Evening star., 1934-09-02

snake. When MS OLD SKINS gone nc
crawls into another. 'Taint nothing
else to do" Many Of the other miners
had no other skin to crawl into. They
were destitute In the midst Of riches.
Their very poverty was due to the vast
riches Of those, hills and to mans
ruthless exploitation Of them.
Returning to that old farm, the
D-s have reclaimed the land after q
fashion, and have managed to live,
They are content with little. Times
Is been awful, but we don't lack for
nothin'. We always got enough to
eat" The radius Of her life extends
no farther than Morgantown and
Reedsville. Our car, with its Connec-
ticut license, was like something that
had come out Of q different world.
What this family has done on its
own because it had land to fan back
on, is what Uncle Sam In the Expert
mental Community Is doing for other
families. And Uncle Sam Is calling
in the best people he can find to help
them with advice. friendliness, educa-
ton. It is an attempt to rehabilitate
o people who have not had q square
deal. Their jobs have petered out:
their banks have failed their chill
dren have been hungry and many
died-all through no fault Of their
own, but because men have wanted to
lows, without looking ahead to the ef-
fects Of their greed. A million dollars
has been spent In relief in this valley
of Northern West Virginia. Uncle Sam
says: Instead Of relief, let's try self
help" That Is the gist Of the Reeds
vile Experimental Community. That's
why this experiment Is so significant
to the whole country-because in q
measure we have all been affected by
the policy which has caused the situa-
ton, because we have all In scIle de-
gree participated In the kind Of life
that produced Morgantown and Scots
Run. Our security, our warmth, many
Of our luxuries In the years Of pros
perity have depended on those miners
who have lived in the filthy shacks
that hang like decayed teeth on the
blackened hillsides Of Scots Run and
Jew Hill.
It is probably the worst spot In the
whole United States. It Is In such q
spot that revolutions breed. II it can
be cured, its people rehahilitated, then
there Is hope for all other places
where through the swiftness of our
pace We have made mistakes and bred
evil conditions. That Is why Reeds
Vile Is perhaps the most important Of
all the experiments the Government
is making and why we all need to
understand it.
Furnished rs Model Home.
As we drove about the 1,ooo-acre
tract which makes up the Expert
mental Community, stopping to look
at the new houses, we came to one
which is furnished as q model home.
They are extremely simple, these
houses, but they have everything
needed for convenient living. The
furniture displayed, made in the CO.
operative factory in Morgantown, is
sturdy, Of good design Of the early
American craftsman type. Two busi-
ness men from nearby cities were In
our party. One of them voiced his
skepticism: whats going to happen
II Q family moves into one of these
houses, stays in two years, does o lot
Of damage and then. gets out2"
That Is q question asked by q good
many Of those who look on at this ex-
pertinent superfcially. But they have
not lived side by side with these peo-
pie and seen their hunger for some
thing better. They have not grasped
what has happened to them In the
probationary period through which
they already have passed-the two or
three years when they have learned
TO work together, when they have be-
gun to grasp the meaning of cooper
alton.
For. Readsville has not come into
being suddenly, readymade idea set
down there from Washington. It has
been on the way long time, just as
many Of these experiments which we
look upon as new have sprung up out
OF seeds planted some time before.
Several years ago the Council of So