The Denver Jewish news., 1925-09-10
FORMER SIBERIAN EXILE
HEADS MASS COLONIAL
TlON MOVEMENT IN RUS.
SlA.

From political exile in Sibera, and
via Michigan and Minnesota, back to
the Russian steppes as the leader Of
''back to the soil' movement involv-
ing over 100000 human beings and
tens of million dollars, is the coorful
epitome of the life Of DR.. Joseph A.
Rosen. He is the discoverer of "Rosen
Rye" which for the last ten years
has taken all Of the prizes at the
Chicago Grain Exhibit, and is famed
as the man who by introducing
American farming methods and
American Indian maize, broke the
fatal famine in the Russian Volga
region.
DR.. Rosen was born in Moscow 40
years ago, and while student in the
Moscow University, participated in
anti-Czaristic politics which resulted
in his being banished to Siberia for
five years. But that seemed to him
an altogether too long period to enjoy
the Cars hospitality" and six
months later he was out of Siberia
and on his way to Heidelberg, Ger
many. There he entered the world
famous University, and took courses
in chemistry and philosophy, work
ing his way by writing articles for
various Russian journals.
His next move was to America,
landing in New York in 1908 with
just SOC in his pocket. For while
Rosen knocked around in the Metro
polls, getting odd jobs, and then fol-
lowing Horace Greeley's advice, he
started working his way West, by
easy stages-chiefy because he had
no real objective, and not enough
money for a railroad ticket even if
he knew just where he wanted to go.
He got work as farm hand as he
went along. Sometimes he was only
a day-aborer, sometimes he was fore
man. But he kept going until in 1905
he reached Lansing where he entered
the Michigan Agricultural College,
from which he graduated three years
later with the degree of Master of
Agriculture
Loyal to his native land, he made
special study of American agricul-
tural conditions as applied to Russia
and gave vent to his penchant for au-
thorship by writing agricultural ar
ticles for Russian agricultural maya.
zines. His articles attracted consid-
cradle attention in scientific agricul-
tural circles, and displayed such com
plete mastery of his subject that he
was engaged on the very day he grad.
uated from Lansing by the Charkoy
Agricultural Society-a unique Rus
sian organization dedicated to the de
. velopment of agricultural science
maintaining training schools, expert
ment stations and laboratories which
I it financed by the proceeds from the
sale of farm produce and machinery
to establish and head its American
bureau. He located the bureau ir
Minneapolis because the physiograph
ical conditions of Minnesota and ad
: jacent States are analogous to tn,
conditions in the Russian region OF
which Charkov is the center. This
region, by singular coincidence, hap
pens to be the focal point of the whol,
Russian Jewish mass colonization
1 movement.
, In connection with his work as heat
/, of the American branch of the
Charkov Agricultural Society, hi
5 wrote a number of books which en-
:, joy the widest circulation in Russia
The subjects treated in these books
: are dry-farming methods in America
; grain handling and production in tn,
: United States, agricultural extension
work, and agricultural education il
the United States and Canada. AL
of them were published by the Charko,
Society. His book on grain handling
T. furnished the Duma with data fol
drafting the Russian laws regulating
grain elevators. In 1910, he went t
Russia to take charge of the Ameri
can section of the All-Russian Agri
cultural Exposition. The police die
not associate the great American
scientists with the frightened boy
whom they had exiled some ten year:
e before to Siberia.
The outbreak of the World War
; severing all communication between
this country and Europe, seemingly
ended his connection with Russia, anC
in 1915 he took charge of the Baror
de Hirsch Agricultural School, a
Woodbine, n. j., and he became on,
of the directors of the Jewish Agri
cultural Society which administers the
funds left by the Baron for Jewish
colonization purposes. In 1915, the