided, life it is. Those now
starving and depending on charity and
living in idleness and it's temptations
would be producers, and independent
citizens. They would be living where
God intended them to live on the land
which was created for their use. The
state would not lose a nickel by a
scheme of this kind, if it were carried
out in proper manner.
eff 1 could get land on these terms,
could myself get 500 families in either
St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pitts
burgh or Philadelphia, who were raised
on farms in Europe, and who would
gladly exchange the city for country
life, if they only got the means to sus-
tain them, and help them until they got
on their feet. All the charity in the
world will never do away with the neces-
sity for charity. Street cleaning, pub
lie works, ice cutting, ETC., as tenn
porary relief, will be only temporary,
and poverty and want will continue to
exist amid plenty" Baltimore Ameri-
can.