VIII. RURAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 145
Importance of Education 145
Bridging Differences 150
Parochial Schools 153
IX. PRIVATE SCHOOLS 156
Nebraska 158
North Dakota 161
Minnesota 164
Michigan 167
Wisconsin 172
South Dakota 174
California 175
Hebrew School in New Jersey 176
Opinions on Both Sides 176
Temporary Usefulness 179
Need for Regulation 180
X. IMMIGRANT CHURCHES 182
Bilingual Services 186
English Favored by Members 188
Opposition to "Interfaith" Marriages 189
Immigrant Pastors 192
Potential Powers for Good 193
XI. THE PUBLIC SCHOOL 195
Limitations of the One-teacher School 195
Growth of the Consolidated School 199
The Rural School-teacher 203
Irregular School Attendance 211
Practical Curriculum Needed 217
Need for Expert Administration 219
Proposed Measures 222
XII. EDUCATION OF ADULT IMMIGRANT SETTLERS 226
Importance of Reaching Women 226
The Home Teacher 228
Organization of Immigrant Women 231
The Public Evening School 233
Education Made Interesting 241
XIII. LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY WORK 244
Place of the Printed Word 244
Rural Needs for Books 246
Package Libraries in Wisconsin 248
Selection of Books 250
A Community Hall 252
Amateur Theatricals 254
Community Teamwork 256
INDEX 259
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. Number (by sex) of foreign-born white persons
engaged as farm laborers in the United
States, 1900 and 1910 6
II. State legislation to promote land settlement
for soldiers up to June, 1919 92-93
III. Soldier settlement plans for United Kingdom
and provinces _Facing_ 106
IV. Per cent unable to speak English, of total foreign
born, ten years of age and over, in urban
and rural communities 147
V. Enrollment and language used in parochial and
private schools in Minnesota, 1918 165
VI. Enrollment and teaching force of private and
parochial schools in Wisconsin, 1914-15
and 1915-16 173
VII. Length of teaching service in Wisconsin rural
schools, 1915-16 204
VIII. Percentage of population in Arizona, six to
twenty-one years of age, in schools and not
attending school, 1915-16 213
ILLUSTRATIONS
Long, Hard Months of Work Separate the
Rough Shanty from White Clapboards and
an Automobile _Frontispiece_
Land Is Not the Only Stake in America for
These Polish Parents _Facing p._ 4
The Owner of this Farm, Settled in 1917, Has
Persuaded Six Members of His Family to
Buy Farms in the Neighborhood " 14
Friendly Assistance Makes Pioneering Less
Baffling " 44
The Wisconsin Colonization Company Sees the
Need of Community Centers " 54
This Two-year-old Wisconsin Farm Is Just
Ready to Care for Its Newly Acquired
Shropshire Ewes " 64
This Settler Started Ten Years Ago with No
Money " 136
These Children and Teachers in New Mexico
Join Forces to Wipe Out Illiteracy " 146
The Largest Girl Won a Prize for Scholarship " 146
Immediate Returns from Child Labor Do Not
Make Up for Loss of Schooling " 214
The Arrival of an Immigrant Settler in 1883
Was Shown in a Community Pageant " 242
The Same Man Is Working for Land and Community
Development " 242
A Rural Community Center Plan Was Developed
by the Wisconsin Colonization
Company for Southern Sawyer County " 252
INTRODUCTION
Students of economics know that the roundabout methods of capitalistic
production are far more fruitful than the direct methods of the primitive
economy. As we advance, we introduce new intermediaries between the
beginning and the end of production. This thought occurs to one in the
study of Americanization. If we would Americanize the immigrant we must
seek him out in his daily economic life and see to it that the influences
under which he works are calculated to give him the right feeling toward
his new home. A large part of our waking life is spent in gaining a
livelihood, and our work brings with it most of our associations. School
and church have their place for young and old, and they likewise must be
considered. Their effect is direct and immediate and is more likely to
attract attention than are the elements making up the economic life.
Doctor Speek has done well in taking up the immigrant as a settler in
the newer and developing parts of our country. The settlers are very
largely immigrants who are trying to acquire a home and livelihood on
the land. The writer of this Introduction has been studying this same
subject for many years, and has done so in many different parts of the
United States. The conclusion which we might reach deductively is
confirmed by observation--namely, that the man who settles on the land
in the right way is, with the rarest exceptions, likely to become a good
American, as are also his children.
But what do we mean by the right way? We mean that he must be on a farm
of suitable size, of good productivity, with needed help in learning how
to farm in the new country and with sufficient time in which to pay for
his farm. These are not the only considerations, but they are the main
ones, and to these Doctor Speek has given his attention.
One of the outstanding features of every study of land settlement is
that the first great cause of failure is poor selection of land. The
second chief cause of failure is insufficient length of time in which to
pay for the land. While this is of very great importance, it stands far
behind the first as a cause of failure. The third cause of failure is
closely connected with the second. It is inadequate credit and capital.
We are dealing here with the results which are universal. The selection
of land is extremely difficult, even for unusually intelligent farmers
who have had long experience in our country. To select land wisely is
quite beyond the capacity of the ordinary settler. The present writer
could give unlimited illustrations of this truth. The man who has lived
in the corn belt of Illinois is very apt to think that black soil is
necessarily good soil, and, going to another state, may perhaps select
some black peat land, underlain with sand, which is almost worthless. He
is sure to be prejudiced against red soil, which may, after all, be good
land. Once, when the writer was being shown citrous-fruit land in
California, the wise friend who was his host would point to one orchard,
which was "planted for oranges," and another "ranch" which "was planted
to sell to suckers"; yet the ordinary man, even if he spent many years
in the study of land values, could not tell the difference.
John Stuart Mill presents, in his _Principles of Political Economy_, strong
arguments for non-intervention of public authority in "the business of the
community." He says that those who stand for intervention must make out a
strong case. When, however, he turns to the consumer or buyer, he finds he
is obliged to make many exceptions to the rule of non-intervention. To use
his own words,[1] "The proposition that the consumer is a competent judge
of the commodity can be admitted only with numerous abatements and
exceptions." He uses also these words:[2] "Is the buyer always qualified to
judge of the commodity? If not, the presumption in favor of the competition
of the market does not apply to the case; and if the commodity be one in
the quality of which society has much at stake, the balance of advantages
may be in favor of some mode and degree of intervention by the authorized
representatives of the collective interest of the state."
We have, then, ample justification for some kind of help to the settler in
the selection of land. What Doctor Speek presents to us simply confirms
what is known to every thoughtful person who has given attention to the
subject of land settlement. If we want to bring it about that our settlers
should understand our institutions and become good American citizens, we
must abandon all ideas of _laissez-faire_ with respect to land selection.
Generally the selection is made for the settler by the land agent. Doctor
Speek gives attention to the real-estate business, and finds that it is not
in a satisfactory condition. About this there can be no question. At the
same time the present writer, as a result of careful observation, affirms
without hesitation that probably no business has made greater progress
toward a true professional level than has the land business during the last
five years. Real-estate agents or brokers are forming associations and are
doing a great deal to eliminate dishonest practices and to put into their
business the idea of service.
There are two lines of progress especially noteworthy. One is the
development of Blue Sky laws, and the other is the requirement that those
who engage in the real-estate business should have licenses. Blue Sky laws
do not as yet afford anything like adequate protection, but certainly they
may not be disregarded with impunity in Wisconsin. Licensing an occupation
has been very generally one of the first steps toward putting it upon a
professional basis. Doctor Speek relates what was attempted unsuccessfully
in California. In Wisconsin we are just beginning the system of licenses,
and so far it promises to be extremely helpful. Much more needs to be done,
however, to help the settler make a good selection of a farm.
Two outstanding movements are mentioned. One is the public-land
settlement of California, under the direction of Dr. Elwood Mead, and
the other is the work of the Director of Immigration of Wisconsin, Mr.
B. G. Packer. Mr. Packer has been in the habit of meeting settlers in
Chicago, the chief doorway into Wisconsin, and giving them advice of a
general character in regard to the purchase of a farm in Wisconsin.
While he is not in a position to recommend the purchase of a specific
piece of land, the advice is pretty concrete and definite. His one
thought very properly is the welfare of the settler, and he believes
that it is in the interest of Wisconsin not to get as many settlers as
possible, but to get settlers who, in his own words, "stick"--in other
words, who will succeed. He does not for a moment hesitate to discourage
a man from coming to Wisconsin if he is not likely to prove successful,
and he does not for a moment hesitate to direct the attention of a
settler away from a selection which would prove disastrous to him. The
writer has visited many settlers in Wisconsin who have been brought to
the state by Mr. Packer, and has found them almost universally prosperous.
However, attention should be directed particularly to an important point
made by Doctor Speek in his report. At present irresponsible and dishonest
people often get hold of the settler first. Mr. Packer's work is being
rapidly developed and it should have still larger funds for expansion. How
is it going to be possible, however, to bring to the knowledge of all the
settlers the helpful agencies that exist? These helpful agencies include
not only the work of Mr. Packer, but of the county agents, and the
different departments of the agricultural college, especially that
department concerned with soil surveys, as well as with many others.
In other states as well there are many helpful agencies for the settler.
If the settler could only get hold of the men who are glad to help him
he could make a wise selection of the land. Federal and state
authorities must co-operate in efforts to bring to the settler a
knowledge of the help that may be his.
The City and Suburban Homes Company, of New York City, affords a
suggestion. This company was formed in order to give the best homes
possible to people in and about New York City compatible with very
modest return on capital. The idea is that of serving the urban dweller.
Vast as is the field of operation, it has accomplished appreciable
results in New York City. Could not companies be formed to begin where
the City and Suburban Homes Company leaves off? Two possibilities
suggest themselves. One is the purchase and sale of land, and the other
is disinterested advice.
In this imperfect world perfection can never be attained, and with the
best efforts mistakes will be made. With a strange perversity men often
turn from those who are their true friends and give their confidence to
the unscrupulous. A typical case is this: A man sold his small farm at a
fair price. Those to whom he sold it were apprehensive lest he should
waste the money and tried to help him make a wise investment. He had
every reason for confidence in those who were trying to help him and who
had never misled him, yet he was evidently suspicious that they were
trying to serve their own ends. Shortly after receiving the money he
took a journey into Canada, fell into the hands of land sharks, and
lost every dollar he had received in the purchase of worthless lands.
As a business becomes professional in character, connections are
established with educational institutions. Medicine and law both occur
to one as illustrations. Our universities are now developing courses in
land economics, and these are going to be helpful in solving the
problems of land settlement, as well as other land problems.
Mention has been made of the length of time needed to pay for a farm. No
mistake is more frequent than the mistake made in underestimating the
length of time needed to buy a farm and to pay for it under the
amortization plan--that is to say, by yearly installments, which
include, with interest, a portion of the capital. Ireland affords a good
illustration. As one great Land Act has followed another, the length of
time for the payment of the farm has been increased, until now the
amortization period is about sixty-eight years.
With the higher return to labor in this country the writer thinks
twenty-five to thirty years is about right. When we have this period for
payment the annual payments of principal are small and the farmer has
the sense of ownership and is able to bring up his family, giving the
children a good education, and enjoying life as he goes on. All plans
for land settlement should include long credit payments for land
purchase; also provision of shorter periods for purchase of equipment.
We are making progress in the provision of rural credit, but we still
have a long way to go.
A plan that should be emphasized is that we need the help of the many
private agencies that have been developed. While splendid experiments
are being conducted in California, so far the land settlement of that
state cannot be regarded as anything more than experimental. The first
purchase consisted of ten thousand acres. On the other hand, a single
company in one part of the country visited by Doctor Speek is making a
fine settlement of sixty thousand acres. Land settlement is extremely
complex and thousands of honest men have developed skill and knowledge
in the solution of its problems. We need their services and we must use
every effort to protect them, as well as the settler, against dishonest
and incompetent individuals, agents and companies.
The district attorney's office of New York City has achieved noteworthy
success in ferreting out land frauds and affording certain protection to
land buyers. Our criminal laws need further development. In every state
there should be those to whom the settler can turn with his grievance.
This is required for the protection of the honest land company, as well
as for the protection of the settler.
When the Wisconsin Railroad Commission was established, the idea was
that one should be able to write on a post card his complaint against
any railroad company, and that the commission should take up and
investigate the case. As Doctor Speek says, we need Federal and state
commissions. These should prosecute relentlessly cases of fraud, and at
the same time encourage right practices.
We hear much about unused land which ought to be brought into use.
Investigations made by Mr. O. E. Baker, of the Office of Farm
Management, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and others, show that the
idea that there are vast stretches of really good land which are not
being utilized is fallacious. It stands to reason it should be so. If I
have land that is worth a dollar an acre per annum I am not likely to
allow it to be unused. I have to pay taxes on the land, and I have the
interest charge, which is still more important. We do have, however, a
great and crying evil in the mistaken, as well as the dishonest, attempt
to bring into use land which is not susceptible of profitable use by
settlers, or by any private individuals, for that matter.
Probably somewhat less than half of the land of the United States can at
present be profitably cultivated, and a large proportion of it has no
value for the individual. Nevertheless, a large proportion of this
inferior land is privately owned, and the owner is under a constant
temptation to sell it to the settler. One of the chief problems we have
is to take out of the market this submarginal land, which is responsible
for so many ruined and embittered lives. Dishonest sale of poor land to
unsuspecting settlers is a cause of Bolshevism, which we ought to fight
in every possible way.
Another point made by Doctor Speek relates to access to the land. How
much utter nonsense has been talked about access to the land. As Doctor
Speek points out, access to the land means a great many different
things. If it is to amount to anything, it means knowledge based upon
experience and it means capital. There is no magic about access to the
land any more than there is about access to any other occupation than
farming. A man who goes into any occupation, if he is going to be
successful, must have the requisite tools, the requisite experience, and
the requisite capital.
The writer would like to touch upon many other points suggested by
Doctor Speek's excellent report. One only, however, will be mentioned.
We have spoken about the selection of land. We must also remember that
those who are settling the land are those who are going to make up our
rural population. Every state in the Union, as well as the Federal
government, should consider the qualifications of those who are
settling the land. We are going to have the experience of every European
country. That is, by no possibility can everyone who would like to own a
farm have one, any more than can everyone who would like to own some
other business obtain it. No better illustration could be taken than
that of Ireland, when visited by the writer in 1913. There was not land
enough to afford farms to all those who wanted farms. A selection had to
be made. As we should have agencies to help select land, we should also
make a wise selection of those who are to become our land owners and
cultivators in our rural communities.
RICHARD T. ELY,
_January, 1921._ UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN.
[1] John Stuart Mill, _Principles of Political Economy_, p. 11.
[2] _Ibid._
AUTHOR'S NOTE
This report summarizes the results of a preliminary survey of rural
developments in the United States from the viewpoint of the
Americanization of immigrant settlers conducted by the writer for the
Study of Methods of Americanization.
The field study covered a period of about four months, from June to
September, 1918, inclusive, during which time the writer with his wife,
Frances Valiant Speek, as his assistant, visited fifty-four cities and
rural immigrant colonies in New England, the North Middle Western, the
Western, and the Southwestern states. The cities and colonies visited
and the nationalities involved are given in the order followed in the
field study:
1. New York, N. Y.
2. Vineland, N. J. Italians
3. " Jews
4. " Russian co-operative farm
5. Alliance, N. J. Jews
6. Norma, N. J. Jews
7. Woodbine, N. J. Jews
8. Willington, Conn. Bohemians
9. " Slovaks
10. Portsmouth, R. I. Portuguese
11. Fall River, Mass. Portuguese
12. South Deerfield, Mass. Poles
13. " Lithuanians
14. Oneida, N. Y. Italians
15. Canastota, N. Y. Italians
16. Detroit, Mich.
17. Lansing, Mich.
18. Holland, Mich. Dutch
19. Au Gres, Mich. Germans from Russia
20. " Germans from Germany
21. Posen, Mich. Poles
22. Rudyard, Mich. Finns
23. " Canadian French
24. Madison, Wis.
25. Radisson, Wis. Poles
26. Exeland, Wis. Mixed
27. Conrath, Wis. Poles
28. Weyerhauser, Wis. Poles
29. Holcombe, Wis. Mixed
30. Wausau, Wis. Mixed, Germans and native-born predominating
31. Three Lakes, Wis. Poles
32. Jennings, Wis. Poles
33. New Rhinelander, Wis. Italians
34. Roxbury, Wis. Germans
35. Walworth County, Wis. Germans
36. St. Paul, Minn.
37. St. Cloud, Minn. Slovenians
38. " Germans
39. Fargo, N. D. Scandinavians, Swedes, Norwegians
40. Bismarck, N. D.
41. Dickinson, N. D. Russians
42. " Germans
43. San Francisco, Cal. Russian Sectarians
44. " Japanese
45. Sacramento, Cal.
46. Fresno, Cal.
47. Los Angeles, Cal. Russian Sectarians
48. Glendale, Ariz. Russian Sectarians
49. Phoenix, Ariz.
50. Globe, Ariz.
51. Austin, Tex.
52. Lincoln, Neb. Germans
53. Milford, Neb. Germans (Mennonites)
54. Chicago, Ill.
In addition to observation of the conditions in the colonies, numbers of
the immigrant settlers, their leaders, native neighbors, and local
public officials were interviewed on the subject of the survey. This was
later supplemented by research, conducted mainly by the writer's
assistant in the Library of Congress. No attempt was made to collect
facts and material in a quantitative sense, attention being concentrated
on what seemed to be outstanding facts, conditions, and cases.
In the writing of this summary the writer, as an immigrant himself, has
also used his own experiences and earlier observations beginning in
1909, and his observations during his field investigation of the
conditions of floating laborers in this country for the United States
Commission on Industrial Relations during 1913-15.
The fundamental conclusion at which the writer has arrived in this
summary is as follows:
The establishment of a home may involve direct material assistance, but
requires protection, direction, and instruction given to the
home-seeking and home-building immigrants. These aspects of the problem
are discussed in Part I.
In the question of education the instruction of adult immigrants as well
as immigrant children is important. Among all educational agencies the
public school is the foremost. The parochial school and Catholic and
Lutheran churches are, in many of the districts studied. Part II
discusses the relative efficacy of public and private educational
agencies in tying the immigrant into American life and loyalties.
P. A. S.
A STAKE IN THE LAND