The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-03-23
LAND PROJECT AUTHOR
 HOPELESSLY ILL
His Scheme Novel One and Aroused Widespread
 Interest.
Special to The Farmer. )

from Chicago of the hopeless illness
 of. Joseph Ton1linson who is suffering
 from long standing intestinal af1-
 1nent and has been given up by the
 doctors. MT. Tom1inson is brother
 of Mrs. D. S. Sanford and owner of the former Hoyt farm just outside
 Bethel village. Some years ago he
 gained more than local prominence
 through originating and promoting
 what became known as the Bedding
 land scheme. While on a, visit to rel
 atives here in 1908 he became deeply
 i'm pressed with the towns landscape beauties and pronounced it an ideal
 locality for city dwellers desirous of
 establishing country homes amidst
 agreeable surroundings. Upon. the request of D. s. Sanford he ella aborafed these views in a written statement
 which also contained the outlines of g plan by which virtually the entire
 town might be made a. reservation
 available for such home building by
 persons of artistic tastes.
 His idea was for small individual
 holdings instead of development through the requirem ent of large areas as estates for the com parafiveIy few! The development he favored
 was of a kind that should enhance natural advantages by methods of con- servation, the parking to a certain ex- tent of forest tracts and the creation
 by dam building of mum merous Ialke1ets.
 Historic and other landmarks of in- tereSt he would carefully preserve. To accomplish all this and at the same time to make sure that the incorn CTS should be of a desirable class it was essential that land sales and the gen era1 direction of the movement should be supervised by a board of trustees and that property owners should com
 btne in a sort of pooling combination
 for <a oorsiH raf A ssu7T as a basis for a complete mapping system and the publication of Q vol unne with descriptive text and hume ous photograph Illustrations were to
 b eamong the introductory features of the project. The estimated cost of this was from $50, 900 to $60, ,000.
 The shaping of a legal contract which should clearly and satisfactorily embody the elements of this novel business enterprise was intrusted to the late Samuel Tweedy of Danbury and he performed the difficult task in a manner which won him high praise. Following it's preparation subscrip- tions pledging land al1otments under the agreement were sought. All ad- mitted the fairness to land owners of the terms of the contract, but while the plan had many enthusiastic Aadvo- cates others viewed it with suspicion or indifference. MT. Tom1inson main tadned that to assure success at least one third of the towns area should be comprised in the tr1steeship. The campaign to that end proved unsuc- cessfu1, however, the total of the all Iotn ents being less than 1000 acres out of a total of about 20, 1000. Con- sequently. after several months of eff fort the project was abandoned.
 MT. Tom1f 1fnson is native of Hunt ington and a graduateAof Yale, '84. His age is 53. For several years he was editor and proprietor of the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls City, making it the leading paper of South Dakota He left that business to become vice president and general manager of the Cox Mulimai1er Go. of Chicago. He is but has no children. It had been his intention to build on his Bethel property and make that his permanent home.
 At meetings of the Center Congre-I gationa1 church and society, held on Sunday afternoon, Concurrent action | was taken in the matter of extending 1 a call to the Rev Henry Woolworth, 1 who now has a pastorate near New Rochelle. N. Y. In answer to the 1 notification he has written that he and his wife will be here next Sunday. | which is taken to indicate a favorable l decision regarding the call.
 Owing to the light grass crop last 1 season the unusual experience of being fore ed to buy hay for their ordinary feed | ing requirements. Last week D. s. | Sanford had delivered to him at Beth | e1 a. car load of alfalfa at $23. It is | accounted cheaper tIlan other kinds of | hay as present prices go by reason of it's feeding value being 50 per cent. | The efforts to grow alfalfa in this section have been only meas ureajbly successful.
 John Nfuennich lost a horse last week, the animal rupturing a blood l vessel from thrashing around in the stable. Subsequently, MT. Muennich | bought pair of horses from Select man Sullivan.
 For the last six months or more f the New York papers in this and oth- CT territory supplied by the Norwa1k and Dan bury railroad, have missed at least once a week on an average. The trouble is said to be at South, Norwalk and an exasperated public calls loudly For a remedy.
 Another chapter Of highway snow was called for last week, in ereasing the towns bill of expense un- Her this head to about $1,O00. The seIectmen have concluded to let na,- ture take it's course with some of the olockaded back roads.
 The .co1ored folks are to have a lance at the Ridge gymn this evening. A cake walking is to be one of the features and the conmfssary will be in charge of Mary Peterson.
 Meetings in continuance of the Red Cross work begun recently by the la lies of the Center Methodist and the