The Omaha guide., 1934-11-10

the Assistant to the Administrator
Washington, D. c.
Homestead eide
With the announcement Of q three
unit subsistence homsteads projec
designed TO help solve some Of tn
economic problems faced by the Sout
arm Negro, Secretary Of the Interio
Ickes today inaguarated an extende.
program aimed at giving the dolores
population of the United States tn
benefits Of tho modern back to tn
land movement being developed by tn
Interior Departments Division o.
Subsistence Homesteads-
The new project il to be establish
ed In Alabama. and will be the fore
gunner Of a series Of projects for col
ortd homesteaders, tentative alloca'
tions for which total approximately
$500, 900. OF this amount formal al
locations totaling more than half 8
million dollars have already. been ap-
proved and public announcement OF
tho project will be made n the near
future i. Additional projects, calling
for more than a million dollars, are
being planned but have not yet re-
ccived a formal ALLEGATION Of funds.
The Alabama project will consist of
three district homestead communities.
The first community will be located
within eight miles of Tuskegee Tnsti-
tute, the famous Negro school, head
ed by DR.. R. r. Motion. The second
INIT will also be in a rural section of
Alabama, while the third will be with
'ir tho city limits Of one of the states
principal Industrial centers
A contract for a purchase price of
tho land for the first unit has just
been negotiated, calling for a pur
chase price Of s18,485.
DIR. ]. r. Otis, former professor Of
economics and farm management at
Tuskcgee Institute, and now in charge
OF racial projects for the Division Of
Subsistence Homesteads, has been
sent to the Tuskegee homesteads site
to begin the work of laying out the
ground Plans for the houses are well
under way and actual house construc
ton is promised for the immediate flu
ture.
The allotment for the three units
of the Alabama project is 5000, 900.
or this sum, which ome out of the
$25.00O,000 revolving fund appropri
nted by Congress for the work Of the
Division of Subsistence Homesteads,
$1S3, 800 is expected to be used for
the projects immediate development.
Tho remaining $16,70O will be held
for contingencies incidental to future
development.
Unit l, near Tuskegee, is to be ag
ricultural in type and is designed to
aid training agriculturists who are
without equipment, or who are on ex
-ceedingly poor land. The purpose of
the project 9 to demonstrate that ru
raj living may be as satisfactory al
that in the cities Houses will be fully
s modern as city houses available to
people OF such IN income group. The
project will include rs homesteaders.
The tract of land consists of 1884
acres situated along the Tallapoosa
River, nd the cost of the project is
at $74,200, or $2,968 per
homestead. The type of farming is
to consist largely of the growing of
cotton although the growing of small
fruits and the production of some
dairy products will be introduced.
The farms are to average about go
acres each
Usit l will have the great advantage
of being close to Tuskegee Institute,
the members of whose faculty have
an important part in spon
and developing the project.
Members of the Institute will super
wise and cooperate in the work to
carried on by the homesteaders.
Pure bred sires belonging to the In
stitute will be used to improve the
of the homesteaders' livestock
and agricultural experts on the facul
ty will show the homestead farmers
modern methods of agriculture parti
cuited to the region.
Under these favorable auspices,
Unit 1 should develop into a model
demonstration of what may be done
to rehabilitate farming among the
Negro population of the South.
Unit 2, for which the land purchase
is now under negotiation, is designed
to establish 25 homesteads on appro
ximately 1890 acres of land at a cost
of 054,050. The purpose of this unit
will be togive in dividual families a
will be to give individual families a