View of a farmSmall herd of ewesTHIS TWO-YEAR-OLD WISCONSIN FARM IS JUST READY TO CAREFOR ITS NEWLY ACQUIRED SHROPSHIRE EWES
THIS TWO-YEAR-OLD WISCONSIN FARM IS JUST READY TO CAREFOR ITS NEWLY ACQUIRED SHROPSHIRE EWES
In regard to the need of a trained adviser for the new settlers the president of the company explained as follows:
The greatest need for instruction is in land clearing, for the modern land-clearing methods—methods of just how to "brush," and at what time of year to conduct the operations—are entirely new to almost every settler arriving in the colony. No wonder we ourselves are studying, experimenting, and improving on land-clearing methods each month.In general, our immigrant colonists are efficient workers. The fact is that some of the buildings in our new town site are being built by our settlers. A large number of them were contractors. Many of the foreigners worked in the shipyards on the coast. Some of them worked on big farms. We find them very intelligent and capable, and some of them very good business men. We have built over twenty miles of road this year, every bit of it being done under contract, and the contracts were all taken by our new settlers. During the past year about two hundred houses were built, and these were all contracted to the new settlers.It is true they have many things to learn, just as we have. We are not really teaching them, but we are working with them, studying with them, learning much from them, just as they learn from us. We are opening up our demonstration farms, studying the problems just as they are. Our adviser's main work is to assist them in choosing the kind of seed best adapted to that country, to act as a kind of leader for the community, for they are all strangers, and until they have become accustomed to the country, anduntil leaders have sprung up among them, it is necessary that an outside leader, such as our agricultural adviser, should be employed, but not because of the ignorance or inefficiency of the foreigners.
The greatest need for instruction is in land clearing, for the modern land-clearing methods—methods of just how to "brush," and at what time of year to conduct the operations—are entirely new to almost every settler arriving in the colony. No wonder we ourselves are studying, experimenting, and improving on land-clearing methods each month.
In general, our immigrant colonists are efficient workers. The fact is that some of the buildings in our new town site are being built by our settlers. A large number of them were contractors. Many of the foreigners worked in the shipyards on the coast. Some of them worked on big farms. We find them very intelligent and capable, and some of them very good business men. We have built over twenty miles of road this year, every bit of it being done under contract, and the contracts were all taken by our new settlers. During the past year about two hundred houses were built, and these were all contracted to the new settlers.
It is true they have many things to learn, just as we have. We are not really teaching them, but we are working with them, studying with them, learning much from them, just as they learn from us. We are opening up our demonstration farms, studying the problems just as they are. Our adviser's main work is to assist them in choosing the kind of seed best adapted to that country, to act as a kind of leader for the community, for they are all strangers, and until they have become accustomed to the country, anduntil leaders have sprung up among them, it is necessary that an outside leader, such as our agricultural adviser, should be employed, but not because of the ignorance or inefficiency of the foreigners.
Observing the actual operations of such advisers in a number of cases, the writer has been convinced that in every new rural immigrant colony an intelligent, sympathetic, and efficient adviser is needed, and that the private colonization companies are to be commended for employing such advisers.
In one of the colonies the writer observed that the settlers' children worked a great deal. On one farm three children—two boys and one girl—of ages varying from nine to thirteen or fourteen, were clearing land of stones and the debris of brush and stumps. On another farm, the settler's wife, with her two tiny and delicate girls, was cultivating potatoes, each one using a rake. On a third farm, two boys, one of ten and the other of twelve, were cutting hay with scythes. The boys were thin and pale. In talk they appeared serious and somewhat cheerless, although in a measure enthusiastic about their new farm.
The company's local officials and also the settlers themselves admitted that their children work considerably, even to the extent that theyare often kept home from school. The settlers said that they understood the harm being done their children both by working too hard and by being withdrawn from school. But they are very eager to put their new farms on a paying basis in the shortest possible time. The company's officials said that they had so far not interfered with the use of child labor, but that in the future they would try to exercise some supervision over the work of children in the colony.
The president of the company stated in regard to the labor of the settlers' children that "in some cases in the cities, on the farms, and everywhere, there is an indiscreet use of child labor, as also there is a practice in many communities of letting the children run wild. I believe I would rather trust future America to those brought up in pioneer regions than I would trust future America to those brought up under conditions where no hardship, no pioneering, no work whatever is expected of them."
While this is quite true, nevertheless the writer's impression was that a number of the settlers overwork their children and keep them out of school at times.
As the company's overhead expenses for the maintenance of a number of offices, for the employmentof a large number of agents and for commissions and extensive advertising, are heavy, the company is able to do successful business only on a very large scale. The head of this particular company believed that, in view of this fact, the tract of good farming land on which a company operates must be not less than 50,000 acres. He also stated that in view of the fact that the company's outlay of money, and especially its extension of credit to settlers, is very large, the reliable land development and colonization companies ought to be assisted in the way of credit by the public through the government.
During the war the company had great difficulty in borrowing money on the settlers' mortgages. They had to pay a high rate of interest. Since the end of the war, however, the company has been able through the banks of the financial centers of the North Middle West to float a large number of collateral bonds on mortgages. These bonds at the present time sell to the general public at 6 per cent. The company, its president stated, must pay the cost of trusteeship commission on sale of bonds, etc., which brings the rate which the company pays to a fair amount above the 6 per cent which the ultimate investor receives. At the present time there is no difficulty in financing the organization, although it wouldbe very desirable to have state and Federal assistance.
Bills providing for such assistance have been introduced in the state legislatures of all of the northwest states. Congressman Knutson at Washington has introduced a land credit bill to provide capital for the development by land colonization of the agricultural resources of the nation, providing for certain privileges to soldier settlers, and creating a National Colonization Board.[7]
While the company has made provision for the conservation of riparian rights, for roads, and even for town sites, it has done little for the conservation of wooded land. It has preserved the woodland on river banks and 160 acres of timber in one colony, and it has planted about 15,000 small pine trees. Moreover, the company encourages the conservation of woodland by the settlers, advising them to keep in timber from five to ten acres for each farm.
How far the settlers will follow this good advice remains to be seen, while the conservation of wooded land by the company is inadequate. This the company's local officials admitted, but they reasoned that it would hardly be advisablefor a single company, or even a number of companies, to attempt to conserve wooded land or other natural resources the return from which would be in the far distant future. It would be advisable for the state, or even for the Federal government, to make provisions and necessary regulations for the conservation of wooded land and other natural resources upon which the well-being of the public at large depends.
A number of Polish settlers in one of the colonies visited expressed the desire to have a Polish church and school. They believed that if the national Catholic Church organization would help them, they themselves would be able to maintain their church and school.
This fact led the writer to a discussion with the company's officials as to the advisable size of a compact colony of the same nationality. They stated that if an immigrant family is established among settlers of another nationality, the family becomes lonely and desperate and after a year or two of such loneliness is apt to leave the farm, no matter how successful it has been in buying and cultivating the land. Therefore the company's policy is to settle the people of the same nationality together.
The writer asked whether, if a colony of onenationality is large, having a hundred or several hundred families, the resulting conditions would not make for separation and isolation. They would have intimate intercourse only with one another, would establish a church and school of their own nationality, and would even develop their own town and elect their own local government officials. The company's officers admitted that this would possibly happen; they said that the company had not yet decided how large a colony of one nationality, in the same locality or neighborhood, it would develop.
The personal opinion of one of the officials was that from fifteen to twenty-five families of one nationality in the same neighborhood would not be a source of danger because of becoming clannish and remaining un-Americanized for a generation or a number of generations. A colony of such size would not be able to maintain a church and school of its own nationality. As to the danger of inbreeding, the officials pointed out that the church rules and state laws would prohibit it, and said that, furthermore, the immigrants, having friends and acquaintances elsewhere in the country, would marry into other groups of immigrants.
The writer, while visiting the company's colonies, was struck by the fact that the settlers who saidthey had been in this country from eight to ten years understood and spoke very little English, seemed to be rather shy, and in general appearance lacked signs of American influence. Overalls and the tools in their hands were almost the only betraying marks of the American environment.
The investigation developed the fact that most of the settlers had lived previously in the congested "Little Polands" in Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee. The settlers explained that they lived there as in the old country, having their own Polish church, Polish schools, Polish banks, Polish stores, Polish books and papers, speaking Polish in their homes, in the streets, and in social gatherings. Even in the factories where they worked, their fellow workers were often Poles; sometimes even the foreman was a Pole. There was almost no opportunity for coming in contact with the American ways of life and with the country's language.
Several settlers declared that they had learned more about America and had used English more during the last two years in the northern wilderness than during the previous seven or eight years in the city of Chicago. Settling on land, they came in contact with the American land agents, other company officials, government authorities, American banks and stores, and with American neighbors at the community meetings. Here inthe wilderness they first found how badly they needed English and a knowledge of American ways. A number of parents started to learn English by taking lessons from their children, who themselves were learning English in the local public schools.
The company's officials stated, in confirmation, that the Polish settlers in their colonies were growing in dignity and self-reliance, that they were assuming American characteristics and an American bearing.
As the colonies of the company are comparatively young, it is impossible to foresee their future with certainty. So far they seem to be on a sound basis, and their success rather than their failure is to be expected. The soil is good and the settlers stick hard to their work on the land. The first colony founded seems to be over the danger line already. It is no longer under the financial control of the company, the settlers have secured loans outside, and their farms are progressing from the experimental stage to that of established security.
However, a settler expressed the following apprehension to the writer:
You see us, men and women, old and young, working here in the wilderness like beavers, clearing and digging, scrapingand building. All are pressed hard by a strong hope of establishing a permanent home and of earning future independence. But we still live in makeshift houses, and so far only a few families are able to make a living, bare and meager, out of their clearings, diggings, and cows. The vast majority—almost all of us—have, at times, to leave the farm in care of women and children and look for work elsewhere—in Duluth, Chicago, Detroit—for the purpose of earning bread for the family on the farm. A number temporarily hire out to the company, but the latter's wages are considerably less than we get in the industrial centers.You have heard the company's officials and seen their doings, and everything might seem to you to work smoothly for the benefit of the settlers. Is it not so? For instance, the company claims that it sells us tools at cost, but we already have found out in regard to a number of things that the company makes a fair profit on them. Again, the company claims that it runs the demonstration farms only for our benefit, but as a matter of fact the company's aim is, as we understand it, to build up a large farm estate on the best land of the tract, and to sell us its products, seeds, breeding stock, etc.; in other words, to make money out of demonstration. One hardly can object to this, except that the company claims that it is doing business with us "at cost," which is not so.Almost in everything, even in our home life, we depend upon the good will of the company, and so far we have not much complaint to make against it. In general, it has treated us well under the existing circumstances, but we are a little apprehensive about our future. Suppose we, as settlers, finally succeed in making good, clear our land, and build up our farms, as expected by the company and hoped by ourselves. Will we then be free and independent of the company's control? We are afraid not. We will still have to transact our financial matters through the bank in which the company is interested, sell our products through the company's agency, etc., not because any law or stipulation would require this, but solely because the company, with all its business establishments, is here among us. Thecompany is retaining river shores, town sites connected with certain business privileges, and the best pieces of land, as its demonstration farms. This means that the company, with its fatherly care for us, is going to remain with us for a long time to come.
You see us, men and women, old and young, working here in the wilderness like beavers, clearing and digging, scrapingand building. All are pressed hard by a strong hope of establishing a permanent home and of earning future independence. But we still live in makeshift houses, and so far only a few families are able to make a living, bare and meager, out of their clearings, diggings, and cows. The vast majority—almost all of us—have, at times, to leave the farm in care of women and children and look for work elsewhere—in Duluth, Chicago, Detroit—for the purpose of earning bread for the family on the farm. A number temporarily hire out to the company, but the latter's wages are considerably less than we get in the industrial centers.
You have heard the company's officials and seen their doings, and everything might seem to you to work smoothly for the benefit of the settlers. Is it not so? For instance, the company claims that it sells us tools at cost, but we already have found out in regard to a number of things that the company makes a fair profit on them. Again, the company claims that it runs the demonstration farms only for our benefit, but as a matter of fact the company's aim is, as we understand it, to build up a large farm estate on the best land of the tract, and to sell us its products, seeds, breeding stock, etc.; in other words, to make money out of demonstration. One hardly can object to this, except that the company claims that it is doing business with us "at cost," which is not so.
Almost in everything, even in our home life, we depend upon the good will of the company, and so far we have not much complaint to make against it. In general, it has treated us well under the existing circumstances, but we are a little apprehensive about our future. Suppose we, as settlers, finally succeed in making good, clear our land, and build up our farms, as expected by the company and hoped by ourselves. Will we then be free and independent of the company's control? We are afraid not. We will still have to transact our financial matters through the bank in which the company is interested, sell our products through the company's agency, etc., not because any law or stipulation would require this, but solely because the company, with all its business establishments, is here among us. Thecompany is retaining river shores, town sites connected with certain business privileges, and the best pieces of land, as its demonstration farms. This means that the company, with its fatherly care for us, is going to remain with us for a long time to come.
The field notes of the writer on the above statements of the settler were later shown to the company's head, who answered them as follows:
The expression "makeshift houses" is not fitting at all, for the buildings are warm and comfortable—hardwood floors, painted wall board inside. They are small, it is true. You can travel the country over, where pioneers are located, and I defy anyone to find a better-looking set of houses than those in any one of our colonies.This man states that so far only a few families are able to make a living. In our older colonies I could show a list of cream checks which the different settlers are receiving from their cows; they will range all the way from $50 to $400 a month. This does not take into consideration the surplus live stock, potatoes, and other grains, which they sell from their farms. It is not expected that these new settlers will make money out of their crops for the first few years. It is expected that they will go away to the cities and work part of the time, while their families remain on the land. We state in our literature, as does all state literature, that the first two or three years contain hardships, and mean some working out to earn money, provided the settler comes without any funds whatever. The survey of all our settlers shows that while they have worked in the city ten to fifteen years, their entire savings have amounted to from $200 to $1,000. In the colonies, due to clearing, increased value of land, and earnings on their new farms, they have made from $500 to $1,000 a year. Surely this entails some hardship and some hard work.The statement that some of them hired out to the companyat less wages than are paid in industrial centers I'll agree was true during war times. We could not hope to compete with the wages paid in the munition factories of the East. The company does, however, pay standard wages, as high as are paid anywhere for the same class of labor.The statement that the company claims that it sells the necessities at cost is not correct, for the company sells nothing. We have an iron-bound practice that in no case do we enter into the store or sales business. We furnish the original house, barn, tools, live stock, with the land. After that we sell nothing. We have often stated that if we would enter into the store business or selling business, it would drive others out, and it was poor practice for the company to engage in any business outside of colonization, for it involved too much detail and was a separate business. Colonization is a game all of itself, and if we divided our energies with other industries we could not succeed.Some time ago a charge similar to this was made by some of the settlers, stating that the company was making profits on buildings. We immediately offered to have any lumber company agree to put up those buildings for the same price that we did. We asked for a large number of bids, and the nearest bid was one hundred and twenty-five dollars more than the price we were charging the settlers. We did not ask them to bid on only one house, but on one hundred houses a year. The reason we have been able to construct these buildings at such a low rate is that we have our own timber. When the price of lumber went up during war times, we did not increase our price one dollar. By building hundreds of houses each year, by eight or ten years of experiment, and keeping the same foreman and crew, we have been able to develop an efficiency that will allow us to put these buildings up at one hundred dollars less than the best bid we could get from anyone. We would gladly give up this detail work if some one else could do it, for we make no money on it and barely take care of costs and our necessary overhead.As to furnishing cattle, we made an offer to one of the local Holstein and Guernsey associations, asking them ifthey would be willing to furnish all of our settlers cows at the same price we were asking, and deliver them at the same time we were delivering them; we could not get anyone to accept our offer. We have lost money right along on our live stock—not a great deal, but a small amount. So when your informer tells you that they purchase goods from the company at a fair profit to the company, the statement is not correct, for we sell no goods to them at all except what goes with the land. In no case do we buy anything from the settlers, and in no case do we sell anything to them, except the original equipment which goes with the original purchase.The statement that the company's purpose is to reserve large demonstration farms is laughable, for we only have two demonstration farms reserved in our entire tract of 60,000 acres. Those two demonstration farms cover 2,500 acres. Already one demonstration farm in a colony where we sold practically all the land has been cut up into small farms and offered for general sale. The other demonstration farm is in the vicinity of our present settlement and is not now broken up.In our oldest colony we reserve not a foot of land there. The cheese factory which we started we turned over to the co-operative organization. The warehouse which we constructed we turned over to a Co-operative Shippers' Association.There is one thing that your informant is correct on, and that is that we retain the river shores. We have retained the riparian rights for the reason that some day we hope to turn this over to a water-power company and develop hydroelectric power for the benefit of that whole community. If these river shores were in the hands of different settlers, it would be impossible for a hydroelectric company ever to go in there and purchase each farm separately at a price that would enable it to develop the power.
The expression "makeshift houses" is not fitting at all, for the buildings are warm and comfortable—hardwood floors, painted wall board inside. They are small, it is true. You can travel the country over, where pioneers are located, and I defy anyone to find a better-looking set of houses than those in any one of our colonies.
This man states that so far only a few families are able to make a living. In our older colonies I could show a list of cream checks which the different settlers are receiving from their cows; they will range all the way from $50 to $400 a month. This does not take into consideration the surplus live stock, potatoes, and other grains, which they sell from their farms. It is not expected that these new settlers will make money out of their crops for the first few years. It is expected that they will go away to the cities and work part of the time, while their families remain on the land. We state in our literature, as does all state literature, that the first two or three years contain hardships, and mean some working out to earn money, provided the settler comes without any funds whatever. The survey of all our settlers shows that while they have worked in the city ten to fifteen years, their entire savings have amounted to from $200 to $1,000. In the colonies, due to clearing, increased value of land, and earnings on their new farms, they have made from $500 to $1,000 a year. Surely this entails some hardship and some hard work.
The statement that some of them hired out to the companyat less wages than are paid in industrial centers I'll agree was true during war times. We could not hope to compete with the wages paid in the munition factories of the East. The company does, however, pay standard wages, as high as are paid anywhere for the same class of labor.
The statement that the company claims that it sells the necessities at cost is not correct, for the company sells nothing. We have an iron-bound practice that in no case do we enter into the store or sales business. We furnish the original house, barn, tools, live stock, with the land. After that we sell nothing. We have often stated that if we would enter into the store business or selling business, it would drive others out, and it was poor practice for the company to engage in any business outside of colonization, for it involved too much detail and was a separate business. Colonization is a game all of itself, and if we divided our energies with other industries we could not succeed.
Some time ago a charge similar to this was made by some of the settlers, stating that the company was making profits on buildings. We immediately offered to have any lumber company agree to put up those buildings for the same price that we did. We asked for a large number of bids, and the nearest bid was one hundred and twenty-five dollars more than the price we were charging the settlers. We did not ask them to bid on only one house, but on one hundred houses a year. The reason we have been able to construct these buildings at such a low rate is that we have our own timber. When the price of lumber went up during war times, we did not increase our price one dollar. By building hundreds of houses each year, by eight or ten years of experiment, and keeping the same foreman and crew, we have been able to develop an efficiency that will allow us to put these buildings up at one hundred dollars less than the best bid we could get from anyone. We would gladly give up this detail work if some one else could do it, for we make no money on it and barely take care of costs and our necessary overhead.
As to furnishing cattle, we made an offer to one of the local Holstein and Guernsey associations, asking them ifthey would be willing to furnish all of our settlers cows at the same price we were asking, and deliver them at the same time we were delivering them; we could not get anyone to accept our offer. We have lost money right along on our live stock—not a great deal, but a small amount. So when your informer tells you that they purchase goods from the company at a fair profit to the company, the statement is not correct, for we sell no goods to them at all except what goes with the land. In no case do we buy anything from the settlers, and in no case do we sell anything to them, except the original equipment which goes with the original purchase.
The statement that the company's purpose is to reserve large demonstration farms is laughable, for we only have two demonstration farms reserved in our entire tract of 60,000 acres. Those two demonstration farms cover 2,500 acres. Already one demonstration farm in a colony where we sold practically all the land has been cut up into small farms and offered for general sale. The other demonstration farm is in the vicinity of our present settlement and is not now broken up.
In our oldest colony we reserve not a foot of land there. The cheese factory which we started we turned over to the co-operative organization. The warehouse which we constructed we turned over to a Co-operative Shippers' Association.
There is one thing that your informant is correct on, and that is that we retain the river shores. We have retained the riparian rights for the reason that some day we hope to turn this over to a water-power company and develop hydroelectric power for the benefit of that whole community. If these river shores were in the hands of different settlers, it would be impossible for a hydroelectric company ever to go in there and purchase each farm separately at a price that would enable it to develop the power.
The contradictions in the above interviews are to be explained by the settlers' misunderstandingof the company's general policy and methods. In their eyes everything in the colony belongs to and is managed by the company, which is quite true at the beginning of the colony, and which cannot be otherwise at that time. The new settlers know little of one another, and are ignorant of the local conditions. They lack both business experience and capital. Therefore, as a rule they are not able to conduct, either individually or on a co-operative basis, commercial or industrial establishments at the start. It is therefore up to the company to see that there is a town, a hotel, a grocery store, a bank, a creamery, or cheese factory, a shipping office, etc., in the colony.
The fact that the company has interests in, and even controls, these concerns at the beginning, and that all these business branches work together, conducting their financial transactions through the same bank, has led the settlers to believe that everything is permanently owned and controlled by the company. The settlers in a new colony do not know that as soon as the success of these business organizations is secure and the settlers have been assisted to a firmer footing the company will turn the organizations over to the settlers themselves on a co-operative basis, as has already been done in the company's oldest colony. It is the company's policy, as above stated by its head, to specialize in the landcolonization work only, leaving banking, commerce, and manufactures to others.
The writer visited and investigated two colonies of new settlers founded by the colonization company within a distance of about twenty to thirty miles from one another. The following field notes taken during interviews with the company's local officials and the settlers themselves give a general picture of the conditions of the colonies.
In the first colony, the first families settled about twelve to fifteen years ago. At that time a logging camp was operating and the country was covered with standing timber. As fast as the loggers cleared the timber the land was opened for settlement by the colonization company. Land buyers were taken into the logging camp, were given meals and sleeping quarters there, and were taken out and shown their land. About five years after the first settlers came most of the timber had been cut. The company then established the village and began settling from that point. The colony has steadily increased and at present contains about fifty families.
The settlers were Polish. About ten families came from Russia, twenty from Germany, and twenty from Austria. They left their old countryon account of poverty, political oppression, and compulsory military service there. Almost all of them had been engaged in agriculture in the old country. About forty families had been employed in shops and factories in America before they succeeded in settling on land here; only about ten families came from Europe directly to the colony, of which they learned through the company's advertisements in the American-Polish newspapers and also through the letters of their friends and acquaintances.
The largest farm is 120 acres, the smallest 20 acres, and the average 80 acres. Most of the farms are still under mortgage, only a few being cleared of debt.
In the colony and its vicinity are seven schools: six with one room and one with three rooms. All teachers are native born and all teaching is in English. The settlers appreciate education. Most of the children are inclined to farming and will remain in the colony. One fourth of the adults do not speak English, one half only speak English, and one fourth speak and write English.
Only a few of the adult male settlers have second papers; about nine tenths have first papers, while the rest are totally unnaturalized. In explanation of this fact the company's president stated that it is only the older men who have not secured even their first papers.
A large proportion of the foreign settlers [he said] secure their second papers just as rapidly as they can after they locate on the land. They desire to take part in local politics; they find that they must become interested in local political affairs if they wish to have a good system of schools, roads, and gain the other advantages which both the county and town can give them. They are also interested in the state politics. All this brings the question of second papers forcibly to their minds, and in an accurate survey of the different colonies we are interested in, you will find that a large per cent of those who have been on the land five years or more have already secured their second papers. One of the difficulties which hinder them from getting their second papers sooner is the fact that they must have some one certify that he has actually known them for a period of five years. Coming as they do, strangers from another state, it is necessary that they live among us for a five-year period before such an affidavit can be secured. I have had many of the settlers speak to me, desiring second papers, but they were forced to wait their period before they could secure them.
A large proportion of the foreign settlers [he said] secure their second papers just as rapidly as they can after they locate on the land. They desire to take part in local politics; they find that they must become interested in local political affairs if they wish to have a good system of schools, roads, and gain the other advantages which both the county and town can give them. They are also interested in the state politics. All this brings the question of second papers forcibly to their minds, and in an accurate survey of the different colonies we are interested in, you will find that a large per cent of those who have been on the land five years or more have already secured their second papers. One of the difficulties which hinder them from getting their second papers sooner is the fact that they must have some one certify that he has actually known them for a period of five years. Coming as they do, strangers from another state, it is necessary that they live among us for a five-year period before such an affidavit can be secured. I have had many of the settlers speak to me, desiring second papers, but they were forced to wait their period before they could secure them.
Most of the settlers read the Polish newspapers published in America. Quite a number of families take books from the school libraries; among these are a few Polish books—stories and histories.
The settlers are of the Roman Catholic faith. They attend a local church. Their Catholic neighbors of other nationalities attend the same church. The priest is of the Polish nationality; he cannot speak English well. He is appointed by the bishop. The settlers would prefer to elect their priest themselves.
While the houses are of the American type,the interior arrangement of the living rooms remains that of the European Slavic peasantry—the bedcover is often fancy handiwork, the walls are profusely covered with family photographs, pictures of Polish heroes, and magazine illustrations. However, an honored place is given to the picture of the President and the American flag. Furniture is placed against the wall around the room. The premises are kept comparatively clean and in order.
Diet is rather mixed, though the Polish meals and the Polish ways of cooking predominate. The settlers claim that their housewives are more frugal than the American housewives in their neighborhood.
There are very few intermarriages; nationality alone is considered a drawback for intermarriage between a Pole and non-Pole. In cases where the two people are of different faith, the Church is another drawback.
Family discipline, in respect to the authority of the husband as the family head, is less strict than in the old country. The settlers believe that this is due to the American influence. Here the husband has to consult his wife in every important question and the children are not so often punished.
The relations between the colonists and the national groups in the neighborhood are generally friendly and help is given mutually in cases ofneed. But there is very little social visiting between the groups, the difference in nationality being a bar.
The settlers secure agricultural advice from two sources—the company's adviser and the county agent. They raise wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, grasses—clover and timothy—while their main income is derived from milk production.
The products are sold to the local agents; there is no discrimination in prices. Necessities are bought in the near-by towns, prices being too high and goods not always suited to the needs of the settlers.
Money is loaned by the local banks at 7 to 8 per cent. This rate, the company stated, was on short-time, unsecured paper. The settlers, it maintained, have always been able to secure money on farm mortgages at 6 and 7 per cent.
Economically stronger families compel their children to do chores and work in the field outside of school time, while poorer and weaker families, especially those of more recent settlers, often let their children work even during school time.
The settlers are satisfied with their conditions and they all desire to remain permanently in America. The only thing they want is an increase in the number of settlers and further development of their locality.
The second colony[8]visited by the writer was started by the company the year before (1917). There are now about sixty Polish families in the colony. Half of the adult male population were deserters from the compulsory military service in Russia, Germany, and Austria. "Why should we have served in the armies by which Poland was oppressed!" exclaimed a settler when asked as to their justification for desertion.
Before settling on the land they all had worked in steel mills, factories, mines, etc., some five to six years, some longer, but their experience in Europe had been on farms. While in America they had learned of the land from the company's advertisements in the Polish papers. In regard to the settlers' previous farming experience the company's head said that
our company will not sell land to any settler who has not had some farm experience. We advise them first to work on a farm somewhere—either rent it or hire out—until they have gained the necessary experience to make them successful on their farms. These people here are not factory workers, but are primarily farmers, land hungry, who came to this country for the purpose of owning a home, and only temporarily worked in steel mills, factories, and mines, in order to secure sufficient money to get the start that they so much desire.
our company will not sell land to any settler who has not had some farm experience. We advise them first to work on a farm somewhere—either rent it or hire out—until they have gained the necessary experience to make them successful on their farms. These people here are not factory workers, but are primarily farmers, land hungry, who came to this country for the purpose of owning a home, and only temporarily worked in steel mills, factories, and mines, in order to secure sufficient money to get the start that they so much desire.
About ten settlers had gone, at the time of the writer's visit, to work in Duluth and Chicago.Their families and other settlers were busily engaged in land clearing. The smallest clearing was 6 acres, the largest 20 acres, and the average clearing for each farm was 10 acres—that is, about one sixth of the land was already cleared, but most of the cleared land was not yet turned. The size of the largest farm was 120 acres, that of the smallest 40 acres, and of the average 60 acres. In May the company organized a land-clearing contest among the settlers of its colonies, providing rewards for the winners. "This was a big event in our colony—the men pushed the brush for all they were worth," said the company's agent.
The settlers estimated that all of the adult males understand English, and that about 70 per cent can also speak English, though not well, while not one can intelligibly write English. Most of the adult women do not even understand English.
There is no Polish church. Once in two or three weeks a Polish priest comes. The majority of the settlers do not care about having a Polish church and school. They claim that their religious sentiment is weaker in America than it was in Europe.
Their diet is almost entirely Polish. Some families keep their homes clean and in order; some continue to live in dirt as in Europe.
Relations between the Polish and non-Polish settlers are good, though no social visiting takesplace. Still, they meet and see one another at the community hall, about which the settlers seemed to be enthusiastic.
In clearing land the settlers have so far applied hand labor almost exclusively, but in the coming year horse power will be needed. Near the houses small potato patches and vegetable gardens have been planted. Field crops have been started, in a small and primitive way, and among these oats and feed grasses predominate. The sale of milk is the most important item of income of the settlers. Dairy farming is the company's aim in the development of the colony.
In regard to the clearing of land the company emphasized the point that the land does not all have to be cleared in order to produce.
Cattle are immediately turned into the brushland, and can pasture upon the brush, the native grasses, and the clover which grows throughout the entire region. Land which is cleared is used for winter food products. Summer feed for the cattle, hogs, and horses comes almost exclusively from the uncleared land. By following dairying and live-stock raising, the entire land becomes productive at once, while grain or vegetable farming would mean that only the land under cultivation would be producing.
Cattle are immediately turned into the brushland, and can pasture upon the brush, the native grasses, and the clover which grows throughout the entire region. Land which is cleared is used for winter food products. Summer feed for the cattle, hogs, and horses comes almost exclusively from the uncleared land. By following dairying and live-stock raising, the entire land becomes productive at once, while grain or vegetable farming would mean that only the land under cultivation would be producing.
The men of the colony seemed to be rather cheerful and hopeful, while their wives impressed the writer as being somewhat downcast and self-centered. Several of them said that they have to work much harder in the colony than in the cities or even in the old country.
California is the first, and so far the only state in the Union to undertake the public colonization of land. Its first experiment is very recent and on a comparatively small scale. Its leaders are ably utilizing their knowledge of the experiences in public land colonization in foreign countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the Scandinavian states, and Great Britain. Although it is impossible to foresee the outcome, the writer is inclined to believe that the public land colonization in California will continue to be a success, giving impetus to similar projects in other states.
The California experiment and its history may be outlined briefly as follows: A report of the California Commission on Land Colonization and Rural Credits made in 1916 revealed the fact that few settlers were coming to California and that many who had come were leaving because of hardships created by high prices ofland, high interest rates, and short terms of payment given in colonization contracts. As a result, the California legislature passed the Land Settlement Act, approved June 1, 1917,[9]for the purpose of
promoting closer agricultural settlement, assisting deserving and qualified persons to acquire small improved farms, providing homes for farm laborers, increasing opportunities under the Federal Farm Loan Act, and demonstrating the value of adequate capital and organized direction in sub-dividing and preparing agricultural land for settlement.
promoting closer agricultural settlement, assisting deserving and qualified persons to acquire small improved farms, providing homes for farm laborers, increasing opportunities under the Federal Farm Loan Act, and demonstrating the value of adequate capital and organized direction in sub-dividing and preparing agricultural land for settlement.
The act appropriated $250,000 for a demonstration in state land colonization, fixing 10,000 acres as the limit which should be bought. The land might be situated in one or two localities, but not profitably in more, because of the increase in overhead expenses. To carry out the provisions of the act a state Land Settlement Board was appointed of which Prof. Elwood Mead was chairman. The board was organized at the end of August, 1917, and immediately began the search for a suitable tract of land. With the advice of technical experts of the University of California and of other authorities upon soil, irrigation, health, and various conditions which would affect the success of the colony, final selection was made of a tract at Durham, Butte County, California.
On May 7, 1918, the land was finally transferredto the state. Prior to this, however, the land had been subdivided and had been prepared for farming, a large acreage having even been seeded. On May 15th, 3,421 acres were offered to settlers, consisting of 53 farms, ranging in size from 31⁄2acres to 160 acres, and of 21 two-acre farm laborers allotments. The prices of the farms varied from $875 (above which the next price was $3,646) to $14,942. The price of the farm laborers' allotments was $400. The law provided that the value of the former, without improvements, should not exceed $15,000, and that of the latter, without improvements, should not exceed $400. The terms of sale were as follows:
Settlers were to pay 5 per cent of the cost of the land and 40 per cent of the cost of the improvements at the time of purchase, the remainder of the purchase price to be paid over a period of twenty years with interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum. Payments of principal and interest were to be made semiannually in accord with the amortization table of the Federal Farm Loan Board.
All applicants for land were carefully considered as to their character and their fitness for farming. The minimum amount of capital a settler was required to have was fixed at $1,500 or a working equipment of equal value. A farm laborer was not required to have any capital, buthad only to pay the initial deposit of $20 and semiannual payments of about $15.
The board reserved the right of supervision of the methods of cultivation of each settler, of the state of repair of buildings, of fire-insurance policies, and of other details.
Plans of houses and barns were prepared and the board offered to build these, or others, for the settler, on payment of 40 per cent of the cost. An engineer was employed to supervise the erection of buildings and to help settlers plan the grouping of buildings, orchard, garden, and field. The board bought material at wholesale and let contracts in groups and in this way each family was saved much money and valuable farming time.
The board kept the following objects in view:
1. That the settlement become widely and favorably known as the home of one breed of dairy cattle, one breed of beef cattle, one breed of hogs, and one or two breeds of sheep.
2. The co-operation of the settlers in buying and selling.
3. The establishment at Durham, or on the settlement, of a training school in agriculture.
4. The erection in the near future of a social hall owned and paid for by settlers.
Co-operative action among the farmers and farm laborers was particularly desired and encouraged. A co-operative stock breeders' association was formed. Twenty-two acres were reservedfor community use, and here it is hoped that community buildings will be erected.
When the farms were offered for sale there were from ten to fourteen applicants for each of the improved farms. Four of the unimproved farms were not applied for and these will be seeded and offered to settlers later at the opening of the next tract. Every one of the farm laborers' allotments was applied for. The settlement was made self-sustaining and productive within sixty days from the date the land was purchased.
As to the racial composition of this colony and the way in which the method of colonization would affect the incorporation of the different racial elements in the life of the settlement, the superintendent, Mr. George C. Kreutzer, made the following statement:
Five of the settlers on the colony are of German origin, two of Danish origin, two Italian, one French, and all the others are of either English, Irish, or Scotch origin.No policy of mixing nationalities was followed. These farmers put in either a first, second, or third choice for the allotments they desired, and the board then selected the man best suited agriculturally for the particular block he was allotted.Under our system of allotting blocks here the farmers are particularly concerned in making a success of their farms financially, rather than socially. We were never confronted with the problem of having too many of one nationality in the community, and as we have only fifty-three farms to offer for settlers, it is not large enough to involve the problem at all. Further than this, I do not think the problem will come up under this system of allotting blocks, for the reason first stated above.It will Americanize immigrants through co-operation and social intercourse, through the various settlers' organizations necessary to their social and financial welfare. We have a Stock Breeders' Association which meets at regular times to discuss live-stock problems at intervals during the year. They are all on equal terms, each one buying the land for himself, thus breaking down class distinction. There will not be the distinction between lessees and freeholders that we find in the Middle States. Their children will go to the same school.
Five of the settlers on the colony are of German origin, two of Danish origin, two Italian, one French, and all the others are of either English, Irish, or Scotch origin.
No policy of mixing nationalities was followed. These farmers put in either a first, second, or third choice for the allotments they desired, and the board then selected the man best suited agriculturally for the particular block he was allotted.
Under our system of allotting blocks here the farmers are particularly concerned in making a success of their farms financially, rather than socially. We were never confronted with the problem of having too many of one nationality in the community, and as we have only fifty-three farms to offer for settlers, it is not large enough to involve the problem at all. Further than this, I do not think the problem will come up under this system of allotting blocks, for the reason first stated above.
It will Americanize immigrants through co-operation and social intercourse, through the various settlers' organizations necessary to their social and financial welfare. We have a Stock Breeders' Association which meets at regular times to discuss live-stock problems at intervals during the year. They are all on equal terms, each one buying the land for himself, thus breaking down class distinction. There will not be the distinction between lessees and freeholders that we find in the Middle States. Their children will go to the same school.
This undertaking of California is the only one in the field of public land colonization anywhere in the country, except for projects involving soldier settlements which some states have lately begun to undertake.
With the close of the War there began to appear on the calendars of state legislatures the subject of land settlement provision for returning soldiers. Up to the time this report was written, twenty-three states had passed some legislation relative to this need. The following table indicates in a general way the extent and nature of this provision.
TABLE IIState Legislation to Promote Land Settlement for Soldiers up to June, 1919[11]Amount ofStateBill NumberDate ApprovedAppropriationSpecial NoteArizonaSenate 89March 26, 1919[10]$100,000To aid Federal Reclamation Service in thisstate.California{Senate 246April, 191910,000,000Referendum on bond issue.{Senate 221April, 1919[10]1,000,000ColoradoSenate 262April 9, 1919[10]No appropriation indicated.DelawareHouse 182March 7, 1919[10]25,000FloridaSenate 21December 7, 1918[10]Appropriating state lands.IdahoHouse 100March 7, 1919[10]100,000Conditional upon similar Federal legislation.MaineChapter 89April 4, 1919[10]Necessary amount out of remainder ofreserve land fund.Missouri{Senate 355April, 1919[10]10,000{Senate 15April, 1919[10]1,000,000Revolving fund submitted to popular vote.Montana{House 130March 11, 1919[10]50,000{House 170March 4, 1919[10]200,000To be drawn upon if necessary.NevadaHouse 219March 28, 19191,000,000By bond sale.New JerseySenate 5March 26, 1919Appropriation for placement work.New MexicoHouse 204March, 1919[10]30,000Plus half of certain state rentals and sales.North CarolinaChapter 266March 10, 1919[10]Commission appointed to report.North DakotaHouse 128March 6, 1919Twenty-five dollars per soldier per monthin service.OklahomaNumber 249March 28, 1919250,000For loans to land settlers.OregonSenate 147March 4, 1919[10]50,000South DakotaSenate 255March, 1919[10]100,0001,000,000Bond issue.TennesseeHouse 447April 16, 1919[10]No appropriation indicated.TexasMay 24, 1919State credit for land settlers.Utah{Senate 79March 17, 1919[10]25,000{Senate 80March 17, 1919[10]1,000,000Bond issue.VermontNumber 15March 26, 1919Washington{House 200March 18, 19191,050,000Revolving fund for state Reclamation Act.{Senate 184March 20, 1919[10]160,000For land settlement.WisconsinSenate 8February 23, 1919[10]Commission appointed to report.WyomingSenate 70February 28, 1919[10]5,000200,000For loans to land settlers.
In more than half the states the laws refer to Federal legislation, in a few cases specifying that the appropriation shall be contingent upon a national appropriation. Several states signify their approval of co-operation with Federal provision, but make no appropriation for the work.The largest appropriation in the form of a bond issue for popular approval of $10,000,000 was passed by the California legislature. Similar provision was made by Missouri, South Dakota, and Utah to the amount of $1,000,000. Nevada arranged for the borrowing of $1,000,000 for "reclamation, improvement, and equipment of lands ... for soldiers, sailors, marines, and other loyal citizens." Washington appropriated a revolving fund beginning with $1,050,000 and eventually reaching $3,000,000 to create a state Reclamation Service.
In spite of this evidence of awakened interest in soldier settlements, many such projects have died before any real attempt could be made to put them into practical operation. This is to be explained as follows. The projects in a number of cases were products rather of sentiment than of logic based upon experience. War-time patriotism created a desire to give some sort of reward to men fighting for the country's cause. "Let us give to each returning soldier a farm—a ready-made farm!" was heard throughout the country. Whether we had enough land, or economically available land, for millions of farms was not always asked. Many of the project-makers turned to our swamps, deserts, and cut-over lands filled with stumps and debris.
The easy-flowing imagination of these people, especially of the city type, made out of theselands new farms, flourishing gardens, meadows and fields burdened with crops waving in the winds. How much it would cost, whence would come the money and energy to create such a miracle, and how much time the prosecution of the plan would require was not asked. Would not our returned soldiers, who already are matured men, be in their graves before their desert and swamp farms gave a living to their cultivators? Still more strange was the common notion that all soldiers, even the crippled, were eager to settle on land—that all wanted land and all were fit to be farmers!
As the product of mere fancy, such sweeping soldiers' settlement projects were bound to die a natural death. And yet they have not been without value. They created lively discussion, and called attention to our land problems, especially to the reclamation and colonization of unused lands by the people who want land and are fit to be farmers and to do hard land-pioneering work, be they returned soldiers, native farmers, or newly arrived immigrants.
The Federal Reclamation Service was established by an act of June 17, 1902, ch. 1093, 32 Stat., 388.[12]This act provides that the moneys received from the sale of public lands in the Western states, with the exception of the 5 per centum reserved by law for educational and other purposes, shall be set aside in the Treasury as areclamation fundto be used for the construction and maintenance of irrigation works for the purpose of reclaiming arid and semiarid lands in these states.
Authority to conduct the reclamation work is placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Interior. He is given authority to withdraw from public entry the lands required for irrigation works and to restore the withdrawn lands to public entry when their use for such purpose is over. Under the authority conferred upon him by the act (Section 4, and Opinion Assistant Attorney General, April 16, 1906, 34 L. D., 567) he may enter into contracts for the construction of irrigation works or construct such works by labor employed and operated under the superintendence and direction of government officials.
The Secretary is authorized to give public notice of the lands irrigable under such project, and limit of area per entry, which limit shall represent the acreage which, in the opinion of the Secretary, may be reasonably required for the support of a family upon the reclaimed lands; and of the charges which shall be made per acre upon the entries, and upon lands in private ownership which may be irrigated by thewaters of the irrigation works. The charges shall be determined with a view to returning to the reclamation fund the cost of construction and shall be apportioned equitably.
It is provided that in all construction work eight hours shall constitute a day's work and no Mongolian labor shall be employed (32 Stat., 389). No right to the use of water for land in private ownership shall be sold for a tract exceeding 160 acres to any one landowner. It is provided that the reclamation fund shall be used for the operation and maintenance of irrigation works and that when the payments required by the act are made for the major portion of the lands irrigated the management of these works shall pass to the landowners.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire any rights or property for reclamation purposes by purchase or by condemnation under judicial process, and to pay from the reclamation fund sums needed for that purpose. Within thirty days, upon application of the Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General of the United States shall institute condemnation proceedings. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to make rules and regulations for carrying the provisions of the act into full force and effect.
In the seventeen years since the passage of the Reclamation Act the surveys, examinations, and construction authorized by it have proceeded, andto-day, according to the report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1919,[13]