Bisbee daily review., 1911-10-01

NEW YORK. N. Y., Sept. 3O.-l About three years ago the Society Of St. Vincent de Paul laid out SIS workmen's gardens in Paris and the work has proven such a success that the society has now 1921 gardens in Paris and it's suburbs. When asked recently to give an account of the workmen's garden movement, and being assured that it would be of in- terest to readers in the United States, a prominent member of the Paris council. furnished the following ing description Of the wonderful de- yelopment of the gardens for the poor: You believe that our friends across the Atlantic will be interested in knowing something of cur work. Well. the success attending the work mems gardens exceeded our hopes. even from the earliest months. Per haps it has been so successful be- cause its object is so splendidly suit ed to the general object aimed at by the St Vincent de Paul confer ences to give to the poor man, to- gether with a little comfort the op portunities of doing a little good.
 Those two ,beneficent actions which our society endeavors to prac- tice at the same time and blended as it were one with the other. by our visits to the poor, our Christmas trees, holiday homes, we see even more strongly united in our gardens for the poor, and you will not be sur prised to find a great similarity be- tween the fruits produced by these gardens in the material and the spir- itual order. Cross over the rough garden palings in Rue Manin and you will find before you, not delicate and choice flowers, but those sub stantial vegetables which supply the family pot of the poor. Look beneath the sometimes rough eX- terior of our poor clients you will not it is true, be struck by the splendor of sublime or mystic virtues, but you will recognize that the grace of Al mighty God brings forth in them those simple virtues which insure the peace, the honor and happiness of homes. These are the virtues our gardens are fostering.
 Many of our members have felt the deep influence of our gardens for good on the lives of our poor families when. in course of their visits, the wife shows them a large basket of beautiful potatoes which she rubbed with the corner of her apron to make them look better, those fine heads of cabbage which she would break to show the leaves so full of sap. And as she explained to them so correctly how and when they had been planted, how they had to contend against the caterBillars and disease; what they would do on the following Sun day after Mass, and then, the llttle children pressing around the basket also insisted on giving their explans- tions, telling the part they had m the work, and when the husDahd was there explaining what he had done. and above all what he would do next year. Ah, my dear trlend' you cannot imagine what dreams es- caped from that basket of vegetables and how happy the members of our sOciety are to see poor Iamlly' whose members are all industrious, largely looking forward to the next spring. living on hopes and plans TOT inc future, instead of remaining list less between their work hours, thelr minds empty, breeding over thelr misery, looking with disgust to the morrow. Such are the good effects of the little garden.
 "But you may ask, are all the lam flies so united as the one just aliuu ed to? are all the men as domesticat ad and industrious? Well ] must ad Tnit that they are not, but even WltL tha .improvident and careless ones W' have been very successful. For m stance. last year one of our brothers was visiting family where tn' father drank: the wife who received -but a small portion of his wages eF r- week. complained to our brothers
 owing how to keep her nus
 home. The conference gave
 .rden. One evening when ou
 in his weekly visit, was hs
 'to the troubles of the wife
 dsband come In. At once
 bt delay. his wife took him t'
 And what about the leeks
 you go for the leeks?" The maj
 hmered not venturing to reply
 lreupon his wife explained to ou
 {tor that her husband had prom
 ,d to transplant a bed of leeks an
 tat he was to go for the plants 2
 friends house. Just admire thi feminine artifice; spurring nm oI thus gaining two evenings; sh leased him every day until at las he did what she wanted Shortly an erwards the leeks were planted, an the good woman, quite delighted told her visitor how her husban was already drinking less and orlns ing home better wages. PeThap sWheu the whole garden Is plante and cultivated the husband will hay no time for going to the public hous'
 ''Thus in a good many families,
 hattie Is begun. thanks to our ga dens. between the tavern and this b