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OUR HON A A Department D 7 Bettei RICHARD HA: "My ideal of civilization is a ver A New England town of some two Naan and no poor man in it, all min t the ame school, no poorhouse, ni Jod prdud to stand aloof, nobody tot 5agland as it was fifty years ago leauifully on the hillsides of Neiw salleys of Vermont, the moment it sillion men gathered in one place I e greater centers of modern civil It is a well-known fact that the ci I the village communities and t1 Sde and undermining the local wn deoends upon the checking of Uon of local interests. Z The only way this can be accomp fifavor of the improvement of local rroundings and the maintenanc RADE. To that end the editor of this th the active members of Civic a d every one interested in the imp ge life. What iN being done in your to home ens plo.mt-nt? What is do ntiand the beautifying of privat1 Are your local merchants receivi xperience, plans and suggestioi department and so far as posasi IL ORDER BUSINESS. MOCS STRUCTURES TO BE CTED BY MONTGOMERY ARD AND COMPAXY AND OTHERS. S asts Question Whether Giant C alogue Houses are Benefit or Detriment to the Farmer and the Country Generally. Chicago is to have the greatest build ing the warld ever constructed forcom merdial purposes. It will have a fiQor spaceof 50. acres--a good sized farm. It - to be 10 stories'high, including the bas ent, and were it to be all stre ched out on one floor it would co r 13 of the big city blocks in the win y city. It will be 900 feet in length and 70 feet wide and will be built of st and concrete. The cost will be $2 ,000,- The present building oc c by Mongomery Ward and Com p a huge affair, but is stated to be ely inadequate to the needs of t rmous mail order house, and so 'new pile is to be constructed. ms to be the time of big com * m hogses in the great centers of the try. Another big firm is to e building on Chicago avenue, w will contain a million square f feet by 800 feet; Sears, Roe bu d Company is a big Chicago bu suval of the Montgomery Ward fir has just also been incorpor at do business in New York, with a zation of $40,000,000, paying th incorporation tax of $20,000. TO BE PROUD OF. are fine projects, and at first tho may make one proud of Amer iean. iness institutions, but what is the effect of the success of these gi commerical houses upon the con ~.s prosperity?- How does their -busi affect the country merchant, the try banker, the country towif itsel -d in fact the country people who the patrons of the great mail order ouses. What creates'the village, The i , (he thriving city? What keep a live and bustling center ra ther a dead congregation of a few hou .with 'one or two miserable store . It is the patronage and sup p't It'ntt, of the surrounding coun try es. Towns are buitt up> only when ey have support from an agni cult -territory, if agriculture is the - surr ding industry, which is the case nine out of ten instances. But cony y, the richness of the soil alone: not make the most valuable farms. THE~ ARKET FOR PRODUCTS. Th must be a good market for the farm oducV; if the farm is adjacent to a 11 growing town supporting ac tive and well-to-do-people, the market for the farmer's products will be ac tive e prices good. If the town be one, he will have to turn elsU to dispose of his productS, and s -incur heavy transporta tic In their shipment. This last figures which show that in a sma a of te United States, the regions Whmere factories abound,-a dis trict conprising but little over 10 per cent. ofithe United States-the value of the frm'r lands is over half that of all of dkie ar-able 1and in the entire country-i The farms in :hese regions are located close to the factories, which afford a profitable home market A ICAGO MATL-ORDEiR O BE DESERTED ACK OF ROOM. for al agricultural products. So that th atest factor in land value is th ,ss to good markets. It bec therefore, that the bet ter wn can be made, the mo the farm land tribu tar e purely agricultural se rage country town is o loc nter of from 75 to 150 squaterritory:- that is the toAn efi by the trade result ing f rea of farms. Accord i!ng to al statistics the average farmner s $627 a year for supplies -clot. his family. househoic4 riensil that he does not grow limsel implements. etc. Now be evident that if a plan 4E TOWN. evoted to Village -ment. 6ilLTON BYR2D. y high one; but the approach to it is thousand inhabitants, with no rich gling in the same society, every child beggar, opportunities equal, nobody humble to be shut out. That's New . . . The civilization that lingers England, and nestles sweetly in the approaches a crowd like Boston, or a ike New York, roti. It can not stand ization. "- Wcndell Phillips. ties are rapidly sapping the strength te country towns by destroying local spirit. The very life of the country this paralyzing force and the protec lished is by arousing local sentiment environment, the beautifying of home 5 of LOCAL BUSINESS by LOCAL departnent desires to keep in touch 2d Local Improvement Associations, rovement and the protection of rural vn to encourage small industries and ing along the line of street improve : lawns aad public parks? ng the support of the local trade? is will be welcomed by the editor of >1e given place in these columns. greatest good for the greatest number, the farni of each agricultural area surrounding a 'town should support that town to their uttermost. KEEP THE MONEY AT IDME. Every dollar that the farmer spends in the town indirectly comes back to him in the way of benefits. The town grows, it supports better stores, more churches, better schools to which he can send his children, furnishes bet ter near-at-hand markets for his prod ucts, and fiially increases the very value of. his farm land. As a good il lustration, the Dry Goods Reporter as sumes that such an agricultural town has a population of 1000, its support coming from the country tributary to it. The life of the town is its retail trade. If it secures the entire purchas ing business of the farmers, it must of necessity grow rapidly. But Mont gomery Ward and Co., Sears, Roebuck and Co., and others of the enormous mail order houses send out their great four or five pound catalogues describ ing everything under the sun. Suppose that instead of spending his $GOO a year in his home toWn, each farmer in the community diverts 50 per cent of his trade from his town and sends $300 a year to the catalogue houses; it means that half of the business of the town is gone. On the basis of one hun dred or one hundred and fifty square miles of territory to support the town, it can be estimated that there are five hundred farmers in the district. Three hundred dollars a year in trade from each of the farmers means that one hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually is taken from the home town. GETTING CQU IN TED In the course of ten years. this means one and one-half million dollars. Aver aging the profit on this amount at twenty per cent, it means .iat in ten~ years' time, three hundred thousand dollars profits are taken from the town. Now, on the other hand, should the farmer, instead of sending away his money to the foreign place for goods he requires, give all his trade to the home town, its business would be im mediately doubled, and with twice the employment for the people. Year af ter year, the profits made by the mer chants would be retained in the town, would seek investment in starting new industries, and at the end of the ten year period, instead of a town of one iLhousand, there would be a lively city of from two to three thousand, and e'very acre of farm land within the trade radius of the town would be en hanced in value from ten to twenty :lollars. ENRICHING THE BIG CITIES. IIt can be plainly figured out that the Iindividual farmer who would divert halt his trade to Chicago, New York or some other foreign city, in the course of ten years would send away three thousand dollars. If it were possible that he could save ten per cent on this amoumt, in ten years' time he would iave thre~e hundred dollars-. Ilis .nly compensa'tion would be a dead home town, poor schools, a poor home mar ket, and no increase in the value of his real-estate holdings. On the other hand, by giving his patronage to the home town, even though he nmst pay the merchant ten per cent more than the foreign house, the reg-ilt 'w-onld be like this: On ac count of increase in farm 7alues, one hundred and sixty acres of land worth ten dol'lars more per acre, sixteen hun dred dolla'rs; or, thirteen hundred dol lars better off in ten years than if he gave half his patronage to the foreign concern. His home town is a lively one, all public improvements, all mod ern conveniences, high schools. to which he could send his children cheaply, good churches. good roads, and everything that can add to thecom fort and happiness of its residents. and those who 'reside near it. Not withstanding, that the farmers' land is: enhanced in value, his taxation will be ests of the town will pay the burden of taxation, and the amount of each tax-payer will be less in proportion to carry on government. IS THE SAVING A REAL ONE? While the country household, in looking over one of the big catalogues and sending an order for $50 worth of goods, may be able to figure out an immediate saving of five or six dollars, even after they have paid the freight, there is no question as to the final out come, if the practice is persisted in by all the people of any particular local ity. The home town will suffer, the home market will fail to increase, if it does not decrease, as will also the value of the farm lands. Undoubtedly the catalogue houses can sell goods cheaper than the average country store, for tey do a cash business, you send on your cash with yorr order. There is no risk in the cata logue or mail order' house business. Possibly if you arranged to do business on the same basis with your country merchant-cash down with your pur chase-you could get almost as favor able prices. But the country merchant is supposed to extend credit to every one: he has bad bills which Le never collects and consequently must make a greater percentage of p'rofit on the things he sells. Every community which is imbued with the spirit of building up Its own industries and of supporting its home town with local pride, is sure to be-the most'prosperous; there can be no gain saying this fact. THE HOME GARDEX. The Story of the Boy and His Little Plot of Grouna At the age of five every boy -is by instinct a gardener. If guided by op portunity, emknple and intelligent di rection he will dig, plant and develop an interest in growing things; lacking these the call of mother nature leads to mud pies. Given a square yard of mellow ground, a tiny hoe and a hand ful of beans, a healthy five year-old boy will have a combination that ex cels anything yet designed in "nature study." From five to ten the world begins to dawn. He looks up and out; he sees and imitates, but does not reason. He should play without hindrance, If the square yard of ground be enlarged to a rod, the handfui of beans to a collec tion of seeds (the kinds for sale in the grocery stores are best as these have brilliantly colored pictures on the pack ages and the boy learns thereby what manner of a thing he is to expect), this square rod will be the play ground to a surprising extent. He may not plant the kinds you ex pect or want him to plant, as his view point is different from yours. It Is un wise to Insist on any given plan. Let this garden be his own. If it has been entirely to carrots or cabbage let it re main carrots and cabbage, for they are more to him than your choice variety It is unwise to expect careful pains WITH MOTHER EARTH. taking effort and constant care from a boy of this age; encourage it but do not compel it. He can be taught by example all of the needs of plant growth but his hoe ing and weeding may be superficial. If you ask him he will allow you to dig in his garden to loosen the soil deeper than his strength permits. It is wise to do this for tnere must tne carrots and cabbage to harvest Or there will be no play ground here next year. If the boy of five has been allowed the run of a garden, if at eight he has a garden of his own, at-ten he will love gardening and will have absorbed an amazing store of knowledge, and to him may be imparted at this age in a way and manner that will awaken the the purest and best that is in him, the mystery of life. A pumpkin plant on a compost heap, sending its vigorous shoots ever the weeds, climbing where it cannot creep, thrusting its snake like head through the garden fence, is a thing of wonder to a boy if he is but taught to see it, and' when its great golden blossoms appear there is a still greater wonder unfolded. Boys of twelve and fourteen may de sert the garden for the ball field or the fishing rod, and it is well they should, for the serious time of life is confing soon and play days should be as many and long as school and home duties will permit. But a garden for a boy at this age may be a greater factor in his training for life than at any other, for by this time the "root of all evil" has entered his soul; he has learned that money is essential in order to procure the many things a boy must have, and the garden, which to this time has been a recreation field, a place of won degful possibilities in the way of good things to eat and pumpkins for jack-o' lanterns, may be a most fertile field of revenue. Whatever the crop the uroceeds should be wholly his own, if he has produced the crop wholly by his own efforts. There is but one way that he can learn the value of money and that is by earning it. The 'wise nise of money must also be learned but that is outside the sphere of gardening. From address of Prof. Cranetield, Wise Agr, College BE A HOMJ Learn by Doing. Give every VI THE SLOGAN OF TH: "Every Child in a Carden-E rery vidual, Industrial Independi Home of his On "A little croft we owned-a A garde.n stored with Pe= And flowers for posies. oft c Plucked while the church "The Citizen standing in the doorway of his gathered about his hearthstone. while the ev sounds that are dearest-he shall save the F barracks are exhausted. "-Henry ?. brady. "The slums and tenements of the great cities are social dynamite, cer tn1h to explode sooner or later. The only safeguard against such dangers is to plant the multiplying millions of EDUCATION OPPORTUNR THE FIRST;BOOK HAS JUST BEEN PUBLISHED A\ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES The Brotherhood of Man Charity that is Everi The Secret of Lesso This book is the first of a Series that will Chronicle the Progress of the HOMECROFT MOVEMENT and inform all who wish to co-operate with it how they may do so through the formation of local Hom-rotters' Circles, Clubs or Gilds to promote Town and Village Betterment. stimu lat% home civic pride and loyalty to home institutions. industries and trade, improve methods and facilities of edu cation in the local public schools. and create new opportunities "At Ioie" that will go far to check the drift of trade and population to the cities. The first Gild of the Homecrofters has been established at Waterto.wn, Massachusetts. The Gildhall, Shops and Gardens are located at 143 Main Street, where the Garden School is now fully organized and over one hundred children are at work in the Gardens. The departments for train tug in Homecraft and Village Indus tries are being installed. The Weavers are already at work at the looms. It is not designed to build here an isolated institution, but to make a model which can be duplicated in any town or village In the country. Copies of "TH E FIRST BOOK OF THE HOMECROFTERS" can be obtained by sending twelve two cent stamps with your name and address (carefully and plainly written) to The Homecrofters' Cid of the Talisman 143. Main St., Watertown, Massachusetts. There is New Hope and Inspiration for every Worker who wants a Home of his own on the Land in the CREED AND PLATFORM OF THE HIOMECROFTERS' which is as fol lows: "Peace has her vIctories no less re nowned than war." EDUCATION CO-OPERATION OPPORTUNITY HOMECROFTS We believe that the Patriotic Slogan of the Whole People of this Nation should be "Every Child in a Garden Every Mother in a Hlomecroft-and In div idual Industrial Independence for Every Worker in a Home of his Own on the Land," and that until lie owns such a Home, the concentrated purpose ad chief inspiration to lab~or in the life of every wage worker should be his determination to "Get an Acre an.1 Live on it." We believe that the Slums and Tenements and Congested Centers of population in the Cities are a savagely deteriorating social, moral and polit ical influence, and that a great public movement should be organized, and the whole power of the nation and the states exerted for the betterment of all the conditions of Rural Life. and to create nnd upbuild Centers of So cial and Civic Life in Country and Suburban Towns and Villages, where Trade and Industry canl be so firmly anchored that they cannot be drawn into the Commercial Maelstrom that is now steadlily sucking Industry and Humanity into the Vertex of the Great Cities We belide that every Citizen in this Country has an inherent and Fundamental Right to an Education which will train him to Earn a Liv ing, and, if need he. to get his living straight from Mother Earth: and that he has the same right to the Opportun ity to have the Work to Do which will afford him that living, and to earn not only :.cord ortable livelihood, but enough more to enable him to be a Homecrofter and to have a Home of his Own, with ground around it sufficient to yield him and his family a Living from the Land as the reward for his own labor. We believe that the Public Domain is the most precious heritage of thme people, and the surest safeguard the nation has against Social Unrest. Dis turbance or Upheaval, and that the rause of Humanity and the Preserva tion of Social Stability and of our Free Tnstitutions demand that the absorp tion of the public lands into specula tive private ownership, without settle ment, he forthwith stopped: and that the nation should create opportunities for Homeerofters by building irriga tion and drainage works to reclaim land as fast as it is needed to give very man who wants e Home on the Land a chance to get it We believe that, as a Nation, we ECROFTER Work Together. an a Chance. HOIECROFTERS IS Mother in a Homeeroft, and Indi wnee for Every Worker in a z on the Land." plot of corn, s and mint and thyme. , Sunday morn, ells rang their earliest chimes." - Wordsworth. home-contented on his threshold, his family ning cf a well spent day closes in scenes and e;ub'.c when the drum-tap is futi!e and the our fast increasing population in in dividual homes on the land-home crofts. however small, owned by the occupant. where every worker and his family can enjoy individual industrial indeendence."-George H. Maxwell. HOMECROFT COOPERAM E HOMECROFTERS D AMONG .TS CONTENTS ARE OF ABSORBING INTEREST asting Nippon's Power s of a Great Calamity - The Sign of a Thought Money, and should pay more heed to raising up and training Men who will be Law-Abiding Citizens: that the wel fare of our Workers is of more con sequence than the mere accumulation of Wealth: and that Stability of Na tional Character and of Social and Business Conditions is of greater im portance to the people of this country as a whole than any ocher one ques tion that is now before them; and we believe that the only way to Preserve such Stability, and to Permanently Maintain our National Prosperity, is to carry into immediate effect and operation the Platform of the Talis man, which is as follows: EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND HOMES ON THE LAND. 1. That children shall be taught gardening and homecraft in the public schools, and that Homecraft and Garden Training 'Schools shall be established by county, municipal. state, and national governments, where every boy and every man out of work who wants employment where le can gain that knowledge. can learn how to make a home and till the soil ad get his living straight from the ground, and where every boy would4 be taught that his first aim in life should be to get a home of his own on the land. BUILD HOMECROFTS AS NATION AL SAFEGUARDS.. 2. That the New Zealandi system of Land Taxation and Land Purchase andi Subdivision, and Advances to Set tlers Act, shall be adopted in this country, to the end that land shall be subdivided into smaill holdings in the hands of those who will till it for a livelihood, and labor find occupation in the creation of homecrofts, which will be perpetual safeguards against the political evils and social discontent resulting from the overgrowth of cities and the sufferings of unem ployed wage-earners. PROTECTION FOR THE AMER ICAN HOMECROFT. 3. That Rural Settlement shall be encouraged and the principle of Pro tection for the American Wageworker and his Home applied directly to the Hlome by the Exemption from Taxa tion of all improvements upon, and also of all personal property, not ex ceeding $2.500 in value, used on and in connection with, every Homecroft or Rural Homestead of not more than ten acres in extent, which the owner occupies as a permanent home and cultivates with his own labor and so provides therefrom all or part of the support for a family.1 ENLARGEMENT OF AREA AVAIL ABLE FOR HOMEMAKING. 4. That the National Government, as part of a comprehensive nation al policy of internal improvements for river control and regulation, and for the enlargement to the utmost possible extent of the area of the country available for agri culture and Homes on the Land, and for the protection of those Homes from either flood or drouth, shall build not. only levees and revetments where needed, and drainage works for the reclamation of swamp and overflowed lands, but slmil also preserve existing forests, reforest denuded areas, plant new forests, and build the great reser voirs and other engineering wor'.s necessary to safeguard against over :ov and save for beneficial use the dood waters that now run to waste. RECLAMATION AND SETTLE MENT OF THE ARID LANDS. 5. That the National Government shall build the irrigation works neces sary to bring water within reach of settlers on the arid lands, the cost of such works to be repaid to th~e govern ment b~y such settlers in annual in stallments without interest, and that the construction of the great irrigation works necessary for the utilization of the waters of such large rivers as the Columbia. the Sneramento. the Colo rado. the Rio Grande, and the Missouri. and their trib~utaries. shall proceed as rapidly as the lands reclaimed will be utilized in small farms hy actual settlers and homemakers, who will re pay the government the cost of con struction of the irrigation works. and that the amount needed each year for construction, as recommended by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be made available by Congress as a loan from the general treasury to the Re lamatin Fund, and renaid from lands reeained, as required by. the National Irrigation Act. SAVE THE PUBLIC LANDS FOR HOMEMAKERS. 6. That not another acre of the pu' lie lands shall ever hereafter be granted to any state or territory for any purpose whatsoever, or to any one other than an actual settler who has built his home on the land and lived on it for five years. and that no more land scrip of any kind shall ever be issued, and that the Desert Land Law and the Commutation Clause of the Hoiestead Law shall be made to con form to the recommendations of the Public Lands Commission appointed by President Roosevelt and of the Message of the President to Congress. PLANT FORESTS AND CREATE FOREST PLANTATIONS. 7. That the Timber and Stone Law shall be repealed, and that all pub lic timber lands shall be included in permanent Forest Reserves, the title to the land to be forever retained by the National Government. stumpage only of matured timber to be sold, and young timber to be preserved for future cutting. so that the forests will be perpetuated by right use; and that the National Government,.shall, by thg reservation or purchase of ex stin'g forest lands, and the planting of new forests, create in every state National Forest Plantations from which. through all the years to come, a sufficient supply of wood and timber can be annually harvested to supply the needs of the people of each state from lhe Forest Plantations in that tate. ONTROL AND USE OF THE GRAZING LANDS. 8 That all. unlocated public lands aot otherwise reserved-shall be re erved from .location or entry under iny law-.except the Homestead Law, nd shall be embraced in Grazing Re ;erves under the control of the Secre :ary of Agriculture, 'who shall be em owered to issue annual Licenses to traze stock in said Grazing Reserves, )ut such licenses shall never be issued or a longer period than one year on gricultural lands or five years on .razing lands, and all lands classified Ls grazing lands shall be subject to. -eclassification at the end of every five rears; that no leases of the puble trazing lands shall ever- be made by :he National Government, and that :he area of the homestead entry shall ever under any circumstances be en arged to exceed 100 acres. IESERVE STATE LANDS FOR HOMESTEAD SETTLERS. 9. That the public land states shall idminister the state lands under a ystem similar to and In harmony vith the national public land system bove outlined, and that each state ;hall enact a State Homestead Law or the settlement of lands owned by :he state, and that state lands shall >e disposed of only to actual settlers inder such law. and that all state ands shall at all times remain open :o Homestead Entry. NITED OWNERSHIP OF LAND .AND WATER 10. That it shall be the law of every state and of the United States, that beneficial -use is the basis, the meas re, and the liinit of all rights to rater, including riparian rightr, and that the right to the use of water for. irrigation shall inhere in and be ap purtenant to the'Tand irrigated, so that the ownership of the land and the water shall be united, and no right to water as a speculative commodity eer be acquired, held or owned. TUE COMING PEOPLE. "Outward changes, eennomical and 3olitical. more or less marked, are lways going on in the forms and or ~anizations of society. But to-day one ~an make a specially strong argument that great and radical changes are im pending. No one can believe that existing conditions will continue in a world where all things move and rhange. Waste, extravagance, political 2orruption, fierce mercantile rivalries, :olossal monopolization of wealth and af the industrial plants of the world, masses of dreary poverty-these are natural subjects for profound. patri tic and humane concern. Is not the old social and industrial machinery, the competitive or wage system. show ing signs of breaking down beneath its load? "The question is quite fair whether niy system is just that permits indi viduals to roll up immense fortunes as the result of lucky speculations, or of the rise of land values about a great city that permits other individuals to inherit almost unlimited money power. as men once inherited duchies and kingdoms. while millions of working men, with small wages, live close to the danger line of debt. or even of cold and starvation, and are liable to be thr)wn out of employment for months at a time, - "When in the face of natural wealth, never so abandant, and forces of pro duction augmen' ed iudefinitely by cince and invention, so many almost ai! to realp any benefit from the re sources which surely belong to th6 race, it must at least be confessed that our present system. both of production nd of distribution. is not intelligently or humanely managed. Its results do not represent an ideal democracy, a brotherhood of nman.--From "Thme Coming People". by Chas. F. Dole. It behooves everyone who has eyes to see and ears to hear and a brain with which to think to study the tre iendous social problems with which ire are face to face to-day. Whether they are settled right or wrong will affect every member of the -rmnity. No one can escape the vils that will result -from a wrong cttlement and everyone will be bene itted hy p. right settlement. Nothing is more inmnortanit than that we should get started right. There Is 'idmnen and insniration in every line f "THE COMING PEOPLE," by has. F. Dole. In order to bring this book within hew rch of all, a popular edition has ust been isud by the Homnecrofters ld of the Talisman which can be had or 25 cents. p)ostage included. Remit )V nostal money order, express nmone' rder or postage stamps to "THEf ROMECROFTERS. 143 Main St..