The Denver Jewish news., 1925-07-30
NeW Episode in Russian History
JeUs Flee from Cities to Farms
Historic American Covered Wagon of the Days of az
Now Being Duplicated HundredfOd in Russia. A
Vivid Description By David A. Brown, American
Big" Business Man of Epical Rush By Russian Jewry
From the Big Cities to the Farms


accomplished the seemingly impossi-
BILE. In a short space of time with
very limited funds, he has started a
movement which already has placed
thousands of families upon the land,
which many Of the clearest- thinking
men of Russia feel will be the solu-
tion of what seemed to be an insur-
mountable problem"
DR.. Rosen accompanied Mr.. Brown
on his recent tour of the Jewish far
ming colonies of Russia, and Mr..
Browns diary of his trip is a series
of fascinating 'elose-ups" of the Rus
sian version Of the famous moving.
picture classic, The Covered Wagon"
The tour started from Nova-Pol-
tavka, in the Nikolaev district, forty
four hours by rail from Moscow.
There is nm agricultural school in
NovaPoltavka founded twenty-five
years ago by the Jewish Colonization
| Association, and there is also grave
one of the many graves dug after
the pogroms, of which there were
several in Russia during the war and
for several years thereafter. One
hundred and fifty pogrom victims
We're buried in that grave one bitter
cold January day in 1918.
But since that tragic day the COL
ony has been rebuilt and the school
repaired with funds raised in Amer
lea, and there are $500 Jews living
there now, as farmers.
Mr.. Browns diary continues:
ave are motoring, and in our par
ty are DR.. Rosen, Mr.. Lubarsky, one
of Russia's well-known agricultural
lists, one Of Lubarsky's assistants,
and myself. For hours we are pass
ing through the Krivoy-Rog district,
in which are a number of old col.
onies.
1--WE now reach our first new col
ony, which adjoins Krivoy- -Rog. This
colony is named Krasny-Pod and con-
sists of about thirty families who
have come from Cherkassy in the
kiev district. This group settled in
1924, have under cultivation 1900
acres of land, and are at present
building their homes. They have
been living up to the present time in
shacks and dug-outs in real pioneer
style.
II realize how little the word dug
out means unless some brief descrip-
ton is made. The settlers upon en-
tering on the land Immediately dig
large cellars over which they put
roof; the ground being hard makes
kind of n floor This is their place of
abode until such time as they are
able to build houses. 1t certainly
makes for considerable hardship, but
these pioneers come prepared to ac-
cept the hardships of their new life
and take the 'dug-out' life as a mat
ter of course.
'In this same district we visited
the Leckert colony, colony settled
in the Fall of 1928 and Spring Of
1924. There are about forty families
occupying thirty-two homes. Practi-
cally all of their 5000 acres of land
are under cultivation.
another colony in this district is
kalinovka, new colony only started
this Spring. Only one man from
each family has come out so far, and
they are living in temporary dug
outs. Homes will be built this Sum-
mer and their families will be
/ brought out This colony will consist
of sixty families and will have 5000
acres of land.
"Novaria- -Zaria is another colony
visited. 1t was started in September,
1924. The village is already laid out
and homes are to be built this Sum-
mer, and families brought out this
Fall. This is most interesting
group Of people, formerly of the city
of Alexandria in the Ekaterinoslav
district, which suffered more seperate
pogroms than any other city in the
whole Ukraine; three large pogroms
and two small ones. This group are
mostly well-to-do people who were
literally cleaned out, and are starting
life anew. There are sixty families,
and they have $500 acres of land.
Every now and then we stop to
look over the land which has been set
aside by the Ukrainian Government
for Jewish settlers. Most of these
pieces Of land are from 5000 to 5000
acres.
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