The Grange advance., 1874-05-20
The MennOnfteS.

The MennOnites.
The introduction of bill in the sem
ate recently in relation to the Memo.
mites renders the following article from
the Philadelphia Press of particular in
terest:
Understanding that one of the prom
inent representatives Of the Russian
Mennonites was staying in our city, our
reporter, upon importuning him, found
some interesting facts regarding this
people, who are so little known with us.
It seems when Catherine II. of Russia
found the immense prairies of Southern
Russia could be made fertile and pro-
ductive, she looked to the farmers Of
Germany to do it. Hearing Of the per-
secuted and monarchy-ridden Menno-
mites, she offered them perpetual free
dom from bearing arms, the right of
self-government; in fact, everything
they wanted to carry out their religious
ideas or principles, if they would take
her lands and farm them-agreeing
that they should never be sold to any
other than the Mennonites-that is, no
Russian could buy them; which law,
now that they want to sell out, bears
very hard on them. They hope to have
it changed though. Ever since Cath
crimes time they have been migrating
from Germany into Russia until they
now have seven separate large colonies
and one hundred or more small ones.
They do not live in communes or un-
natural families, but each father owns
his own property, and by his own exer-
tions supports generally a large family
Of from ten to twelve children; but
their quiet way of living. their high
standard Of education, and their excel
lent German experience, has made them
very bold and successful farmers, Talk
ing of two thousand acres under cult
walton in a farm, or twenty-five to thir.
ty thousand sheep, does not in any way
alarm them.
Numbers of them have these, besides
silkworms and the necessary mulberry
trees, as we'll as apricot orchards, hard
shelled almonds, English walnuts, wild
olives, and good grapes. The Black
sea being so near keeps them from hav-
ing such excessive cold or heat. In
laying out their ground they tried to
portion it fairly, and in one case a vii
lage say Of fifty houses was formed by
cutting up plot into long, narrow
farms, fifteen times as long as they we're
wide, and crossing them by one road,
making one row Of houses the village,
while every farm had the benefit of a
part Of hill, meadow, and high land.
The Messrs. Janzen, in an interview,
seemed very desirous that the false re-
port that they desired to settle in one
colony might be done away entirely.
They have no such intention. The
wheat growers will go to Dakota; the
sheep growers to Indian territory or
Texas; and so, while they will keep to-
gether enough to be able to support
good schools and churches, they will and
desire to disseminate into various parts
Of our favored land. They have been
shipping ten million bushels of wheat
per annum to Europe, and in the Lon
don and Liverpool market their wheat
brings ten cents per bushel more than
almost any other.
It will be very profitable to our coun-
try if we can, by taking in these fifty
thousand people, load five hundred more
vessels for Europe and add twenty mil
lions Of gold to our treasures every
year. Now, all they desire of the
United States is that they, the Menno.
mites, may send out commissioners who
may select lands or portions Of lands
and giving the name of the person who
Will homestead on them or pre-emp1
them, then have the secretary Of the
interior withhold those lands for twt
years, 50 that the person agreeing t
take them may have time enough to sell
his property at home and make his Ions
I journey to his new country. They vii
become citizens will adopt the coun
! try-a thing they could not do in Rus