The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-07
UniGue Gathering In City Of
 New York
OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE E
History of the Agricultural Movement Of the Jews in America-Early Work of Baron Maurice
 de Hrsch.
By LEONARD G. ROBINSON, General Manager Jewish Agricultural
 and Industrial Aid Society.


 1 Exclusive Service Charities and the l Commons Press Bureau)
 l 4 convention of Jewish farmers. one of the most unique among New York varied conventions met in that city re- l gently. It's significance is far greater than the mere statement of the fact would seem to indicate. It shows, for one thing that the number of Jewish farmers in this country Is sufficiently large to make such 1 a convention possible; 1t shows that tne Jews have made enough progress to view things broadly and to recognize the exist enee of a community of interest whether engaged in dairying in old New England or in wheat raising in the distant west The most important result accomplished by the convention was the formation of the Federation of Jewish Farmers of America.
 For clear understanding of the forces at work that led up to this convention it will be necessary to digress somewhat and to touch briefly upon what may be termed the mile-stones in the history of the agricultural movement of the Jew In this country The first movement of this character of any consequence took place in 1882 and resulted in the founding of the so-caled South Jersey eolonies-Alli- ance, Rosenhayn. and Carmel. The first of these was started under the auspices of the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society of New York (sinee passed out of existenee), when the Jewish immigration received its impetus from the wave of lawlessness and persecution that swept over the Russian empire in the wake of the Russo-Turkish war.
 In 1890 that well known philanthropist the late Baron Maurice de Hirsch, rec ognizing the importance of the early Amerieanization of the Jewish immigrant and his adoption to his new environment, placed certain funds in trust with some of the most prominent Jews in this coun- try and the Baron de Hirsch fund was incorporated to administer them. This new organization assumed the leadership of the agricultural movement and one of it's first acts was the founding of Wood bine, probably the best known Jewish settlement in this country. Three years later the De Hirsch Agricultural school was established in that colony. The agricultural work, however, as- sumed such importance that in order to bring it to a higher state of efficiency 1t l was thought advisable to entrust it to l a separate organization. The Jewish 4eg 1 rcultural and Industrial Aid society was 1 therefore incorporated in 1900, the Baron de Hirsch fund turning over all agr;cui- tural matters except the school to the ! newly organized society and, in conJunc- 1 ton with the Jewish Colonization associa- ton, settled upon it an annual income for l the carrying on of Its work.
 Since the organization of this society. the number of Jewish farmers has rn- | creased by rapid strides. While we nave i no means of telling their exact number we have come in touch with over z400 families in 36 states of the union, com l prising, according to most conservative estimates, over 12,000 souls. I have no hesitation in saying that these figures do not represent 50 per cent of the actua. number of Jews engaged in farming in the United States. In the nine years of It's activity the Jewish Agricultural and h. dustrial Aid society has granted 1270 loans, aggregating $64S, ,921.54 to 1A1 farmers Tn 1 24 states.