Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-25
Tenants Reside in Village.


! The score of families which are en-
gagged in farming this portion of the es-
tate live in a little village. and here the
members of the commission were given
| their first view of the many possible
| phases of agricultural cooperation. Men,
women and children were lined up along
| the little street hats and bandannas were
waved in welcome. and the little chill
| dren murmured their half frightened
| ''graci when coppers were slipped into
| their hands. This part of the estate is
divided into holdings of about thirty
acsre each.
The principal money products of the
! little farms are cheese and silk worms.
| Each farmer raises enough of general
! farm crops to support his family. but
most of his attention is given to dairying
and to raising silkworms. The cheese is
made in plant comparatively owned by
the farmers and built with their own
money. Three men were at work making
! Swiss cheese at the time. The farmers
bring their milk to the dairy, where it is
| weighed and marked to their credit. Ac-
cording to the amount of milk given to the
dairy the farmers receive percentage Of
the profits derived from the sale Of the
! cheese. The waste from the milk used
in the cheese making is fed to hogs CO.
operatively owned, which when fattened
are killed in an abbatoir likewise CO.
operatively owned for nothing is lost on
an Italian farm. There is also sausage
factory. Every thing these farmers buy
comes from comparatively owned store.
The warehouse held familiar types OF
American agricultural machinery. The
! silk worms are turned over to the pro-
prietor, who takes a certain portion of
the cocoons his share. All of the
farming is done on a share basis. the
proprietor putting up the buildings, the
farmers contributing the labor and the
farm products being divided between
them. 1t was plainly evident that the
Count di Ponti was very popular with
his tenants. Some years ago when his
tenants were required to strike because
of a general strike of all tenant farmers
in that vicinity. he was elected by his
tenants president of the strike commit
tee. SO that to him fell the odd task Of
settling a strike against himself.
Paternalism Impresses Lesson.
Undoubtedly the paternalism which ex-
| fists in the comparatively conducted EN-
| terprises of this type prevents Americans
| from receiving many impressions of prac-
| teal value from them. But it made d
great impression upon the delegates that
| farmers Of this class could be brought TO
such comparative economic independence
through the medium of cooperation.
Above all the extreme utilization Of
| everything impressed the Americans. No
trees are cut down for fuel, for instance.
Each year as many branches are cut of
as are necessary and the next year the
same process is followed with other trees
| This gives the country a curously fan
| tastic appearance when viewed from a
car window. The land is mostly cultivat-
ed in long. narrow strips and altogether
there is an aspect of artifciality to the
ga rden farms of north Italy.
! The visit could not fail to impress
Americans. Here were peasant farmers
swarms of them. producing crops on a
scale so small that it apparently would
| have been impossible to market them,
and Yet through the great force of CO.
| operation these farmers We're given a far
| greater control over the manufacture and
marketing of their produce than Is pos
sessed by most American farmers.