At the present time (January, 1908), the population of this Colony is about 200. Nearly all the land is occupied in one way or another, either by colonists who own, or partially own, their land, or by renters, who are also called colonists. Several homes are vacant, but it is expected that they will be filled by renters before the Spring season opens. The little village consists of several stores, a blacksmith shop, a substantial railroad depot, a post office, a small hotel and a school house. A good many of the homes are built of stone, quarried on the Colony, and present a good appearance. Up on the higher land is situated a large stone structure, built by the colonists at an expense to the Army of $18,000.00, and first used as an orphanage, then as a sanitorium, and now abandoned. Irrigation ditches with a good flow of water are in evidence, and preparations for draining the land are under way. That this is necessary is forced upon us by the many white patches scattered here and there where the water, having evaporated, has left the destructive alkali salt on the surface of the ground.
When we come to consider the other Farm Colony, Ft. Romie, situated at Soledad, Cal., in the beautiful Salinas Valley, we receive a more favorable impression, although we find that the Colony here has had many difficulties with which to contend. The Colony is smaller than that at Ft. Amity, but the land is better. The original 500 acres has been increased by the addition of a lease of 150 acres with the option of buying. In the year 1898, eighteen families were taken from the poor of San Francisco and placed upon the Colony, but unforeseen conditions prevailed, and, as a result, but one of these families remains to-day.[71] The great mistake was made of settling colonists upon land which needed irrigation, before that irrigation was provided. This mistake was brought out the more vividly, in that the three first years of the Colony's existence were years of drought, bringing evil to most parts of the State, and especially to that land which, like the Colony land, only received a slight rain-fall at best. The result of the first years of this experiment, then, was an abandoning of the land by the colonists, and a loss to the Army of $27,000.00.
The experiment was continued, however, but with very different conditions. An excellent irrigation system was established, and a new lot of settlers brought to the Colony; not, this time, from the city, but from the surrounding country. These people were poor, but accustomed to the land. The result, as might be expected this time, was more favorable. It was stated in 1905 that no colonists had left since 1901.[72] In May, 1903, there were nineteen families ranged according to nationality as follows:—Thirteen American; Two Scandinavian; One Finn; One German-Swiss; One Dutch and one Italian. There are now twenty-five families, and about one hundred and forty-five persons on the Colony. The nucleus of a town is to be seen with two or three stores, a blacksmith shop, and a good sized Town Hall. Near the Colony is a school house with an attendance of about fifty children, most of them being colonists' children.
An irrigation plant has been established and is now owned and worked by the colonists, formed in a joint-stock company. The colonists raise beets, potatoes, alfalfa, fruits of different kinds, and stock. A large part of their income is derived from the dairying industry. They ship their cream to a creamery at Salinas, about twenty-five miles distant.
Much could be said about the healthy appearance and happy life of the members of this Colony, but as they have not been brought from the unhealthy, squalid misery of the city, this is not of so much interest. The women work in the vegetable gardens and with the stock, as well as in the home; and the older children help their parents.
Along the lines of co-operation, in both colonies there are interesting features. At stated intervals, the colonists meet in the form of a Farmers' Club, and discuss questions relative to the success of their individual farms and to the Colony as a whole. They also have lecturers come from a distance to address them on the latest phases of horticulture, agriculture, fertilization and irrigation. The colonists also embark in business enterprises like the stock company formed in the California Colony for the control and management of the irrigation plant. In this plant, one of the colonists is engineer, and another the superintendent of water supply. Another important institution of this same Colony is the Rochdale store, which does most of the retail business in the Colony. This store, in its management and organization, follows the co-operative Rochdale system, which has attained strength in England and is growing in the United States. The store is incorporated in the State of California as a co-operative corporation, and holds a membership in the State Rochdale Wholesale Co. It has already extended beyond the limits of the Colony and counts among its members others than colonists. The colonists also take active interest in local affairs of all kinds. In one colony, the rural mail carrier is a colonist, and the school teacher the wife of a colonist. At Ft. Amity, a colonist is now sheriff of the County for the second time.
Social and religious life is also fostered in the Colonies. A variety of religious sects is represented, and no compulsion is exercised towards any one of them. At Ft. Romie the Army has an organized corps, which holds meetings once in the week and once on Sunday, also having a Sunday school for the children. At Ft. Amity similar conditions prevail. On both colonies a good moral influence is found and there are no evil surroundings; hence in neither colony is there a local officer of the law. In the contract which every colonist signs on taking his land there is a temperance clause to this effect:
"And party of the second part hereby agrees to and with party of the first part that, in consideration of the benefits derived from this contract, he will not bargain, sell, barter or trade upon said land any intoxicating liquors, or otherwise dispose of as beverages any intoxicants, at any place upon said premises or any part thereof, or permit the selling of the same, or any illegal traffic or any act or acts prohibited by law."
The same clause goes on to provide for the return of the land to the Army in case of its being violated.