The question of the cost of Jewish land settlement in the Soviet countries is engaging a great deal of attention here on the part of persons actively associated with the movement, with a view to preparing a scheme for raising the necessary funds.
The experts of the Russian O. R. T. (Society for Promoting Agriculture and Handicrafts Among the Jews) estimate that settlement of a family of six persons in the south of Ukraine on an area of about 15 desiatin of land will cost about 1,500 to 1,600 gold Roubles. The estimate is made up of cost of buildings, 500 Roubles; livestock, 400 Roubles; agricultural implements, 350 Roubles; seeds, 60 Roubles; preparing the land for cultivation, 15 Roubles; fodder, 70 Roubles; food for the family until the first harvest, 75 Roubles; unforeseen expenditure, 70 Roubles.
Collective settlement will reduce the expenditure per family appreciably, but to be on the safe side the figure of 1,500 Roubles is retained throughout. The settlement of 3,000 families will therefore require a fund of 4,500,000 Roubles, practically the whole of which sum will be expended during the first year.
Migration work experience has shown that the Jewish transmigrants possess, on an average, about 300 Roubles per family. Government aid will average about another 200 Roubles per family, which will mean that an additional 1,000 Roubles per family will have to be found for carrying the colonization work into effect. This sum, it is expected, will be provided by means of social credit aid on the part of the Jewish population of the Soviet Distribution Committee of America which has already made a first appropriation of $400,000 for the purpose.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
