Albuquerque citizen., 1908-05-04
HEBREWS GOING
BACK 70 THE
FARM
Baron de HiISCh Starts Agri-
cultural Project In New
Jersey NTH Success.

essentially welded to the commercial
life. or. given the opportunity,
would he aghn become a tiller of the
soil as in tn, old days of the national
life in Palestine
Paron de Hirsch believed they
would return to the soil with proper
ercoura geuent and opportunity. He
established an agricultural school for
Jews here The result is new-world
Jerusalem
Woodbbe is today the only exclu-
sively Jcyish town in the world. 1t
has none hut Jewish residents. Jewish
town ofhaials, a Jewish board of edu-
cation, Jswish policemen and fremen;
in fact, Jewish everything.
And tie inhabitants are showing the
world a large that the Jews of today
are a. capable of government as
they wire in the days of the Judges
in Israd
Baron de Hirschs theory Is being
vindicaed. The school turns out
graduaes every year, who are scat
tered al over the country managing
large farms or conducting smaller
ones of their own. There are fifty
Jewish farms scattered about Wood
bine' many others around Millville.
Carmel, Rosenhaym, Alliance and
otke' southern New Jersey towns.
i every instance the Jew is proving
hiTself capable farmer The grad
uaes of the school leave 1t well drill
ed Henry w. Geller, the superinten-
dtnt, is an expert in agriculture the
althor of numerous books on farm
Ing and was for a time engaged in
1esearch for the Illinois department
bf agriculture.
good farming region surrounds
the town. Some of the first graduates
Were helped to farms i'm the neighbor-
hood. Others followed suit; now it is
a strictly Jewish farming section In
addition TO the usual farm products,
grapes are raised for winemaking,
and peach growing is becoming a spe-
CialtN Much attention is given to
garden truck
The town came gradually, starting
from a center" cracker barrel.
cheese box and all. Now there is
population of 2.500. There is a cloth
ing factory, machine shop. tool plant,
hat, shirt. cigar and knitting goods
factories which give employment to
mer and women Many of the men
work on the farms in summer, in the
factories in winter.
Two hundred and fifty houses front
upon twenty miles Of streets and rs
LEI cent nf the population own their
CWr homes. The town mas It's cleo
tric light plant, pumping station. ho-
tel, volunteer fire department. three
public schools, several synagOgues,
Two beautiful parks, a town hall used
Tor municipal and social purposes, and
Sabbath and Hebrew schools which
arc entirely apart from the public
50 hools.
Woodbine also has its political. So
ciai, literary military and benevolent
societies lodges, libraries, evening
schools and lecture courses. and dur
irs the long winter evenings the fates
o: empires are settled by debating
clubs made up Of the younger element.
The Jews are returning to the soil
not only in New Jersey but every
where in the United States. when
means that they are returning to their
own, for the Jews we're agriculturists
thousands of years ago in the land of
milk and honey" and all they need is
peace and freedom and the proper
opportunity to give them the incentive
To- become tillers of the soil again
Jews are now and have been for
several years engaged in reclaiming
uSed-up New England farms, given up
?" unproductive by their Yankee own
ers. This is especially true of Con-
n'ciicut whore there are about 500
jewish farmers In New England, like
theiI Yankee ncighbors, with whom
they live in peace and harmony, they
ave engaged principally i'm dairy farm
ms. and considerable of their income,
which helps to pay off that inevitable
mortgage, is derived from Jewish
summer bOarders, who come from
New York, Boston and other eastern
cities, these seekers Of country air
Ing guaranteed kosher board.
In the territory west Of the Alle-
Ehanies and east of the Rocky noun
th!nS there are more than thousand
Jewish farmers. Jews conduct con-
of the gardening and dairy
farming around the cities of Illinois.
Many of them grow wheat and raise
cattle I'm the DakDtas, and others grow
orgnges in Florida.
However, the Baron de Hirsch
stico. is not the only Jewish institu-
tion which sends Jewish farmers
broadcast. The National Farm school.
of which Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf of
Philadelphia is the president. is doing
excellent work along the same lines
n"ar Doylestown. Pa.
In recent report, Leonard G.. Rob- |
inson, general manager OF the Jewish
\ Agricultural and Industrial society, |
e tinatcs in round mum bers the num-
be" of Jewish farmers in the United |
States at 5000
The Worlds Best Climate