The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1911-10-26

!
Europe, are as one might expect. from
} the farming regions. They are farm
J laDorers or tenant farmers. Further
more. there exists, as discovered, 4
very definite relation between the con
dition Of agriculture and the aericul
tural peoples In Europe and the eN,
tent OF emigration TO this country. IL
other words, wherever in any part OF
Europe | found the coalition of agrl.
culture and the situation of the farm
laborcrS at their worst, there | almost
invariably found emigration at the
highest. On the other hand, wherever
l visited part OF the country where
emigration had. in recent years de-
creased, there | quite as invariably
found that the situation of the man on
the soil had improved.
What interested me still more was
| the fact That this Improvement had
been, to very large extent. brought
| about through the influence of schools,
| Agricultural education has stimulated
an intensive culture Of the soil; this in
turn has helped to multiply the num-
Der Of small landowners and stimulate
the organization of agriculture; the
resulting prosperity has made itself
felt not only in the country but also
in the cities.
Another matter in regard to which
[ hope to get some nrst-hand informa-
ton during my stay abroad was what
| may call the European, as distin-
guished from the American, race prob
lem. ] knew that in the South Of Eu-
rope, a number of races Of wildly diff
erent origin and characteristics had
been thrown together in close contact
and in large numbers. | suspected
that in this whirlpool of contendlnS
races and classes should find prob
lems-race problems and educational
prOblems-different to be sure, but
quite &C complicated, difficult and i'll
tereStlng as in our own country.
There was another thing that made
the trip | had outlined peculiarly at
tractiHe to me, | believed that |
would find in some parts OF Europe,
peoples who in respect to education,
opportunity and civilization generally,
were much nearer the level of the
masses of the Negro people IA the
South than | was likely to find any
where in America. believed, also,
that if | went far enough and deep
enough, | should ind even in Europe
great numbers Of people, who, in their
homes, in their labor and in their
itt
in advance Of the Negroes in the
Southern States. | wanted to study
at firSt-hand, as far as | was able, the
methods which European nations were
| using TO uplift the masses ofthc people
who are at the uOttom in the scale OF
| civilization.
One of the first things | learned in
| Europe was the difficulty Of meeting
! the ordinary man and seeing and get
! ting acquainted with the matters Of
every day life. | soon discovered that
the most difficult things to see are
not the sights that everyone goes to
! look at, but the common place things
that no one sees. In order to carry
out the plan | had in mind it was
necessary for me to leave the ordinary
beaten track Of European travel and
to plLnge into regions which have not
| been chartcd and mapped, and where
ordinary guides and guide-book are
OF little or no avail
| set out from America, as | have
| said, to find the man fartheSt down.
| In period Of about six weeks | WIS.,
| tied parts Of England, Scotland. Ger
| many, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Sicily,
Poland and Denmark spclt some
time among the poorer classes Of Lon
don and in several cities in Austria
and Italy. | investigated, to certain
extent, the condition of the agricul-
tural populations in Sicily, in Bohemia
Poland and Denmark. | saw much
that was sad and depressing: but |
saw much, also, that was hopeful and
Inspiring. Bad as conditions are. in
some places, do not think visited
any place where things are not bet
ter than they were some Years. ago.
| found also that the connection
between Europe and America is much
closer and more intimate than / had
imagined. | am sure that very few
persons in this country realize the eX-
tent to which America has 7oucned
and Influenced the masses Of the Deo-
pie Of Europe. ! think it is safe to
say that no single influence which is
today tending to change and raise the
condition OF the working people in
the ag1 icultural regions Of Southern
Europe is greater than the constant
stream Of emigration which is pouring
out Of Europe into America and back
again into Europe IT should be re-
membered that not only do large num-
bers Of these people emigrate to Amer
lea, but many of these emigrantS re-
turn and take with them not only
n 1,Jt