The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 17, 1897, Page 17

t a pauper in any sense of the word, but I believe be good for me and I shall only be too y down as scon as we have accommoda~ )UlSllSLSlfij ticns 290090900000 202002¢Q gzmnlilmnnlxmumflflj d the by ion Army colonists in that little white house clump of trees. Five of them there now. All got day m in a big wa hauled by the finest horses I Think they are going to solve the labor problem and I kinder hey will from the way they have started in. Never seen such in my life.” 1formant b, ie wayside Idrove over to the little white The w was blowing s it only can in the of trees were singing a weird song and en I got there. , 1 thought, as I iookeda about. The barnyard was r a few chickens that were huddied together in the ring-trough, where the wind could not strike them. No 12 out to greet me and for a moment i feared that [ had d and had come toa place where nobody lived. There house to be seen for a mile, only the vast expanse of almost 1 covered with the orher-colored stubble of the last Half hidden in a faint haze to the eastward I could discern of Soleda a cloud of dust marked the three miles of road I iriven to the new Salvation Army colony. - door several times before there was any response ley and the little ¢ ir branches wildly w. tin,” said the young man who held the knob. »w. Ovly got here yesterday, and as that was o work in the way of tixingup, Major Winchell looked about and saw wky there were no signs of human ou side of the house—the men were all busy on the inside. as employed in each of the five rooms and working so hard as entirely oblivious of what was going on elsewhere. Five happy and men. ne kitchen was Colonist Traver, investigating the mysteries of an In one of the front rooms Major Winchell was working on his In the next room Civil Engineer Haskell was fizuring on how 1 couid be iaid out soas to be utilized 1o tle bast advantage colonists. Captain Kilsey and Colonist Gillespie were in : storeroom arranging the piles of provisions so that they could be ly obtained when wanted. And what a pile of good food there was. they were, the pioneers of a movement that may be worldwide. The first concentrated attempt of a big institution to practically improve the con- dition_of the poor by giving them an opportunity to help themselves. And yet they went about everything they did as if they were simply starting a little farm of their own. But then it is their own, or at leasta part of it is. “How do you like this arrangement of the tract?’’ asked the engineer of Major Winchell when he had a plat Jaid out on a sheet of drawing paper. *You see here,” he continued after the sheet had been spread out on a flour barrel top and scanned carefully by all present, “this isthe outline of our land—>517 acres altogether. It is something like a triangle with the top cut off. Now here, just along the upper edge, the county road runs. That is the highest part of the land, so the drainage will be all the other wa +Now, I think it will be a good idea to start two roads at a single point ou the county road and run them down hill parallel to the sides of This will give us two oblong pieces with a triangular pie my idea to cut up the oblong tracts into ten-acre lots that will uare corners. The lots in the triangle will naturally be ir- regular in shape. Here at the apex of the triangle I think we will locate a park and lawns and also the offices and stores. Blacksmith-shops, car- pe bops, etc., can also be located here. You see, these lots are so queer i ine and proportion that they wouid make very undesirable acre lot in here would bo over a quarter of a mile long. Of course, there will be roads ranning along through the triangle and a few cre farms just_below the oflice buildings. What do you think of the plan?”’ The drawing was carefully considered for a long time and ciscussed by all present. Major Winchell made comparisons with a notebook, and at lastsaid: I think that will do. Yes, I am sure it will do. It seems to meet all the requirements of the present and of the future. I do not think it can be improved upoa. You can get out your i ument and go to work.” ess than an hour Engineer Haskell had started t corner. Of the five men on the ranch it turned out g future colonists. Of cou hey will all be there mg Gillespie will make it their permaneg really the first colonists in this big m “How do you like your new hong time he got his oil stove in workin 1 am pleased with it,” he re wan But I don’t like the way pauper in any way. 1am able have done so. But I think thi family was down here.” THE GENERAL In less than a year this ba:ren-looking piece of land will b= covered with small farms and dwesll The chances are all will be prosperous and happy. VIEW:+ OF t at it will have a population of nearly four hundred. LOCATING THE FIRST CORNER. Before the colonists had been on their land forty-eight hours Engineer Haskell 1 his transit at work and in a short time had located t 1e first corner of one of the 1l farms. There was not a stick of furniture in the bouse. th r and boxes did auty for chairs and tables. il have all those things down in a day or two, when the other Be is were made on ot come,” Major Winchell explained. “Until then we will have to zeMalong the best we snow how. 1 think we have everything else we need.” ‘“We heven’t any baking powder,” Colonist Traver put in at this point, *'so we can’t have any bread for dinner.” ‘Ob! ves we can,” said tLe engineer. ‘‘Make Missouri cornbread. That a need any baking powder. Only flour and water.” All agreed that Missouri cornbread was good enough and so Missouri cornbread it was. ““Well, we couldn't be expected to remember everythine,” said Major Winchell. “We'll have everything we need in a few days.”’ As these five men proceeded with their work they impressed me as not realizing the importance of the undertaking they were starting. Here MERETERA T ST M P Ml ) ¥ \ SALVATIONISTS remain until other buildings are erected. Colonist Gillespie had very little to say. He hardly seemed to realize the great change that had suddenly come to his way of living. Bat he was satisfied with his lot. *‘It 1s a.beautiful piece of land," he said, *“‘and 1 thiok the colony is going to be a big succ:ss. I am very proud of being one of the two first colonists.” “Come with me,” Major Winchell said after he had laid out a number of little things to be attended to, “‘and I will show your our land and explain to you how we will improve it, and also how we may irrizate it.” The wind was not blowing now and the air was clear and warm. To the east and west high mountain ranges could be seen melting away in the b.ue distance. Truly it seemed like a paradise, and certainly a more desirable piece of farming land would be bard to find. We left the ranch house where the colonists were domiciled and drove toward the west. Theland sloped that way, but so gradually as to be hardly perceptible. Just at the base of a range of foothills, sheltered from all wind and IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE. fog, we drcre into an inclosed piece of land covered with vines and fruit trees. his is our orchard,” said Major Winchell. ‘“Here are twenty acres in full bearing. There is a large variety of good trees, comprising nearly all of the fruit grown in California. Itis our intention to reserve tais for the colony. That is, none of the colonists will have for his own. All the fruit grown on it will be divided among the different families, according to numbers. There is more than enough to supply the needs of all who will locate here. There will be all the fresh fruit they need and also enough to be canned and preserved for winter use. We will not attempt to seli any of it.”’ Just to the west of the orchard is a county road runninz toward the north, and at a point on this we came to a place about fifty feet higher than the country to the eastward. He-re the whole tract of the Salvation Army’s colony lana was spread out before us. *It looks rather bare now, with only that little house in the middle,” I said, as I looked toward the east. That's true,” replied Major Winchell, “but in a year from now it will be covered with farmhouses, surrounded by gardens, and have a vopulation of nearly 400 people. There will be a big crowd of people here by Christmas.” “This land,” the major continued, “is what has be:n known as the Romie ranch. The owner has allowed us to have it for four years with the option of buying. We do not have to pay a cent until that time, and then only a small percentagze of the price of §50 an acre. But if we de- cide 1o take it we must pay for it in ten years. “Most of the maierial, machinery and lumber, we have also obtained on about the same terms. Besides this we have received donations of many things we will need. In fact we will have to spend very little money except for freight. » “‘All the cash we have to start with is about $5000, which has been subscribed by different prominent men throughout the State. Of course, under these circumstances, the money will go a long way. Still we need about §20,000 to perfect the scheme, and I have every confidence that we can get it.”’ “But,” I asked, sire to become colonis gy ot a cent. In fact we will not take people that have money. s want are strong, willicg people who will make the best of their We take them on probation for two years, and, if they ctory they will have to go. Of course we will not take un- uder any circumstances.” ill these people maintain themselves, or will the colony community 2" T asked. e no community scheme about it,” Major Winchell er=on 1s to be treated as an wndividual and must work with the same advantages as his neighbors or give is co-operative it stops at the door of each man’s ‘don’t the people need to have any money who de- = -2 R (/f‘f" .’mrhi/m//{u!mm, i 44 M e 1Y | SALVATIONISTS’ DOMAIN, g-hous s. Major Winch-Il estimates f ATyl T wderr i N ‘_‘w’)l.wlfirnflfi /w i 1A’,”17”"‘// i ot | l‘f ”,/u“‘,“)\‘{}d iw ey ,[//% P i Tl o ol Il ol l CRARLES. Gk it GILESPIE, (i ‘ 2202027TF ZSEE!SISB"fi55555355556‘6652{56§666661{Q “This is certainly a fine picce of land, and I am surc our colony is going to be a success. 1am glad to be here and proud g that I am one of the two first colonists to arrive. [ now have a 3 chance to work and am my own boss." o mm&m&muwmwm&ufi assure him $250 next October. The Salvation Army may establish a market in San Francisco for the disposal of surplus produce. With such advantages I don’t see why people cannot earn their living. If a man can save $1 25 a week he can pay for his home within the time of our option to buy-—ten years. When a man has paid for his iand he will be given a clear title to it. “‘There are to be norestrictions nor obligations on any of the colonists. We will have a store, but when a man draws against his account he is given coin, and car spend it where he pleases. There is to be no charity fund. People who cannot support themselves must go to some one of our otker institutions. This is a place for workers. “You have no idea of the s of people who apply to become colonists. Many of them have several bundred doliars laid by and are willing to make a payment at the start. Bat we have to refuse them all, because this is for people who are not able to help themselves.” Bv this time we had driven around the colony tract and reached a point on the Mission ranch just back from the banks of the Rio Seco. Here there is a fine pumping plant and an abundance of water all the vear around. The Saivation Army may buy this plant or make terms to have water supplied to their colony tract. Thev have several proposi- tions under. consideration, so that the water problem is an easy . For domestic purposes it is the intention to put in a number of winde mills along the roads through the ranch and connect with the houses by pive. A perfect sewerage system will also be establishe: When we got back to the ranch house thres of the men were just ready to start plowing. Six horses were hitched to a double plow, and, when all was ready, off they went, tearing through the soil as if it were play. Actual farm work hau commenced, aithough the colonists had been on their land less than forty-eight hours. Surely that is industry and enterprise. “We are going to plow the whole thing except ths roads, and we will build the houses on top of the plowea fields. This is simply a time- saving scheme, so that the land will be ready when the people come. Next year each man can plow his own land “We expect to commence building within the next ten days—just as soon as the lumber comes. All the houses will be slike.in size and shape. There ought to be some families here inside of a month, and after that they will keep coming right along.” good OFFICE “l SALVATION ”;{g ARMY C THE OFFICE- OF COLONY. Owing to lack of accommodations, the office of the colony has for the time being When the colonists and officers arrived on ths land they took up their quarters in an old farmhouse, where they will to be located in an old tent that for many moons has been in the service of the Sal= vation Army. “It is purely a business proposition. We are to have a sort of a bank. When the head of a certain family comes on the land he is given credit for from $200 to $250, according to the number of children. He is also given a house, barn, farming utensils and ten acres of land under water for irrigation. He really owes the Salvation Army the money he has been given credit for, and he has the privilege of buying the house and land at what both cost. He is treated as if they belonged to him. “When a man moves into the colony and is located in his own house he has the privilege of drawing coin against his account. Now, ifa man is industrious he ought not to need all of the money for which he is given credit before he gets returns. “Those who get here before Christmas can get their land in such shape that they will be seli-supporting almost from the start. They can plant alfalfa and keep a cow, and also a few pigs. There are accommoda- tions for chickens in the barn. Vegetables can be grown from the start. Then besides each colonist can put five acresin sugar beets, which will I then asked Major Winchell what the name of the colony was to be, to which he replied that it was not yet decided upon. “How- ever,” he said, “we wiil very likely make use of the popular word ‘Santa’ in the name. It has been suggested that we call it ‘Santa Claus’ colony, and [ think we will. This will beappropriate on account of the time of year we will arrive, and it will also contain the name of our most liberal contributor.” “There will be lots of happy people here by Christmas time,” con- tinued Major Winchell, after a pause, *and I will then ieel that our work is progressing properly. We will be raising human beings out of the slough of despond and giving them a home and hopes for the future. And I think that is 2 good deal better than starving in the city.” As I drove away from the colony tract 1 looked back and wondered how such a carefully planned, well backed and commendable enterprisa could fall of success, and concluded that it will ail depend on the colonists, WILL SPARES