The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-06-26
FOR THE ORCHARD,
Women Anxious to Be Employee
in the Fruit Harvest.
Call Article That Has Started Inquiry as
to the Best Method for Bringing EN-
ployers and Labor Together.

An article on the embarrassing situa-
ton in California that appeared in The
CALL Of Tuesday proves to have touched,
practically, upon both sides OF general
need in this State. Fruit-gr0wers say that
If the suggestions then made could be car
ried out the result would be a satisfactory
solution of the orchard labor problem. On
the other hand there has been steady flow
OF inquiry into the Office of The CALL from
unemployed women in this city seeking to
know whether it is not possible for them to
obtain at once such work as was indicated
In the aforementioned article. There can
be no doubt but that great possibilities Turk
within reach Of the people; the question is
only how to grasp them.
One practical woman who has called at
this Office on this business desired to see or
gained at once bureau of communication
between orchardsts and workers as the
quickest method of solving the problem:
This seems feasible. At such place all
WHO desired to work in the fruit harvest
could register and to it
GROWERS COULD APPLY FOR HELP.
1t may possibly be that the present season
is already too far advanced to admit OF any
thorough work being done this year, but 1t
is not yet too early to begin laying plans
for next season. Ii the work is only taken
up with energy and carried forward III the
right way succeeding seasons will see no
such waste of fruit aud trial OF soul for
growers as past harveSts have witnessed,
and the great mass of overw0rked and I'M
derpaid labor in this city will be afforded an
outlook upon better times.
There should be in this State, as there
are in many parts Of Europe, class OF re-
| spectacle people who look forward to the
| recurring fruit seasons as their harvest
! time, and the four months OF tent life in the
orchards as the pleasantest and most profit
| able of all the year.
The peculiarities of this climate render
| tent life during the summer months not
only feasible but enjoyable; but for thos e
| who object to these frail dwellings there are
still other resources. There are sold in this
city portable houses, light, easily moved
and OF various sizes. from the single-roomed
| cabin TO the more pretentlOus structure
| capable OF shelttring a gOOd-SiZed family.
| With one of these whole families, having
! made their arrangements beforehand, could
| remove TO al orchard district, erect their
| dOmcile and, father, mother and children,
find profitable employment for season,
while yet enjoying the comfort aud econO-
| my Of their own homes. 1t would even pay
rancherS and OIchardists to provide num-
Der of these structures for the accomm0da-
! ton Of
JUST THIS CLASS OF LABOR.
OIcHafulSLS complain LDdJ all the Willie
| help they have heretofore been able TO pro-
! cure from the city has been that of ire
| SpOnSible and unreliable men ana boys. who
| are often unclean and unskillful, careless,
J destructive, incompetent and dishonest.
| The boys break the trees. they say, destroy
the fruit, and, usually, when these labor
| ers have worked long enough to earn little
| money they hasten to spend IL in getting
| drunk and lay off to sober up, while fruit
goes to waste. This condition of things
| would hardly obtain were the pickers and
| packers drawn from the class OF people in
| dcated In the first part of this article, and
| there is every reason to suppose that these
/ would prove far more satisf actOry grade
OF labor, in Oints of SKILL as we'll as char
| acter. The fruit season occurs just when
| nearly all city industries are experiencing
their dull season. There are idle then whole
armies of industrious women eager
| to work. Those who have come
| to THE CALL office TO inquire into
this matter have all been women of in
telligence and evident ability, who would
| hail with gladness such opportunity for
| we'll remunerated usefulness. This matter
ought not to drop. Another season should
| not be allowed to pass without seeing some
| rightly organized movement of this sort in
successful operation, and OrchardistS and
| labOrers united to carry forward the great
| fruit industry of California.