The San Francisco call., 1898-01-06
'COLONISTS
 ARRIVE AT
 SOLEDAD Accompanied by an Escort of Salvation
 Soldiers. An Enthusiastic Reception Given to Commander
 Booth-Tucker. In Festooned Carriages the Newcomers Are Conveyed
 to the Tract. ENTER HAPPY HOMES. Bright Outlook for the Future of tho New Cooperative Common
 wealth.
Tn Festooned Carriages the
 New-Coners Are Conveyed to the Tract.
ENTER HAPPY HOMES.
Bright Outlook for the Future of tho New Cooperative Common
 wealth.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

SOLEDAD, Jan. 5.-An experiment was begun here to-day of extraordi- nary moment to the entire country, in- asmuch as its success will solve the problem of congested populations in the cities and prove a long step in the direction of minimizing the evils of municipal poverty and pauperism. It was the practical intention of the plan of General Booth and his corps of en- thusiasts in matters of social and re- ligious reform to capitalize the surplus labor of the commercial centers and colonize it on the most desirable arable lands of the West.
 Commander Booth-Tucker to whom was assigned the task of bringing into existence the first tentative settlement, arrived this afternoon from San Fran cisco with a group of colonists for Fort Romie and a full uniformed escort of the Salvation Army. The little town turned out to give the newcomers a cheering reception. Festooned car riages were in waiting to convey the officials of the enterprise to the site of the colony, anl larger vehicles were provided for the settling families and such household effects as they had brought along.
 Fort Ronie, thus named in honor of the Californian who contributed most to the undertaking, is west of Soledad; it is a mile and a half, as the crow flies, on the opposite side of the Sali- mas river, and three miles distant by the county road. The settlement con- sists of a 500-acre tract segregated from the Ronnie estate, one of the larg- est in Monterey county. The form is that of a V, resting on the west shore of the Salinas, and extending more than a mile to the foot of the gently sloping Coast range. The inner sur vey of the plat is a triangular reser- vation for parks, townsite, creameries, public works and such other uses as the incorporation may deem advisable to the progress and interest of the con- munity.
 Encompassing the triangle, on the opposite sides of two broad avenues that start from the county road at the west and converge to point near the river, are the ten acre lots intended for apportionment among the colonists. The dwellings on these are to sym metrically front the avenues. Thirty of the intended fifty are nearly com pleted. Ten are of four rooms each, for large families. twenty of two rooms each, for small ones. The buildings, though unornamental. are neat and of various designs of architecture. The first corners have preference of selec- ton.
 In the center of the townsite a large hoI is going up. Twenty-e eight men have been employed for weeks in breaking the land preparatory to individual cul- tivation and erecting the buildings. This force will be dismissed at an early day, and the continuance of the public or general work will become the first duty of the colonists who are in evil dence. as soon as they have chosen their lots and installed their families.
 MT. Romie placed his horse herds at the disposal of the colony, and thirty. of these are already broken to blow and harness. Within forty days the irrigation plant and canal system are expected to be in operation.
 At the junction of the Arroyo and Salinas Rivers abundant water has been tapped at a depth of eleven feet, half-mile from town. Here an exca- vation 40x40 feet will be made for a reservoir, with a centrifugal pump and a 90-horse power engine. The colony canal will be supplied with a water flow at the rate of from 5000 to 5000 gall Ions a minute.
 In the colony tract are embraced two old lessee estates, comprising many useful building improvements and two excellent orchards, one of twenty acres and the other of seven. It was to one of these that the colon ists were taken on their arrival to- day. The swift transformation of the scene was inspiring. The laughter of the happy mothers, vieing with the boisterous shouts of the little children, who were plainly overjoyed to be spir- ited into this favored spot of nature from the streets of the city; the boyish interest and enthusiasm of the fathers, the haltering and breaking of horses which was going on, the myriad chick ems scurrying about out of reach of the youngsters, the ten-horse gang blows moving steadily down the open, the echo of the click of the carpenters hammer on the uprising buildings, and amidst it all Booth-Tucker and his men vainly trying to repress their qualification, formed picture of an- ticipation and happiness not to be for gotten readily.
 Here is food for romantic reflection