51 THE LETTER THAT 



PROMPTED THIS BOOK 



tens and hundreds of thousands of misery-deal- 

 ing " reptiles " of the social and commercial life 

 of our big cities. 



The colonies, which I would call semi-agri- 

 cultural, ought to be started near each city. The 

 railroads should run convenient commutation 

 trains, and soon the experiment would prove a 

 success. Possibly some people would come 

 back, but not without having had at least a good 

 vacation for a year or two, and when they come 

 back they will remember " the good meat they 

 ate in Egypt." Movements somewhat similar 

 have been tried by Socialists and economists, 

 more than once, but they were confined to peo- 

 ple imbued with certain teachings of their lead- 

 ers. The new " back to the farm " converts 

 would owe no allegiance to any particular party 

 or sect and would follow the dictates of no per- 

 son or persons, but, instead, would heed only 

 the call in their hearts for a happy, healthful 

 home for their families ; their own patches of land 

 and accounts in the savings bank. 



I had some talks and correspondence about 

 this proposition with railroad men. Some I 



