Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-17
RELIEVING THE SLUMS
Taking People From London's
Congested Districts.
SALVATION ARMY WORK
Talk With Col. Lamb of the Emigra-
ton Department.
COLONIZING RURAL ENGLAND
More Expensive Than to Send Fami-
lies to Canada or Australia-Ob-
jections to South Africa.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the Chicago
Record uerald.

LONDON, September %, 1906.
The Salvation Army plan for relieving the
congestion of the London slums and the
burden of pauperism that Hes upon the
British people is to export the surplus pop
ulation to other countries where 1t is need
ed. where there is plenty of land, and light,
and air, and labor, and opportunities for the
unemployed. 1t has colonies in the United
States and Canada and has scattered hum
dreds of thousands of worthy people over
the prairies. During the past year the
Salvation Army has sent 1900 home seek
ers from Great Britain.
Most Of them have gone to Canada,
said Col. D. c. Lamb. who is in charge of
the emigration department., although a
considerable number have gone to the
United States. Generally speaking South
Africa is not at present considered a suit
able field for emigration. This is largely
due to the war and the disappointments
relationships of various kinds incidental to
happy and successful community" -
Arrangements are now. being made for
the shipment of 10000 or more emigrants to
the Argentine Republic, Brazil and Chile,
where employment has been arranged for
them. The men will be selected for their
special fitness for the employment promised
and will come from the congested districts
of the East End of London. Unfortunately
every unemployed person is not a desirable
colonist, and the officials Of the Salvation
Army have to exercise a great deal Of care
in making their selections, because it is an
expensive undertaking, and they have
record to maintain. They never send any,
body who is not known to be honest, in
dustrious and ambitious to improve his sit
uation in life. Very often mistakes are
made of course. certain amount Of en-
igrants have proved failures, but the per-
centage is remarkably small.
Colonizing English Rural Districts.
The Salvation Army also has colonies in
the rural districts of England to which it
sends families from the slums, but that
has proved to be more expensive and less
successful than the Canadian and Austria
liam business Strange to say, 1t costs more
to remove family from the East End Of
London to the agricultural districts Of Eng
land and establish them on piece of land
than 1t does to send them to the farther
most parts of the earth.
Roughly speaking,"~ said Col. Lamb. Il
estimate the cost of placing family In
England where they would have chance
of making their own living at about G4O0
to $500. The same family could be taken
care of for about half that amount in Can
ada or Australia George Herring has re-
Gently placed at Gen. Booths disposal the
sum of 100000 in order that he may I'M
dertake. experimentally, the settlement of
unemployed families from London upon ag-
ricultural lands in England. This in itself
is something of anti-emgration. but the
need for this and emigrati is great that
we can find more than enough applications
to deal with and continue our foreign work
at the same time. The increase in our work
could not. of course, be accomplished with
out corresponding increase in our SUBJ
scriptions and legacies for this purpose,
which are much larger and more frequent
than they used to be. Last month we re-
eeived a1LOo0 from one gentleman alone.
The money advanced to emigrants last year
amounted to about 100000 A little of that
has come back already, and we have been
much encouraged by the repayments which
have reached us from emigrants who sailed
under our auspices last year and the year
previous. l do not know the exact percent
age at this moment, but 1t is considerable.
You understand that this is not harita-
BILE movement. We do not give money
away We do not offer free passage. Every
cent We expend is In the nature of loan
to somebody who is expected to repay us in
due time.
Our English colony continued Col.
Lamb, lis worked not with a view Of set
thing people in this country, but to restore
them to moral and physical fitness for
their regular previous occupations, or
as a preparation for emigration. We han
BILE about four hundred every year. Many
Guilty in getting city men to cultivate the
ground and they do succeed, although you
could scarcely call them practical farmers.
They learn, and learn quickly. Our plan is
a simple, common-senSe One-Skilled super
vision, plenty of nourshing food, sympa-
thetic treatment SO that the man will not
become discouraged when his back aches
and his hands are blistered, and the inspira-
ton of faith in the management of self.
have repeatedly seen city-bred men, not
having any previous training in agricHl
ture manual labor. excel experienced
farm hands after six months. both in the
quantity and the quality of their work. The
city man very often has a superior educa-
ton, quicker perceptions, alertness of mus
Gle and mind. and, although the natural i'm
pediments of country life act restraint
and a handicap, nevertheless townsmen
usually adjust themselves to new condi-
tons much quicker than the countrymen
1.-THE population of the British Isles is
fishing ratio For the quarter ending March
81, 1906 the birth rate was 25.5-the lowest
since civil Registration was established.
The death rate was 14.5. against 1863 for
the preceding quarters for ten years. Lon
don has the lowest average death rate of
any great city. The infant mortality was
100 per LOCO. against 14S for the same quar-
ter during the previous ten years. By
adopting drastic measures, such as the edu-
cation of mothers in the feeding and nour-
ishing of children, and law preventing
women from going to factory other man
ual labor for three months before and five
months after childbirth, the infant NOR
tally might be materially reduced. The
death rate among children is lowest among
the middle classes and highest among the
upper crust and 1.-The Sums"
Emigration.
"Is there any emigration into Great
Britan?' asked.
Last year there were 1876, 500 arrivals"
said Col. Lamb, but more than half of
them were in transit to other countries:
1OS 047 continued their Journey. only "a 400