THE HOMESEEKERS ASSOCIATION 



BY G. E. GIRLING. 



THE aims and objects of The Home- 

 seekers Association were fully set 

 forth in the daily papers of Chicago and 

 elsewhere at the time of its organization 

 early in 1895, but for the benefit of those 

 not conversant with the matter it will be 

 briefly re- stated : 



The Homeseekers Association was or- 

 ganized by prominent clergymen of Chi- 

 cago for the purpose of furnishing reliable 

 and specific information regarding lands 

 and locations, for settlers, colonists and 

 invalids, to such as wished to avail them- 

 selves of this opportunity. The funda- 

 mental idea of the Association was broad, 

 comprehensive and philanthropic. It 

 reached over the boundaries of state and 

 section and aimed at the advancement of 

 the nation and the human race. It was 

 conceived in no petty spirit of personal 

 aggrandizement, but was nursed on the 

 "milk of human kindness." 



The need of such an association had 

 been (and is now) demonstrated many 

 times. The unfortunate individual who 

 desired to better his condition, or was 

 obliged for health's sake to change his 

 residence, was surrounded on every side 

 by importuning and in many cases un- 

 scrupulous land agents, each one of whom 

 claimed to have ' ' the very best location on 

 the face of the earth." With such a mass 

 of contradictory statements before him it 

 is not to be wondered at that the bewild- 

 ered individual closed his eyes and chose 

 at random, more often chosing wrong than 

 right, 



The ordinary home or healthseeker can 

 not afford to spend the necessary time and 

 money to visit and personally investigate 

 the propositions laid before him and he 

 mainly relies upon the word of others in 

 making a selection that affect the whole 

 future happiness and welfare of himself 

 and family. Such a step should not be 

 taken hurriedly or ill-advisedly, but sober, 

 honest judgment should be brought to the 

 task of deciding for each individual what 

 would best meet his needs and tastes and 

 requirements. 



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The Homeseekers Association not being 

 a money making enterprise and having no 

 interest in any particular state or section 

 aims to lay before the inquirer simply the 

 facts as they exist, leaving the individual 

 to decide for himself where he shall locate, 

 The great difficulty to be overcome was in 

 ascertaining the facts, and the clergymen 

 who organized the association, being repre- 

 sentatives of all denominations both 

 Catholic and Protestant, believed that 

 their brother clergymen in the various 

 part of the country would be better able 

 to express an impartial unbiased opinion 

 on the resources, advantages and possi- 

 bilities of their particular locality than 

 some who had financial interests at 

 stake. But it must not be understood 

 that clergymen alone will be depended 

 upon to furnish this information. 



THE GREAT MIDDLE CLASSES. 



The Homeseekers Association aims to 

 interest and educate the middle classes of 

 America and Europe. It aims to implant 

 deeply in their minds the desire for better 

 conditions of average prosperity. The 

 plan is to direct the agitation to the for- 

 mation of branches of the National body 

 in all parts of the country. The vast pre- 

 ponderance of wage- earning people live in 

 the hope of something better. They are 

 willing to give a hearing to a movement 

 which deals with new institutions, and a 

 hearing is all that The Homeseekers Asso- 

 ciation aims at. 



The branches of The Homeseekers Asso- 

 ciation if they shall be extensively organ- 

 ized and then properly cultivated in the 

 spirit suggested, will become the means of 

 educating the masses to a proper apprecia- 

 tion of independence in country homes. 



LITERATURE AND LECTURES. 



The Homeseekers Association will work 

 along the lines of the Chautauqua system, 

 aiming to educate the people through a 

 comprehensive system of literature and 

 lectures. Members will pay the bare 

 cost of providing the book and pamphlets. 



