The Lethbridge Herald Oct. 7, 1967 Migration Forced by Feudal System Settlers seek Freedom By Howard Palmer What makes the Hungarians in Canada different from the rest of the immigrants from Eastern Europe? The major distinguishing factor is their language, which has no close linguistic affinity with other peoples in Canada. It is called Magyar, and like the Finnish and Estonian languages, is of Finno-Ugrian origin. John KOSA, a socioligist who has studied the Hungarians in Canada at great length, contends that this language distinction may have hastened their integration into Canadian society. Since their language isolated them from Canadians and other immigrants, they had to learn English more rapidly. The first Hungarian immigrants to North America were political refugees of the 1848 revolution in Hungary where they tried to achieve independence from Austrian rule. However, most of these regugees went to the U.S., and very few found their way to Canada. The next wave of immigration from Hungary to Canada occurred between 1884 and 1914. These people were mostly rural settlers who were forced to migrate because of the oppressive feudal system in Hungary. Crop failure and cattle disease accentuated the need to migrate. Between 1898 and 1912, Hungary's population was reduced 2,500,000 by emigrants who went mainly to North America. Many came as contract labor to the coal mines and other heavy industries. The Canadian government was very interested at this time in attracting some of the immigrants to open up the Canadian west. The government realized that the only way the could secure a regular influx of settlers to Manitoba and the N.W.T. would be to give financial assistance for the formations of group settlements which would serve as a neclei to which settlers of a particular nationality could be directed. Shipping agents were given $5 for each settler they could induce to come to Canada, and money was spent on advertising, but this was largely ineffectual. In 1885, CPR agents found Count ESTERHAZY, whose projects for the settlement of the Hungarians on farms in the U.S. had collapsed. Seeing the misery of his people in the coal mines, he wanted them to return to the land. After touring the prairies and recognizing the value of prairie soil, and having received a promise of finanacial aid from the president of the CPR, ESTERHAZY began to work fervently to accomplish his plans. Propaganda was sent to Hungary to induce migration, and some Hungarians in Pennsylvania were persuaded to move to the Canadian West. As a result, thirty-five families settled in Manitoba, west of Minnedosa, under the direction of Mr. DORY who taught them how to clear the land and speak English. Count ESTERHAZY helped to organize the Hungarian Immigration and Aid Society, and by June 1, 1886, another group was in the process of settling near Whitewood, Saskatchwan. They called the settlement ESTERHAZY. The count had also arranged for the settlement of another group, but he could not obtain a government loan to finance the project. He considered the possibility of quaerwring the new group in Esterhazy for the winter, but the town was destroyed by a prairie fire. He then arranged for the men to work in a coal mine near Medicine Hat for the winter. After a short period, the men felt that the company was mistreating them, so they left the mines. The government provided them with food during the winter. Immigration from the U.S. and Hungary continued as favorable reports from these settlements began to be received. By 1891, the original colonies had paid off all their debts, and were described by the Department of the Interior as the most successful settlers in the West. The early settlements no longer depended on grain farming, but branched out into other types of agriculture including cattle raising and dairy farming. Other settlements were started, and by 1911 there were 11,648 Hungarians in Canada, half of whom were living in Saskatchewan. Today, people of Hungarian origin are scattered throughout many parts of Saskatchewan, but the largest concentrations are in the Qu'Appelle Valley. In Alberta, the Hungarians first settled in scattered colonies between Lethbridge and Edmonton, with the largest group near Wetaskiwin. In Southern Alberta, many came to work in the coal mines at Coalhurst, Lethbridge, Hardieville and Taber. The majority of those who went into mining did so only as a temporary measure. They worked until they could get money to finance a farm of their own. It seems, however that many of these miners were not too well liked, as the superintendent of the N.W. Mounted Police complained lengthily of the "nasty habits" of Hungarians in his annual report of 1892. He wrote, "The Hungarian and Slavish miners are quarrel-some people and do not get on with each other at all well. They have a nasty habit of brining long-bladed knives into play..." Most of the miners were singe men, and many returned to Hungary when the mines were closed. Others went into farming, while some moved to the Paks? to mine. In the early 1900's a few Hungarians were engaged in ranching, while a number of others homesteaded. In 1903, many Hungarians went to newly opened land near Stavely. Others settled near Retlaw, Milk River, Taber and Wrentham. Of these, people, some came directly from Hungary, while others moved from the U.S. and Saskatchewan. In 1901, there were 167 Hungarians in Alberta. This number increased to 1,207 by 1911. In the Medicine Hat census division in that year which included Lethbridge, there were 418 Hungarians, 252 men and 166 women. Some of the men brought their families over from Hungary while others lost complete touch with them. A small number came to Canada to escape from unhappy marital situations. During the war years there was little immigration to Canada. In fact, the number of Hungarians in Alberta had decreased to 1,045 by the time of the 1921 census. This apparent decrease could be partially due to the fct that some wanted to disclaim Hungarian origin because of the defeat of Austria- Hungary in the First WW. Some Hungarians from this area served with the Canadian armed forces during the war. During the 1920's, a new exodus from Hungary began. This immigration was due to the wretched conditions which existed in the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was directed mainly towards Canada since the U.S. had lagely closed its gates to immigration from Eastern Europe. Ideas about the supposed "racial inferiority" of the people from this area were rampant in the U.S. at this time and had resulted in a restrictive quota system. Although some of these ideas had passed into Canada, and books were written to show how the crime rate of these people was much higher than other immigrants thus showing their inferiority, fortunately, these theories were not transposed into direct legislative action. Recent studies have shown that the crime rate among foreign born is less than that of the native born. This is to some degree amazing, since many crimes have been committed due to a lack of understanding of Canadian law, and the poverty ridden conditions under which many immigrants to Canada have had to live are quite conducive to crime. Ethnic group organizations have often been an important factor in the social control of immigrants, keeping many from disobeying the law. That Hungarians in North America have had a considerably smaller crime rate than other Eastern Europen groups is due partly to the unique family structure or "sib system", in which youths are closely supervised , since the crime of one member may bring shame upon the whole sib. The sib itself consists of a wide range of relatives, and a person's status in the Hungarian community is to a large extent determined by the sib to which he belongs. Immigration to Canada after the First WW was fairly sizeable. Those who sponsored immigrants had to guarantee their employment and vouch that they would not become public charges. In some cases, they even loaned money or sent steamship tickets. Between January 1926 and 1930, over 26,000 Hungarian immigrants entered Canada. By 1931, there were 40,582 Hungarians in Canada, with 5,502 in Alberta. About half of these were living in Southern Alberta. The vast majority became laborers on sugar-beet farms. Many of these same laborers now own the farms themselves. On the whole, those who bought farms were usually married, while the single men remained as laborers. Many were related to immigrants who had come earlier, and who has assisted financially. In Northern Alberta, with the help of the British Land Settlement Corporation, several hundred settled around Vermillion. However, harsh weather conditions which existed in that region caused many to migrate to other parts of Alberta and B.C.