Arizona republican., 1921-04-08

United States, beginning about 1880 | In 1880, 7o.5 per cent of the popula- | tion of this country was rural, and | then began the drift to the cities | from the farms and from Europe, | until last year the rural population | was only 4s6. The trend toward the city would have existed anyway. But the millions who have come from Europe since it started have very largely contributed to it.
 Tn this period we have developed a wonderful industrial system and the immigrant has been a big factor in it's success. We owe him a good deal. But more immigrants continue to pour in from Europe, and there Is a constantly decreasing opportunity for them in the cities. They are mere ly increasing the difficulty of an al ready difficult situation.
 We will probably have immigra- tion in the future as in the past, and We must soon do something to at tract the aliens to sections where they are needed and where they can make fair hving.''
 The remedy proposed by the com missioner lies in the millions of acres of waste land in this country. There are no longer enough desirable home | steads on government land to supply many immigrants It will have to be commercial proposition based on | the untitled lands in private owner ship.
 With hard work this land can be | converted into good, one man farms. i But there must be hard work, be- cause the farmer who takes the land
 must begin as the homesteader does. He will probably have to build hi> house and barn. He will have to | prepare the soil. But this is no
 more than pioneers, immigrants and native born Americans, have been | doing all o-er the country in the 1 years when 1t was being developed. l The job should be easier now, with parcel post. mail order systems. rail-
 roads. and practical government as-
 sistance.
 Government Must Help
 Mir. Husband feels that if the gov 1 ernment does decide to help the i'm | migrant get a start on a farm, the
 work should be carried further and
 an extra effort made to help him | achieve success. That is, he thinks
 the county agent and the home dem
 onstration branch of the department
 of agriculture should give the foreign
 farmer and his wife special attention.
 The children's bureau can also hell
 him, and local and state agencies can
 look out for the sanitation of his
 farm, and the education of his chill } dren
 First of all, however, MT. Husband : feels that the foreigner should not be
 shunted off to a piece of land where he can only catch sight of the smoke from his nearest neighbours house on a clear day. This isolation has been 1 discomfort that many homesteaders
 have had to endure. Isolation is es- | pecially distatesful to the immigrant
 and will undoubtedly be avoided 1T
 planning the new homestead project l Waste land can be found in the
 crowded East as we'll as in the West - A large tract of land at consider 1 able distance from existing farms T would probably, if turned over to tht immigrants, be divided among z number of them, so that they would not feel shut out from other people A whole colony of foreigners, how ever. is not so desirable from the
 Americanization point of view. as :
 few mixed in with American farmers People in different parts of thu country have begun to write to MT
 Husband saying that there is land il their localities which would be suit ', able for farm development. and offer ing to cooperate with the. govern :, ment and the new settlers. Thougi : no definite plan has been formed, let IeFS nave come rom SuCn W1uGlN us
 tributed states as Florida, Michigan ' Utah, North Dakota, Kentucky an ? Maine
 a A railroad official has written | c say that the railroads ought to co $ operate in such plan. An Italia - bank official offered to loan none s to Italian immigrants for land invest IT ment, and other organizations hay e written expressing interest or offer e ing suggestions.
 n The first step contemplated is { W get together officials of the labol IS agriculture and interior department O to formulate a working plan and e see if existing government machiner d Is sufficient to carry il out. If no " il will be necessary for congress {
 pass law giving the necessary au
 thority, and perhaps providing som l. 1 funds. before anything can be done. l. If il is worked out as Mir. Husban sees if. the immigrant farm plan wi le be under the general direction of tn ie government, even though it involves
 commercial deal between the owne y of the land. the immigrant, and eithe it | a bank or the United States treaSur, l- In recent years there have bee "a plans similar to this one engineere 'e by promoters who took more interes r. in the immigrants dollars than in hi le welfare. From experience with thes