The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-10-11
American Firms Working
Karelian HOmesteads


dreds of pure-bred horses and COWS
are imported and given to the settlers
on three years credit. Agricultural
stations, etc, help him adapt himself
to the new and strange conditions.
Work aplenty there always is for
everyone in the woods, the wages
plus the government loans without
interest) thus giving the necessary
amount of ready cash for want Of
which the old American homesteader
was often forced to give up.
"Artels" Specially Encouraged
The homesteaders settle either in
diyidually or in organized "artels. "
The latter form of cooperative en-
terprise is of course given special
support by the government addition
al land, extra allowances, etc. 1t is
made easy for them to get a tractor,
for instance, and machinery, and easy
also to run it, they have the privilege
of buying kerosene at half price when
intended for tractor use. A visit was
made to one such artel of seven fam
lilies who have settled some 60 acres
on the shores of Lake Kaulo. They
have an option on as much more land
as they want to work, but for the
time being they have their hands full.
In order to utilize the best of the
land, along the lake, they are digging
ia drainage ditch 1850 metres in
length and over three metres deep.
Their former training as coal miners
is standing these workers in mighty
good stead now. They are paying
themselves wages, as for common la
Dor, and the government is subsidiz-
ing them, in cash, to the extent Of
so per cent of the cost of the project
The artel is democratically man
aged, Of course, with an elected
chairman who enjoys considerable
foremanship authority. Certain lines
of work are credited as being done
tor the artel-hay, grain, lumber,
ditch and well-digging, etc.-while
each family does its own washing,
works its own little garden, builds it's
own house, etc. A minimum num-
Ter of days must be put in for the
artel, all in excess over this number
being paid in cash out of the artel
income.
1t must not be forgotten, however,
that this is a hard life in a hard
country. Before the fields are read
lily useable they have to be cleared of
timber, grubbed of stumps and rocks,
drained of excess water. Before they
could even get to their land they had
to build corduroy road through sew
eral versts of forests. These hus
examiners are up at five, at W..
from seven until five, and glad to e.
to bed at or 9. And this is the pro-
gram seven days week-except on
ly May LIST, Nov. 7, and Jan. %. The
artel is 100 per cent party" and the
easy-going Russian system Of keep
ing both religious and revolutionary
holidays does not go here. Our visit
was made a festive occasion SEEM
ingly, most of the artel taking a
day off" to pick many bushels of
little red berries which keep without
fermenting all through the winter.
There are unlimited quantities of
blue-berries (huckleberries) also but
they have to be used up right away
That's all right tho, these Finnish
housewives have not forgotten how
to bake real American pie. The pick
ing of the winters supply of berries
was looked upon as a vast dissipa-
tion-but it was "the first time this
year we knocked off," as our host put
it. Last year," he continued, 1--WE
went fishing one day, but we didn't
catch much anyway. So we have de-
cided to rest the lake for a couple
of years"
There are about half dozen young
folks going to high school in Petrosa-
vodsk, the capital, some fifty miles
away. They live in town all winter,
only coming home for the two long
vacation periods at Christmas and
Easter. They are all Komsomol men,
bers in town and consciously keep up
their knowledge of the English Ian
guage by reading and talking among
themselves. All were born in Amer
lea. They have read at least twice
over all the English books available
either at home or in the Petrasavodsk
Libraries, so it might be interesting
for some American Komsomols to get
into communication with them and
possibly send them old books. The
address is long one: Autonomous
Karelian Socialist Soviet Republic, U.
S. S. R., Petrosavodski Uyezd, Kon-
dopora, Barracks 142, for Kaulo o.
era, Aalto's young folks" The an
swer may take its time about coming
but come it will.
In spite Of the many hardships and
discomforts this group of hardened
Finnish-American workers are ra-
dainty hopeful for the future. II
some of them have regrets at having
left America this is never because OF
any longing for possible comforts left
I