62. December 28, before 1922.

Jonas Victor tells of Christmas and writes about finishing up some business.   Picture of envelope shows that in 1922, a letter from America to Sweden cost eight cents.  As it went by boat, It probably took about a month to arrive.  Roselyn

Envelope of letter to Sweden from Jonas Victor Swenson
Click on picture to enlarge

Cleburne, Ks.  December 28,  Before 1922.


Dear Brother Albert, God's Peace!
     I got your letter on Christmas Eve, so it was a Christmas gift as good as other gifts.  It is always nice to hear from you, many thanks.
     This Christmas was more valuable for me than others before.  My wife and I could celebrate another CHristmas together in our old age.  It was a great mercy of God.
     I am sending the testament to Hans's children, so they can see that it has been in court.  What I understand is that it is appointed that Hulda will get the 4000 brother Gottfrid allocated her, which is correct.  When the estate comes, we perhaps get a part of that.  If you send the money to me I send a check to Hans's children.  The cost is not more than two cents.  We never send money in letters.
     Please send a receipt from each one, because I can not write that.  It would be good if you could do that.  Then everybody can then sign.  Brother Albert, you must get paid for all your work.
     Hulda Olson, Hans's oldest daughter, has been here more than 4 years helping us.  Mama (Jonas Victor's wife, Anna Greta) needs help with everything.  Hulda is unmarried.  Your sons have to pay tax.
     It seems that it is better here for boys and girls.  They got to school free until they can be schoolteachers.  There are many colleges here.  In an area the same size as Svinhult's parish, there are three or four colleges.  The course is 4 years:  both poor and rich can study there without cost.  The young people go by car, so we have to pay the costs and taxes.
     The taxes are very high and the income small.
     I am not very well, so I finish now.
     Dear regards to all of you and Selma and Anders in Hamra.
                                       J.V. Svenson


Tell Anton (Jonas Victor's nephew) that he will get a part of the money that he lent out.

61. July 1920 ? Part 4

Jonas Victor writes about taxes and the effect of World War I.   Roselyn


I am glad that things are going well for you.  It was good that Gustaf and Selma got part of Hamra.
     You say that you have high taxes.  They are also high here, but I think you have higher, considering that the income is higher here than in Sweden.  I mean agricultural work.  I will tell you about our taxes.
     Last year we have made $8,000 a year for four years.  I get half of it.  Then I have income from interest on investments.  Now as to the cost of the war.  We have income tax.  Every married man who has $2,000 income a year, and unmarried persons who make $1,000 income a year, has to pay taxes.  I can tell you that I had $5,500 income per year, and have to pay taxes, but the taxes I paid the year before deducts, even what I gave $300 to the church, the Red Cross, Young Men's Association deducts.  
     Everything we buy for the cattle, vaccinating for half of very sick pigs and the house needs repair.  When all this is deducted, I have more than $2,000 left.  I had to pay 6% interest.  Those who have $100,000, pay more.  They have to pay $2,500.  Those who have millions in income have to pay half. That tax will pay interests and debts for the war.  
     The government has borrowed 30 billions from the people in America, everybody has to be helpful, so I lent $4,500.  Of these 30 billions, the government lent to England, France, Italy and several other countries, 10 billions.  America has 20 millions in debt.  All people who were not Germans had bitter feelings toward the Germans about the war, so they did everything they could to win the war.
     You thought the wheat harvest this year would be the best, which it has been in America, but too much rain came, so it was not so good.  The oats and barley are good.
     Now, I have written about earthly things, which shall come to an end and we shall soon leave.  I have just written that so you will not think we grudge you for your good times.
     When I read what I have written, I find much that is wrong, and it is difficult to read, so you need patience.  Brother Albert do send a letter so we get to know how you are.  
      Now I finish with many kindly greetings from us to all of you.  May God lead us through the desert to a better country.  God help us so we get to meet each other there, where there is no sickness, no sorrow and no divorce.  I cannot write with ink.


              J.V. Svenson

60. July 1920 ? Part 3.

Jonas Victor writes about his family, their businesses.   Roselyn


Cleburne, Ks. July 1920?  part 3.
     Our only daughter, Tilda (Matilda), is a widow and lives on a farm.  Alfred lives on a farm, Karl Victor and Hans Ferdinand live in a big town, 180 miles from us.  They have a big store that is called Wholesale.  They buy from factories and sell to people who have stores, so they have a big store.

Swenson Brothers Wholesale Business in Omaha, Nebraska Letterhead.
Click on photo to enlarge

They pay the women up to $80 a month and the men $100 a month.  
     Gustaf lives in the same town (Omaha, NE.)  He owns several houses, and a hotel which earns him $225 a month.  He also owns farms.  Otto is dead.  He was married to a German woman.  They had no children.  Our youngest son lives in the same town.  Theodore has a bank in a town further out in Nebraska.
I forgot Peter Luther, who has a store. All are married.  Peter Luther was here last Sunday and went home at sunset.  His family was with him.  When they come, they always drive in their automobile.
     Our work has been blessed, so we have until now, given $40,000 to our children.  They got something to help them start out in business.  If we change what we have given to our children to Swedish money, It would pay double the price for both quarters (2/4 mantal) in Hamra and the wood they have sold.

59. July 1920? Part 2.

Jonas Victor writes more about the garden and Anna Greta's (his wife) health.   Roselyn


Cleburne, Ks.   July, 1920 ?
     I am sorry that your son David is sick and also said for Oskar.  As long as we are here we have fights and sorrows.  We are told to give everything to Jesus and pray to God ask for help.  I feel that I am old, but for my age I am well. 
     I have 150 hens to take care of and that is a lot of work.  The leaseholders take care of my horses.  We have a big cabbage yard with sugar peas, (Swedish peas), beans of several sorts, onions, red beets, tomatoes, parsnips, carrots, cabbage, wild strawberries and several other things.  A part of it is canned and when you are in America you like such food and it is good for you.  Hulda does this work and helps us with the work in the cabbage yard.
     I go to town once or twice a week to sell eggs and buy what we need.  I have to harness the horses.
     I do not know if my wife is worse now than when I wrote the last time.  When she had the stroke, she could not read anything. Now she can read two or three verses, but she remembers old and new songs and sings them.  She also remembers Biblical text.  I think it was good that she had that in her head.  Her singing voice is good, but she feels sad some of the time every week.  She does not know why, but it is better now.  She is weaker now than before.
     Hulda is here.  She is God-fearing and good so it is nice for us to have her.  I give her $25 a month.
     You ask about Anton.  As a farm hand I was satisfied with his work.  He loaned money out to people who everybody knew would never pay him back.  We said that to him several times.  At last he said "What is money worth?  Nothing".  He has money which he will never get.  
     It is unusual that farms with woods in Sweden have become so much more expensive.  
     For us, it was a happy day when we took payment from Hamra and went to America.  What life would our children have had if we had stayed?  They go to schools here and learn about the country's state, and everybody has a good life.
    

58. July 1920? Part 1

In this part of a rather long letter, Jonas Victor compares the state of the economy in Sweden and America, his family, garden, and World War I.    Roselyn


Cleburne, Ks. July


Dear Brother Albert with Family.  God's Peace!
     I got your letter two weeks ago.  I was happy to hear from you.  Thanks for you letter and its contents.  We learned a lot from you.  I knew that everything had gone up in price, but I did not think that the woods at home became so high.  Everything is more expensive where you are, but the workers are very costly, here.  You say that the farm hands get 1.000 Swedish money per year.  Here they get $50 or up to $60 or $70 every month , but in spite of that it is difficult to get farm hands.  In Swedish money it is high.  Everything they wear is cheaper than in Sweden.
     I have just come home from a little trip to a town 30 miles from here.  Our fourth son, Petter Luther, lives there.  He is married to an American woman.  They have a daughter.  He has a store, where he has 10 persons employed, 4 ladies and 6 men.  One of the ladies sits at a place 3 feet above the floor.  She gets all the small change, but nobody needs to go to her with the money.   There is a stretched steel wired going from all directions to her and on it are small pots, which go on a pulley.  They put the money in the small pots and send to her.  She empties it and sends it back.  I think the same thing is in Sweden.
     When I went to town, I saw hardly any horses.  Everybody has a car.  They park them right in the middle of the street.  The street was so wide that you could go on each side. How fast everything is in the world now.  There is a man who has factories where they build 3,000 automobiles every day, and in spite of that they are two months late with the orders.  
     During the War he built a ship every day.  It was these ships which destroyed so many submarines.  The ships cleared out the lanes where they shipped the soldiers to France.  No German submarines took the risk of going there.  The Germans said they would sink the American soldiers to the bottom of the sea before they got to France.  It did not happen.  The war is over.