24 CONSERVATION THROUGH ENGINEERING. 



Within a 10-mile circle drawn around the Capitol dome are thou- 

 sands of acres of good agricultural land, of which the merest frac- 

 tion has been reduced to intensive cultivation. Much of it is waste- 

 fully used, and much of it is not used at all. Conditions of soil, cli- 

 mate, and water supply are good and represent a fair average for 

 the United States. Suburban transportation is a serious problem 

 in some localities and less so in others, but tends to become more 

 simple with the extension of good roads and increasing use of motor 

 vehicles, including the auto bus. 



Somewhere and sometime, it seems to me, a new system must be 

 devised to disperse the people of great cities on the vacant lands 

 surrounding them, to give the masses a real hold upon the soil, and 

 to replace the apartment house with the home in a garden. Such 

 a system should enable the ambitious and thrifty family not only 

 to save the entire cost of rent, but possibly half the cost of food, 

 while at the same time enhancing its standard of living socially 

 and spiritually, as well as economically. 



It has been suggested that there is no better place to demonstrate 

 a new form of suburban life than here at the National Capital, 

 where we may freely draw upon all the resources of the govern- 

 mental departments for expert knowledge and advice and where 

 the demonstration can readily command wide publicity and come 

 under the observation of the Nation's lawmakers. And I am expect- 

 ing that this experiment will be made. Such a plan of town or com- 

 munity life, rather than city life, should be extended to every other 

 large city in the Nation. A simple act of legislation, accompanied 

 by a moderate appropriation for organization and educational work, 

 would enable the department to put its facilities at the service of 

 local communities and of the industries throughout the United 

 States. This form of national leadership would be of value both 

 to investors in the local securities and to the home builders them- 

 selves. If the work of land acquisition and construction, together 

 with the organization of community settlements resulting therefrom, 

 were conducted under the supervision of the State or the Federal 

 Government it would safeguard the character of the movement from 

 every point of view. 



Therefore, I put first among the constructive things which may 

 be done by the exercise of the Government's power of supervision 

 and direction, with the smallest outlay of money, this matter of pro- 

 I viding suburban homes for our millions of wage earners. 



RECLAMATION BY DISTRICT ORGANIZATION. 



The provision of garden homes for millions of city workers will 

 contribute largely to the Nation's food supply and become in time a 

 most effective influence in reducing excessive cost of living for many 



