Excepting certain settlements of Jewish farmers in Brazil referred to elsewhere
(pp. 265, 266), agriculture among the Jews in South America has been confined to
the Argentine colonies established by the Jewish Colonization Association of
Paris (of which the late Baron and Baroness de Hirsch were the founders and
practically the sole stockholders). In August, 1891, by the direction of Baron
de Hirsch, some 3,000 square leagues of land were purchased in various parts of
the Argentine Republic, for $1,300,000 (£260,000). In all, over 17,000,000
acres were acquired. At first the project of settling Russian refugees on a
large scale in Argentina met with a protest from the government, but the matter
was amicably arranged. As early as 1889, independent attempts had been made by
certain Jewish immigrants from Russia to establish colonies in Argentina, but
this was not done on a well-ordered plan, and later these colonies and colonists
were absorbed by the Jewish Colonization Association. The colonies were named
for Baron and Baroness Maurice de Hirsch. At first two tracts were set apart for
colonization: one, 9 leagues square, situated in the province of Buenos Ayres
and called Mauricio; the other, 4½ leagues square, in the province of Santa Fé
and called Moïseville. Colonists began to arrive in the summer of 1891 in such
numbers that by the end of the year they numbered 2,850. The central
administrative office was established in the city of Buenos Ayres; but
considerable friction arose between the colonists and the non-resident executive
officers, with the result that the very existence of the colony was threatened.
There were other difficulties: the locusts, which were very numerous, destroyed
the growing crops, and water was scarce. Although the colonies received constant
accessions, it was necessary to deport so many discontented colonists to the
United States—800 were deported within about two years—that in October,
1893, only 2,683 persons remained. Since then the executive office has been
reorganized, and although there have been many desertions, due to discontent or
to the damage done to the holdings by locusts and drought, as well as to the
distance of the farms from the railroad stations and markets, the number of
inhabitants has been slowly but steadily increasing, and the condition of the
colonists has become fairly comfortable.
Moïseville, in the province of Santa Fé, is the oldest of the Jewish
Agricultural Colonies in Argentina. It was founded by Russian immigrants in
1890, before the establishment of the Jewish Colonization Association, but was
reorganized by that association in 1891. Including the estates of Virginia and
Santa Elena, Moïseville embraces nearly 60,000 acres (24,000 hectares), of
which 22,500 acres are occupied by colonists. Although it has passed through
several grave crises, Moïseville is the most successful of the Argentine
colonies. Its success is attributable (1) to the fact that the colonists had
time to gain the experience they needed, and (2) to the aid accorded them by the
Jewish Colonization Association by the creation of lucerne fields. These fields
not only favor the rearing of cattle, but yield forage which finds a ready
market in the more northerly portions of Argentina, where fodder is often
scarce. The colony is equi-distant from the two railway stations of Palacios and
Moïseville, which are connected by a good road, affording ample facilities for
the transportation of crops to the markets. Moïseville has become a center for
the purchase of provisions by neighboring colonists, many Italian settlers
resorting to it for this purpose.
Mauricio—Russo-Jewish Colony in the Argentine Republic
.
(From a photograph.)
The colony contains 81 colonists, representing a total of 168 families and 825
persons. These families live in 130 brick houses, nearly all of which are
surrounded by groves of fruit-trees and gardens planted by the colonists.
According to the colony's report for 1899, it appears that in 1898 the area
tilled was 20,574 acres (8,300 hectares), divided up as follows: wheat, 11,699;
flax, 4,961; lucerne, 3,337; rye, 77; vegetables, 500. Yielding, as they do, six
crops a year, the lucerne fields occupy an important place in the agricultural
economy of the colony, and their cultivation has made it possible to establish a
butter and cheese factory, to which the colonists sell their milk. This factory
is conducted as a private enterprise by individuals not connected with the
colony, the land, buildings, and a small bounty having been obtained by them
from the Jewish Colonization Association. Some colonists sell from 1,800 to
1,900 quarts of milk a month to the factory. About 1,400 head of cattle,
including 786 plow-oxen, have been placed at the disposal of the colonists by
the Jewish Colonization Association; and in addition to these, many colonists
have bought cows of their own. Moïseville contains a synagogue, a school, a
pharmacy, and a communal bath. In the school 63 boys and 60 girls are taught. At
present (1900) the facilities for education in other parts of the colony are
inadequate, and two more schools are to be established shortly.
Mauricio, in the province of Buenos Ayres, comprises an area of about
62,000 acres (25,000 hectares). There are 164 colonists in Mauricio,
representing 211 families, and a total of 1,045 persons. The soil is not so rich
as that of other colonies in Argentina. The only way in which this inferiority
can be overcome is by variation of crops, which system requires larger areas
than are at the disposal of the colonists. As very high prices are asked for
land adjacent to the colony, the administrators have met the difficulty by
acquiring some not in its immediate vicinity, to which some of the families at
Mauricio are to be transferred. This would permit of the allocation of more land
to those that remain, thus enabling them to vary their crops. In 1898 the
following crops were sown: wheat, 13,427 acres; maize, 6,952; lucerne, 1,475;
flax, 7; barley, 12; rye, 71; oats, 7; tobacco, 2½; vegetables, 136; making a
total of 22,089 acres, or about 9,000 hectares. Cattle-breeding being considered
one of the most important forms of industry by the settlers, it has been
necessary to form large lucerne fields at considerable expense, as natural
pasturage is insufficient. Upward of 2,500 head of cattle have been placed at
the disposal of the colonists by the Jewish Colonization Association, of which
about 800 are plowoxen. A butter and cheese factory is about to be established.
Mauricio has a hospital, a steam flourmill, a slaughter-house, and a bath. The
principal centers of the colony are Algarrobo and Alice. At each of these places
there is a school, attended by 63 boys and 30 girls and 65 boys and 28 girls
respectively. A third school has been opened in Mauricio, and is attended by 24
boys and 8 girls. The sanitary condition of the colony is good.
Mauricio—Administration Buildings
.
(From a photograph.)
Mauricio—Group of Colonists
.
(From a photograph.)
By far the largest group of Jewish colonies in Argentina is that known as Clara
(named after the Baroness de Hirsch) in the province of Entre Rios, which was
established by the Jewish Colonization Association in 1894. Some of the present
settlers in Clara were brought there during the second exodus of the Jews from
Russia, in 1891, and were selected from refugees that had arrived in
Constantinople. But the more important body of colonists was organized in Russia
in 1894; ten groups, of about forty families each, being formed. These were
taken direct from the ships in which they arrived to the farms on which they
were to settle, where houses, cattle, seeds, implements, and the food necessary
for them between seed-time and harvest had already been provided. The first
three groups to arrive were settled in three villages of fifty houses each; the
next three were established upon a system midway between the village system and
that of isolated farms; while some of the families of the remaining groups were
established upon isolated farms only. The population of this colony has been
increased by a considerable immigration, although many of the early settlers,
discouraged by reverses and unable to endure the privations of pioneer life,
have withdrawn. At first the houses in Entre Rios were built of clay, but they
had to be reconstructed, and are now entirely of brick. It was found difficult
to supply the necessary water, as wells had to be bored to a depth of 82 to 98
feet. At Moïseville and Mauricio water was found at a depth of 7 to 9 feet.
These conditions made the installation of colonists very expensive.
The soil of this group of colonies is rich, but compact and heavy, as it has
been plowed for only a few years; the yield, however, is not so good as might be
expected. During 1898 the colonists sowed 66,656 acres, subdivided as follows:
wheat, 33,838; lucerne, 4,705; flax, 27,852; barley, 242; rye, 19. In regard to
the transportation of produce to market the colonists of Clara are not so well
situated as those of Moïseville and Mauricio, where the maximum distance from
railway stations is about nine miles. In Entre Rios certain groups are twenty
miles or more from the railway. Considerable sums of money are being applied by
the Jewish Colonization Association to the formation of lucerne fields in this
province, as the breeding of cattle forms an important part of the economy of
the colony. A large steam flourmill is in operation, and there are three
well-organized schools in which two hundred children receive instruction. The
sanitary condition of the settlement is good. At Ceballos, in the northern
portion of Entre Rios, the Jewish Colonization Association has established a
cattle-breeding farm of 23,090 acres, which is under the supervision of the
council at Buenos Ayres.
Clara Colony—Children on Horseback Starting for School
.
(From a photograph.)
In Entre Rios the Jewish Colonization Association owns 381,779 acres, of which
195,545 are colonized. The colony of Clara is composed of 19 villages or groups,
which with their populations (January, 1899) are enumerated in the following
table:
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