The San Francisco call., 1909-09-05


uted? In IS patches.
"rTs had an acre here. and an acre
and a half here. you see. Then' zOo
yards down this road, quarter acre
On this hill, a little section OF HELD
here another and here another, and so
on. II is a fact that often patch
of ground no bigger than a quarter
acre was cultivated by six different
men, each having a tiny scrap where
he raised vegetables.
"This condition had it's roots in the
system of Iandlordism. which cared for
nothing so long as the rent could be
wrung from the tenants. Sublett1ng
was carried to an amazing degree.
man originally may have rented a
compact farm, but In the process OF
time, through arrangement with his
children and grandchildren and other
relatives. the land was divided and sub
divided and transferred until the vic
tim we see here found himself the
tenant OF IS little patches.
What this means in extra labor you
can readily understand No systematic
RCoC@0ACg
methods OF agriculture were out OF the
question. The man and his sons wasted
more time going 10 and from the4r
little scraps OF land than they were
able to devote to productive labor on
the soil.
The rearrangement OF these scat
tered holdings. so as TO provide each
were, has been a LABOR requiring in
finite tact and patience. No one. I
believe, would have been equal to II
except Henry Doran, chief land in
spector of the congesred districts board.
He has won the absolute confidence OF
the people by his justice and patience.
You can understand how difficult II
must be TO persuade each man that he
will receive an equivalent in area and
value of the little scraps OF land he has
cultivated. The proposition may look
all right, but the man remembers the
weary months Of toll he put in reclaim
ing this patch and that from the bog or
digging out stones that lie thickly un-
der the surface. When you remember
the fnhuman labor these people have
expended to create arabic land. you
need not wonder that they cling pas
sionately to the actual pieces OF it
which they had made with their own
hands, and that they are doubtful
about exchanging any one piece for any
otner."
We discussed further the work OF the
congested districts board. and then
Father O'Hara took me to inspect his
engineering work. II was only a short
ride in the automobile-out along the
country roads, between the stone walls
that speak so eloquently OF the peas
ants labor. up rocky lanes. over the
hills and down into a shallow valley
where the little river glides. A deep
cut was being made through the rocky
soil to provide a millraee. The eree-
tion of grist mill is the latest project
TO engage the attention OF the priest
between services.
II have borrowed some OF the money
from the board OF works." he said, and
raised some more in shilling and half
crown and shilling subscriptions
among my people. OF course. 1t is easy
to supply the labor. I have people in
terested now.
Wen put the mill here. and from all
the district roundabout the farmers
will bring the oats and other grain to
be ground. My idea is not only to In
crease the wealth OF the neighborhood
by supplying this machinery at home.
themselves with better diet. They will
get more money for oatmeal than for
the oats as harvested, and they will
have the benefit of the strengthening
diet of oatmeal at trifitng cost. instead
of buying 1t and paying proht TO the
manufacturer and dealer"
From the site OF Father OHara's en-
ginseering operation We covered a mile
or so of rocky road. then descended
from the car, crossed a Quaking bog
and climbed rough hill. There was
grass on IL, but the surface was lumpy.
the turf rising in irregular hummocks.
Half way up the slope We came upon =
patch of stones
Now there" said Father O'Hara, "is
a field in process OF manufacture"
II see," 1 said "All these stones
were dug out of the ground and thrown
here"
~Yes. they were dug out OF the
ground" said the priest. but they were
not thrown where you see them. They
lie Just as they were dug up"
Then I began to understand. These
stones were not the result OF work on
other fields. but actually were the
field. The stones. mostly round and
smooth, varied in size. Some were as
large as medium potatoes. others as
large as footballs; some were houlders
of respectable dimensions.
They lay in irregular layers. moved
a patch Of the stones. and found more
stones underneath, and still more un-
der those. I went down two feet be-
fore / found earth. As / live to tell
it, the soil was hidden under two 10
three feet OF stones, every one or
which had been dug from that same
soil.
As matter OF facr. the green an
pearance of that hillside was a sham
and delusion. A skin OF turf there was.
but under IL two or three feet OF
stones. with a sprinkling OF earth
And the owner of the patch had 10
remove this layer by the labor OF his
hands before he could plant a seed
There you are said Father O'aara
Il suppose In any other part Of tha