Gift Cows for Germany

Private American relief efforts after Warld War I aiempted in may ways to alleviate the
suffering of the peoplesof the war-torn European nations. Lavern J. Rippley describes
one such undertaking here: The mercy cattle shipments made by the Russian-Germans
of North and South Dakota in 1921.
Gift Corvlr Tor: (lierrrran:r
by La Vern J. Ripplel
"American milkcowsfor Germany," announces the headline of the news
story describing the second mercy cattle shipment in the Wqter.talu-o
(Wisconsin) Dailv Tirnes, Similar articles appeared in other Germanlanguage newspapers, such as the_lbblg/ {North Dakotal Ltlpgg
in 1921.
-Courtesy Lal/ern J, Rippley.
On the night of March 24, 1921, in the tiny South Dakota town of Kayior, Lieutenant Ewald August Gail came as close
would come to an actual pitched battle with gunfire, defense perimeters and an enemy assault. Gall,whose father
Karl Ludwig had emigrated to Hutchinson County, South Dakota, from the Russian city of Odessa on the Black Sea, grew up
liking pistols and shooting gophers. Skilled in the use of firearms from boyhood, Gall became a reserve military officer. Therefore, he was the natural choice of Sheriff Karl Schmidt, also a R.ussian-German,l when he needed "platoon leaders" to help
command the posse of farmers assembled and deputized by Sheriff Schmidt to protect a large herd of cows from danger that
March night in 1921- Today Gall recalls nostalgically and rvith a broad grin that he has yet to turn in his mi,leage lbr the trips
he rnade with his Ford touring car between Menno, Kaylor and Tripp, SouthDakota, in service to law enforcement officers.2
as he ever
Why Lieutenant Gall became involved at all with
corraling and protecting a herd of cows destined for Germany farmers. The basic reason for the milk shortage in Germany
is a long story. In a nutshell, Americans of German descent was the disruption of the German economy that followed
receivedrepcrrtsofthehardshipssufferedbyGermanchildren defeat in Worid War I.3 More immediately, the shortage
due to the shortage of milk after Wr:rld War L To alleviate materialized from the reparations stipulations in the Versailles
thet plight, cows were donated by German-American farmers Treaty, one of which demanded that Germany replace liveand shipped to Germany where they were distributed to stock destroyed in France and Belgium during the war.
On December 19, j 920, press reports frdrn Berlin
pointed 1o the disastrous results of the loss of the g00,000
milk cows that the Germans were forced to deliver to the
Allies under the terms of the peace treaty. Two days later.
the Nerl York Tintes printed an open letter written by Ger.
man women to the women of France. In it they claimed
that the demand for surrendering milk cows would weaken
public stamina and in the long run reduce the ability of the
Gernrans to live up to all tire other obligations of the
Versailles Treaty.
"As wornen and
det'enders
of the rights of children, we
embrace wlth equal synrpathy suffe'ring children oi ali
rratigrl.s, Our syinpathy goes out in thJfulest
measure
to clltldren in the devastated regions in France, where
it appears to us to be urgenf that help shoulcl be
granted as speedily as possible. On the other hand,
we
see tlte need in every pan of Gernrany is so grear that
iurthcr reducriun in rhe milk supply would 6e equivalent to the death sentence for hundreas ofthousands oi'
chiidren. lnstead of the 20,000,000.000 liters of milk
which Germany produced annualiy in peace-tirne, the
counrry is now producing 8.000,00b,000."4
The letter further stated that the Germans had not received adequate supplies of n-rilk for sir years. As a result,
the death rate from tuberculosis had doubled since 1913. In
addition,38,000 more children died in l9l8 than in 19li.In
1. The population of Hutchinson County is ncarly 90?L RussianGerman. Known as R-ussian-Gerrnans, German-Russians or just
rcfer to the people as Russian-Germans because: l) ihe
Board ol Directors of the American Historical Society of Germans
From Russia has voted in favor of the designation ,.Russian-Ger_
m1n." 2) The term allows for the fact that-the people are ethnically and culturally German although the families iived in some
00 years in either the Black Sea or the Volga
:::::
regronsIrotAlny.zrs^)
*Russian,"Russia. 3) By use.of^the_preceding. hyphenated adjectiie
atlowance is made for ttie faci it?t'ri,6iiiii tne Russian_
qe.oplg wgre .Russian citizens when they emigratcd to
9;..^tll:l
ille t_lntted States, for the most part, be tween 1g74 and 1"914.
, For more information on ihe RussianC.r."ni. see Richatd
S_allet, Rassran"German Settlements in tne Uniiia'itutes, trs.La
Vern J- Rippley and,Armand glqer (Fargo: tnstitute for Regionai
studres..to be _publisherj in 1974). See also Georg Rath,-..Die
Russlanddeutschen in den Vereiuieten Staaten von Noid-Amerika,"
Heinutbuch dey Deutschen aus Russtind {stutteari: Landsmann_
schaft der Deutschen au s Russland, 19 63), 22- 5 S ind Karl Sd;pp,
The German-Russians: Two Centurie,s of pioneering, tr. JosephS..
Heighi. (Bonn: Arlantic Forum. l97l t_
R ussians, I
2.
!t:
$lolgt-Ewald A. Gall (Rer.) granted me an intcrview
July 14, 1973,
on
at his home iniioux Faffs, Souifr nuiotu"
promoted to Lieutenant in 1918, but wasnofsent overseasGall was
during
H9 d.rd go overseas during World ivar II, but onti
Y::ld"Y-ll,l,
arrer nostttttles had ceased and then only to help occupy Japan.
Much of Gall's career was spent as a bank'"astri"i in li"nirir, Souttr
Dakota.
3.
The main thrust of American relief for the victims of W'orld War I
was a general U.S. board administered by Herbert Hoover, later to
become President. There were many private relief organizations as
well.. For one suc:h cxample, see Francis J. Epstein, .The Leopoldine Association-T'he Geiman 'propagation oi the Faith,Sociity,"
Illinois Catholic Historical Reeiew, 3 (1920), 88-89.
4.
New York Zizes, Decemb er 21, 1920, li
5.
New Y ork Time s, Aptit 1 1, I 920, section VIII.
6.
New York Times, July 18, 1920, section II.
.
fol high agriculturai productivity,
the
and
the German mothers questioned whether it was right to save
the children of one country by destroying those ofanother.
According to the treaty, Germany was required to
furnish France with livestock in three equal monthiy installments in the three months following the date when the treaty
went into effect. Specifically, the stipulations called for 500
stallions, 30,000 fillies and mares, 2,000 bulls, 90,000 milk
cows, 1,000 rams and 10,000 goats. The age spans, type and
breeds were defined for each category. The first trainload
sent in compiiance with the treaty arrived in Chery_en-Valois
to be distributed among the farmers there on April 9, 1920.5
Nearly identical quotas were set for delivery to Beigium.
By
the first of June. nearly half of the shipments had been
effected. The laige May deliveries were credited to the increase
in price the German government
for the livestock.
However, the supervising
farmers
had offered to German
commissioners from both
Belgium and France registered complaints about the quality
of the stock and exercised their right to reject what they
did not want. Although the animals came from the best
breeding stock in the Rhineland, Belgium rejected 2l%
of
one
shipment, 497a of another, and 58% of a third. In the Dortmund region, they rejected one lot of 239 horses entirely.6
Assertions of a scarcity of livestock in Germany caused
controversy. One letter to the editor of the New york Tirnes
alleged that Germany had stripped Northern France, Belgiurn,
Poland, and Russia of their livestock during the war and that
the Versailles Treaty did not even provide for the return of
the stock of which France and Belgium had been deprived^
Moreover, the writer claimed that the shortage of beef
and
dairy products in Germany was not a result of a reduction
in the number of cattle in the country, but of an inability to
feed them. Thus, the deficiency was attributed
to the
inflated worthlessness of the German mark in buying fodder
abroad rather than to the scarcity of animals.T
Nobody, however, contested the fact that the children
in Germany were suffering from a iack of milk and meat in
their diets. As late as November, 1921, there were reports of
a severe shortage of cows, not only in Germany but in
Austria, as well. Children were growing up without ever
having tasted milk. For these reasons, the American Friends
Service Committee of the Quaker Church set out to buy cows
outside Austria to supplement its child-feeding work in
Vienna. None could be bought in Germany, of course, and
they were also scarce in Switzerland, France and Belgium.
The AFSC did manage to procure 450 cows directly from
Dutch farmers. Reports reached American shores that prewar Vienna had consumed 120,000 liters of milk each day,
but that consumption had now dropped to just 10,000 liters
per day, including the 2,000 liters produced daily by the
2.
6.
New York TImes, July 2,1920 and July 6, 1920, 14.
8.New York lizes, November2g,l92l, section VI, 11.
7.
russia, usually noted
infant mortality rate had doubled since before the war,
cows from Holland.S
Reports were also received that the German
and
Austrian farmers, squeezed between the rising costs of fodder
and the declining ability of urban dwellers to pay for the
milk, simply dumped most of their surplus milk for the pigs.
'fb.e rest was strk!
In
to llist
r:lass irotels and
wraliiy familie;.
r-leiica* rciief agencies devekrpr:Li J 1rr',ln1-..tionai system of {at;or:illg t'*iider to ihe farrn:1i, sr thei
delivered fiilk io iire city" {l:iiculatloris showed thal ;r dcn;rtion of $150 ivcul,l ieeri a cow for a year anrl that cne cow
r.'ottid ;upplV etiougl: ln'rlk ror iweittlr chiitlre:r {,-:r jiie :;ame
perird. Therefirre. se,reral leiief agencies" inciiicling tire
Amcricarr Fr-iends Sr.r.lice C,:mniittee, i*li it r.',oLlid br: ;
wiler investnent to Frocrire r:cws whici wcr.ilel plce|-Li:e
i:alver as ilrirresi airC fodde: iitan tc irlpcrt i:e nrle:rsed milk
i'e:sponse,
,4
flr,rrn the Uniicd ;itafes, L,lgiai-id aniti :ttlier nations" Fof a
time, an arra-lgernent w:.it lriaile iirrt-rr.rgh whi+h farmer:s
recejveci the c+rvs otr a time-pa'/rnent plan. They delivelrd
nilik
r*
lhe Ccmrnittec lirr a peric,:l of r:ighteen nionlhs ald
thett lrlerr: perrniit.;c1 'ro keei.r lhe ci:.,us f*i their cwn prcductii;:r
,9
lVlrile lhe ,Atnerir:an Frteirds flerr-ice Clnirrittr-'e cf i[:e
{}uai.:ers ',vas i,,.isy :rrlrnini:teiri'ig it.s pr-ogi'ain for the ptocure-
!nent
'..:.f'
rliltrc, i-her:e lv*r* rtiie
ri,t:,ii.. tathering
i_.111:J:r
r
religious ccn1ifi1-!nities
ilt'r','l* Unjteil Siat*s i'ot
a
I
sitlpment
liall',,- ir .1.1i. at ieasi i'our shipl+ads -rvere
.,:i ...1:,,1 :iitii ii,ti'' ,,,i iirr-'ttt ilelt,.'ereii AS f*l el i:ail be
-i:r.:'::'lr,i'i..rli :lr,r:iri-,r'!jj: \t1e fri.f :iril;ttrrl *ri ihs Artletir:an
l:i,,. ri:,
.:...-:.
it
C,,';
, -,.- 1,-, . :i:.
,: ., 'r
ri:i:, ,,,.:tl..lt:.1 e:,:,eciltjii,.fril ,itr_.
j ..
-1.: .,- tr1'; i i.{.":fl:i;-tr'
{,.inc1el {he dateltile {lf }i{ti/srnber il, 1{.}:0, a \4tre r/rs
lent lli-rn Rerli:t sta{irrg thrlt ICC Hoisteln ccws comprising
tlie first c*rlsignrnent c;' lt:iLk iows girren to {ierinanv haei
;r:Liivei tllat rla.r' li; Tiarn-hi_rrg" Ther*, t}'Ley w+ie ai fil st
nr.raranlrled pending a,':rjcn
h./ tlre Arneiican
clorrcrs anil
lvhc ra.ier.-:j :* w*rk orjt ijle cletaiis oi their
i'inai riesiiilatic:n" As the New York '['in.res reporied, "Arl
q.,leirnan of-ficiais
American dairy oaltle conipany vrhicit is supervising the grfi
enterirrise anLi -shirmeni cf the cattle st11l retaiirs iiile to:.he
c{-}w$ l.nll has ri*manded asgiilaTlce$ fi*m tire German govern.
n:eni. tleat
den^rarrdcd
tliel vill
i.)o{ rrc ineluded
'i:y' the Allies
"1i
in tite cattle 1er.4e:t
Sevelal Geruran gcr,,erniileilt
agencies were also rlriibbfing ;:hcui
distribiite thc;sru's.
LInited States.tJre
li
cr.rr,,;;
irr
ls
tr:t
ths
whc had tlie right tc
cleai exacily where llr ttrr
{'jrsr shipnrent originated"
f . ibict.
l{"i,
Tirere axe rtrany re!,vsp:rtrrei leferences to the A:nerican }air;i
Caiile Campany. See" iu exampie. tbe Dakota Fr"ele F,'erse lFlew
Ulin. Minn") Frbruary i5, 192i. Hr:lvever, the Chicago Hirtcrnr::l
Society lias i:ecn unable t* verify 1he existence oi ruch a cornl.)any
in Chlcego. !-, ikeir.'isc Lhic;rgc.'s Nervberry i-ibrary staff combed ili,:
L'!trcagt Dai!1, lgot t and clty dire.tories f1;;r the petiod rvitiror.il
finding refe:ences la thc ron'!pan:1.
A letter
adclressod
to
thc
rorrpany's list,rd eCdress 'v:is returneri sta*r1r*d "Addlessee lTn"
k1t}rvn." '.f ile lllinois $iate F{isiofical 1-ibrary in Springfield oai
cquaily ulsrrcr:esrlui. i- inally, the Ai;sisranl State ,4rchivl!{ {)i
illinci-t.'Jirc,:rr:ioie -i. l'assrrialr, rcnorted in a leltel daled August i.
tha: "althr.r,.rgii *e :arjeiu.liy r'hcck-ed ai1 of the inccrpr-.r;r
ir,:rri riifrrLl. iL:re is;rl ii,lrIiirelt lirtiilg the incorporaticn of tire
il;;i.
..:-:ii.-tri, i,:ru: :-ltlir i,irniirnV " The
"Amertc:itn Dairy Catlle
'-.,.:r:rr l-,r r:r.i 'tr..r ' l. i.- tr'uri
rrc or inrrde oi operalirr|
' :". .: ,-.:.,rit , ,. I i-:.! : r,.,: aii:ltali{ canttot be dctermfied.
$eotland, South Dakota, still maintains its heavily Russian-German
ethnic *ornposition in 1973. a faet evidenced by the existence of this
locai enterprise. Photo by LaVern .!. Rippley.
-State !{istarical Societ}r of North Dakota tlollection
Reinhold Dewald at work in the Freeman, South Dakota, Merchant's State Bank. Dewald accompanied the
third ehipment of cattle to Germany and participated in the cattle solicitations in southeastern South
Dakota. The original photograph is owned by Rueben Goertz of Freeman, $outh Dakota.
-CourteslJ LaVern J. Rippley. Stote Histolical Society of North Dakota Collection.
The second shipload was likewise shipped on
the
steamer West ,1rxtw and irrrived this tinre in Germany,s other
tnajor reaport, Erernen, on February 1, lg21.l? For thls
second consignment, tlie oows. totalling 7J2. were apptLenti;,
gathered as donatir:ns frort Cerman,Amerlran laitners in
Kansas. Texas a:rci fndiana. Thus, ihe shlp hari sailed firsr
irr;it.i Galvesion. Tex*s. but hari ltol pcd in lJer",,pr;rl News.
Viigir;a, pre-rrn-rabiv tc lake ilil ;p$i3 i.:rrlv:. lt iitg rtL,i-1 sr,]i
ihe vLlyrge. iier:rl ilrlv/S rlieC anri f,iit.ty tte4,:;:lves :.i,ei-e lli;1,1.
'liile piobierns oi- ilirtribuLju*. ha,ring beeti settierj
altci ih:
lir:;t :;iLtnrnetil- o1'lhq prr:r'ic1;.:t \ii::veiiil.rgr. arr!ltg*jnet.rt!...1,ei*
rii]rv Leing macie irirti*i tle diiellion cf ii1{: Geillrii:i 1.,:tIiiil.
'ipil (rn Frrreign 1?.eiiei' rilii rhe {ertuan Fied ilii;sr Wiili
gi:alrtul altiripation., L'rvelc;;i111ng cltrr:riii1*e cf pro:nitrerrt
ir*i;"u;ril til-ltg:-is ltoaiileri ilfr.: i.i,,e;i 4t.r?)rj.iL-r g:ree.r ilte lhlri.V
Atrnt:rr,.'.ar'!1,, irlcsll:J |julis iitifititlc il-s;r.n lhe Texa:, rr'iri ii,ansas
larrii:rs wlrr; haii ilcnaltti rtL,ws, .rhLr !tlci ::rlml;rnir,.l anrl
i:r-.itrl ir;t fltr r{tr,,,s rit,iling tite Atlar,lir-. i';:tstlnp. Ar:tt:rr.i;nq tr-,
ilrl{i i'f i}{ii'a, ijte ycufit: irret alac riiiki:r,r r te a{.,1r.1.! eit rr:iite 3nr-i
cr,r;rtr ;i "Ltvrf 1-lre riri.c iitr ihr: ilsi:."'
Alr'htirr-gh the i4,'e:i A rritt, ,jrl-rtrd 'i !-r';:r. i.r l h.:
A?:.1r1.r5.. ilre ih;fi_" AjIaiiatfi rr'1)l]iiF iii:':l r.tri]l,,i;:e,_i in i,ier.trian.r
Iti tr';;: +ieeit: i,t 4i:iir iiie li1.ii:i ui, Blel::err. Ei:tl:urn. Eisen.
irraiiki,rii. l{eidt-itrerg.;{ritifg:}[t.
I ?.
,Atrx'
Yttl;
Ti.n:.t:s
lviurrir:1,, ]\jurnll{.:iq tnd
i.l
Dresden. afier the tour, half of them returned, but fifteen
proceeded to Berlin for a reception held on February l-j,
1921. After the fr:rnralities, most embarked ibr America, but
three of the men who were German-born stayed in Germany
to .risit relatives, all indication that at leasi sorne of the
cionols were renatively recent immigranis front the Cerman
empire *r Iia,J relalives w.'ho were refugees from Russia after
Worid XVai { During their tour the msn liveti ccniinucusly
ir a railri,.ar.i sleeoing ;ai arici tvere accompanied by rli. p"
5::hrnidt. a Geritra'i Rrcl C'olr r;ffictr,i r,.,ho indir:aterJ t_l-rat thev
u,eie fl',.c ic roe,rc .it wi1l. .ccnreihing ..wirici: ihey woukl
dc
aiiliway, [fi:i] lhese i:uwlsys cannot be bossed."l3
In'ihe mearttirne, lhe Vice-Ptcsiclent and genera! manager
.Anterican llairy Cattle Corlpany, I_crch Heinrich
I-ieine. received a telegram liom the German Red Cross datelilerl Bellin, iiebruary 8. :'J11. ,l rta,l , "Pierse ac.iept our
besi'wisl:es and iic.a;tt'elt thar!:s for"ihe aLrival o{725 mrlk
s+ws vririr:ir weie rtore than rveleonre. Ey ll,ay of their
cf the
Anelican 'elticiency,' tlley h;lve increased their nr-urrber vritl'r
lltiife than folilr newb{1ln" healfhV calves. The ycurg farmers
ivllc il;:con:ipanied the cows a! elretakei:s vrill l_.e our gxlest.c lol
ii t':ip tliiough Cerrrran'v * tir+l ttiey ma.; see with tl:eir r_ru,n
ir-ves sird get tc knrra,the siiuat:orL here and be able to rep.L-.1.,
hr-rci; jtotrre wiilr 1ys heg tnole ri|gen"iiy than evei-tl1:t.i^ il,-:ait,fj
inp. to vcur' 1rlan. you wili be able i.o send us ltia!j\' ni(
ilioi:sarr,Js oi' cows rionatecl
by
rl'ie Artre:icans iot-
iirt :ri
tion of our tll'eatened German children.,,14 Tke telegranr
that the American Darry Cattle Company had
pians to ship many loads of cows to Germany. It'is iqually
obvious that the German Red Cross, as an agency for the
German Central Committee on Relief, was tire officialli,.
designated recipient and distributor of the cows once they
arrived in Germany. In contrasl to its German counr,erparr,
reveals
the Arnerican Retl Cross vigorou_s1y denied having anything to
for distribution to the needy. The town next intenderJ to
collect a carload of milk cows. An organization was formeo
witli Jakob Hieb as chairman, Frank Tempel as rreasurer anc
Friedrich C. Ortmann, Colonel [Ienr1, H. Berg, George poppie.
a Representative Notting, Reverend John Schrag, A,lberr
Weiland and Fred Darrow as committee inembers.lT
The follorving ntonth, the press noted corresponclence
on tiris matter existed and it is
between Mr. Heine ol the American Dairy Cattle Companr
and Fastor Fl. W. Stienecke of Ashley, North Dakota, which
was trying to induce thal iargely Russlan-Germancounryro
role played by the Gerrnan and Austro-Hungarian R.ec1 Cross
Societies which rriade ntany solicitatio:rs frlr.n the Cerman-
begin soliciting cows as w€ll. Details about just how rhe
solicitation ploject got started in Hutchinson Countv. Soutlr
Dakota, are rot available, but it was principally irom the
strong Russian-German population there that the third shipload of cows was gathered.
to do with the soliciiation and shipnient of corvs. Confusjon
r_rnrierstandable liow the
C-ierman-Arnerican f'armei could easilv have inacie an incorrect assultlption. Adding t<l the confusion was the very active
-Ailericans immediately after the outbrrak of hostiiities iii
World War L Headquartered in St. paul. Minnesota. this
society had collecte d rnore than S:00.000 by the encl of l9l6
and divided the rnoncy equally between the Gennan and
Austrian cor.rsuls fcir distribution to German prisoners in
Siberia and to the pecrple cf East Prussia and Galicia.l-s
Siinilarly, it was the Gelman R.ed Cross, not the American, which provrded the American boys who accompanied
the cows with a tour of German. cities. ln part, this tour was a
gesture of gratitude; however, i1 was aiso a publicity stunt
designed to boost the American Dairy Cattle Company's
solicitation of more cows. For example, the February 23,
1921. reception in Berlin resulted in lnany rews reports back
in the United States that elicited American good will toward
the undertaking. According to one of these reports, the
reception cocrmittees at tire various train stations expected
to be welcoming a
frock-coated. silk-hatted clelegation.
Instead, they saw breezy American boys swarm off their
special car, ignore the digrrified burgcmasters and city officials, head straightway to shake the calloused hands of
German farmers in tire clowds ancl repeat the farniliar ta1l
tales about American farming. r\mericans, the farm boys
declared, started planting corn at one end of the fieid in
spring and had to begin harvesting before the other end was
reached. Importantiy for the relief effoit, peter Andres of
Elbing, Kansas, summed up the sentlment of the travelers by
notilg that they all liked Germany, but thought.,There is too
much misery here." Others commented, ..We have haci plenty
to eat and have been banqueted everywhere but everywhere
Clearly, however, several pastors of the Missouri Synocl
leaders ofthe project. The
most frequently irientioned name was that of pastor Heinrich
Friedrich Wilheim Gerike. l{e eventually accompanied tl.Lr
of the Lutheran Church were the
shiprnent to Germany and at the time ministered to the
Emmaus Lutheran Church congregation in Tripp, Souil.
Dakota, and to another parish in Emanuel's Creek.18 Anothe:
Ieader was Pastor R.ichard Tauber who served the Fri:r:
American Lutheran Church in Tripp. The iocal banks e.li.
assisted with tlie collection because, in addition to the cc,,.. ,
themselves, money was collected to cover the shipping co,i,
and to support those who were to accompany the cor,,...
Specifically, Mr. Oscar Brosz of the Tripp bank and N{r. Rein.
hold Dewald of the Freeman bank were two bankers tr,h.,were associated with the project.l9
According to final statistics, farmers from the yicinit,,
of Freeman donated 386 cows, those liom Tripp, 270" .\i:
additional ninety-two cows were gathered fiom arounLl
I4 The eract Gernran-language text of the telegram was reproducecl
rj' lrar^ Lrennan-tatiguage newspapers. rmong thenl tlte Dol;ott
trete fresse. F.ebnrary IS. i9:1. fianslation by the aLrthor. The
y,!:lilu*l
.We.ilb.ttrgil.also printed rhe telegram on February ll.
anrt u)cluded a "thxnk you" ntessagc
.' from Dr. Hermcr, tiie
Reich's minister for food and agriculture.
tyzt.
15. See.Livia
Appel and Franklin F. Holbrook, Minnesota in the llar
wtth Gernntr)..1 rSt. paul: Minnesora Historicel Society)" 15.
Keterences to rhe German R^ed
activities appear in many
_Cro"ss
lgylptpers of the time, e.g. St. paut pioneer presi,'Nou.rfr.iS,
t9r4. 7.
16. tYew.
York
-Titnes, February^ 25, 1921, 14. For ar example of a
locaJ paper's presentation of the story, see the Huiihinsoi
ilerald
(Mcnno, Sorlh Dakora), March 10. 1621.
we have seen hungiy children and tubercular adults who need
milk," and, "trf I had a hundr.ed cows I would give them all tci
Gerrnany tomorrow." ln closing, the article noled ihat the
American Dairy Cattle Cornpany haci asked the Gerrnan Red
Cross to provide the tour so that the boys could report on
the conditions in Germany once they returned horne.16
17. Dakot!^Freie.Fresse,
June 29, 1920. Frequently the newspapers of
the 1920's did rrot r^cporr firsr names o- indivijuals. For;iaing;;
rn ascertaining tlie first names of many individr.rals in this ess?y, I
am indebted to Dr. Armand Bauer, Professor of Agriculture it
North Dakota ,ltare- _Un_iversity in Fargo, who combld his many
Juoilee books
Kansas, Texas and Indiana. By the time it departed, a carnpaign was already underway in Southr Dakota where the mair.i
sources of donations were the c<iunties that iraC large percentages of ethnlc Germans fronr Russia. For instance, as early as
.iLr.ne,
tr920, a llewspaper report indicated that tlie town
oi
fui"'rrion, South Dakota. irad sent a donation of seventeen
balrels r:f lard, i56 sacks of t1our, ninety-two cases of cannecl
con,lcnsed milk and many other items to the Mavor of Berlin
L)t
]ocal Dakota com-munities, Reuben Goertz, a rural
mail carrier and local history buff in tsreeman, Soutir Oatota, nli.
E. F.. Srnith, president of theFarmer's State nan[ ln "Uurio",
Sbu]n
Dakota, Mr.'Harrison erosz. Cashiei ;i t;k;;'Si^te Bank in
Trip-p, South Dakota and Mr. Arrhur Suess. a retired rnail carrier
ofMenno, South Dakota
The aforernentioned shipload of cows originated in
18. Dakota,Frae Presse.^A_pril 12, 1921. pastor
Gerike is norv deceaserl.
A ry.rc olrecrory oI German_language pastors
in the United States
gave his last address as Route 1, bo<ig*,
trroiifl
ilulrr,
19.
I
have interviewed Mr. Harrison O. Brosz. the son of
OscarBrosz
and presenr cashiet of the bank in Tripp.',Also, i iecerved
frcm Oscar Brosz, presentll. of yanklc,i,'conc-erniniih" a letrer
"nd.auor.
Paullina, Iowa, a town located northeast of Sioux City and
fifty-one (some reports say forty-four) more were received
from farmers from the towns of Lebanon and lxonia.
Wisconsin, two centers of tire staunchly German-American
settlement between Madisor.r and Milwaukee. Tot:Llling 692
cows (some reports give 742, others say 740 cows and forty
calves), the shipment eventually entrained at Chicago in fiftytll'ee cars loaded with cows and feed and one parlor car for
the accompanying young men and ieft for Baltimore and the
West
Atow.Zo
From these statistics it is apparent that virtually all the
donated cows came from farmers in t{utchinson County,
South Dakota. This seeirrs plausible because the county hacl
the highest percentage of Germans trom Russia iri rhe state;
local sources maintain that nrine-ienths of the present popu-
lation share that Russian-German heri,iage.21 yet. some of
the cows also came from Bon Homme County, adjacent to
llutchinson on the south.
When these South Dakota comrnunities selected youths
to acconpany the cows,
Tyndal_l ln Bon l{omme County sent
.Iohn Satttrer, $on of the lccai pastor, and F{aro1d Serr.22
From t]'{enno. ihe selectees were Otto Trottnow and Arthur
Suess. From Gackie. North Dakota, came Emil Schmidt, a
cousin of Ed Schruidt cf Tiipp. Fr*nl Freeniafl calne the
brothers Cirrist and l{ans Kaufinann. .}oseph A. lYollman and
Reinholcl Dewald. Fiutn Clayton, clne iry the name r_rf Radainaker, and frorn an unknown address, William F. Dervald.
presently iiving in Sioi,rx Falls. Frorn l-ebanon. Wisconsln,
canre ihe young tnen, Eilai Behl, Herbert Chr:jsrian ancl Ernst
Winier. Xn a1i there rvere thirty-tive seiected tc gr:. Ilolvevei"
when the sieipinenr airived !n Balfimore and had to lay over
fbr tlvo weeks hefore ernharking, several, inclucling Mr. Suess.
gave rrp their eirances, clairning that there was bunk space on
ship-
ibr lnly
iweuiy.seven. Some also hartr persr,rnal reasons
for retr.rrning holne.23
2{1.
ihe Watertcwrt {Wiscor-rsin) Dailtt Timeg, Marcli f5, lgll, 6.
llie_siatistr( r were reporied in the Dakora Frrie 1.'resse,.ApiiJ i2.
1921. See also rirc lerter bv Ernst Winier to the ltr)aterto\tn Weh,
burger, June 25, 191\.
See
21. See John P. Johausen, InlnriKrsnt Settlemenfs and Social Orsanizations'in SoLtth Dtkotq. Eulletrn 313 (South Ilakota State Coilege
of agricu.lture and &lechlilrc Arts, Brookings" June" 19371, 29 if.
lIV iocal informants are Mr. Harrison O. Iliosz of fripp, ind Mr"
Reuben Goertz, i.-reeman, South Dakota.
22. Tyndall Register (Sourh Dakota), March 10. 192i. The paper
erroneously notes tllat the cattle would be shipped tiom New yort.
23.llutchinson Herald, Aprll 21, 1.92i. I\4r. Suess, a retired mail
carrier now living in Menno, wrote me of his personal erperiences,
24. Tyndall tr?.egisler, March 3I , 1 921
.
25. Scotland Journal (Soulh Dakora), March 24. 31.. 1921- Interview
and letter from Arthur Suess of r\{enno.
76. The Tripp ledger {South Dakota), M arch 1 7, 24,
27. See
"The Battle of the Corvs," New York
(April 16, 192I), front
192I.
Issues
of To-Day, 2
litter
page. On the same page, note the
from President.Warren G. Harding complimenting the citizens of
Milwaukee-for setting up abazatar, "to raise fundsior thc suffering
children of Germany and Austria. , , It seems to me that such
efforts as your association is making justify the realization that at
loast the world is one great community of interdependent
parts. ^ . . " Presumably, this was the official U. S. attitude towaid
the gift cows of the German-Americans as well.
In reporting the planned trip for the young
men. ne\r.s-
papers at first credited the American Red Cross
with organ.
izing the solicitation and shipping of the cattle, but that
organization issued a vigorous denial of any involvement in
the project. In South Dakota, the Tyndalt Register issued
a
correction, "It is not the American Red Cross as that organi
zationhasnothing to do with it in any shape or form. As near
as we can find out it is the German churches of the United
States that are sending the cattle to the German people. . . .
Remember that the Red Cross has nothing to do with this
move."24 As has been noted previously, ihe German Red
Cross gave ihe young men tours in Gerrrlany, and the donors
paid for their transportation overseas"
Originally, plans called for one shipment of the cows
by train from Scotland, South Dakota.
The Scotlancl Jounul
reported that they were corralled at the Scotland Fair Grouncis
while ,Arthur Suess, an eyewitness, says they were kept at the
Scotland stock yarc1s.25 ln any case, at least .300 cows were
heid at Scotland on Wednesday night of March 23, 192 i . The
reniaindel
of the 700
cows
in the total
shipment were
detained ln Tripp, approximately twenty tniles to the northwest on the sarre line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. paul
and Facific R.ailroad.
The Tripp Ledger commented on March 17:
inent of milk cows which have been donated for
"A
ship.
Gei-man
relief arrived in Tripp from Forestburg" Artesian, and Woonsocket, Monday night. These cows.were gathered by "Iolut
Hansen of Woonsocket. C. L" and Rollin Ward and many
others were donors. Shiprnent from TLipp will be rnacle
Wednesdav, Marcir 23. Cows ehould. if possible, be in Tripp
ihe day before. Cows from Dimcck, parkston" Ftitrlside.
Corsica, Arinour and Delrnot and from Avon wiil be driven
tc Tripp fbr shipment. ,About 300 cows are expected to be
shipped fiom here and ahout 400 from Scotland" Besides
the donation of these cows. $ l 6,000 in money has beeii
r:ollected. Paullina, lowa has 100 cows whicli wiil go in ihis
sldprnent""26 This entry in the Ledger was $igned by Reverend H. W. F. Gerike, the man in charge of the local solicitation. A check of the etlinic character of the names of the
donors and their addres$e$ reveais that not all of them were
German-Americans. The following week, Reverend Gerike
again reported to the Ledger that the cows were all corning
in; twenty-one had arrived early, about 320 in all
were
expected at the Tripp "stock and feed yards," and the balance
were to come to Scotland. Some reports indicate there were
385 cows herded at Scotland and 280 atTripp.2T
During the night of Wednesday, March 23, 1921. onl1,
four men were watching over the cows at Scotland when
nearly twenty-five automobiles packed with ruffians and
thirty men on horseback arrived and began shooting in the :ir
to stampede the cows. Several cows were killed ar.rd srrm:
wounded, mostly when they were hit by automobiles. -{ il';.
springing cows dropped their calves" Donors in the area ': e:*
called to heip round up the cows. By Thursdiil,'afrern,:,,ri ...
but twenty (some reports say 29) of rhe cov,s h;,: ::::
gathered. One was shot and left iying on rhe ror,i .',., .r.._,.
east
of Scotland. First reports
said that rhe
Arte:.,.:,
l..
by August Link whose ethnic German forefathers
came from the Odessa area of Russia, and it was rented to
Gustav Freitag, also a Russian-German who arrived in America late in the nineteenth century.30 Once the cows arrived
within his territory, Karl Schmidt, Sheriff of Hutchinson
County and a Russian-German residing in Tripp, assumed
responsibility 'for the cattle. It was Schmidt who deputized
Lieutenant Ewald Call of Menno and put him in charge of a
Iarge posse of farmers ordered to defbnd the cows from further
molestation"
On the nighi of March 24, approximately 200 farmers
(some sources say 350, others 600, others only 100), all
deputized and arrned with shotguns and rifles, stood guard in
a circle around the 330 cows which had been corralled in a
bowiJike pasture south of the Kaylor-Tripp roacl. According
to the eyewitnesses, a number of women remained in the
house making coffee and assisting the posse. At about
owned
and other ex-servicemen fron.r the Scotland,
Tripp and Menno
the shipment and had precipitated tire
stampede.28 Later the American Legion didclaimed any
responsibility for the irnpromptu action by means of a resoIution passed by the executil'e cornmittee in Tyndall on
March 30, 1921, and distributed to a1l the newspapers in the
region. The resolution deciared, "The Legion disclaims any
unlawful attitr"rde that might have been taken over the
cattle shipment that was recently made from Tripp: That the
American Legion, while I 00% in its ,American ideals, stands
as such first for law and order. That the public be inforrned
that in spite of any Legion members that might have taken
part in this aff-air, they did so as individuais ancl were not
authorized to do so by Legion posts."29 lt was signed,
David L. Wickers, Bon Flornme County Commander and Fred
E. Dawes, County Adjutant. Thus. at least the local American
Legion posts did not officially encourage the action.
areas were protesting
'frtn AltltldtcrrH
I),\ruv (lATTI"E C(|tf l',rsay
ra3 wgsa MAorSoN IrFE€f
CHrca6o_
1LL.
":t I
r
I
*1
]r3|;
.{"
lt\
S, tr......;-:.,,',-.:.
i
aa enretbkef of'l:iry
U,
_.:/"
:,
. o:, r.t.cr i::
-.
c.t_,1r, v;4j?ri !rr'. :.q ie :::1:1a)j .i,$ f.ii:
.-:.:.-.
.'it!rtrrl,',
IIn1t4d. Slaies to ilernary, i:r'"ii:i
f1in {iliiliip,:")i r-}1:r'
ttt,'
tL .,!!i,,i.::,. '
:;'"i-:: ':
!:, ..' ,
:.
',
lJ:
The American Dairy Cattle Company obtained agreements such as this
one from the men who accompanied the cattle on the voyage to
Germany. The original document is possessed by Reinhold Dewald,
Scotland,South Dakota. and names him to be the foreman of the cattletending crew"
-Photo hy LaVern J. Rippley
After the cows had been returned to the corral in.
Scotland, F. F. Matenae$, the Chicago-based, traveling representative of the American Dairy Cattle Company and Pastor
Gerike arrived on the scene and asked the Scotland mayor
and law enforcement authorities, headed by Bon Homme
County Sheriff D. A. Tuinstra for help, but were refused
and ordered to take the cattle out of the county. Feelings
being extremely tense, a plan was devised by which the cattle
were driven rrorthward across the county line into Hutchinson
County. There they were corraled cn a farm approximately
oue-half mile west
10
of Kaylor. At the tirne. the farm
was
28. See.ly'ew York Times, March 26, 1921, 8; St Paul Pioneer Press,
March 26, 1921; Sioux Falls Argus Leader, March 25,29, 197t.
7 , 1921; Springlield Times, April 7, I92l;
Hurchinson Herald. Aprll 7, 1.921. Note that the spellingof the
name Wickers varies, appearing in the latter, for example, as
29. See Tripp Ledger, Aprtl
Pickens.
30. I have interviewedMr. Pau!
Link, the son of August, who presently
operates the Skelly Oil Station in Kaylor and Mrs. Otto Bietz of
Tripp, the daughter of Gustav Freitag. Both Paul Link and Mrs.
B.ie1z were present at the Freitag farm during the corralling operation there. I also interyiewed Herbert Brosz of T'ripp and Aithur
Suess of Menno, who iikewise were eyewitnesses.
10:30 p.m.,
a
detachment
of
about thirty iutomobiles
approached. coming north from Scotland. Earlier, an un_
identified call had been senl to a locai undertaker that
advised him to send an ambulance to the scene because there
"soon would be a number of dead." It rvas duly dispatched.
However, when the autornobiles reached the Freitag farrn,
they were met by Sheriff Schmidt and Lieutenant Gall who
warned them that the first man crossing the fences woulci be
fired on by at least 200 farmers.
According to the Scotland Journal of March 3l . 192 I .
the attackers were members of the American Legion. ,.A
large number of American I_egionaires frorn the various
posts near Scotland started for Kaylor, but en route,
report
has it that an invoice rvas taken of the firearms and only 25
guns of various kinds were arnong the boys. On arriviug at
what was supposed to be the fighting ground, the legionaires
found. they were outnumberecl four to one, both in men ancl
guns." and decicied to call off the action. All eyewrrnesses. as
well as newspaper accounts, report that tlie cars promptly
departed without incidence. Names of the participants in the
tlrirty-car raid are not available except for the Tyntlall
Register's report that a N{r. Eci Engman of ,Avon went to
Scotland "to witness the pitched battle between the cow men
and legionaires."
Since more trouble rvas anticipated the following night
when the cows were to be driven to Tripp for loading on the
train to Baltimore, fequests for assistance were sent to South
Dakota Governor William H. McMaster and State Sheriff
"trohn C. Shanks. The governor declined to take an active
stand on the matter and claimed that he needed an offlcial
report and registration of complaints first. Flowever. State
Sheriff Shanks, U.S. Marshai Mayer, and three deputies ieft
at once for Tripp to be on hand for potential furtheL disturbances. Meanwhile, the cows that had spent }Ioly Thursday evening at the Freitag farm were tlriven over tlie second
legof thejourney to a yard a half mile outside Tripp on Good
Friday, March 25. Once again, a large posse of farmers armed
with sliotguns assembled under County Sheriff Karl Schmidt
and the state officers to protect Lhe cows.
, During Friday night. a rather large number of curiosity
seekers and cat-calling protesters gathered to taunt the
farmers,
but no one was injured. ..Mobsters,,, were alleged to be
coming to poison or shoot the cows from Scotland. Lester_
ville, Tyndall, Springfield, Armour and other South Dakota
towns, but, as one newspaper put it, ..The guard was again
used Friday night and rvhile considerable rag chewing was
indulged in by the deputies and onlookers who had gathered
from nearby towns, there to see the fun or to make hostile
demonstrations, no one was hurt. We understand that several
parties from Bon Homme county were placed under arest by
the sheriff and spent the night in the Tripp calaboose."3l
31. The Springfield Times (South Dakota), March 31, 1921.
32. The
Journal, Mar-ch 31, 1g2li Dakota l;reie presse,
April-Scotland
12, 1_921. Efforts to obtain jonfirm"tion-of-the arrests and
names of those involved
court proved fruitless.
from local Sheriffs officei and clerks of
33.The.-S_cotland Journal, March
April 5. 1921.
31,
1921. Dakota Freie presse,
While the reports of the nature of the arrests conflict, some
even saying that poison was taken from the arrested men,
there is general agreement that fourteen were arrested and
that all of them rvere irnplicated in the stampeciing of the 300
head of cattle in Scotland on the previous Wednesday. After
being taken into custody in Tripp, the fourteen were searched,
and four of them were charged with carrying concealed
weapons. The four were fined five dollars and costs, and all
were subsequently released.32
On Saturday forenoon. the 300 cows and the 400 or so
cows previously assembled at Tripp were loaded
aboard
trventy-six cars (some reports mention thirty)
of a train
which received top priodty over all other rrains, inciudine
passeng€r train No. 6, en route to Sioux City,
Iowa. Thus, the
train passed unimpeded through Scotland about l:00 p.m.
on Saturday afternoon, March 26. Meanwhile, however,
parties in and near Scotland who still objected to the plinciple
of sh.ipping the cows to Germany tried legal means to halt
thern. They served garnishee pape6 on Scotland,s station
agent. Charles Whitham, whom they instructed to intercept
the cattle sometime before they crossed into lowa. But the
garnishee apparently had no effect because the message was
received too late or because the railway officials paid no
cttention to it.33
About 6:30 p.m. on March 26, tlte train arrived in Sioux
City and was parked on a side-t{ack at North Riverside for an
hour to take on water" coal, and the cows from paullina.
ln Sioux City, the Legionaires once again entered the picture,
this time admittedly taking all measures to intercept the
shipment. Hanford MacNider, commander of the Iowa division
of the American kgion, made an appeal from his home jn
Mason City to Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace
to
prevent the shipment, but it was denled because the Internaj
Revenue Service had already issued an authorization for the
export. Next, an attempt was made to obtain a court injunction to prevent the cattle from leaving Sioux City. When that
failed, the Legion men said they would appeai directly to
President Harding. In the meantime, Sioux City's Monahan
Post of the American Legion sent telegrams of protest to rhe
governor of South Dakota, the national and state
legion
officers, the president and directors of the Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul Railroad, officers of the Railroad Brotherhoocl
to "all loyal and patriotic citizens." The proresrs w,ere
by Chris M. Berthelson. the post commander. and
Paul T" Beardsley, the post adjutant. Aid in the fight rres
requested of ail Legion posts in Iowa, South Dakota anc
and
signed
Iilinois. One of the reasons given for the action by the Legilr:
claimed that some of the stampeded cows had nr:t 'ne:::
found and others had been stolen from area farmers t.- -:1.
the number originally scheduled for shipmenr.
The text of the protest drawn up brv the Le:i.,:-.
:i._
dei-.ti:rer,, :
the. American Legion does emphaticallr- p;,,13.; .;.';1 '
actions of certain Gennan synipatliizeis .,,: :_-: ,_-.. .
Hutchinson county and imntediare :r_::: ._.:_:.. : :i
tory in the state of Sourh Dakli:.:::::-. : :-:26 carloads of corvs and Ier:::i.
The Monahan post No. 64 of the lorva
:
The propaganda on this project explains the actions of
the pro-German farmers as a contribution to the starving children of Europe. The real purpose is to replace
the live stock in Germany demanded as an indemnity
by France.
If
as patriotic American citizens these peopie wish to
contribute to the starving children of Europe, let them
sell their live stock and offer money as a contribution
to the already established agencies organized and maintained for this purpose.
Monahan post calls on all loyal and patriotic citizens
including men and organizations to whorn this protest
is addressed, to immediately use and plan to u6e any
lawful means to prevent the shipment of live stock."ra
In responding to the telegram, Commander Fred B. Ray
of the South Dakota department of the American Legion
advised the national headquarters of the shipment of gift
cattle, but commented that the legion had no legal warrant to
take action. Ray said, however, that protests against shipping
the cattle had flooded into the department headquarters at
Sioux Falls, but noted that U.S. District Attorney E. W. Fiske
had held that the protesters had no recourse. Ray further
explained that ex-servicemen did participate in the raids at
Scotland and Kaylor, but asserted that they did so as indi
viduals and not as legionaires.3s
The cattle train moved eastward from Sioux City without further incident. It stopped for a few days in Chicago
where several additional cars were attached, including the
two carloads of fifty-one grade Holsteins from the Wisconsin
towns
of lxonia
and Lebanon. Here, the cattle were a1l
"G" while German families
branded on the jaw with the letter
from llammond, Indiana, entertained the young men accompanying the stock. Further east, the cows were again unloaded
for feeding at Connelsville, Pennsylvania, a town about thirty
miles from Pittsburgh, where poor youngsters gathered with
utensils to receive the milk. "We were only too sorry not to
be able to supply them all with milk. We have collected cows
all along the line until we now have nearly 800 cows and
about 50 calves," two
of the men reported io the Tripp
Ledger.36
By March 30, the cows were in Baltimore and waiting
to be put on board the West Arrow when the American Legion
in that city called the donation into question. Sturnped as to
what action they could take against this form ofexport, they
voiced the opinion that there was something decidedly wrong
with supplying the Germans while the same need existed in
so many of the countries that had been devastated by that
country's armies. Surely, they argued, the children of France,
Italy and Belgium were as deprived as the German children.
After all, they said, "the cows upon which they depend for
milk were seized by the hundreds and thousands and caried
away-where? Why to Germany!"37 Other reports indicate
that the Baltimore legionaires had only the rowdy element of
their organization to sustain their efforts against the shipment.
One periodicai advised its readers to report interference by
the Legion at any time in the future to Assistant Secretary
'lheodore Roosevelt, Jr., Navy
Department, Washington,
D.C.3B
12
Without hindrance Lhe West Anow finally departed
from Baltimore on April 15 . It is not clear if the delay resulted
from the protests, but it is unlikely because one eyewitness
reported on April 14 that the West Arrow had, not yet
arrived. Before the ship arrived safely in Bremen on April 30,
the young men aboard had dutifully milked the cows twice a
day and poured it overboard. One of the young men fiom
Wisconsin reported that he was in charge of feeding sixty
cows each day and watering them with a bucket. His colleague
from Wisconsin had to milk the cows, some in the open on
deck and others in the cramped quarters below deck.
The llest Anow docked at Bremen at noon on Sunday,
l, 1921, carrying 718 cows and seventy calves. En
route, some twenty-two cows and the majority of the calves
had died and were buried at sea. To the Germans, however,
the remaining cows and calves looked splendid, even if they
were at first quarantined until officials could confirm that
they were not suffering from "Texas Fever." The Bremer
Volksbktt, however. claimed that these cows were free of the
fever since they had originated in the northern states, a fact
which delighted the officials who looked forward to receiving
approximately 5,000 more cows in later shipments. They
were also said to be pleased because the American Dairy
Cattle Company was now sending along ample fodder for the
cows' consumption.39
Some 500 cows from earlier transports had been retained
in the Bremen area, but the latest load, together with 100,00Q
kilograms of fodder was disseminated to children's homes
and orphanages in other cities of Germany. Months later.
reports reached the United States that the American breeds
were better milkers than the German breeds because their
average production was twenty quarts of milk per day, double
that of Getman cows-40
For a time. feelings in the South Dakota communities
ran high. Editorials and letters to the editor lined up on both
sides of the gift cows issue. One editor rasped: "We have
nothing but contempt for the Tripp correspondent to the
Sioux City Journal, who made several false statements in his
"cow report," for instance, in which he says these cows were
donated by the farmers of Bon Homme County, when as a
May
34.
Sioux City SuTtday Journal, (l:wa), March 27, 1921, 1. I tried ro
get a copy of one of the original telegrams from one of several
sources. Among other responses, C, C. Dilley, Director of public
Relations for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Faul and pacific Rail_
road; said that this item along with "the waybill for the shipment
was almost certainly destroyed a number of years ago."
35. Yankton Press and Dakotan (South Dakota), March 29, 1921, 8.
36. See the letter of Reinhold Dewald and Joe Wollman orinted in the
Tripp Ledger, April 28, 1921. In his letter to me, Arthur Suess also
recounted that he had to do the branding and vividly remembered
his distaste with the duty of applying the hot iron to thejawsof
the cows.
37.
New York Times, March 30, 192L, 12.
38. /ssaes
39. See
ol'To-Day (New York). April 16, 1921.
theirener Volksblatt, _Nr. 101, May
Freie presse, May 3, tiZt.
40.New York Times. Aueu_st
?3.
(Bremen), April 21, Zf, :-9zl.'
lg2I,
2, 1921
and
theDakota
10. See also Weser-Zeitung
il
&
matter of lact not over one percent were out of thfi county.
Also, that the boys arrested in Tripp were from Seotlanel,
which is .trot true,-*they being frorn Springfield, S.D.,, At ihe
other extreme, a iettel to the eclitor arrived front Freeman
that charged Di. C. H. Trotter, a veterinarian. with being the
leader of the cow raid. 'I'he lvriter's nalre was withheld, but
its language indicated thai it lvas w!.itten by a foreign-ranguag€
speaker who had difficulry witli Englishr" F{e wrote, ..you
iome tc. town again. And 1'q1u wish you was dead" we are
waiting for you snake, f c tar & feathel )iou. We are le;ving for
you squaw. . " why you clircl_v Yankee yau was leacler thy
shouJd hang y{.)u. . . . was ieader you iow dowli dog dani you.
give you vrorningl Dor_.'i every step Lrf the traln Llr you are a
dead one."41
While some wrole
to the edilcrs. i_:thers wrote
tireir
representatives in Washington. tr&hen Sourtrr Dakcta's Repubii_
can Senator Thomas literiilg i'eceived one sr.lch leiter, he
if to iierbei't l-fuover. at the
actirrifies. Hocver renlird:
submitted
relie
f
tirne head oi'v;ar
of dairy products in Germany is not due to the shortage
of cows themselves. but to a shortaqe of feed^
. Germany has transfonned its plinting of feed grains
into bread grains and vegetableslince the war arid has
not been able to import the usual amount of catlle feerl
either during or since ilre war.
If anyone wishes to give charity to Germany they
can accomplish much rnore in other directions than by
shipping cattle, for if they send cattle they should send
l-eed with them or proCuition will eo down iust as with
the existing catt.te ln Germany. As"a nratter'of fact, ihe
sensible thing would be to ship condensed milk. The
$ending of more cattle into Geimany ai this time does
not increase dairy production one atom. It sinrply
means that more cows have to eat the same fc,od. Th;
whole transaction is foolish, either as,practical charity
or from an economic point of wew ",,42^
Other reporls state {hat shipment of conclensed rnilk
irad been tried and that organizers of the .A"merican Dairy
Cattle Company had tried purchasing cows iir Holiand. Both
rnearis of supplying Gerrnany's chilelren with rnilk l-rad proved
l(Jr) experisive.-13
Trouhle *ruFted mt the $eotfand" $ocrtf] Dakot;:, fairgr*i.rnds pn lMarch ?3" 1921,
when vigilarrtes attempted to seatter the
cattle being held for shipnrent tc Gerrnany" The fairgroumds, in tl'ris '1973 photograph"
renri6n rnuch the $ame as during that
troubled tirne.
Courte sy J-al"ern J.
My Dear Senalrrr:
I
1T il
receipr o{'your lerrer regailllig i}re shipping
ol" catile. in cnailly. f o Uerrnany.
There seems io be a complete misunderstanding and
lack of adequate knowledge on the part of the piople
who are making this charitable endeavor, as the shortage
4L. Scotland Journal, Aprrl.7, 1921,
42. Reprinted intheScrttlandJoitrnal,
April 17, 1921.
43. Sioux Falls paily A.r,qus,Leader, March 29,
44.
The followin-g
lg2l,
Z.
of
the Dakota Freie presse rcport on the
solicitation of cattle in North Dakota rvith cr:mplete liiting of each
donor ard what he gave: July S, 14, 19, 26, August :, S. ig, Z:.
September 6. 13. )'7, Clctober a, :s. trtor"nit,.i-gl f:. ZZ, ii:f.
issue-s
45. Watertoyvn Daily'Times, March 25, I921, 6, and Watertown Welt.
burger. April 3tj. I921.
Ripptey. state Historicol society of North Dakota Collection
No matter what the facts, the pastors of Ashley, North
Dakota, whose spokesman was H" W. Stieneke, reestablished
earlier contacts with the Arnerican Dairy Cattle Cornpany so
that the Germans of North Dakota could have the honor of
sending the next gift shipload of cows to their old homeland.
The Company responded that it would establish contact persons at Ashley, Venturia, Zeeland, Hague, Strasburg, Clinton,
Wishek, Lehr, Fredonia and Kulm in North Dakota and in
McPherson. County, South Dakota, for purposes of soliciting
the cattle.44 Parallel efforts were planned in the Watertown,
Wisconsin, area for the end of May, lg2l .45 prior to the
initiative of the AslrJey pastors and before the Hutchinsoti
Corrnty cattle were shipped, tlie North Dakota efforr u.as
well underway through the efforts of Jakob Rothsehiller. ,,,i
1i
703 Front Street, Bismarck, North Dakota.46 Rdihschiller,
listed in a 1924 Bismarck directory as following the profession of "motion pictures (trav)," promised to print the names
of each donor in the newspapers of the state and indicated
that the cows would remain with their owners until the day
of shipment had been determined and details for delivery
given
in the press.
As work by the North Dakota Germans continued
enthusiastically throughout the summer and fall of 1921, the
cows were pledged in more than adequate numbers. In North
Dakota, it was not the Russian-Germans alone who donated
cows, but clearly they pledged the vast majority. All donors,
however, were German-Americans. Newspapers such as the
Ashley Tibune, a dual-ianguage, German-English paper, mention the cow solicitation only in the German-language columns.
l,arge numbers of cows were pledged from the RussianGerman towns of Ashley, Kulm, Goodrich, Denhoff, Venturia,
Gqlden Valley, Zeeland, Wishek, Lehr, Danzig, Hague and
Strasburg. Periodically, jubilant letters from orphanages and
other institutions in Germany that had benefited from earlier
cow shipments were printed with the donor lists to spur
further giving.
In the end, however, there was to be no fourth shipload
of cows for Germany.4T Rothschiller was compelled week
after week to order further delays for delivery ofthe cattle,
and it final1y emerged that the shipment was no longer feasible. On December 2, 1921 , the American Dairy Cattle Com-
agreed
to
arrange iransportation of the cows to the Zentralfur Auslandshilfe (Cenlral Committee on Foreign
Relief) in Berlin. Transportation was to be arranged in con_
ausschuss
junction with the Commonwealth Steamship Company. However, just as the shipment was ready to be undertaken, the
German mark began its radical descent on the world's currency
markets. As a result, neither the German government nor the
Centrai Committee was able to make the freight payments for
the shipment. Likewise, the Cattle Company did not have
sufficient funds to provide transportation on its own. Moreover, the Russian-Germans were being solicited for a three
million dollar donation for the starving children in Russia and
could not be expected to give any more at that time.
The letter to Rothschiller also reported that a representative of the Berlin Central Comrnittee, Dr." p. Krusirrs,48
had just visited the American Dairy Catrle Company's offices
46.Ashley ,Tribune (Notth Dakota) , Match 2,4,1921. Donor lists aopeared in theAshley Tribune throughout the summe, of 1921. O'n
October
ii was reportid itrii gS5 i.ttl;;'were in hand, as
-6,^ l22lr
well as $5,042.53
in cash.
that most of the newspapefs speak of the "third" rather
than the "fourth" shipment. Apparently, they fail to count the
first shipment of 700-Holsteini which arrived on November 12.
previous ones that docked at the port of Bremen, the first arriving
47. Note
on February 7 and the second on May 1, 1921
48.
pany explained the difficulties in a ietter to Mr. Rothschiller
that was published in several newspapers. From the letter, it
becomes clear that Rothschiller had initiated the NorthDakota
collection and the American Dairy Cattle Company had only
Efforts to ascertain more information about Dr. P- Krusius
have
been unsuccessful. Neither the German General Consulate in Chicago, nor the Landesarchiv in Berlin has been successful in
amplifying our information. Neverthel:ss, the name does appear
in several newspap€rs which sonletimes list him as the repreientrtive of the Berlin Central Committee on Foreign Relief aird some,.Deutsche:
times as the director of an orphanage in BerJin,
the
I{eim," which was built with funds from the famous pietisr
foundation of Halle that was named in honor of the theologian,
August Hermann Francke.
*
*
g
*k ""
',"
T-he Gustav Freitaq
;ry-.-
i
farm near Kavlor" South Dakota, served as a l'laven for the cattle that had been stampeded from the
$cotland fairgrounds. This rnodern picturewastaken by Lavern J. Bippley in 1923.
-CoLn'tesy- LaVern J. Ripple1,. Stete
14
Historical Society cf North Ddkota Collectio
in Chicago. Agreements tl.rat everything possiblJ would be
done to get the fourth shipment of cattle from North
Dakota
to Germany and that the company would limit itself in the
future to collecting money had been reached. Moreover,
the
company also said
ii
would
try to supply fodder to
the
German institutions that had already recewed cows. would
attempt to supply feed to insiitutions that had their own
cows and to German owners who could noi keep
their cows
due to a lack of feed, and would try to buy cows ancl
deliver
them to those institutions in Germany rvhich urgently
'a
t.
needed
rnilk r:ows. The reason for tiris new negotiation of policy
was
ihai {}ermany had suffered a rvretchedlarvest wrrich
resulteci
r* a skyrocketing price cf feed ancl a plurntneling price
of
,:owi" Cows could now be bought cheaper
in Germany than
the sinrple cosf of freigrrting trrem
across the Atra'tic,49
American Dairy rllaftle Company Vice_presiclent Hein_
tii.h .Heile and Se'cretar./.llreasurer FerdinaurJ Waithei
planued
ii,
trarlel t,: Gerrnany at Llieir *wn ef,pensfl to see wilether
a
:Fti;ig shipment cculcl il{}t i.rt wofk-ed out. in the interin.
,-j., )lirir'!\vete asked
fo k-eep ihe ccws and donele an equiv:rl*ni
-,iririr!.,'!t
of r-rtonel, ,ic ihe Arr_reijcan Dairy {.lrtt!; [.crnp;l0y t_.r
i!:.4'
th* cows iintii suc]-r ti'le as rrre anirnais r:cruki be
']..
:l ilri::Fi,.liled. Furthernore. il.re Ccl.:ii:lany r.eporte<i
that ii
.,1..ii; iI: l"illBer ivolli- ivith the {enttal fiomrrnttee, -lili p,itii
,:i-,riteitLati\,,e3
:
:..ill--ie5
l
oi
ti..e F1.'1fstani.
Catl.,L_riir:
in
arcl iev",irh reli*:i
Gertnat;y.
i:inistrate<i rl,iih ihese instruciicrs" .iakoi: Ilcti.rschiller.
;.: r1^re G*m_rai: {-'har,.ceiiot. i..:seni lVil.ti-r, to ask !vi!.1/ the
'' I.;li.,rcll., ',:nr.!id ilci le efficlerj. Tj:ie i--.lia*c*llc; eiicl ncr
.,,,i;;rd. 5ui iire lilntrai
-
r,;g.i1 r:he.rtered
llri'n:itee ril,,l It :;aiii iiut
a shii,
llr;j ilifvioll:i _ir:*e. irL;t ihat ih* _*li11,
,:ir. ign1p;il.,i ha,,'i ne.ver giveii ;: iiaie rar iie dsltverlr
iln
' " ir;';1i3" ii*ihsillilier .crvrs*,i ail *].;rcii ieudel's io cuntrri'rre
.
.r:'r,,-:liijiiEtii-)ti. b.itt,r: :..,.-ritL:t;tii;iie ICW t;niy
ill; in,,rney" t_irwS
'',r.ii.t
ar: s':lc! anci l1'rr iloireS, forv,,arded be*a:.ise the i,.r:rnirany
..-. :rr,:ll'liad plelit.y $f corv. uledged..
i:t r:iggi111_1. h*
-
.:r tileie werr: iril"0Liii Gcin:airs ir
'
-,:i
ir-::i{
fiii5r;sqin, tite3
, ii:,: shi]:rnerit r:{'ihe
c,:i-r},'l
,to1rs
'i!a1-i1y
easliv L:clleli.
;oriirneiileC
ilai<r,_,!a.
[,
if
*;:r:h
lrr-,),Jtj t6 px1,
ily Eastel"
\#her spriirg arrived, howerrer,
a
ifierent set ct.i:ircum-
. irr,riri prevaiieci. $y ,riren, ih* Germans of Fiorth ilakcia
,:re b'rrsV cotrler:ting food, clolhing
and rloney lbr the
r-:',.iJ:ftns anC specifically icr the
Gefinans in R.ussia. ,fhus, in
,,lili.
1922" they founded the FJorlh LlakotE
ilitizens Relief
!:;,otiatiorr ai Bisrnalck to handle charity work and. .,l-lext
-.11
:r shjp cattle and hr-rrses to SoLith Russia. The Asscciation
rll ieke up the matter of getting the ,{merican governmerlt
iurnish ships in whici-, to transport cattle and horses to
tirat
. -'rntiy""50 As coulci be expected,
-Iakob Rotlischiller was
: :.riei1 as Presi{ient of the new olganization, anrl Rudolph
-rrr-i. 1nailoger of the City Meat Market of New Leipzig as
.-'e Presldenl, Reverend Jolin Fontana, pastor
of the Evan.: j1i3.l and Reformed Church ai New Saiem
as Secrerary and
j-*srleister of Harvey ,Ireasurer.
as
-
'
-
1
;itre .t; Tribune,December rs, rg21.
I r:lrle.y
Trihune, April 6, 1921.
cotltinued on page 39
Christ Kaufmann of Freeman, South Dakota, weans
native Duteh
TstuTe. in this photograph taken during his tour of Germany
after delivering rhe cattle slripment in 1g2i. Originat photograph
in the possession of Reuben Goertz of Freeman,
6outh *akote.
*CourtesJ. Lal'eni .i. F,-".
D;i:or: t-.. .: ,
State Historical Societ-t' of ,\,ortli
continued from page l5
was quiet until August when suddenly sJme of the
cows that had been solicited the previous fall were ordered
A11
into Ashley and Danzig, North Dakota, to be shipped to
Chicago on Friday, August 25. The American Dairy Cattle
Company had allowed 350 of the animals intended for Ger-
many to go to Odessa where they were to be distributed to
the German villages in that area. Rothschiller promised to
send out detailed instructions and presumably the transport
went well. At any rate, in September he went to New york
City after stopping in Philadelphia to pick up clothes and
supplies from the American Friends Service Cornmittee of
the Quaker Church. Relatives and friends who wished to
send
personal packages along with Rothschiller to
Russia courd
forward them to his New york address. On October 12,1922,
Rothschiller sent his departure message from New york
iust
before he was to sail with the cows.Sl
Rothschiller and the association's Secretary, Carl A.
Wishek of Ashley,52 sailed on the Cunard Line's S. S.
Aquitania on October 24, 1922, and arrived in Southampton
six days later. By the time they reached Hamburg, they were
receiving 5,000 marks to the dollar and a few days later double
that rate. During the period of waiting for visas to
the American Dairy Cattle Company had cabled him to
the
South Russian villages, he received a dispatch of foodstuffs
for equivalent value of the donated cows. With a troubled
heart, Rothschillerpenned: ..I have done the very best
I could
under the circumstances and hope that all donors are
satis-
fied with that. . . . I would just like to mention that
the
American Dairy Cattle Company now accepts only
clothing
for general distribution and that the transportation costs
to
New York must be prepaid by the donor.i,s4 So ended
the
story of the gift cows for Germany, but the subsequent
Russian relief effort of the North Dakota Citizens
Relief
Association was destined to achieve better results.
SL.Ashley Tribune, September 14, October lZ. L922.
52.'The name of Carl AIIison Wishek is prominent in North Dakota
at Ashte.y, North Dakotd,-"1, O.t"U., f +, f SS8, iart
graouatec!..rn
lrom the Wharton School of Commerce at'the University of .Pennsylvania and became a business leader and
Evenruauy,
49 b!c44e associated with the Farmers and Merchants
banK or Loclr, Calilbrnia. Other members of the Wishek familv
were prominent attomeys and business executives in the
elevatol
concrete and 1umber products areas. Others were politicaiieadeis,
being mostly Republican.party. stalwarts, ani j.ifr"
Wirf"[, ]r.l
!:l9ll:
Russia,
Rothschiller and Wishek spent their days touring orphanages
near Bremen, Hartmannshof in Oberneuland and Ellenerhof
which had received cows from Texas and South Dakota.
Rothschiller also gave frequent shows of his 6,000 feet of
film about North Dakota on behalf of the state's Immigration
Commissioner, J. J. Horst, and showed slides of Governor
R. S. Nestos and Senator Lynn J. Frazier.S3
The currency problem in Germany, however, stalled
the operation completely. To his great disappointment, Rothschiller was compelled to write a detailed leiter to his donors
by way of the press on November 3A,1922, and explain that
say
that the German Government could not follow through
on its
promise to provide a ship for the cows^ With no
other appeai
anylonger possible, the American Dairy Cattle Companythen
sold the cows it had on hand and delivered to Rothschiller
cash payments in the amounts of $3,500 for Austria
and
Hungary, $500 for Vienna and $500 for Budapest. For
b;i;;.
was a .government appointee in charge of the
North Drk;i;
for further-in?orrn"tl6n on
the Wishek
Secy.rities Commission.
famiry, see the Ashtey
53.
oumond jitiii"i'Ciie_'isas, i-j+ ri.'.'..
Ashley Tribune, November 23, 30,
lg2l.
s4.41!!yl !ri{-2y9, {ev_epber 30, 1922. Rothschiller
and Wishek
eventually did ieach af
O
ssa wriir u6eir' ciidri,'-ari?i-t'iiet' ;;nt i;;;k
their ftusr letter from rlle_rg
Sui ttfir.ii"f
9n lrlarctr t+iJStS.
-a'later
action is another
story which I shall deal with in
articte.
39