Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-01-21
PIONEERS IN SIBERIA.
RED TAPE TENDS TO HINDER
EMIGRATION.
So Many Qualifications Are Asked fin
tending Emigrants that All But the
Most Persevering Become Discour-

While the stringent regulations now
governing emigration to Siberia have
abolished to a great extent the disorder
and abuses of the old system, they have
entangled the whole process in net
work of bureaucratic formalitieS, and
the preliminary steps which must be
taken by every intending emigrant are
enough to make all but the most reSo-
lutte desist. Before making any move
ment at all the emigrant must seek the
advice of the local authorities and OBJ
tain a certificate of his suitability and
capacity. Permits to emigrate are no
longer easily obtainable, but are fire.
quently refused on such grounds as
''insuffi cient MEANS" physical disabil-
ity;;" the regulations laying it down
that only ''good farmers and taxpay-
ers" are to be granted permits. The
provisional permit is given only to the
head of the family or some other able
bodied member of it, who, having ta-
ken the advice of the emigration Off
cials at Tchelabinsk as to the nature
and location of the available lands, is
sent at a nominal fare into Siberia,
where he is free to examine all the
lots available. If he is successful in
finding suitable land he must first have
his choice approved at the local emigra-
ton Office, the title being indorsed upon
his pioneers certificate. Afterward a
final permit to emigrate is given to the
remaining members of his family, who
follow him on special terms as to rail
way fare, monetary assistance and eX-
emptions; the poorer obtaining grants
or loans to enable them to set up house
and purchase the necessary imple-
ments. Formerly this assistance was
given literally, but the present policy
of the government is to encourage emil
grafton by the more prosperous and
thrifty peasants only and monetary as
siStance is now restricted to small
amounts, seldom exceeding from SIS to
$25, and then nearly always in the form
of a loan repayable without interest
within ten years.
But before the final decision to emf
CRATE Is taken, the number of require
ments to be satisfied is so great that it
is not difficult to understand why not
80 per cent Of the pioneers undertake
the responsibility of bringing their fam
lilies from home. For while Siberia as
whole contains the natural resources
necessary for nearly all forms of agri
culture, these resources are very un-
evenly distributed, and there is no sim
gle district which does not oppose to
great natural advantages certain seri-
Gus drawbacks. All the best agricul-
tural land has long been occupied, says
r. E. c. Long, in the Forum, and the
pioneer who has only some two months
in the year in which he can satisfactor-
lily examine lots scattered over a great
area, must compromise hundred con-
ficting interests before he can be sure
of making the best selection. He must
consider the nature of the land, wheth-
er dry, marshy or salt, the question of
water supply, whether wood exists in
sufficient quantities and Of the right
quality both for building and fuel, and
whether the crops raised are those to
which he has been accustomed in Rus
sia. He must inquire as to the system
of agriculture practiced-Siberian land
requires much heavier work than Rus
sian-the losses from thieves, disease.
wild beasts and insects; the question
Of markets and means of transport:
and the cost of establishing a home
He must ascertain whether the local
Inhabitants have emigrated from the
same district, and speak the same dia-
lect as himself.