A Stake in the Land

by Peter A. Speek

A large proportion of the foreign settlers [he said] secure their second papers just as rapidly as they can after they locate on the land. They desire to take part in local politics; they find that they must become interested in local political affairs if they wish to have a good system of schools, roads, and gain the other advantages which both the county and town can give them. They are also interested in the state politics. All this brings the question of second papers forcibly to their minds, and in an accurate survey of the different colonies we are interested in, you will find that a large per cent of those who have been on the land five years or more have already secured their second papers. One of the difficulties which hinder them from getting their second papers sooner is the fact that they must have some one certify that he has actually known them for a period of five years. Coming as they do, strangers from another state, it is necessary that they live among us for a five-year period before such an affidavit can be secured. I have had many of the settlers speak to me, desiring second papers, but they were forced to wait their period before they could secure them.

Most of the settlers read the Polish newspapers published in America. Quite a number of families take books from the school libraries; among these are a few Polish books—stories and histories.

The settlers are of the Roman Catholic faith. They attend a local church. Their Catholic neighbors of other nationalities attend the same church. The priest is of the Polish nationality; he cannot speak English well. He is appointed by the bishop. The settlers would prefer to elect their priest themselves.

While the houses are of the American type, the interior arrangement of the living rooms remains that of the European Slavic peasantry—the bedcover is often fancy handiwork, the walls are profusely covered with family photographs, pictures of Polish heroes, and magazine illustrations. However, an honored place is given to the picture of the President and the American flag. Furniture is placed against the wall around the room. The premises are kept comparatively clean and in order.

Diet is rather mixed, though the Polish meals and the Polish ways of cooking predominate. The settlers claim that their housewives are more frugal than the American housewives in their neighborhood.

There are very few intermarriages; nationality alone is considered a drawback for intermarriage between a Pole and non-Pole. In cases where the two people are of different faith, the Church is another drawback.

Family discipline, in respect to the authority of the husband as the family head, is less strict than in the old country. The settlers believe that this is due to the American influence. Here the husband has to consult his wife in every important question and the children are not so often punished.

The relations between the colonists and the national groups in the neighborhood are generally friendly and help is given mutually in cases of need. But there is very little social visiting between the groups, the difference in nationality being a bar.

The settlers secure agricultural advice from two sources—the company's adviser and the county agent. They raise wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, grasses—clover and timothy—while their main income is derived from milk production.

The products are sold to the local agents; there is no discrimination in prices. Necessities are bought in the near-by towns, prices being too high and goods not always suited to the needs of the settlers.