223 



The curse of the !and is not the large eslat.s but 

 absenteeism <>n one hand, and ignorance and po\ert\ 

 on the otlier. 



Towards remedying these tlie first steps are to- 

 wards making our agriculture profitable. th<'i, on lin- 

 ings of our farmers, we must build our homesteads/ 

 our small holdings. 



Without money in the pockets of our rural popula- 

 tion, no progress is possible. 



The days of big extensions of land exploited in ce- 

 reals are over. It is more economical to exploit by 

 means of small holdings. 



The days of ' * golondrina " immigration favoured 

 large exploitations. Settling the country in small, hold- 

 ings means really reducing the prospects of the ''go- 

 londrina" immigrant. 



Have we not an expensive Hotel of Immigrants 

 with a department to which is confided the .care of and 

 propaganda in favour of this source of revenue to the 

 .State? 



Yet it is certainly not logical to devote money to 

 bring folk to our shores, and when we have got them 

 Jieie to occupy ourselves no more over whether they 

 spend their time here profitably or wastefully to them- 

 selves and ourselves. 



Still less is it logical to devote our energies to bring- 

 ing more people here when those already here are not 

 economically content with their labours. 



Of what real use is the " golondrina " immigration 

 to us unless it leaves more in our pockets than it takes 

 .away ? 



It is, I am aware, an economical method of supply- 

 ing labour for our rural enterprises, but still more eco- 

 nomical would it be to, supply the labour we have got 

 with a fixed economical situation. The people who go 

 out of the country are of less preoccupation to our- 

 selves than those who remain. 



What we want is to put money into the pockets of 

 our native population first, and this we are assured Ele- 

 vators will do. 



A system of Grain granaries will make land cul- 

 tivation in cereals profitable, and since the majoi-tj 

 of our immigrants devote themselves to the cultivation 

 of cereals, or find their chief sources of labour in its 

 production and handling, then if we desire immigrants 

 this should be the first measure taken. It will solve our 

 problem of a shifting rural population, too. 



The present system of long rotation animals with 



