Evening star., 1911-06-01
LONDON CONGESTION
Vain Efforts Made to Relieve
Crowded Condition.
THE SMALL HOLDINGS ACT
Few Applications Came From the
British Capital.
COCKNEYS CLING TO SQUALOR
Attempt to Send the People "Back
to the Land" Seems Futile.
Problem for Statesmen.
THE SMALL HOLDINGS ACT
CoCKNEYs CLING TO soUALoR
Special From q STAFF Correspondent.

special from q stan Correspondent.
LONDON. May 16. 1911.
There Is one striking difference between
the "city congestion problem in Amer
ica and that in England. In the States
the country clamors for laborers and the
city dwellers refuse to respond, despite
the fact that the average urbanite Of
small means would be far better or on
q farm than In town. In England there
Is little or no demand for farm help that
cannot be quickly and cheaply met. while
the cities literally tester with overcrowd-
ed humanity for whom there u virtually
no rural opportunity. whatever may be
the capacity Of the people. In America
Back to the land" 10 the cry OF the
farmers need. Here it is tho cry Of 4
despairing few who cannot get out Of
the clutches of grim conditions far be-
yond craftsmanship to solve satisfacto-
rily.
Several factors combine to cause this
situation. One is the decadence OF Brit
ish industries during several decades, re-
sulting in the non-employment Of large
numbers OF capable workingmen or the
division of jobs among a larger number
than before at the same wages. Another
estates. absorbing immense areas Of
farming lands. which previously support
ed a large part OF the population In
comparative aff1uence. Another is the
natural tendency of certain class Of
people to drift cityward. Some ultra
conservative commentators aver that the
conditions are in some measure due to
the influence of the labor organizations
Labor leaders assert with great earnest
ness that they are attributable to the
selfshness OF the large landed propri-
etors, who have swept away thousands
OF small farms to enlarge their deer
parks or to establish golf links
Emigration From Scotland.
Just In this connection a striking con-
dition is'recently in evidence through the
showing Of the Scotch census. which dis
closed an actually shrinking population.
These Scotch figures are giving pause to
certain eminent statesmen. despite the
distractions Of the parliament bill of the
liberal ministry. and the insurance bill
OF the chancellor Of the exchequer, and
the lords reform bill Of the conservative
peers. So many Scotchmen have left
Scotland within ten years that unless
something is done soon to check the
emigration the land Of Bruce will be
stripped of all but government ofYicials,
doctors. lawyers, caddies and poorhouse
inmates
Where have they gone. these canny
Scots? OF course, many. many thousands
amazingly. Indeed, in a few generations,
II is predicted by some gloomy natives
of south OF the Tweed, England will be
more Scotch than English. especially In
But these are only small part Of the
missing northland people. Squeezed OF
their little farms by the deer parks and
golf links. they have gone to Canada, to
Australia. to the States and even to
South Africa The Canadian steamships
carry thousands annually to the farming
lands of the northwest
The Act Of 1905
What Is to be done? England and
Scotland are waiting with the keenest
interest for the answer to the problem
presented by the census figures, q full
statement Of which is yet to come. And
in this connection English pubrcists con-
cerned in the general question of poverty
and Industrial and agricultural readjust-
ment are pondering with grave faces the
report of the small holdings commits
sioners" recently prepared and published.
showing the operations during 1910 under
the small holdings and allotments act of
1SVS and other statutes designed to secure
q better balance Of the population.
While In official quarters the report IL
regarded as satisfactory, it IL not gen.
orally considered as q good showing of
results. In fact. II IL by some thought
20 De indicative that comparatively little
can be done by legislation In putting
John Bull back on the land.
This act OF 1908 was passed In sconse-
quence. In part. of the findings of the
royal commission that SO exhaustively
studied the poverty question some years
ago. IL only the surplus population OF
London. for example, could be spread
over the farms of England, how much
happier everybody would be! That sounds
well in words. But no one who read the
report or the commission had any idea
that the surplus population OF London
could possibly be put back on the land
tnat Is TO say. no one who had ever
turned from one of the big arteries Of
the city into one OF the noisome
swarming siums. of which the capital
possesses q shocking supply. For the
sium dwellers are hopeless cockneys
They might be forcibly torn away from
their damp. crowded. filthy dwellings and
set down in the country, with land to
TIL. and seed to SOW. and tools to use
and horses to help-and they would either
starve to death or desert In q week and
creep back to their city corners to starye
in cockney fashion.
Millions Close to Starvation.
Now. just remember in this connection
that starvation" is by no means q
figure of speech in England 1t Is a grim
possibility. CHASTITY fact 1t Is estimated
by sociological igurers that there are
81 G0crQrAfSS Rect