Evening star., 1943-04-04
'West Virginia Farmers Begin Life Anew
On Greener Pastures in Seubourd States
BY JAMES BIRCHFIELD,
Star Staff Correspondent.

BY JAMES BIRCHFIELD,
Star stan Correspondent.
CLARKSBURG, w. Va, April s.
Descendants of the English and
Scotch-Irish pioneers who began
drifting into the highlands of West
Virginia as early as 1868 are leav-
ing their steep mountain farms in
hopes of finding a better life on
productive land in fertile valleys of
the Middle Atlantic and New Eng
land States.
These families are being moved
from their poor land by the Farm
Security Administration to relieve
the critical labor shortage on farms
in the seaboard States. where they
are being located in permanent
re-settlement program.
Filled with a new hope, sturdy
mountaineers are packing their
meager belongings-the family cook
stove, roll of bedding and scant
furniture-to begin the hilly jour-
ney down to the nearest village,
where buses take them on the first
lap of an exodus which will end on
richer farm land in Maryland, Della
ware. Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
New York or the New England
States.
Mountain people are not given to
show Of emotions. Leave taking
is casual and generations Of family
ties are broken off-maybe forever
with no more than 80 long,
joe or We'll. reckon 1 better
be gittin' along. Goo'by Henry. You
and the ole woman look after the
younguns."
Unused to Travel.
But under the silence is shadow
OF sadness, and children leave
shaacks they always have known
as home. While many of the men
have been to Charleston and other
West Virginia cities, the women usu-
ally have travelled no farther from
their mountain homes than to the
change excess chickens and eggs for
little flour and meal and a piece of
lowered cloth for a new dress.
Hope prevails, however, and faces
light up as women speak Of the new
living being made by their husbands
who have gone on ahead of them to
get settled on farms In the East
ern States
Yes, think we'll be satisfied"
one said. "Henrys on farm in
New York. and they're giving him
an eight-room house with two glass
doors. Besides he's furnished with
meat and a gallon and a half Of
milk a day." ..E-
Another woman says her husband.
who has been away from home three
weeks now and has sent for his
family, IS on dairy farm in New
Jersey. Il guess they like him right
well. He's gittin' good wages and a
good house. I reckon he can work
alongside the best"
FSA Given Task.
When the Government first de-
cided to supply farm labor by solic-
iting volunteer workers from the
poor-producing areas of the coun-
try, FSA already had been in the
Held for number of years working
with the submarginal farm class.
1t was handed the largest end of
the job. Since the beginning of
the year, when the first families
were brought out of Kentucky, more
than 5000 workers have been re-
cruited for placement as year
around hired hands on dairy, live
stock and poultry farms. The re-
cruiting still continues at a rate Of
900 workers a week.
Drawn from among under-em-
ployed farmers, principally in the
reproduction areas OF the Appala-
chians and Ozarks. families and
single men have been placed on
farms in 20 States. Before actual
placement the recruits receive train
ing in modern farming methods
use of farm machinery, care of
animals and other farm skills at
specially constructed training GEN.
ters in % States. These courses
range from one to four week pc
RODS.
The recruitment, transportation
and placement Of workers, as well
rs their training, is handled by the
FSA under the authority of the
Farm Labor Administration and in
cooperation with the United States
Employment Service, the Agricul-
tural Extension Service and the
Once of Education.
Russell G. Ellyson. West Virginia
Farm Security Administration di-
rector. believes the only way to
alleviate submarginal conditions in
the States mountain section is to
transplant families to other re-
gions. In this way the richest
mountain farms will have to sup
port no more than their capacity
while the mountainsides, which
never should have been plowed, can
be retu1 ned to forests.
Squatters Threaten Program.
Mr.. Elyson agreed that a long
range program to take over noun
tain land left by families moving
from the State Is needed. He
pointed out that already "squatters'
are moving onto land recently left
by migrating families. If this Il
allowed to continue, he pointed out
at least one phase of the Govern
ments resettlement program viii
be defeated.
In West Virginia. where more
than 1000 low-income families and
single farm workers have been
moved to richer regions, recruit.
are drawn mostly from the central
mountainous section Of the State
There Is little opportunity 70,
agriculture In this section, and Nr