The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-05-29
! MORE IMMIGRANTS COMING.
WATSON CoNFERs WITH BA-
RON MONCHEUR AND COL.
HOLLAND.
The immigration Commissioner in
Washington Wednesday-Appoints
Major Edwards, of Charleston,
Eastern Representative of hnmi-
grafton Department-AnotherC Col
ony to be Formed in This State.

DraflOn NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. wi
ony to be Formed in This State.
Washington, May 22.-E. j. Wat
son, commissioner of immigration OF
South Carolina, spent today in WASH
ington, leaving tonight for Columbia
He was on his return home from New
York. While here he had confer
ence with Baron Morcheur, the Bel
gian minister, and With Col. Holland,
the head of the Salvation Army in
America, the latter over the long dis
tance phone. Both Of these officials
have made reports during the last
few days to headquarters concerning
immigration to South Carolina, and
these, Mr.. Watson says, cannot mean
anything but good for the State.
The announcement was made by
M Watson Of the appointment Of Ma
jor George B. Edwards, Of Charles
ton, as the Eastern representative of
| his department He will have head
quarters in New York. In the selec-
ton and appointment of Major Ed
| wards, Mr.. Watson believes he has Sc
cured a prize and a man who Will
| prove himself Of the utmost value to
immigration work in South Carolina.
Mr.. Watson also conferred with other
mem bers of the diplomatic corps
| while here.
He stated to The News and Courier
correspondent that while in New York
he had made arrangements for the
formation in South Carolina Of anoth-
er Scandinavian colony, with about
FIVE or six thousand acres Of land to
begin with. The report which Col.
Holland, Of the Salvation Army, will
| make to Col. Lamb, of London, was
told Mr.. Watson today over the long
distance phone. Col Lamb is at the
head of the immigration department
Of the Salvation Army, and the Army
is one of the most potent and impor-
tant immigration agencies in exist
erce.
Col. Holland said: seIt is not gen.
orally known that the Salvation Army
! has become a colonizer and distrib-
utor of surplus population, which
gives it rank second only to the
| Mormons Unless all signs fail it is
likely. soon to outdistance the Nor
| mons in this respect. During the past
! SIX years the Army has been instru-
mental in transplanting $4,000 people
from Great Britain to Canada and the
new settlers are described by the Gov
ernment officials as the most promis-
| ing ones entering that country. This
year the officers in charge Of that
work expect to settle not less than
10000 Europeans in Canada.
Recently the Army immigration
| department in London turned its at
tention to South Carolina as a field,
and Col. Holland was appointed to
make a. report on the possibilities "f
successful settlement in that Staoe.
Col. Holland has for the past ten
years been director of the Army colo
nization work in the United States
and was recently awarded silver
medal by the Exposition authorities
at Liege, Belgium, for his humanisa-
rian efforts in directing 'the landless
man to the manless land
He told Mr.. Watson today that his
report was now on its way to Lon
don, and that it refers to South Caro-
lima as a place offering unbounded op-
portunities for agriculture, with 'r
without capital, and he predicts in his
report a prosperous future for any in
dustrious man who avails himself OF
its resources. The cotton mills also,
offer employment under ccmfortanie
conditions to thousands Of men, wo-
men and children who now i've on t4!:
aorderland Of want in Europe a IL!
elsewhere and are getting the worse
Of the struggle Coy existence.
During my visit to South Care
lima" says Col. Holland, 81 met man!
men owning land in healthful :oca'i-
ties, who expressed a willingness to
build comfortable houses and equip
farms with live stock and farming i'm
p!ements for families with capital,
giving them all the time they want to
pay for them, or, instead, charging
them only a nominal rent"
Following the visit to South Caro-
Ina Of Baron Moncheur. the Belgian
minister, who makes favorable re-
port to his Government on the condi-
tons there, Mr.. Watson has been try
ing to get other representatives OF
foreign Governments to go down and