The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-13

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 NOW, I wish to say here that I am unable to secure help as good as the very poorest of the Italians and I made a failure of your people simply be- cause I am not a farmer; my fore man Is a good one, but he Is the typ ical American; that Is, entirely lack Ing in sympa thy with a foreign people of whatever nationality they may be. I feel that not only l have lost by the Italians going away, but all the country has lost, too." southern land owner whose plantation was deserted bv some Sicilians wrote thus to me.
 The belief Is prevalent that Italian immigrants do not desire to be tillers of the soil in this country. So far as this Is true native Americans are part ly responsible. Without the explana- tion of the proprietor the desertion of the Sicilians might even have been mentioned to prove the common assump- ton. The opinion shared by so many Is erroneous. No less than 112 Italian agricultural colonies exist in the Unit ed States. These have a population of almost 4oo0 Italian families. The majority of them are formed not by farm hands working for other people but by farmers owning the land they cultivate.
 Since most of the Italian immigrants were accustomed to agricultural work at home this may seem a meager show ing. Why do peasants from Calabrian vineyards betake themselves to the overcrowded cities, making no use of the experience of a lifetime and of a skill which Is often of a high order? It Is not because they are by nature against working on the land. Thous ands emigrate solely to save money enough to buy farms at home.
 The reasons are simple. At home the immigrants either had no land or else owned but tiny parcel. The money they have barely suffices to bring them to America. They cannot think of buy ing farms. They don't find here col onization companies willing to help them financially. If they work as farm laborers they receive less than in other employments.
 The Italian immigrant engaged in rail- road construction, road building, upon reservoirs, or in other hard unskilled labor, receives at least $1.50 per day. He is commonly employed about 26 days each month and so gets $39 He can usually secure employment during eight months, so he earns $312 year. His expenses for living, including beer and tobacco, do not to leaves a balance of s190 for the year. Often If work Is brisk he earns more
 Farm hands are paid from $15 to s25 a month for a few months. During the rest of the year farmers either need no help or are willing to pay only from s8 to $15 a month. On the whole 1t is safe to say that not more than $1S0 is paid by farmers even to those they employ all the year. From this must be deducted about e month for beer and tobacco, which leaves the laborer after 12 months work only $155, or $S5 less than he can get by working four months less
 The obstacle of language is serious. It prevents Italians from knowing of the opportunities existing, especially as, un- til recently, no effort was made to dis tribute among them in their own lan- guage information as to location, price, fertility and income of American farms At present this Is done by our labor in formation office. but the work should be supplemented by private societies, by Italian newspapers and by Italian priests. On the farm there is a constant change of tasks and endless opportunity for mis- takes from inability to understand ord CTS In construction work there is a fel- low countryman at hand to interpret Farm life is made forbidding to the for eigner by strange food. the lack of his own church and by separation from those of his own speech.
 In spite of the difficulties there arc aid ro i,la nlirnbaru nf oilr ian nou,s.