1/30/2009:
Two stories from this date, in 1915, depicted conditions in Chicago due to rampant unemployment. The first described some 1500 unemployed civilians who protested, led by activist Lucy Parsons with a black banner that said, simply, "Hunger." Plain-clothes policemen attacked the protesters, using blackjacks and clubs, and a riot ensued. Among 27 arrested was a priest who carried a banner reading, "Give us this day our daily bread."
The second story was sub-titled, "Chicago woman [to] throw open 4,000 acres of untilled North Dakota Land." That woman was Sophia Lamb. She and her husband, Butler, had lived in Towner prior to 1910. Butler was an attorney, and they invested heavily in property in McHenry County. They also offered to stake others; in 1906 Lamb placed an ad in the Towner paper that read: "I have plenty of money to loan on farms in McHenry and adjoining counties."
Butler Lamb was successful and healthy. In fact, he was a championship tennis player. However, he died just four years later, when he was 34.
Sophia moved back to her hometown of Chicago, where she was overwhelmed by the poverty she witnessed. She formulated a plan to send unemployed farm workers to the Towner area, where they could rent parcels of her 4,000 acres. Working with North Dakota officials, she started with about 100 people who desired work as farm laborers until they could get on their feet. She would charge no rent the first year, and would charge only a nominal fee thereafter.
Eugene S. Neal, the state immigration commissioner, visited Sophia in March of 1915 and met some of the people she had selected, and a partial list of her "back to the farm" candidates was posted in the Bismarck Tribune. For example, a Mr. DeGraff was listed as a "Hollander of dairy experience and good farmer; helpful wife." Mrs. Sheetz, a widow with three boys, wanted "to raise boys on farm."
The following month, Mr. Neal reported, "[I find] the people of Towner very much interested in Mrs. Lamb's offer, which would aid materially the advancement of that vicinity and of the town itself, as a commercial center." The article went on to say Towner farmers were offering seed and logistical help to prospective new neighbors.
State Auditor Jorgenson also visited Mrs. Lamb. Upon returning, he reported, "Labor conditions are a fright in Chicago. One day I visited the employment agency maintained by the Underwood Typewriter company (sic). When I was there, between 450 and 500 girls were waiting for jobs."
About a year later, Sophia Lamb wrote to the Bismarck Daily Tribune to report she had thus far sent 300 people to North Dakota and helped them find employment.
By Merry Helm
Sources:
Towner News and Stockmen. 20 Apr 1906.
The Nebraska State Journal. 15 Aug 1909.
Lincoln Daily News. 18 Jan 1915.
The Bismarck Daily Tribune. 30 Jan 1915:1; 13 Mar 1915:4; 19 Mar 1915:1; 3 Apr 1915:8; 24 Apr 1915:8; 27 Apr 1915:2; 28 Mar 1916.