The herald., 1897-02-27
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT
Public Ownership Club Discusses
the Problem
SOME SUGGESTIONS MADE
Vegetable Gardens Proposed on Griffith
Park Lands
Two Other Schemes for Assisting the Needy.
nass Meeting to Be Held This
Morning

A largely attended meeting Of the
Public Ownership club was held at the
hail. 22O1s South Main street, last night.
The regular program of the evening
was set aside and the members directed
their attention to the needs of the city's
unemployed.
Plans were discussed for securing
temporary relief for the large number
of persons who are without either work
or money. Several methods for doing
this were proposed and subjected to the
coneide ation of this club.
A committee composed of w. H.
Stuart, M. Merrifield, Judge A. j. Utley,
w. C. B. Randolph and George II.
Hughes was finally appointed to formu-
late a plan for the permanent relief OF
the suffering laborers in the city which
will be presented to the council with a
request from the club that 1T be adopted.
The principal part Of the evening was
spent discussing the paper presented by
w. H. Stuart on the Municipal Employ
ment of the Unemployed, extracts from
which are as follows:
Every intelligent student of economic
conditions knows that the army of the
luuSl ooo oiiiShs
in numbers. The means, therefore.
which we must adopt for the relief of
the unemployed. must not be looked
upon as temporary or transient, but
must contemplate a permanent scheme
for relief. Nor must the means adopted
take the form of charity, or of putting
men to unnecessary work, or OF giving
up the use of machines in city employ
ment and having the work done by hand
10 hor for Incl ctan ctrpat GwlpninR
What we want to do Is to provide per-
manent ways and means whereby the
unemployed can at least make living.
The plan 1 would suggest is one that VIII
appeal to the business sense Of the most
intelligent class Of citizens.
My proposition is this: Suppose we
have in this city 1000 or 1900 men able
to work but una BILE to obtain it. Among
this number are shoemakers, tailors,
blacksmiths, bricklayers, carpenters,
gardeners, those who understand the
care of stock and farm work generally.
Now, no able-bodied man or woman
needs charity. What they need is the
means and appliances to make living,
to become self-supporting.
If our county poor farm is now almost
self-supporting, through the labor of
those assumed to be incapable of self
support. how much more easy would 1t
be for able-bodied men to support them
selves. All they need in order to be fed.
clothed and sheltered is to be set to
work to support one another. 1 pro-
pose, therefore, that the city council
set apart 500 acres of the 5000 recently
donated to the city by Mr.. Griffith.
Upon this land let suitable plain but
substantial buildings be erected-dweu-
ings, barns, workshops, etc.
Part of the unemployed could be set
to work on these buildings; others, pro-
vided with teams and agricultural tools,
could prepare the land for raising veg
etables, small fruit, feed, etc.
The produce raised or commodities
manufactured should not be sold in COM
petition with employed wege-workers.
Here is where the duty of the munich
pality comes in.
Those men need land, tools and proper
organization. These should be provided
by the municipality, not only
because it is duty we owe
to the helpless victims Of bad
industrial system, but also and
because the permanent safety of socie-
ty demands it. For time, until the set
tlement becomes self-supporting, 1t
would be necessary for the municipal
ity to maintain the workers. The pro-
ducts of the farm and workshop should
be sold only to state or municipal in
stitutions, so as to avoid competition
with the employed wage-earners. A
thoroughly competent manager should
be provided; his subordinates could be
found in the unemployed ranks. All
produce and commodities over that ne
cessary for self support should be dis
posed of to state or municipal institu-
tions and the proceeds credited al the
market price to the settlement. This
should be equitably divided among the
workers at the settlement. After
the municipality had been reimbursed
for the interest on their outlay and the
cost OF supervision.
The municipality should guarantee
a subsistence; il the workers made more
than that they should be the benefici-
aries of that excess after paying for
cost of supervision and other expenses.
l feel confident the plan Is practicable
ard feasible, and there Is certainly
nothing Utopian proposed.