Imperial Valley press., 1914-06-23
LIVING HIGH ON
NOTHING A WEEK
(BY CARLTON TEN EYCK)
written for the United Pressl

written for the United Pressl
New York, June 22.--Mrs. Edit
Simmons, widow, handsome and o
Extremely pleasing personality hasn'
a cent in the world. She has, accord
ing to her own story, nothing
week" to live on. Yet Mrs. Simmon
is far from u pitiable figure. Sh
appeared in court the other day t
defend suit brought by u lacemake
who recently obtained judgemen
against her. She was gOwned in tn,
height of fashion. On her fingers wer,
several costly diamond rings. Sh,
wore hat that would sell for ;
substantial sum on Fifth Avenue. Sh,
told the court she lived at l56 West
Il, Fifty-fourth street, in an exclusiv,
residential section.
In cnswer to questions by the plain.
/ tiff's lawyer, Mrs. Simmons explained
as follows:
II have nothing. | am absolutely
broke. | am living with friends ans
making over all my old clothes. The
rings | am wearing belong to friends
Sometimes l rent rings from shop.
keepers. frequently go driving ID
the afternoons, it is true, but the
carriages belong to friends. Many
times / do not know who owns the
carriage in which | drive. | never
know the name of the coachman.
am not living; | am merely existing
Mrs. Simmons declared the suit
didn't worry her because she has been
examined in seventy-five similar pro-
ceedings.a "Oh DEAR" sighed the poor
woman, as the hearing concluded.
There is yet one other suit of the
same kind to be heard, and then |
hurry to Maine to spend the summer
at the expense of friends"
One hundred and ninety-one thou
sand, seven hundred and forty-two
parcels of land valued on the city tax
lists at $644 ,637, ,185 within the bound
aries of Greater New York are lying
idle. For years these vacant lots have
lain SO, many of them fenced in while
thousands of New York's children
have played on the traffic-crowded.
hot pavement and streets.
A movement is on foot here to
find some way of making use of these
breathing spots, the valuation of
which is larger than the total value
of all the real estate in any other
city in the United States, excepting
Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, st.
Louis, San Francisco and Pittsburgh,
and upon which there is not sign OF
improvements"
1t is argued by those in charge OF
the movement to utilize these New
York waste places, that two uses
might be made of them. One is play
grounds or breathing places. The 9TH
er is for the growth of food product; :.
Among the plans suggested if these
nearly 100000 parcels of land are to
be used for growing food products are
two that should appeal to every cit-
zen with the common good of the
community at heart. The plans should
be of interest to every city in the
United States, since in every city in
the United States can be found vacant
and unused lots. One of these is that
the city take over the raising of food
products and sell at prices only suf-
ficient to pay the cost of production.
The other is to interest owners to the
extent that they rent to persons rec
commended by philanthropic societies
to be used for growing garden truck,
with the understanding of course that
the rent be purely nominal and the
renter to move on a moments notice
at the request of the owner. The
movement to utilize these unused par
GELS of land brings to mind the sys-
tenn in Germany where, according so
Prof. Heinrich Hammer, now direc-
tor of the Washington Symphony
Orchestra, who was interested in .
similar proposition in the Capital, ev-
cry vacant parcel of land is made
Use Of. This is true of many cities
Of France, according to Prof. Ham.
mer.
1t is really true that New Yorl
City Owns its own streets! Yes, here
in benighted New York, they had tc