BACK TO 
 THE LAND! 
 
 By Commandef 
 Booth-Tuckef* 
 
\{ to t\)e 
 
 ^^^^^^ 
 
 a9d 
 
 Or, Sl^e JeT)-f{ere Farms of 
 Jl^e 5aluatio9 flrmy. 
 
PRINTERS : 
 SALVATION ARMY PRESS, 
 NEW YORK. 
 
BiiOK TO THi; I,iLNI>I 
 
 Is not the condition of the poor in the United States very serious ? 
 
 Undoubtedly so. It is generally admitted that from three to four 
 million of the population are utterly destitute, while among many of 
 those in actual work, there is a terrible feeling of unrest owing to the 
 uncertainty of employment. 
 
 What remedy does the Salvation Army propose ? 
 
 Our founder and leader, General William Booth, has laid down a 
 two-fold remedy : 
 
 (a) Change the man. > 
 
 (b) Change his circumstances. 
 
 What do you mean by " Change the man " ? 
 
 We believe firmly in the great Grospel remedy for the sins and sorrows 
 of the vforld— Salvation through the Blood of Jesus. A drunkard in a 
 palace will be a drunkard still, unless a change is effected in his moral 
 nature. 
 
 3 
 
What do you mean by "Change his circumstances" ? 
 
 We believe that it is of the very essence of the Gospel to deal with 
 the man's actual" difficulties, to give bread to the hungry and to clothe 
 the naked. 
 
 In what way do you propose to handle the question ? 
 
 By removing the Idle Labor from the cities and placing it upon 
 the Idle Land by means of the Idle Capital This seems the only 
 natural solution of the present congestion of our population. 
 
 Will not the people in the cities be unwilling to go back to the land ? 
 
 By no means. There are thousands of people in every city who 
 would be only too glad to get on to the land if they only had a fair 
 chance. Especially is this the case with those who have families, and 
 who will be glad of the change from the attics and slums to the freedom 
 and health of country life. Many of them have been brought up in the 
 country, and will be only too thankful to go back. 
 
 4 
 
Will not the life be too lonely for them ? 
 
 On a, large ranch this might doubtless be the case. But it will be 
 quite different with our small ten-acre fai'ms, where they will all be close 
 to one another. Besides this we shall send them in families, several 
 hundreds at a time. Then, too, there will be the bright Salvation Army 
 meetings at night, with the brass band and plenty of music when their 
 day's work is over. 
 
 Are you only going to allow Salvationists to go to these Colonies ? 
 
 Oh, no! Anybody will be accepted who has a character for honesty, 
 sobriety and industry. Nobody will be obliged to attend the meetings, 
 though of course we shall encourage them to do so, and shall make them 
 heartily welcome. Nevertheless, the more Salvationists we get the better, 
 and our own soldiers may feel free to apply from all over the country. 
 Many who are not suited to be officers will be able in this way to spend 
 their lives in helping to save others. 
 
 What is your plan for the Colony ? 
 
 We propose to buy large tracts of land which can be irrigated, and 
 divide it into five and ten- acre tracts, where vegetables, fruit and other 
 
 5 
 
produce can be culti vated, and a sufficient profit made to get a comfort- 
 able living for a family. 
 
 Don't you think five or ten acres will be too little ? 
 
 No. You see if a man has more than this, he is obliged to employ hired 
 labor, which is expensive and unsatisfactory. Ten acres of good, irrigated 
 land is quite as much as one man and his family can properly manage. 
 
 Why do you lay so much stress upon irrigation ? 
 
 The great advantage of irrigation is that you can just turn your water 
 on and off when you require. You are like your own cloud -maker. In 
 countries, too, where irrigation is practised you generally have a small 
 rainfall and plenty of sunshine. 
 
 Would it not be better to plant your Colonies where there is plenty of 
 rain and irrigation is unnecessary ? 
 
 Ultimately we shall undoubtedly do so, but the trouble is that you are 
 liable to have too much rain and too little sun, or too little rain and too 
 much sun One year you are liable to floods and the next to droughts. 
 Whichever you have, your crops suffer, and your colonists get discouraged. 
 
 6 
 
Where, then, do you propose to locate your Colonies ? 
 
 Sooner or later we shall have them in every State. But at first we 
 propose to plant them in the magnificent irrigated lands of the Mid- 
 western States. 
 
 Would it not he better to hegin them in the East and thus have them 
 as near as possible to the largest markets ? 
 
 We shall probably start some small Colonies in the East at an early 
 date. In fact, we have already been hunting for land for this purpose. 
 But the trouble is that in the East we can get very little elbow room, and 
 land is much more expensive. You see we should have to give at least 
 twice as much for really good land, and being mostly unirrigated and 
 hilly we should require more of it ; hence, to plant poor people on it would 
 cost a great deal, and it would take a longer time for them to earn the 
 money to pay for their homes. Besides, a great deal of the land would 
 require to b3 cleared of trees, which would further add to the expense. 
 And much money would also have to be spent on artificial fertilizers. 
 
 7 
 
Tell me some of the advantages of these Midwestern lands. 
 
 Well, in the first place, the climate is the grandest in the world. 
 Many diseases, such as fever and consumption, are cured by it, and the 
 colonists would be sure to enjoy the best of health. Malaria and con- 
 sumption ai-e almost unknown. 
 
 That certainly sounds excellent, but what about the soil ? 
 
 Why that is almost better than the climate For nearly every crop 
 the farmers never dream of using fertilizers, the soil is so rich. The moun- 
 tain rivers and canals which water these plains are usually full of a 
 deposit which is the best fertilizer in the world. 
 
 But, if there is so little rain, where does the water come from ? 
 
 From Grod's reservoirs, the snow-capped peaks of the Rocky 
 Mountains. You see the snow melts just at the right time, when the sun 
 is hot and the water is most needed. 
 
 8 
 
What is the nature of the country ? 
 
 It is almost all a level tableland, with just sufficient slope to carry 
 the flow of the water. There are no tree stumps to dig up, no stones to 
 stop the plough. The rich, deep soil has only to be turned over and it 
 will grow almost anything. It is a common saying that if you sit upon 
 a cabbage it will grow through you! 
 
 What do you think of the South as a field for colonization ? 
 
 We ha ve some excellent openings there, of which we shall certainly 
 take advantage at an early date. 
 
 What sort of farming do you propose the Colonists to go in for ? 
 
 Mixed farming, so that they may have as many strings as possible to 
 their bow. Besides ordinary vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes and 
 cantelopes, there would be fruit trees and berries of all sorts. Then chey 
 would have poultry, pigs, cows, cattle, and, in short, everything of the 
 kind. Bees, too, are very paying. Abundant crops of alfalfa (lucern) 
 are produced, which are not only excellent for honey, but also for fattening 
 cattle. 
 
Really, I feel tempted to become a Colonist. But tell me : what will 
 one of these ten-acre farms of yours cost ? 
 
 About $500. This woulil include the cost of the land and a cheap 
 cottage, together with a few iinproveinents. 
 
 You don't mean to say so! However can you manage to do it so 
 cheaply ? 
 
 Well, you see, we buy the land in large blocks of not less than 1,000 
 acres, so that we are able to get it at about one-half the price it would * 
 cost an ordinary settler. In fact agents as a rule will not take the trouble 
 to sell a luan so small apiece ol land. They want him to take at least 
 forty or eighty acres. And then he has often to borrow money at a high 
 rate of interest for his cottage and all his improvements. 
 
 But supposing he has not the money to pay with, what will you do 
 then— will you give him time ? 
 
 Most certainly. We expect to have three classes of people come to us: 
 1. There will be those who can buy their farm outright. This 
 will save their paying any interest. They will have a warranty deed 
 
 10 
 
for their farm at once, and they can put up whatever sort of a cottage 
 they please. 
 
 2. Others will be only able to pay part of the price. They can 
 pay the rest off in weekly instalhnents of from one to two dollars. A 
 good harvest will often enable them to pay in two or three years. 
 
 3. There will be those who cannot pay anything down. We shall 
 enable them to pay in weekly installments of from one to two dollars, 
 till the place is quite their own. 
 
 How long do you think it will usually take a man to pay for his farm 
 when he has no money to start with ? 
 
 Well, we shall allow him ten or even fifteen years, but we do not 
 expect it will ordinarily take him more than five. We have met 
 numbers of people who have paid for their farms in one, two. or three 
 years, though the land alone has cost them from |75 to $100 an acre, 
 while with us it will usually cost about $25. Quite a number of families 
 told us that after paying all their expenses they were saving $500 a year. 
 In one little town a bank iiiana<>ei- told us that he had three hundred 
 savings deposits from these small farmers. 
 
 n 
 
Really, you surprise me very much. I have been accustomed to hear 
 that farming does not pay. 
 
 That is only where people get such large tracts of land that they are 
 obliged to hire labor. The small farmers who own and cultivate the fields 
 themselves almost always make a good living out of the land. It is so in 
 Germany, France and India, and indeed in every country where the small 
 fanner has not been driven off the land. 
 
 What must I do if 1 want to be a Colonist ? 
 
 Write to the Social Secretary, at the National Headquarters, 120 W. 
 l4th Street, New York City, He will send you an application form to fill 
 up, and will give you any further information you may require. 
 
 But supposing I don't know anything about agriculture ? 
 
 still you can apply, In the principal cities we have started regular 
 classes which you can attend, where you will hear lectures on farming by 
 good practical farmers. And then when you are on the farm there will 
 be skilled persons to instruct you, and to protect you from being cheated 
 in any way, and to help you sell your produce at the best prices. 
 
 IS 
 
Could I go on trial and give it up if I find it does not suit me? 
 
 Why, certainly! If we think you arc; likely to make a suitable 
 colonist, we shall tell you so, and if we are not of that opinion, we shall 
 also tell you so. If we think you suitable there will be no difficulty in your 
 going on trial, though we should probably in that case think it wise for 
 you to leave your family at home. We could also arrange for you to pay 
 a visit to the Colony and get you a cheap ticket for this purpose, provided 
 that you were able to pay for it. 
 
 Supposing after I have been making my weekly payments for several 
 years family circumstances should occur which make it necessary 
 for me to go elsewhere before I had made my full payment for the 
 land, should I forfeit all the payments I had made? 
 
 No, certainly not! This is one of tlie advantages of the scheme. If 
 you had been industrious, and had improved your farm, we should 
 doubtless be able without difficulty to supply another colonist to take 
 your place, and we should return you a fair proportion of what you had 
 paid, or if you so preferred it, we should be able to exchange your farm in 
 one part of the country with a similar farm in another. 
 
 13 
 
What sort of a cottage should I have ? 
 
 This would depend on wlietlier you were able yourself to contribute 
 anything. For those who are unable to do so we propose to put upon the 
 land a small cottage costing about $100, which would be so built, that 
 when by your savings you had enough money to put up a larger cottage, 
 we could buy the first one back from you and move it to another piece of 
 land. If, on the other hand, you could add a few dollars of your own we 
 should give you the opportunity of getting a better class of cottage than 
 the first. 
 
 But will you not be requiring in a large settlement of this kind a num- 
 ber of carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, etc. ? 
 
 Yes, certainly! And we shall provide some cottages for such, with 
 only one or two acres of land attached. We think everybody ought to 
 have some land, so as to help out what they may earn by their wages. 
 
 What about teachers ? 
 
 Yes, certainly, we shall require quite a number. They will be able 
 either to board with other residents or to have little cottages of their own 
 at a very cheap rental, 
 
Will there not be an opening for some stores ? 
 
 Yes, certainly! We shall encourage people to come and settle amongst 
 us for this purpose. It is probable, also, that we shall have a co operative 
 store in each settlement where goods will be sold at the regular market 
 price and a share of the profits will go to those who deal at it. 
 
 Will there be any churches on the land ? 
 
 Yes, certainly ! We expect that many churches will be built by their 
 various denominations as soon as people get settled. 
 
 What are the railway facilities ? 
 
 We shall endeavor in every case to place our Colonies close to some 
 railway station, so that they may be able easily to dispose of their 
 produce. For instance, we are arranging that our first great Colony shall 
 be in Colorado, in the valley of the Arkansas River. The well known 
 Santa F6 Railway runs right through this valley. The officials of this 
 company have a national reputation for their splendid business ability and 
 enterprise. They have manifested from the first the warmest interest in 
 
 15 
 
our plans, have thrown open their lands to us for colonization, and have 
 promised us their hearty co operation. Fiv^e or six other railway com- 
 panies run to Pueblo and Denver, and we have reason to believe that they 
 all will ^ive us any assistance in their power. 
 
 Our Colony in California is three miles from the nearest railway 
 station, and a second railway is likely to run through the land in the 
 course of a short time. 
 
 N.B. — Now, if you have any other questions to ask, don't hesitate to write 
 fully, as we shall be glad to supply you with all the information in our power. 
 If there is a colonists' class in your city, you can go for information there. If 
 not, you can write to the Social Secretary, 120 W. 14th Street, New York City. 
 
 If you have land which you wish to offer us, don't hesitate to send us full 
 particulars, stating the terms on which it can be obtained and the possibility of 
 raising the necessary capital. 
 
 IS 
 
FOR THE WORIvD. 
 
 Food depots and slielters for the homeless, 
 Homes for fallen women, 
 Homes for ex-eriminals, . . 
 
 Homes for waifs and strays, 
 
 Factories and workshops for unemployed 
 Labor bureaus for the unemployed. 
 Inquiry bureaus for lost friends. 
 Farm colonies, 
 Servants' homes, . . 
 
 Hospitals 
 
 Poor men's lawyer. 
 Collection bureau, . , . . 
 Slum posts, 
 
 Total Social institutions, 
 
 95 
 69 
 14 
 3 
 49 
 29 
 42 
 11 
 3 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 
 95 
 413 
 
 Officers and employees managing same, .. 1,400 
 Total accommodations for persons daily 
 
 fed and sheltered in the same, . , . . 10,000 
 
 Total cost of City Colony in London in 
 1896, .. ..■ 
 
 Paid in cash and work by people helped, 
 
 Total costof sheltering and feeding more 
 than 5,000 persons daily, 
 
 Wliat it would have cost the State to do 
 the same thing with the taxpayers' 
 money, 
 
 $498,000 
 470,000 
 
 23,000 
 
 600,000 
 
 POR THE UNITED STJiTES. 
 
 16 Food and shelter depots for men, accom- 
 modating . , 2.121 
 
 1 Food and shelter depot for women, ac- 
 
 commodating . . 40 
 
 9 Rescue homes for falh-ti women, accom- 
 modating 200 
 
 2 Prison-gate homes and farms, accom- 
 
 modating 70 
 
 1 Farm colony, accommodating .,' .. 20 
 8 Children's homes for waifs and strays, 
 
 accommodating .. .. .. .. 60 
 
 1 Children's day nursery, accommodating 20 
 
 4 Salvage brigades, employing . ,. 47 
 
 5 Wood yards for unemployed. 
 15 Slum posts, under 44 officers. 
 
 1 Poor men's lawyer. 
 
 1 Collection bureau. 
 
 1 Inquiry department for lost friends. 
 
 1 Interstate labor bureau for unemployed. 
 
 Total institutions, 60 
 
 Total acconimodat ions in same, .. ., 2,531 
 Total oflicers managing same, .. .. 163