Page:Slavs on southern farms (1914).pdf/13

 With hardly an exception, the Polish colonies in the United States exhibit indications of progress. There is a noticeable improvement in the general appearance of the farms owned by Poles of second and third generations when contrasted with those of their parents. The tillage on the former places is more careful, the dwellings are often well constructed, comfortable homes, while the barns are big, substantial structures. Fine herds of cattle are common, and evidence of thrift and prosperity are to be seen on all sides.

It is claimed by some authorities that the Polish agricultural communities in the United States are progressing as rapidly as the colonies of any of the other distinctly foreign groups and can be favorably compared with Bohemian, German, Swedish, and Swiss settlements.

Polish farmers have settled in all parts of Texas, although the principal and better-known colonies are located in Falls, Fayette, Grimes, Karnes, Robertson, Washington, and Wilson Counties. Karnes County includes Panna Marya, the oldest permanent Polish colony in the United States. Here they are chiefly cotton farmers. About one half own their farms, while the other half rent the land they till under the “cropper” system.

They usually produce a much larger yield of cotton per acre than the average native Texan. This is possible, first, because the Poles work in the fields themselves, while the native Americans generally employ negroes to do their work; and, second, because the Polish women and children work with the men in the fields, thereby more than doubling the labor force without an increased labor expense.

Homes of the Poles in Texas are neat and are often comfortably furnished. They mingle with other races very little and seldom intermarry, but maintain a rather high moral standard, and local merchants testify to their honesty. They are fairly temperate and, as a rule, adhere to the Roman Catholic Church. In nearly every town where there are sufficient number of Poles to support a church will be found a resident priest and a parochial school and a well-organized congregation. Few Polish children are found in the public schools, although the majority of them usually remain on the farm.

Wherever Poles have located on farms in Texas it is reported that they have benefited the community by their thrift and integrity and that they are desirable settlers.

Another interesting Slavish colony in the South is found at Slovak-town, Ark. This colony is the product of a land company organized in Pittsburgh about 1894, which undertook to influence the migration westward of Slovak coal miners in Pennsylvania.

Located 12 miles from the nearest railroad on the open prairies, the place has no natural advantages for settlers. On the whole, however, this colony has done remarkably well. In some instances, during the early years of the colony, the men were forced to return east and work a part of the year in the mines in order to support their families and to secure the necessary funds for the improvement of their farms.