The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-06
ENGLAND HAS
new OUTLAWS
Band Said to Combine the
Principles of Pingree and
Coxey'S Army.
SQUAT ON VACANT LOTS
MAKE SPEECHES, BUT RAISE
FEW POTATOES.

London, Aug 5.-"Comrade John
Burns, NJ P-Manchester's unem-
ployed have taken your advice of TWEEN
ty years ago and gone back to the land
for food for wives and BARNS. Con-
graduate us. Jack Williams, Outlaw"
The above telegram, sent by one or
the principal actors in England's latest
industrial farce-comedy to Honest
John" Burns, erstwhile labor leader
and present cabinet minister, Is still
awaiting a reply. 1t would perhaps be
hardly fair to say that the Right Hon.
John and Kerr Hardie and all the other
front rank labor and Socialist party
leaders are lodging the new sect of
"Grablanders," yet 1t is remarkable
how terrible busy they are just now
on parliamentary affairs. Being wise
men apparently they do not want to
be identified with the band at whom
the public is at present laughing.
AS the cable dispatches have prob
ably told, the unemployed have at last
accepted the Back TO the Land cry
and in Manchester and London have
seized two small plots of ground, en-
camped on them and started to raise
vegetables and collections" The lat
ter are already yielding a daily and
fairly bountiful harvest. The vege-
tables have not yet reported progress.
Other small bands of unemployed have
at few outlying places followed in
mild way the lead of Manchester and
London.
Back to the Land"
England was a little bit startled in
the early part of July when dozen
men, headed by a trio named Gray,
Smith and Williams, took possession of
a six-acre field, unfenced, at Leven-
shulme, three miles from Manchester
and announced that the unemployed of
the country had turned outlaws and
intended to grab all the lanG they
wanted and till it according to the pre-
Cepts of Back to the land" dinned
into their ears for many winters by
philanthrOpists, sOciOlogists and charity
crganizat tons. Arthur Smith is known
as the ringleader of the Manchester
unemployed for the last year. Jack
Williams is prominent orator and
leader of the Socialist-Labor party and
A. Stewart Gray.s NJ. A, is a land en-
thusiast, agricultural expert and So
biologist, AS his degree proves he is a
man of education, He also has indie
pendent means. Last winter he pro-
posed that the large cities should solve
the unemployed problem by spending
One-quarter of a million dollars each on
a farm colony. This, he declared, would
not alone support all the unemployed
and their families, but would net a pro-
fit annually of anything up to $3.50, 900
to each city. His scheme was backed
up by Joseph Fels, the millionaire
American philanthropist and business
man, formerly of Philadelphia, now of
England. Mr.. Fels even offered to help
finance me schemes. But the cities
would have none Of them. TOO colos-
SAL" they said.
Shortly after the Improbable
marches to London of the provincial
unemployed last winter, Gray, Smith
and Williams got together and planned
their present land grabbing business.
They consulted ecclesiastical lawyers
and made their plans in secret for
months So the present state of af-
fairs is not movement of the moment.
Gray reported on several plots of land
all 'glebe" or church land, mind you
And then the 'Grablanders" squatted
on their present location as being the
most favorable from an agricultural
viewpoint. They stuck little flags at
the boundaries of the field, a big red
one in the center; put up a tent and a
stone fireplace and built a grass sod
nut dIter the FASHION or ireland. They
set to work to issue proclamations,
make speeches, take up collections and
finally dig up the field and plant cab
bages. Some dozen men formed the
initial campers, but the number has
been increased to score. Gray was
appointed minister of agriculture" and
is directing all the real work; Williams
is allowed to give full swing to his ora
tory, write kilograms and proclama-
tons and is therefore happy, and
Smith, as commander chief, looks
after the very important department of
taking round the hat. Crowds of curl
Gus Manchester people daily visit the
camp and the collections to date have
been pretty good. The men are orderly
and strict discipline is maintained.
They have only made one mistake and
that was to boil and eat a sackful of
prime potatoes sent them for seed by
a sympathizer.
The movement appears to be a cross
between Coxey's army and Pingree's
potato patch propositions.