Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-06-20
NATIONAL HOMES BILL,

NATIONAL HOMES BILL,
The News" has received a copy OF
n bill which seems to have been intro
duced IN the House and referred to the
committee on public lands, in Decem-
Der 1900 The object OF the measure Is
ITO provide homes and employment for
the homeless poor and make them self
sustaining home owners"
Few persons IN the country, probably
are aware OF the fact that such n bill
is peacefully slumbeFing In the recesses
Of committee room, awaiting
the blasts OF some trumpet, to make Il
rise. Its provisions are remarkable
enough. however, TO secure for IT some
attention.
The measure contemplates the estab-
lishment OF Bureau Of National
Homes" under the control OF the sec
rotary OF agriculture, II authorizes the
secretary TO select five million acres OF
public land and call for laborers to Inn
prove It, by building homes, irrigation
systems, and otherwise. These laborers
shall be selected from the poor and
homeless people of the country. All
money expended for the Improvement
Of the land shall be paid by the bene-
fclaries. as specified in the bill. The
land Is to be subdiylded into small
farms and transferred TO the laborers,
as fast as applicants for homes send
in their names. The undivided land
is TO be farmdl collectively on equitable
terms to the workers thereon. Manu-
featuring and mining Industries are al.
30 to be provided for under the dlrec-
lions OF the secretary of agriculture.
There are two peculiar provisions in
the bill. one Is that every evangelical
minister or missionary may live In the
national homes, "and have the full BEN
eft OF the land belonging TO the cot
tage therein. in which he or she re-
sides, as long as he or she does Gospel
work for said employees"
The other declares "that no crying
OF hawkers, Of rag or aoap-grease men,
or OF newsboys, or similar disturbance,
no elevated railway, no streetcars ION
or below the ground, unless nolslcss
or drawn by horses without bells, and
no cobhlestone or similar noisy pave
ments be- AZ any time, allowed on any
Of the lands mentioned IN section three
OF this act
II may be OF interest TO zee a speci-
men OF much that finds It's way into
the halls OF our national Legislature.
But otherwise II Is difficult to imagine
what the object OF such measure Is.
The American people are not as yet
prepared for socIalistic experiment
on a Wholesale scale, The question
OF relief for the poor has, so far, been
LEFT to Individual henevolence or COM
munal charity arrangements. The gem
eral government has not considered the
solution OF that problem as belonging
TO It's functions. except in eases Of great
and sudden caamitles. when Immediate
relief was required,
There Is another problem just now
before the public, which may demand
attention The coal strikers are con-
templating the. call OF national con-
yention OF miners, for the purpose Of
discussing the adylsabillty Of calling
out all coal miners In the country on a
general strike. This would involve, Il
Is said, $4,000 men, or including FAM
lilies, over a million people, That II 20
say. because the operators in one Sec
ton OF the country refuse TO agree 10
the demands Of their employees, there
fore hundreds OF thousands who have no
grievance. must quit work; and
lrreparable damage IL TO be
inflicted upon the business of
the entire country For that is
what a general strike Of coal miners
would mean The people will, probably
at no distant date, feel called upon
TO take precautions against the recur-
renee Of such conditions, They may
demand lrws for the regulation OF labor
and capital, with a view Of prevent
ing the Industrial wars that are con.
stantly being waged at the expense OF
the people which In the last instance
are the lovers.
And then, when It has been found
necessary for the government 10 take
the labor question in hand, Il may
follow that something must be done
for the poor and homeless, too. but
II "a not probable that relief measures
would take the form OF the National
Homes Bill.
In the meantime Il can do no harm
10 call attention to the fact that there
ere thousands OF homeless people, who
but need fair opportunity, under pro-
per leadership, to become independent.
Whatever can be done. within reason.
for such persons Is that much more
prosperity and happiness distributed
throughout the country.
II Pelee keeps on throwing out slime
It's name win soon be mud.