8 SLAVS ON SOUTHERN FARMS. 



Russian Hebrews, north and south Italians, Syrians, Turks, and other 

 people from southeast Europe who are emigrating to better their 

 economic condition. 



These people are largely unskilled laborers from the industries and 

 small farms of Europe, where the highest wage is small compared 

 with the lowest industrial wage paid in the United States. Nearly 

 75 per cent are males, while 83 per cent are between the ages of 14 

 and 45 years, being producers rather than dependents. They bring 

 little money into the country, but send or take a considerable part 

 of their earnings out. Upon entering the United States they turn 

 to the mills, factories, and rrines to take advantage of the high wages 

 offered, although the majority of them have betn reared as tillers of 

 the soil. 



The recent immigrants are primarily agriculturists. They labor 

 and save under the most discourrging conditions and make the 

 utmost sacrifices in order that they n ay some day return to the land. 

 Among the Slavs this desire for land ownership don mates their 

 daily life and gives them inspiration to stand the fierce competitive 

 struggle in the industrial centers. 



The Federal Bureau of In migration repcrts that thousands of the 

 recent imn igrants return to Eurepe each y< ar after a r s id< nee in t is 

 country of from about 5 to 20 years, with, in some cases, large savings 

 to invest in Europe. These people are returning abroaci to invest 

 their American-made money in the agricultural If nds of Europe, for 

 which they have to pay from $2C0 to $5f0 per acre, without any real 

 knowledge of the agricultural opportunities in the South. A proper 

 effort, however, woulel turn many thousands of these people who are 

 seeking agricultural homes toward the South to be used in our agri- 

 cultural and industrial development. 



SLAVS AS FARMERS. 



In doing this we woulel not be inviting economic rum and social 

 degradation, as certain chrcnic pessimists and political demagogues 

 would have us believe, for the success of the immigrant agricultural 

 colonies already established in the Scuth shew that under proper con- 

 elitions and encouragement the recent immigrants, especially the 

 Slavs, make very desirable citizens. The truthfulness of this is evi- 

 denced by the Behemian, Serb, Pclish, and Slovak colonists found in 

 Texas, by the Slovaks in Arkansas, by the Behemian and Slovak 

 farmers in the south-side Virginia counties, and by the Slavish far- 

 mers in Oklahoma, Missouri, Maryland, Alabama, Louisiana, and in 

 the other Southern States. 



Slavs are now engaged in agriculture in each of the 16 Southern 

 States. Only a very few are found in some, it is true, but wherever 

 they are found they enjoy the confidence and the good will of their 

 neighbors. Not only is this true, but it is also shown by the recent 

 census of the United States that there is not a State in the Union 

 that eloes not incline anions its people s°me Slavish farmers. 



Considering the United States as a whole, they are found chiefly 

 in the States of North Dakota, Wisconsin, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, 

 Minnesota, South Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, 

 New York, Connecticut, Washington, Colorado, Ohio, California, 

 New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Illinois. In the South the largest 



