The Washington herald., 1913-05-25

poor peasants are combined to create.
through their own effort alone, a tremen-
dous power. And II is beginning also to
dawn upon them that IL such power is
given these farmers, a relatively greater
power can be given the American farmers
| whom nature has SO generously endowed.
Agricultural cooperation is simply an ap-
plication of unionism among farmers, but
a unionism based upon business prin-
ciples, employing business methods and
seeking business results. The one argu-
ment raised against the adoption Of CO.
| operation in the United States Is that
the farmers are too intelligent-that they
cannot be handled" like the peasant
| farmers of Europe. Now the commits
| sioners are asking themselves whether
| lack Of intelligence is a qualification for
success in such business undertakings
as they see these cooperative societies
| to be. Moreover, the very basis of ag-
| ricultural cooperation in its best forms
in Europe is that the farmers shall not
be handled but be perfectly able to
handle themselves. These points are
being borne home upon the commission
ers even at the start Of their trip. But
| to appreciate the impression made upon
them by their studies in the first Euro
pean country visited, a word is neces-
| sary regarding the peculiar conditions Of
agricultural Italy.
Italy is primarily an agricultural couE-
try and certainly not a wealthy one. The
poverty of the peasant farmers and farm
laborers of the South is extreme, but
conditions improve steadily as the trav-
eler goes North. The South of Italy has
not yet shaken of the curse of big land
ed estates owned by lazy landlords who
dissipate their lives in pleasure the year
round at Naples, Rome. or some other
distant city or watering place, while the
tillers of the soil are forced to labor for
a miserable daily wage. There can be
no development worthy Of the name.
there can be no conservation of the re-
sources of land where there Is no owner
TO live upon IL, to love il and give to IL
the labor of love. The problem of absen-
tee ownership is not yet a serious one in
the United States, but signs of its ap-
proach in certain districts are even now
noticeable. The wealthy farmer retires
and moves TO town and rents his farm,
or hires tenant to work it That tenant
will never give to the land the care tina.
II would receive from an owner. South
Italy has at least this lesson for Amer
leans, that a farmers land is like u
woman-he must wed IL and love 1t Il
he would receive the utmost from II.
In the central provinces the peasant
farmer-the Contadino. as he is called
does not. as a general rule, own his land.
but there obtains a peculiar system OF
tenure that apparently serves as an al
most perfect substitute. The owner OF a
large estate in Central Italy divides his
lands into a number of small holdings
OF about from twenty-five to thirty-tve
acres. Each holding is called q podere.
The Contadini work these small holdings
on a share basis. A peasant farmer-the
Mezzadro. as the head of the peasant
family is called-occupies one of these
holdings and gives a half of his products
approximately to the landlord In lieu Of
rent Nominally the agreement under
which he occupies his land runs only
from year TO year, but 1t is customary
for the Contadini TO hold their land for
lifetimes and often to turn ii over from
generation to generation. The landlord
generally lives upon his estate, and con-
sequently has the interest in his farm en-
gendered by direct contact. But the po-
sition, or rather the attitude, of the
MezZadro is the most peculiar thing Of
all. He evidently considers his right over
his small holdings as every whit as bind
ing tie as is its actual ownership to
the landlord. They love their land and
give the very best of their effort to It.
l: is not an uncommon sight to see them,
men, women, and children together. toll
ing in the fields long after the twilight
has settled over the land. 1t is said that
they will spend the whole night watching
over their vines just before the vintage
time, to protect them from thieves. II
any one doubts the whole-souled devoted
ness of the Mezzadro to his land he
would need but to see the infinite pains
which has been taken along the hillsides
to terrace the land and elsewhere to irri-
gate it.
The writer has seen a piece of land no
more than a hundred feet square ter
raced up and cultivated apparently to
the very highest point of productivity. |
The landlord also assumes his share of
the burdens for the upkeep of the land. |
He pays the taxes and the cost of all |
permanent improvements. If harvest |
is poor, he tides the Mezzadro over. and |
though the debt is later repaid, there are |
no interest charges. The oxen which are |
used for blowing and other heavy work |
are owned jointly by the landlord and the |
Mezzadro Take II al in all. this type of |
Italian peasant farmer is quite prosper
Gus and certainly he is happy. He is an |
intelligent farmer and has a very ade- |
quate idea of his own importance and Of |
his rights. The returns from his labor |
would probably not satisfy American |
farmers. but it must be remembered that |
all Of his standards of life are different. |
and, judged by comparisons with those
about him, he thrives well.
In the provinces farther north still an
other system of tenure was found to pre-
vail The big estates are cut up into
small farms. which are rented to the
peasant farmers, and these tenants en-
ploy hired labor to assist them. BY the
way, in Tuscany there is not much use
made of hired labor on the farms, and
that perhaps accounts for the devoted
ness with which the land is TILED. The
American commissioners were shown
some excellent types of cooperative
dairies which are peculiarly fitted to the
type of farmer in that district, who can
not profitably make his butter and mar
ket his produce alone. as his farming is
on too small a scale
And now what has cooperation done
-or these people? What lesson have they
earned that the American farmer can
'rofitably copy? Their work to him would
'eem drudgery, theft returns generally
neager. but when one considers not
vbeSe these farmers are but whether