OCR Text |
Show interest sum I BMLL BILL Canvass Shows Service Men Desirous of Owning Own-ing Farm Homes. WASHINGTON, July- 31. Inquiries conducted throughout the army have developed that there is a wide general interest in Secretary Lane's project to furnish farms to discharged soldiers, sailors and marines, according to a report re-port just submitted by the secretary to botli houses of congress. Accompanying the report were 150 extracts from representative letters received re-ceived from army officers outlining investigations among their men which indicate in many instances that from 20 to 40 per cent of various commands are anxious to take advantage of an opportunity op-portunity to become the owners of farm homes. In one division alone more than 4000 men expressed their personal interest in the plan. Secretary Lane had been asked by committees of congress what evidence there was that the soldiers, sailors and marines were interested in the plan before congress for providing them with farms. To obtain this information, informa-tion, the secretar3' sent to many army officers ranking above captain a letter let-ter stating that the department of interior in-terior was urging congress to make a large appropriation for the development develop-ment of unused lands by soldiers and sailors, adding that an impression had been spread abroad that the men would not care to go on the farms, and asking the opinion of the army officers whether wheth-er it was advisable for the government to provide such farm homes for returning return-ing fighting men. From the hundreds of replies he received, re-ceived, Secretary Lane forwarded a number of extracts to congress. In his report ho said in part: "Colonel Stone at Bourges, France, advises that out of 3643 men who gathered gath-ered to consider the matter,"! total of 789 were 'interested,' or' 'vitally Interested.' In-terested.' Colonel Wheeler at Coblenz advises that out of 1400 men 22 per cent Were interested. Brigadier General Gen-eral O'Neill took a poll which showed 27 per cent of 1800 men who thought, so well of the plan that they intended to investigate it. These figures and others that you wTill find in the letters show a much larger interest than anyone any-one had heretofore thought obtained among the men, although we have now in this office postal cards and letters from 107,000 men in which they have asked to know what opportunity along this line the government was extending. "I commend for your consideration the facts presented by these distinguished distin-guished men, none of whom can have any interest in the matter other than that which patriotism and a high regard re-gard for the welfare of their men would prompt. "I take this occasion to emphasize the thought that it is in this plan and has been from the outset that these farms are to be located in every one of the states, and not exclusively in any one section of the country." |