The Colorado statesman., 1912-08-03


en- the monotony of the agricultural
laborer's life and strengthen the ties
between the laborers and employers.
AT the suggestion of the minister OF
agriculture an attempt was made to
revive the harvest least which
brought the farmer and his laborer
together, working mems clubs, IL
braries, friendly and cooperative So
cieties We're encouraged by the gov
ernment A popular weekly paper,
printed In seven different languages
was started for the benefit of agricul-
tural laborers and as a means of ag-
| ricultural education. A bill for life
insurance against accidents and old
| age for the benefit of agricultural la
borers provided that If laborer loses
more than a weeks time, he shall re-
ceive In addition to the expenses of
| doctor and medicine, a sum amount
ing to about 25 cents day for 60
| days. In case of death of an agri-
cultural laborer. his family receives
sum amounting to something between
$40 and $50.
In Italy. the socialistic movement
among the agricultural classes has
| taken a somewhat different course.
For one thing, 1t was not confined
merely to the poorest class, namely,
| those laborers who live in the viii
lages and go out at certain seasons to
assist in the work on the farms, but
extend to the small proprietors also
and those who rented land. In many
cases, the large estates in Italy are
not managed as In Hungary by the
proprietor, but by middlemen and
overseers, who pay a certain amount
of rent to the proprietor and then sub
let to tenants. Sometimes, particular
ly In southern Italy, lands are sublet
| again a second and third time.
In many cases, the terms upon
which the land was held and worked
by the small farmer were terribly op-
pressive, even In northern Italy, where
conditions are said to be incompara-
bly, better than in the south.
Although the peasants in northern
Italy were normally given their free
dom in 1878, their condition. until
few years ago, has been described by
one who was himself a large land
proprietor as, "a little better than If
they were slaves" In addition to the
high rents, the Tenant former was
compelled to furnish the overseer
with certain number of chickens
and eggs, and certain amount of
peaches, nuts, figs, hemp. and fax. in
proportion to the amount of land he
rented.
The overseer claimed. also, just as
the overload did in the days of feudal-
ism, the rights to the labor of the
peasant and his OK cart for a certain
| part of every year. His children were
expected to work as servants in his
household at nominal price. The
overseer sold the crop of the tenant
farmer, and, after deducting all that
was coming to him, for rent and other
charges, returned the remainder to
the tenant farmer as his share of the
years work.
In one case where, as a result of
the revolt of his tenants. the middle
man was driver out, the tenant farm
er. under the direction of the socialist
| leaders, undertook to rent the land
directly from the landowners. 1t was
found that the middle man had been
appropriating not less than As per
cent. of the profits, which, under the
new arrangement went directly into
the hands of the man who titled the
soil
In recent years, cooperative organ
ization of all kinds have multiplies
among the small farmers of northern
| Italy There are societies for pur
chasing supplies as well as for dis
posing of the products of the small
farmers; the most important of these
societies have been, perhaps. the CO.
operative credit organizations, by
means of which the small landowners
have been able to escape the burden
of the heavy interest charges they
were formerly compelled to pay.
There Is much in the history of the
agricultural laborers of Hungary and
Italy that is interesting to any one
who has studied the condition of the
negro farm laborer in the south. In
many respects their history has been
the same. There is, however, this
difference, when the serfs were freed
IN Hungary, as In most Other parts OF
Europe provision was made to give
them land, though to very large ex-
tent they were denied the political
privileges enjoyed by the upper
classes. In Italy also 1t was intend
ed in giving the serfs freedom and
again when the vast estates of the
church were taken over by the states,
to create large class of small own
ers and to give them land to the peo-
pie who titled It,
In both cases, however, It was but
few years before the greater por
tion of the peasant owners were
wiped out and their lands had been
absorbed into the large estates. At
the present time, the small land own
ers under the influence of education