Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-10
SOUND METHOD
PUTS DLELAND
ON PROFIT BASE
Nations Agrarian Problem
May Be Solved by Logical
Plan.
FARM HOMES FOR ALIENS

wAsHINGToN-The problems Of what
to do with the immigrant, of crowded
cities and Of idle farm lands can all be
in a measure solved by a project for
giving the immigrant every opportunity
10 obtain a farm as soon as he arrives
in America, in the opinion Of the new
Commissioner General of immigration,
W. ". Husband, as expressed in an ex-
elusive interview.
Mr.. Husband has not yet perfected
his plan for doing this, but viii soon be
gin holding conferences with his col
Leagues for that purpose His general
iaea is to use uncultivated lands in pri-
vate ownership, under some commercial
arrangement, with Government supervi-
sion or cooperation. The immigrant is
not to be given a ready made farm, but
aid and Instruction in clearing waste
land. as the pioneers did. The farm is
TO be paid for in long instaIlments.
While there is wide disagreement as
to how the thing should be done, all
students of the agrariana problem OF this
country agree with Mr.. Husband that the
great need is for some system BY which
the man with little or no capital. who
Is capable of farming, may get hold Of
land on such terms that he can make
living out Of it.
~The Immigrant" according TO the new
Commission General fought 10 be the
logical element In our population to re-
store the balance between rural and city
population. A considerable part Of the
normal immigration of the United States
Is a farming population that knows moth
ing but farming. These people hold the
love of the soil as a native inheritance.
and their hope is to own a few acres of
land and some stock I hate visited the
peasants Of various countries of Europe
have eaten with them, and slept in their
houses, and 1 know that land Is their
dream and ambition. That is one big
thing. You have not got to teach the
immigrant to love the land"
Mr.. Husband went on to explain that
his desire for land ownership does not
lead the immigrant TO seek a farm for
himself when he comes to this country.
because in recent years friends and rela-
tives who have preceded him have not
gone to farms. The immigrant comes
here more or less dependent on others of
his race to help him. He follows the ex-
ample Of these others, and settles down
in New York's East Side, or in a New
England factory town. and starts vend-
ing or working in a factory. No matter
what his race may be. the foreigner is
tirnidly clannish and elings to the pro.
gram mapped out by those who came
ahead OF him.
ALIENS WILLING
To FARM.
Mr.. Husband holds that the qualities
that make these immigrants follow the
leadership OF others will attract them to
the farms, once the tide is detected from
the cities to the land
When immigration was largely from
northern Europe" he says. the alien
who landed here made straight for the
farm. Then southern and eastern Europe
began TO send more immigrants coinci-
dent with the enormous Industrial de-
velopment Of the United States, begin
ming about 1850. In 1850, To5 per cent
Of the population 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 $50 The trend toward the city
would have existed anyway. But the
millions who have come from Europe
since il started have very largely con-
tFibuted 70 it.
an this period we have developed a
wonderful industrial system and the I'M
migrant has been big factor in its sue
cess We owe him a good deal But
more immigrants continue to pour in
from Europe. and there is q constantly
decreasing opportunity for them in the
cities. They are merely increasing the
difficulty Of an already difficult situation.
ave viii probably have immigration
IN the future as in the past, and we
must soon do something to attract the
aliens TO sections where they are needed