The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-16
SENDING FOLKS TOTHEF FARM
LITTLE LAND LEAGUE PLANS
TO DRAIN THE CITIES.

LII LIE L!hND LEhOCE TLHNs
TO DRAIN THE CITIES.
The Unemployed, Disar ected n Unfor'
tunate 10 BE Lured Back to the Land
There to Make . Happier and Cleaner
Living on Lots or Two Acres Apiece
The Little Land League doesn't mean
a land league on a small scale. 1t doei
mean a union Of folks who have little
plots Of land to cultivate and want to
get away from fat dwelling TO country
life and independence. That Is one OBJ
ject Of this association which wants to
bring about such that
When the people realize that with $50
days work in a year two acres will support
an ordinary sized family and produce
enough readily marketable surplus to pro-
vide money for clothing and 10 keep the
roof over their heads In good repair
When they flpd that two acres Of suitable
lam can bs purchased very near to civlli-
zation' for from $50 to Scoo--
When they understand that q homo can
be built on these W. acres moro heathful
to live In. far more comfortable. with
pleasant surroundings and fewer nuisances
than In the large cities, and that all this can
be done for q fow hundred dollars or far
less than they now pay as rent in a COM
paraiively few years
when they know mat the,r loca.ihs
On .no ,ana MAKES ,he'u propSf.s oOd
sbs, I'm =, ~o,. yort q, ,hs s,sr, and
much Iess later on thew can sstsblisb them-
selves to much better ad in the
country and can raise stronger. more
healthy and better minded children than in
the cities
Then there will be fewer men and women
walking tho streets with the burrows OF anx-
lefty worn into their faces, fewer in tho
ranks Of tho unemployed: the hospitals,
orphans homes, penitentiaries, jails, re-
formatorie, and ,unatic asylums will be
nssrnuawdiua w ,Sa 100 ana nrofassion,
os ss'io"u.n '" .,aoos .stt.saotorv
aha me WIN Dc PETER. more '"''''o''
ana more happy ior US al. =.
That Is the platform Of the Little Land
League, which wants to send the unhappy
and u~nemnloved back 10 the land. The
lea one isn,t booming any one section or
any one city. 1t wants to help attempts
made anywhere by industrial and farm
training schools. demonstration garden
tor,n. ooo,.r.tiu. or i,sir,c,,on co,o.
II oopoia,'Vo ~ As"NN"" -.
mes suburban homecroit ''iAses' sa,oo"
cities and rural cities. no matter where
they are. so that folks may 60 back to
tho countrv and de,ve for n living.
IT, ioay'a W.. sn,;.,sJ rnanv fo,Ls
ine ieasuo mas c.. ~.
Tor the struggle, among them oeth Low
V. Everit Macy. George Foster Peabody,
Robert w. de Forest, j. Pierpont Nor
uan pou,tnev Bioelow. r. Fulton Cutting,
S ~ g..S"o Eli car,anS
". nioyu M"".... ~.
els Lynde Stetson. spencer Irask; N. n.
4. Seligman. George /; Powell booker
I. washington, Mrs. Frederick Nathan
and Mrs. Samuel Untermyer.
1t Is an idea founded on the danger
Of congestion OF population in the cities.
The more folks the harder to make q
Chicago have more and mercer outlaws
than England In the time OF king john
The disahected alone are not 10 pc
catered to. The league wants all folks
who aren't happy or successful now 10
go out and get the necessary acres some
where TO cultivate. Tho League ism a
charitable, philanthropic or busines ven
tafe. II aims to be humane
Bolton Hall. who has been in charge
of the affairs Of the Little Land League.
says: There are within easy distance
of New York thousands Of acres Of good
land lying absolutely idle. enough to
support as many thousands OF comfort
able homes. while here in the city arc
thousands Of sblebodied men and women
on the verge OF starvation.
either huddled into a room or two In I'M
sanitary tenements or sleeping in door
ways, wherever they al find shelter.
who would be only too glad to 60 to tho
land IL they knew OF 1t and had any idea
OF how to start about making the land
keep them and their families In inde-
pendence.
1.-THE idea OF charity must be omitted
entirely. The plan must be Of help
fulness and Instruction. a bringing OF
the land and the people together, and
leaving each to develop the other.
During the last ten years a number
OF cases have come to my knowledge Of
people who nave made a success in farm.
ing not in spite Of its being a business
hard to handle but because 1t really is
not 80. The general verdict. that farming
Re not profitable, added to the attraction
that city lie has for many, particularly
women. has brought about such con-
hat the city Is overorowded with
who don't understand how to make
: i:,;,-