Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-13
Fl. ROM|E'S SUCCESS
Experience of the Salvation
Army Colony.
RIDER HAGGARD'S VIEW
PRAISES THE STRUGGLE OF COM
MANDER BOOTH TUCKER.
What Has Been Done in Rescuing
Tsro,,, %hn Claws and uo1u-
What Has Been Done in Rescuing
Families From the Slums and Help
ing Them to Acquire Homes.


BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
MONTERREY, Cal, September s. 1905
Two weeks or SO ago 1 wrote you about
n remarkable exhibition of altruism and
sentiment to be observed near the city of
San Diego. at a colony Of theosophists at
Lomaland. striking and significant con-
trast may be found a short distance south
of Monterey. four miles from a station
called Soledad. on the coast line of the
Southern Pacific railway. Both colonies
are engaged in the pursuit Of happiness
and the promotion Of the welfare of man
kind. While their purpose is the same,
they are composed Of entirely different
classes Of Fundamentally and physically
with different manners and methods.
One is purely theoretical with it's head in
the clouds; the other is intensely practi-
cal and uses the bosom of Mother Earth
for its pillow. One expects to attain Par
adise by the use Of Jacobs ladder and TO
sing with the angels in the Garden of AL
lah; the other is trying to fill the mouths
of the hungry and escape the curse Of
poverty by raising potatoes. beans, onions,
cabbages. sugar beets, alfalfa, berries and
fruits.
Both represent the universal brother
hood of man-one limited and the other
unlimited. One wears Greek robes and
searches with an imaginary torch for the
Lost Mysteries Of the AncientS; the other
burns tallow candles. lives in cottages
that cost $3.50 pays per cent on the price
of team of horses. COW, two hogs.
dozen chickens, a plow, wagon and
set Of tools, secured by chattel mortgage,
One represents the mysticism of theoso-
ply; the other the commonplace. every
day realities Of the salvation Army. Both
are objects of the greatest interest to all
who have taste for sociological prob
lens.
Salvation Army Colonies.
The Salvation Army has three farm col
onies in the United States. One, near
Cleveland, has been largely sustained by
the generosity of the late Senator Mark
Hanna and Gov. Herrick Of Ohio. both
members of that branch of the universal
brotherhood of man represented by. the
Salvation Army. The second colony Is at
Holly, Col. which 1 have several times
described in these columns. The third
called Fort Rome-is here.
All three of them have boundless posi-
biities for good but they are hampered
by lack Of funds, like many other good
movements. Many wise people believe
that Commander Booth-Tucker, who has
been promoting these colonies has found
in them q solution of of the great
world problems by combining practical
colonization with philanthropy and send
ing those who are capable of working their
own way from the slums of the cities out
upon the irrigated plains The expert
ments thus far have been eminently sue
cessful, and the British government re-
Gently sent Rider HagSard, the eminent
novelist to investigate the Salvation Army
colonies in the United States with a view
to adopting a similar scheme to remove
part of the surplus population from the
slums of London, Liverpool. Manchester.
birmingham and other crowded cities of
England and placing them upon public
lands in various colonies of the British
empire. Mr.. Haggards report is of the
greatest interest and Importance. He
tells the story Of the struggle OF Com
mander Booth-Tucker and his associates
against disheartening difficulties and
their final triumph; and sums up his OBJ
servations by saying:
1T comes to this, therefore, that 1t would
be difficult to find better instance or the
advantage of skillfully managed land set
Element Tor the benefit of persons without
CAPITAL than that which is offered by Fort
Romie. California. Indeed l doubt if such
another exists.
The New Zealand Experiment.
Mr. Haggard suggests that the imperial
government of Great Britain guarantee the
interest on loans for land settlement, a
plan which has already been tried In New
Zealand, where the colonial treasury not
only guarantees the interest. but finds the
money to enable poor immigrants to estab-
lish farms and homes. 1t has invested
more than twenty millions of dollars In
that way during the past ten years, and,
according to the official reports, the policy
has produced satisfactory results. The
number of officially assiste- colonists who
have failed is comparatively small-about
II per cent of the whole, | believe. TWEEN
ty-nine per cent have been eminently sue
cessful. The remaining "a per cent have
not distinguished themselves above each
other They are simply ordinary farmers.
making a comfortable living and having
neither poverty nor riches. But they must
be counted on the right side.
The New Zealand experiment. which is
very extensive, and those conducted by the
Salvation Army in the United States. which
are limited seem to be sufficient to demon
strate the practcability OF the policy; and
every one will agree with Mr.. Haggard
when he declares In his report that the es-
sentials for successful colonization are:
l. Sufficient capital. in order to loan set
tiers whatever money they need at mod
crate rate of interest.
lands.
g. Skilled, tactful, firm and sympathetic
mana cement.
Plenty of Land offered.
Wherever the Salvation Army has failed
wherever 1t has fallen short Of its purpose
the trouble has been due to the lack of
firm control and skillful management and
the inability of certain settlers to do man
ual labor. lose details. however. are
easily corrected.
Nor is there any difficulty in finding land.
The Canadian government has offered the
Salvation Army 24G.0O0 acres Of prairie
land for colonization purposes, and Com
mander Booth-Tucker has his choice of a
dozen different locations belonging to pri-
yate land companies in the United States
and in half dozen different states and ter
ritories. The late Senator Hanna intro
duced into Congress a bill granting suffi-
Client tracts of government land to the Sal
walton Army for the same purpose, and 1t
will undoubtedly become law. But the
great difficulty is the lack of ready money.
situation exasperating to a practical
mind, who vast sums expended In vain
in other directions. when the experiments
at Fort Romie and elsewhere have been so
successful.
The general purpose is to transfer honest
and intelligent families from the slums of
the great cities to these farming colonies,
where they can acquire homes and sufficient
land to make a good living and bring up
their children in healthy and hopeful sur
roundngs In order to do this the colonists