Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07
The Salvation Army's Colonization
Scheme Works Well.
COMMANDER BOOfH-fUCKER'S VIEWS
Common Sense Venture Which
Does Not Rest on Charity.
ON TRIAL FOR A YEAR


my expectation and fully justifies me in the
belief that in the colonization plan lies the
| solution of the social problem said Com
| mander Booth-Tucker of the Salvation
| Army, when questioned as to the results
of his years experiment with the colonial
| ton problem.
The people we have taken there have
given us almost no trouble, and have en-
tered heart and soul into the spirit of the
project, and are working with to help
| themselves in a way that would seem as
| tonshng to an outsider. The men are
| earnest honest workers and L want to put
| 10000 such men in the Colorado valley.
mo, the enthusiasm does not die out
| after little. The men who have been on
| the colony year are as anXiously interest
| ed and grateful for the opportunity
| which has been given them to honorably
help themselves as they were when they
| first put foot on the land They are prov
! ing themselves worthy of the trust We have
put in them, and they are laying the
| foundation for a humanitarian work of
glorious and, as yet, undreamed of posi-
| bilities.
Drawbacks Not CoIonists' Fault.
1T has not been all smooth sailing. We
| have had our draw ba ok s-such drawbacks
as are inevitable in enterprise of such
| nature-but none of them has been in any
| way due to the colonsts. For instance We
| had very large melon crop this year, from
| which expected to make profit of
some two or three thousand dollars. AL
| though We had arranged to sell them to a
very reputable firm in the beginning of the
| season. at a certain figure. were obliged
| to sell them at very small profit, owing
| to great slump in the melon market
| These things, of course, are beyond
| control.
! LAS for the people, they are happy and
! contented. 1t would do the doubling heart
| good to see the change a year has made in
| the faces of the women and children. The
| weary, haunted look seen in their eyes
| when they came, the drawn, hard lines of
| their faces, have all disappeared and in
| stead you pink cheeks, quiet smiling
! eyes, which bespeak well nourished bodies,
| steady nerves and a hopeful condition of
| mind.
| And all this is brought about, not by
| charity but through a practical common
| sense, businesslike venture, which is not
J only helpful in the best sense. but is as
! sound and secure as the land upon which it
| is founded
| From Commander Booth-Tucker and
| Lieutenant Colonel HoltZ, the secretary, in
| teresting facts concerning the workings of
the several colonies were obtained.
| The Original Colony.
| The original colony, Fort Amity. lies $50
| miles east of Denver, in the Arkansas val
| ley, and consists of $40 acres of rich, irri-
| gated land. There are thirty-seven fam
| lilies, or $50 persons upon the land. All
| have comfortable houses and barns, and
| each colonist is allowed from five to ten
| acres of land, the land being apportioned
| according to the mans needs and his ability
| to work it. The men. however. are not al
| together dependent upon the land for sup
| pert. Work in the neighboring towns is
| secured for those whose tastes do not lead
| them to agriculture and for those who are
| not kept continually at work at their farms.
| There is no community scheme about
| it," said Lieut.. Col HoltZ. Each person
| is to be treated as an individual, and must
| work out his own destiny with the same
| advantages as his neighbors or give up.
| While our plan is cooperative, it stops at
| the door of each mans home.
1T is purely a business proposition. We
| have sort of bank. and when the head of
family comes on the land he is given
| credit for from 800 to $3.50, according to the
| number of his children. He is also given a
| house. barn, farming utensils, and usually
| ten acres of land under water for irriga-
| ton. He really owes the Salvation Army
| the money he has been given credit for and
| he has the privilege of buying the house
and land at what each cost Until he has
! done SO he is treated if they really be-
| longed to him.
Money for Present Needs.
when a man moves into the colony and
is located in his own house he has the priv
ilege of drawing coin against his account
l
| draw all the money for which he is given
| credit before he gets returns.
| Those who got to work last Christmas
| found their land to be almost self-support-
ing from the first. They planted alfalfa
| and kept cow and few pigs. There
| also accommodations for keeping chickens,
and vegetables were grown almost from the
| start. Besides this, each colonist had the
| privilege of putting in five acres of sugar
beets, which will bring to those who availed
| themselves of it profit of about $3.50
| Melons and canteloupes are the great
products of the colony, and most of the
| colonists put in crops of these, with the
| result that a slump in the market greatly
| diminished their profits.
| With such advantages there is no reason
| why honest people cannot earn a living. If
| a man can save 81. % d week he can pay for
| his home within the time of our option to
| buy-ten years. When a man has paid for
| his home he will be given a clear title to it.
| There are no restrictions or obligations
on any of the coloniStS. We have a store,
| but when a man draws his account he is
given coin, and can spend 1t where he
pleases. There is to be charity fund.
| People who cannot support themselves
| must go to some of other institu-
| tons The colony is a place for workers"
No Restrictions.
Fort Amity has a school house, post
| office. a general store, tailor shop and
hall for religious services. lectures, literary
| entertainments, &c. There are no restric-
| tons as to ones religion The colonist may
| be of any faith, or none at all, so long as
he is honest and faithful; but the Salvation
| lists hold their services, and to these, of
course, all are welcome.
| Among the $50 persons who have gone to
| the Colorado colony only has proved
| untitled for the conditions of the place, and
| for this one work Immediately found
| in Denver by the governor of the colony.
| The colonists have among them fifty horses
| and much other valuable live stock.
| The California colony holds $50 acres, 100
| miles south of San Francisco, in the county
OF Monterey. Former Mayor Ellert of San
| FRANCISCO contributed largely to the pur-
| chase price of the land and he and many
| other influential residents of California are
| giving generous support to the enterprise.
| There are twenty-three families. includ-
ing ninety persons, upon the land, which is
| KNOWN as the Romie ranch. The land
| when selected, was already under cultiya-
ton and had an orchard of twenty acres in
| full bearing.
Three Crops n Year.