The association has published a code of ethics for its members, in which paragraph 13 is especially noteworthy. It reads:

As a duty to the public and each other, members should report to the board misrepresentations or any fraudulent, criminal, or illegal act pertaining to real estate, which may entrap and injure innocent or ignorant persons; and the board owes it to members and the community to take steps to stop such practices and to punish parties guilty thereof.

The local boards often render certain services to the community. The valuation committees are often called upon to give their expert advice in land matters even to the courts and government administrative offices.

But how far the association is successful in combating the underhand business methods of the unscrupulous real-estate men is very difficult to say. The fact is this, that the association favors public registry and regulation of the real-estate trade and at present is working toward that end, supporting bills of this nature that are introduced in the state legislatures. A number of the realtors are not in favor of the words "license" and "licensing." They prefer instead the words "certificate," "registry," and "regulation," believing that the word "license" is associated in the popular mind with saloon-keeping and similar trades of a lower order.

The desire of these men to separate from ordinary real-estate men by calling themselves "realtors" and their business a "profession," and their advocacy of public regulation, show that the land "shark" is still very much alive and that the real-estate men themselves by their own private efforts are not able successfully to combat the "shark."

In the field of private land dealing there is appearing a substitute for the individual dealer. The modern colonization company has recently grown up, and out of this new project have grown broader policies and methods.



V

PRIVATE LAND COLONIZATION COMPANIES

The earlier so-called city and empire builders were in most cases nothing more than dealers in land. When a lot or farm was sold, there the company's interest ended. The modern colonization company goes much farther. When a man settles on land, the company of the better type usually looks out for him, backs him with credit, affords him the service of an expert agricultural adviser, cares for his health, and promotes his social interests and activities through a salaried community worker.

All this is done by the company not only for the sake of the settler himself, but mainly for the sake of the business interests of the company, since the success of the settlers on the company's land is the best advertisement of the company's business. It creates confidence in the company among the searchers for land and helps to increase the volume of business and the profits. Such companies are of rather recent origin and as yet are comparatively few in number. Their appearance means specialization in the land-development business.

In the North Middle Western states the wilderness land has been for the most part owned by the lumber companies. The lumber companies attempted to dispose of their cut-over and burnt-over land in the easiest way by selling to individuals. As a rule this retail selling was unsuccessful. They found that it was more profitable for them to stick to their lumber business and sell their land in large tracts to the land dealers and to land-development and colonization companies.

In this connection it is interesting to note that in the wilds of our north one may still see the following stages of frontier life as they exist side by side, sometimes overlapping and crosscutting one another.

1. The earliest stage known to American civilization was that of virgin wilderness inhabited by animals and roamed over by Indians. As remnants of that time there are found some animals, now driven into the swamps and rocks, and a few Indians settled on reservations.

2. The next stage was when the white missionaries, traders, adventurers, followed by professional trappers, began penetrating the wilderness. This white men's hunting stage is still represented by the present-day "shackers" and trappers, though they are mostly of an amateur character, and, so to speak, domesticated.

3. The following stage was when lumbermen began being heard throughout the forests. They are still there, though in considerably reduced numbers. They are hurriedly attacking the remaining woods, leaving in their wake a dreary, sorrowful-looking expanse of cut-over and burnt-over lands.

4. These cut-over lands are now invaded by the land development and colonization companies, with their armies of new settlers, attempting to transform the last remnants of wilderness into fertile gardens, fields, and meadows. This is the last decisive war of man upon the wilderness—a picturesque and difficult struggle. A settler gives this vivid description, printed in the Radisson, Wisconsin, Courier:

Everywhere we go we see men, women, and children cutting and piling the brush and logs that have covered the ground since the days of the logger. Everyone seems to be trying to clear more land than his neighbor, and get it ready to produce the crops that are so badly needed all over the world, and as we stop a minute to take a better view of what each one has done, we hear the boom of dynamite that is following the brush lines as they are being pushed back.

In the north the land-clearing line is called the firing line, a term which can be taken literally, for the land-clearing front is continually under fire and clouds of smoke from burning debris.

5. The sturdy new settlers, the last pioneers and frontiersmen in the country, are followed, especially along rivers where water power is at hand, by industrial workers. Here and there are appearing thriving manufacturing and commercial towns—the last stage in the opening up of a new country to civilization.

But the most important work in the wilderness at present is that of the modern land colonization companies. To give an idea of their work and methods it is necessary to describe one of these companies in detail.

A TYPICAL COMPANY

The particular company investigated with special attention is located in the wilderness of one of the North Middle Western states. In general the company is applying the same business methods to land colonization as Mr. Ford is applying to automobile production—production of new farms on a large scale so as to diminish the overhead expense, and standardization of various colonization methods. The guiding test is the success of the new settlers on the company's land. Failures among the settlers are avoided and fought against by the company as though they were a dangerous epidemic. "Each failure among our settlers is a bad advertisement for our company, a loss to us, and an evidence of defects in our business methods," stated the company's head.

To insure the success of the settlers and the settlement, the company proceeds as follows: The most careful study is made of the tract of land which the company intends to acquire for colonization purposes. Not only is the tract of land closely looked over by the company's officials, but land experts, such as soil surveyors, are engaged to examine the land from the viewpoint of its agricultural possibilities. Federal and state surveyors' reports are also used in considering the possibilities of the land.

When the land has been acquired, a plan for a colony is worked out, with provision for necessary roads, town sites, irrigation or drainage systems, utilization of water power, social centers, experimental farms, etc. The accompanying map shows the plan of one such colony.

The tract is then surveyed and cut up into farms according to the plan adopted. A number of farm lots are selected by the company. On each of these lots there is designated a place for the farm buildings and the garden. A simple, inexpensive house and a barn are built by the company on a small clearing, usually facing the main road. At present the company has ceased to clear any land for agricultural use for the reason that if there is a piece of cleared land the new settler is apt to expend his main efforts on cultivation of this cleared land, neglecting the clearing of more land.

Our experience has shown that it is much better when a new settler begins his settlement enterprise with clearing. He at once acquires the needed experience in clearing, and develops the confidence that he is able to overcome the difficulties of clearing. As a result, his ambition grows to clear more land each year,

explained a company official. This again shows with what fineness the company has to adjust its methods to the psychological peculiarities of the settlers.

At the same time the company equips the experimental farm and puts it into operation under the supervision of a trained agriculturist. For the community work a hall is provided and a community worker engaged.

Meanwhile the company's agents and advertisers have been busy in making the land opportunities known to people who are intending to settle on land. The new settlers are of two distinct types. One type consists either of native Americans or immigrants who have previously been on land in the United States either as landowners or as tenants. The second class consists of immigrants who have been living in the cities and who desire to settle on land. In most cases they have been engaged in agricultural work in their old countries.



The company itself takes into consideration racial and national factors. In the year of the investigation the company was doing its main business in the one section with Polish immigrants, and preferred them even to the native settlers. The reason given was that immigrants, especially Slavs, are easy to get along with and readily follow the company's directions and advice. They are hard workers and are satisfied with a small return at the beginning. In contrast, the natives commonly pay little attention to the company's directions and advice, being anxious to make a quick success. In case they do not succeed as rapidly as they expected, they get discouraged, leave the place, and give the company a "black eye."

The land is sold in plots of forty acres each, either as "made-to-order" farms or without farming improvements—"land only." The purchaser may buy as many plots as he desires and is able to pay for. However, the company discourages the buying of more land than the settler is able actually to improve and cultivate, which usually is about forty acres.

The company offers in its folder the following three land sale plans:

PLAN NO. 1

LAND ONLY, WITHOUT IMPROVEMENTS

First payment, $200 for each 40 acres. Total cost, $750 to $1,000 for each 40 acres.

If you buy under Plan No. 1 you pay for the land only. Should you want lumber or building supplies, we will furnish them to you at cost, and add on to your contract. The same is true in case you want live stock. In other words, we will furnish supplies equal to the amount of the first payment. Prices vary according to location and quality of land.

PLAN NO. 2

FORTY ACRES OF LAND WITH HOUSE AND LIVE STOCK

House 14x20 feet, 1 story, 1 cow, 1 small pig, 4 chickens, Complete assortment of vegetable and flower seeds, 1 bushel mixed clover and timothy seed.

Cash payment, $250. Total cost, $1,100 to $1,350.

These plans cover only 40 acres. If you wish larger acreage add to these plans what land you require, at $750 to $1,000 per 40-acre unit.

PLAN NO. 3

FORTY ACRES OF LAND WITH HOUSE, BARN, LIVE STOCK, AND TOOLS

House 14x20 feet, 1-1/2 story, Barn 12x14 feet, 1 cow, 4 chickens, 2 small pigs, Complete assortment of vegetable and flower seeds, 1 bushel mixed clover and timothy seed, 1 garden cultivator, 1 crosscut saw, 1 ax, 1 brush scythe, 1 mattock.

Cash payment, $400. Total cost, $1,250 to $1,500.

These plans cover only 40 acres. If you wish larger acreage add to these plans what land you require, at $750 to $1,000 per 40-acre unit.

As experience has shown, a settler on new land which he has to clear has no opportunity for using a horse to its fullest capacity during the first two years. Therefore the company does not include a horse in the preliminary equipment of a "made-to-order" farm. When a new settler needs horse power either for plowing or hauling he hires a horse from his older neighbors or from the company's demonstration farm at a reasonable price.

One of the company's special efforts consists in securing a market for the settler's produce. With this end in view, co-operative creameries are favored and promoted by the company.

It is the policy of the company to encourage the organization of local state banks wherever it does any colonizing work, for the company realizes that the short-time credit needs of the settlers must be taken care of. It always encourages the local merchants and people in the near-by towns to take some stock in the bank. Whatever stock is left over, different members connected with the company usually take, upon an understanding with the local people that as soon as any of them wish some of this stock the company will sell it to them at 6 per cent interest on its money.

A number of years ago the company organized a bank in one of its colonies in order that the settlers might get proper credit. The company found it necessary to do something, as heretofore the settlers had had no opportunity to secure short-time credit. After the bank had been organized for three years the people in the colony desired to take the bank stock, and the men connected with the colonization company sold all their stock with the exception of one or two hundred dollars each, which the local people desired that they retain, so that out of $10,000 capital stock $1,000 is held by men interested in the company. In another colony some of the local people spoke for some stock and were offered the stock held by men interested in the colonization company at exactly what they paid for it, plus 6 per cent interest on their money. This has been true in the different sections where the company has promoted the organization of a bank.

As the company's business methods are based upon the principle of the settler's success, the company is keeping in very close touch with its settlers. For each settler a "Progress Record" card is filed in the company's local office. The following reproduction of the main features of the card indicates the items that show the economic progress of the settler. Although it is not possible to have all the items filled up to date, a beginning is always made. As visits are made to the settlers' farms by the company's representatives, or the settlers come to the company office for advice or help, information is collected and added to the cards. Eventually an invaluable record of salient facts in regard to the settler and his progress is accumulated in this way.

SETTLER'S PROGRESS RECORD

Name ....................... Address .......................

DESCRIPTION Acres .............Sec............Tp..........R........ ......... .............Sec............Tp..........R........ ......... .............Sec............Tp..........R........ ......... County..............State...............Total acres......... Soil...............Distance from school................miles From town..........miles. Name........................... Nationality........Age..............Children................ Previous farming experience................................. Bought........acres..........from........................... (year and month) Moved on land in..............191.... From.................. I had in cash.................In stock...................... Tools and machinery......................................... Total net worth (when I moved on land) $................

improved Price paid for unimproved land, $........................... ___

Paid in cash........................................ Balance due.........................................

Improvements, Equipment, and Live Stock included in purchase price....................................................... ............................................................ Terms of contract........................................... Interest rate 6 per cent.

RECORD OF PROGRESS

1st 2d 3d 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th yr. yr. yr. yr. yr. yr. yr. yr.

Built....................................................... Cleared (plowed)............................................ Cleared (stumps in)......................................... Fenced...................................................... No. of cows................................................. No. of calves............................................... No. of horses............................................... No. of colts................................................ No. of pigs................................................. Days worked out............................................. Owed on chattel............................................. Owed bank................................................... Paid on land (prin.)........................................ Paid on land (int.).........................................

PRESENT VALUE OF PROPERTY

LAND —————————————————————————————— Acres Classification Acres Acre Total Fenced Value —————————————————————————————— .........Cultivated......................................... .........Cultivated (stumps in)............................. .........Meadow (wild hay).................................. .........Unimproved......................................... ——————- Total value of land..............$.............

BUILDINGS —————————————————————————————— Size Material Insured For Total —————————————————————————————— House....................................................... Barn........................................................ Silo........................................................ ——————- Total value of buildings..........$............

LIVE STOCK —————————————————————————————— No. Value, Total Each —————————————————————————————— .........Dairy cows......................................... .........Dairy heifers...................................... .........Dairy calves....................................... .........Beef cattle........................................ .........Horses............................................. .........Colts.............................................. .........Hogs............................................... .........Sheep.............................................. ————— Total value of live stock.....$..........

MACHINERY .................................................. .................................................. ————— Total value of machinery.......$..........

Assets Liabilities Value of land.......$...... Due on land........$...... Value of buildings............ Due on live stock......... Value of live stock........... Due on machinery.......... Value of machinery............ Other debts............... Value of other property....... ———- ———— Total..........$...... Total.......$....... Present net worth......$.......

These progress records are valuable to the company for a number of purposes. They help in considering extension of credit, in giving advice to the settlers, and in finding out what general business methods are the best for the company to follow in the way of assisting the settler to make a success.

As the settler's future well-being depends to a certain degree upon his progress in Americanization, it would be advisable for the company to include in the record cards items concerning the date of the settler's arrival in America, his naturalization status, and the degree of his knowledge of English at the time of his settlement on land. These few additional items would hardly complicate or burden the recording work of the company's local office.

THE ADVISER

The company's officials stated that the immigrant family when first arriving in the colony is shy and helpless. The introduction of the family to the new conditions and surroundings has to be made gradually. A representative of the company meets the family at the station and directs it to a hotel, where it stays a few days before it is taken to the farm. During these several days the company's adviser calls often upon the family, talks with its members, takes them through the colony and introduces them to their future neighbors, and explains the local conditions. When the family is transferred to the farm the company's adviser still has to call almost daily, for there are numerous matters upon which the settler needs advice and encouragement.

The majority of the new settlers are quite ignorant of the methods of land clearing. This the adviser has to teach them. How to feed cows, what and when to plant, how to cultivate, and how to handle the products—in all such questions the new settlers need constant direction. They themselves give two reasons for their need of advice in farming operations. First, the European methods of farm work are different from the American methods, especially because in Europe they were not engaged in opening up new land. Secondly, having been engaged in industrial work in America, often for long years, they have forgotten the European farm experience to a certain degree.

While the writer was in the office of the adviser the settlers were constantly calling upon the latter for advice in all sorts of matters. One woman came, crying, and said, through her boy as interpreter, that her cow was sick and perhaps dying. Another woman sought advice as to her sick baby. A man came to ask that a certain road be extended to his place. Still another man wanted to do some stumping on his land in co-operation with his neighbors, provided the company lent a machine and the adviser came to direct the work. Another man asked advice in regard to the extension of credit to him. So the stream of inquiries went on continually. The adviser needed to be, as he was, an extremely capable man to deal with the extraordinary list of demands. He was an expert agriculturist, energetic, and in love with the game of helping the immigrant settlers.



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, and until 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.

CHILDREN OVERWORKED

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 they are 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.

SECURING CREDIT

As the company's overhead expenses for the maintenance of a number of offices, for the employment of 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 would be 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]

CONSERVATION OF WOODED LAND

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 advisable for 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.

THE SIZE OF A COLONY

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 one nationality 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.

LEARNING AMERICAN WAYS

The writer, while visiting the company's colonies, was struck by the fact that the settlers who said they 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 in the 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.

TWO POINTS OF VIEW

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, scraping and 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. The company 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 company at 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 if they 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' misunderstanding of 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 land colonization work only, leaving banking, commerce, and manufactures to others.

COLONY SNAPSHOTS

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 country on 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.

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 of need. 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.

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 takes place. 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.

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.

[7] H. R. 3274, 66th Congress, 1st Session.

[8] Only those field notes are here quoted which vary from the description of the first colony.



VI

PUBLIC LAND COLONIZATION

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

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 of land, 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.

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 transferred to 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 3-1/2 acres 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, but had 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 reserved for 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.

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.

STATE PROVISION FOR SOLDIER SETTLEMENTS

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 II

STATE LEGISLATION TO PROMOTE LAND SETTLEMENT FOR SOLDIERS UP TO JUNE, 1919[11] -+ Amount of State Bill Number Date Approved Appropriation + - -+ Arizona Senate 89 March 26, 1919[10] $ 100,000 California {Senate 246 April, 1919 10,000,000 {Senate 221 April, 1919[10] 1,000,000 Colorado Senate 262 April 9, 1919[10] Delaware House 182 April 2, 1919 25,000 Florida Senate 21 December 7, 1918[10] Idaho House 100 March 7, 1919[10] 100,000 Maine Chapter 89 April 4, 1919[10] Missouri {Senate 355 April, 1919[10] 10,000 {Senate 15 April, 1919[10] 1,000,000 Montana {House 130 March 11, 1919[10] 50,000 {House 170 March 4, 1919[10] 200,000 Nevada House 219 March 28, 1919 1,000,000 New Jersey Senate 5 March 26, 1919 New Mexico House 204 March, 1919[10] 30,000 North Carolina Chapter 266 March 10, 1919[10] North Dakota House 128 March 6, 1919 Oklahoma Number 249 March 28, 1919 250,000 Oregon Senate 147 March 4, 1919[10] 50,000 South Dakota Senate 255 March, 1919[10] 100,000 1,000,000 Tennessee House 447 April 16, 1919[10] Texas May 24, 1919 Utah {Senate 79 March 17, 1919[10] 25,000 {Senate 80 March 17, 1919[10] 1,000,000 Vermont Number 15 March 26, 1919 Washington {House 200 March 18, 1919 1,050,000 {Senate 184 March 20, 1919[10] 160,000 Wisconsin Senate 8 February 23, 1919[10] Wyoming Senate 70 February 28, 1919[10] 5,000 200,000 -+

TABLE II—Continued

STATE LEGISLATION TO PROMOTE LAND SETTLEMENT FOR SOLDIERS UP TO JUNE, 1919[11] State Special Note + - Arizona To aid Federal Reclamation Service in this state. California Referendum on bond issue. Colorado No appropriation indicated. Delaware Florida Appropriating state lands. Idaho Conditional upon similar Federal legislation. Maine Necessary amount out of remainder of reserve land fund. Missouri Revolving fund submitted to popular vote. Montana To be drawn upon if necessary. Nevada By bond sale. New Jersey Appropriation for placement work. New Mexico Plus half of certain state rentals and sales. North Carolina Commission appointed to report. North Dakota Twenty-five dollars per soldier per month in service. Oklahoma For loans to land settlers. Oregon South Dakota Bond issue. Tennessee No appropriation indicated. Texas State credit for land settlers. Utah Bond issue. Vermont Washington Revolving fund for state Reclamation Act. For land settlement. Wisconsin Commission appointed to report. Wyoming For 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 these lands 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 RECLAMATION ACT

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 a reclamation fund to 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 the waters 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, and to-day, according to the report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1919,[13]

the service is in a position to deliver water to about 1,600,000 acres of irrigable land, covered by crop census, of which about 1,120,000 acres are now being irrigated. Besides this storage water is delivered from permanent reservoirs under special contracts to about 950,000 acres more. The projects that have been undertaken have been planned to provide for an area of about 3,200,000 acres.

A number of bills have been proposed for enlarging and extending this work.

PROPOSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION

The Department of the Interior has prepared a draft of a bill providing rural homes for returning soldiers. Copies of the bill were sent to the Governors for consideration by various state legislatures.

The bill is based on the principle of co-operation, according to which (1) the state provides land, acquiring it by purchase or by agreement with the present landowners whereby the latter turn their holdings over to the state for a reasonable price gradually paid to them out of the returns from the settlers, and (2) the Federal government advances money for reclamation through irrigation, drainage, and clearing, and for preparation of the land for immediate farming through the providing of buildings, implements, seeds, live stock, etc. The total cost of the land and improvements, with interest at 4 per cent on capital invested, will be repaid by the settlers during the course of, approximately, forty years by an annual payment of 5 per cent of the total cost.

A bill was introduced in Congress by Senator Myers (S. 4947, 65th Congress, 2d Session) in October, 1918, and backed by the Department of the Interior, which provided for a survey and classification by this department of all unentered public lands and all privately owned unused lands for the purpose of finding out what lands can be reclaimed and put to productive use by returning soldiers who would like to settle on land and engage in agriculture. After such an investigation the Secretary of the Interior was required to report to Congress and to propose a plan for the settlement and cultivation of such lands.

There were two bills (S. 5397 and H. 15672) introduced by Senator W. S. Kenyon of Iowa and Representative M. Clyde Kelly of Pennsylvania, respectively, which, among other features, made possible development of rural districts. Although differing in details, the bills both appropriated $100,000,000 to be expended in providing employment primarily for returning soldiers. This was to be done through the authorized public construction work, or through the organization and extension of useful public works, in the development of natural resources. Only in localities where the Secretary of Labor reports extraordinary unemployment to exist shall public works be carried on from this fund.

The House bill provided for the building of new post roads; for the transfer of war material no longer needed by the army, the same to be used for the construction, improvement, and maintenance of the post roads; for supplementing the public school equipment where public school buildings are or shall be designated as postal stations, for the use of the construction service; and for other purposes. The bill provides for the establishment of motor transport and postal routes; for the organization of a system of marketing facilities for the collection and delivery, through the postal service and public school buildings, of farm products from producer to consumer; and for the construction of any authorized public work.

In addition to these more indirect ways of opening up the country the bill carried specific provision for promoting and conducting land-settlement colonies, as well as provision for logging or milling operations, contingent upon a continuous yield of timber, so that the forest communities would be permanent. The provisions of the bill were to be carried out by an interdepartmental National Board of Public Construction, which would organize a body of workers, known as the United States Construction Service.

Since the bill carried the reclamation and technical land-improvement work, the only question might be, is there any need for this to be carried on by a special Construction Service? Would it not be a duplication of the work of the already existing Reclamation Service of the Department of the Interior? Would it not be economical and otherwise proper to increase the staff and other working forces of the Reclamation Service to the extent of the proposed reclamation duties of the Construction Service?

Representative E. T. Taylor of Colorado introduced in the House, February 15, 1919, a bill (H. R. 15993) providing for employment and the securing of rural homes for returned soldiers and for the promotion of the reclamation of land for cultivation under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Short-term loans to settlers were provided for. This bill contains a good land-development plan, except that the Reclamation Service, Department of the Interior, ought not to be burdened with colonization work and with loans to settlers. Colonization work ought to be the duty of a separate body, and the extension of credit to settlers naturally belongs to the Farm Loan Board, Department of the Treasury.

Representative Mondell of Wyoming introduced in the House, May 19, 1919, a bill (H. R. 487) providing employment and rural homes for returned soldiers through the reclamation of lands under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, who may, for this purpose, acquire by gift, purchase, deed in trust, or otherwise, the necessary lands for soldier settlement projects and, for the same purpose, may withdraw, utilize, and dispose of by contract and deed suitable public lands. An appropriation of $500,000 is proposed.

The plan in this bill for the acquisition and reclamation of unused land is a strong one. Equally commendable is the provision for safeguarding the settlers' holdings against speculation, for the selling, leasing, or mortgaging of the land by settlers requires the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. The bill requires that the Interior Department, through its Reclamation Service, acquire and improve lands, colonize them, and make loans to settlers. It would seem a more efficient plan to make a division of these various duties. The Reclamation Service should acquire and improve lands for settlement, while the colonization work and the extension of loans to settlers would be made the duties of other public authorities, as pointed out below.

House Bill No. 3274, introduced by Representative Knutson, May 27, 1919, proposes to create, in the Treasury Department, a National Colonization Board with local colonization commissions, for the purpose of providing capital for the development by land colonization of the agricultural resources of the nation, affording certain privileges to soldier settlers. The commissions approve and charter private colonization companies and recommend applications for loans after seeing all the provisions of the act have been complied with. The commissions are to include the directors of the district land bank.

The main aim of the bill is to standardize private land colonization companies to a certain degree, to facilitate the extension of credit to them, and to make loans to soldier settlers. The Knutson bill in meeting these needs is a comprehensive one. It deserves the closest attention of Congress. Would it not be advisable, however, to attach the administrative machinery for credit extension outlined in the bill to a division to be created in the Farm Loan Board, with separate colonization credit funds, and to leave the regulation and licensing of the private colonization companies to a separate body as outlined below?

Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana introduced in the Senate, August 20, 1917, a bill (S. 2812) which was passed by both Houses and reported from conference for passage in February, 1919. The bill provides for the sale or lease of coal, oil, and other mineral lands on the public domain. The leasing clause of the bill is weakened by the provision, "unless previously entered under Section 2 of this act." The public coal lands would be "entered," sold into private ownership, which means the loss of public control over these lands and the methods of their exploitation. However, the bill if passed would be a step forward in the sense that it would increase opportunities for investment of capital and employment of labor, which would result in the increase of the coal output so much needed.

The only step so far undertaken by Congress in the direction of land colonization is the appropriation of $200,000 for an investigation by the Reclamation Service, Department of the Interior, of lands outside of the existing reclamation projects. The measures needed are waiting for action.

In regard to the available land for acquisition, reclamation, and colonization, several projects are proposed by the above-quoted bills and by various Federal departments. The principal projects are as follows:

1. Agricultural:

a. Logged-off lands in the North Middle Western and Northwestern states.

b. Irrigation of desert lands in the Southwestern states.

c. Drainage of swamp lands in the Southern states.

2. Forestry projects; permanent colonies for logging, milling, and reforestation of logged-off lands in the Northwestern states.

3. Colonization projects for an intensive cultivation of lands around smaller growing towns.

4. Colonization projects in Alaska for developing various extractive industries.

Action of some sort is eminently desirable in this country, especially in view of the fact that other countries have already taken steps to these ends.

PROVISION IN OTHER COUNTRIES

The settlement of soldiers on land has been a problem much considered in all of the warring nations. Although the plans are just only being tried out for the first time in many cases, they are suggestive of the trend that land-settlement laws are taking.

In 1918 a law was enacted in France "providing for the acquisition of small rural properties by soldier and civilian victims of the war. It provides in part for 'individual mortgage loans to facilitate acquisition, parceling out, transformation, and reconstitution of small rural properties of which the value does not exceed 10,000 francs.' The loans are to be made from the agricultural lending societies at a rate of 1 per cent, with a term of twenty-five years. Advances for improvements are provided for and a special commission is appointed to administer the law."[14]

In the United Kingdom, as well as in the majority of its dominions and states, acts providing for land settlement for ex-soldiers have been passed or formulated. Large sums of money have already been appropriated for the purchase, improvement, and development of land. In some cases the crown lands are to be used and in other private lands are to be bought. Table III indicates some of the general provisions of the legislation.

Over $133,000,000 has been appropriated and in two Australian states alone 2,060,000 acres have been set aside. The size of the individual holdings varies from 10 to 160 acres.

In some cases the land is given outright, in others the settler must help bear the cost of surveys and improvement. The third plan is that of a lease, usually with an option to buy, varying in different states. Whatever the terms of settlement are, in most cases the ex-soldier can meet his obligations because of the easy terms by which he can borrow money from the government. Although the maximum amount is limited, the rate of interest is low in most cases and the term of years, with one exception, twenty years or more. Although some farming experience is required, in almost every law, there is provision for a demonstration farm. Here the prospective farmers can learn scientific farming, usually getting paid for their work in the interval.

TABLE III

SOLDIER SETTLEMENT PLANS FOR UNITED KINGDOM AND PROVINCES[15] + Country Act + Dominion of Canada[16] August 29, 1917 + -+ Ontario No. 150, 1916 + -+ British Columbia 6 Geo. V. 59, 1916 + -+ New Brunswick 6 Geo. V. 9, 1916 + -+ Australia 1917 Conference + -+ New South Wales No. 21, 1916; amended, 1917 + -+ Victoria October 22, 1917 + -+ Queensland 1917 + -+ South Australia 1916, 7, Geo. V. + -+ New Zealand 6 Geo. V. 45, 1916; amended, 1917 + -+ Tasmania Geo. V. 20; 1916-17 + -+ United Kingdom 6 and 7 Geo. V., c 38 + -+ Union of South 1912; amended Africa 1917 +

TABLE III—Continued

SOLDIER SETTLEMENT PLANS FOR UNITED KINGDOM AND PROVINCES[15] + Aid Given -+ Maximum Interest Country Amount Time Per Cent + -+ -+ -+ Dominion of Canada[16] $2,500[A] 20 equal payments 5 + -+ -+ -+ Ontario $500[B] 20 years 6 + -+ -+ -+ British Columbia [C] [B] 20 years 5 + -+ -+ -+ New Brunswick $500 to $1,500[B] 20 years 5 + -+ -+ -+ Australia [C] [C] [C] + -+ -+ -+ New South Wales $2,500 Lease 2-1/2 on capital value + -+ -+ -+ Victoria $2,500 31-1/2 years 6 + -+ -+ -+ Queensland $2,500 buildings; 40 years; 25 3-1/2 to 5; $3,500 years; 10 1-1/2 on equipment years; perpetual capital value + -+ -+ -+ South Australia $2,400 21 years 4 + -+ -+ -+ New Zealand [D] + -+ -+ -+ Tasmania $2,500 21 years 3-1/2 to 5 + -+ -+ -+ United Kingdom + -+ -+ -+ Union of South $1,250; $25 a 3-1/2 years to 4-1/2 Africa month to 7 years. families +

TABLE III—Continued

SOLDIER SETTLEMENT PLANS FOR UNITED KINGDOM AND PROVINCES[15] + Acres Assigned -+ Individual Country Appropriation Total Holdings - Dominion of Canada[16] $2,910,000 Certain dominion lands 160 - Ontario $5,000,000 100 - British Columbia $500,000 annually 160 - New Brunswick 20,000 10-100 - Australia $100,000,000 - + New South Wales 1,500,000 + - + Victoria $11,250,000 500,000 wheat-growing plus irrigated lands + - + Queensland $50,000 560,000 + - + South Australia $220,000 10,000 + - + New Zealand $3,000,000 270,000 + - + Tasmania $750,000 100 + - + United Kingdom $10,000,000 asked for 60,000 + - + Union of South [C] Lands purchased not to Africa exceed $7,500 for each settler who provides one fifth of price +

TABLE III—Continued

SOLDIER SETTLEMENT PLANS FOR UNITED KINGDOM AND PROVINCES[15] - Demonstration Training Farm Capital Country Tenure Needed Provided Desirable + -+ + -+ - Dominion of Canada[16] Free grant Yes Yes Yes + -+ + - - Ontario Patent given in Yes Yes Yes 5 years + -+ + -+ - British Columbia Free grant No + -+ + -+ - New Brunswick Free grant Yes Yes + -+ + -+ - Australia + -+ + -+ - New South Wales Perpetual lease Yes Yes Yes + -+ + -+ - Victoria Purchase in Yes Yes 31-1/2 Years + -+ + -+ - Queensland Perpetual lease Yes Yes only + -+ + -+ - South Australia Perpetual lease Yes Yes + -+ + -+ - New Zealand Lease 66 years, Yes Yes or freehold + -+ + -+ - Tasmania 99-year lease; Yes Yes or purchase Yes Yes after 10 years + -+ + -+ - United Kingdom Lease Yes Yes + -+ + -+ - Union of South Lease for 5 Yes Africa years and option of purchase, with 20 years to pay -

[9] Senate Bill No. 584, chap. 755.

[10] In co-operation with the Federal government.

[11] Compiled from manuscript given to the author by the Department of the Interior.

[12] Federal Reclamation Laws of the United States. House Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands, 66th Congress, 2d Session, Washington, D. C., 1920; chap. v, pp. 13-50.

[13] Reports of the Department of the Interior for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1919. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1920; vol. 1, p. 96.

[14] Work and Homes for Our Fighting Men, U. S. Reclamation Service, 1919 (pamphlet).

[15] Tabulated from table compiled by United States Reclamation Service, Work and Homes for Our Fighting Men, 1919, p. 20-21 (pamphlet).

[16] From Canada comes the news that at the end of January, 1921, 20,000 soldiers have taken farms, and that 42,000 of 59,000 applicants for land grants have been declared qualified and will soon get the land. Although the men have 25 years to pay off their land debt, several hundred have already paid in full. The Canadian soldiers have received 2,000,000 acres of farming land in government soldiers grants.

[A] Security required.

[B] In addition to Dominion advance.

[C] Amount not specified.

[D] Sufficient for clearing.



VII

A LAND POLICY

Most of the land-reform programs, beginning with those of the extreme conservatives, laissez-faire theorists of various schools, and ending with those of the extreme radicals, anarchists, and socialists of various leanings, are primarily concerned with the question of land ownership.

WIDE RANGE IN PROGRAMS

These programs might be, in the main, classified as follows:

I. Private land ownership:

A. Large-scale ownership, subject to no public interference.

B. Small-scale ownership, limited and regulated by public authority.

II. Public land ownership:

A. Secured by

1. Confiscation, by revolutionary action.

2. Purchase, by land bond issues.

3. Taxation, by the single tax.

B. Forms of public ownership:

1. Nationalization; national ownership. In the United States it would be Federal ownership.

2. Provincial ownership. In the United States it would be state ownership, and in Switzerland canton ownership.