The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-28
HARVEST HANDS ARE FEW
GENERAL SCARCITY OF MEN
IN TEE NORTHWEST
The Kiondike Rush, the War and
Railroad Construction Are Sun
posed To Re Responsible for the
Present ConditiOn--EMpIo
Agencies Say They Cannot Fiji
the Demand.

While the farmers throughout the North
west are rejoicing over the prospects of an
aouhuant crop of wheat hay and grain,
they are sore.y puzzled to know what they
are TO DO to secure sufficient hands to harvest
them. From the coast to the Mississippi
rises cry for help. The Visible supply OF
I'D vest f9nds is SO small as to cause alarm
IN some districts. Every employment agent
IN the Twin Cities and every railway office
Is DeSieged with requests to obtain men IN
eather the crops now rapidly ripening But
tnoush the railroads ard agents are making
every enort to secure the desired hep, they
are meeting with poor success.
The scarcity of harvest hands is attributed
10 several things 1t is said that the war
mas tempted many men who usually engage
IN N harvesting to enter the army, and the
hlondlke is also said TO have lured q great
many from the wheat fields to the elusive
fields of geld
\, Ihe activity in railroad building in the
Northwest is also said to be partly respon-
slDle for the shortage Of harvesters. The
Great Northern is giving employment to a
sleat many men on. the new Fosston branch.
nelds. The Canadian Pacific which is build
ing branch line from Nelson to Brooklyn.
s - ~ -; mas taken large number of men
e nUAi this district: The Chicago Great West
erh; Which is making extensive improvements
on us system. has helped to deplete the sup
ply OF haryesters. So between the Klondike
ana me railways the harvesters have grown
Tess IN numbers, and the farmers find them
serves Obliged to offer inducements for men
to work in the fields. The usual pay for mar
teso nsnds Is 3 Per day, but this year the
farmers are offering $3.50 and SO Der dav
enough. i-V' seI hieli
During the past three days SEQ men have
been sent to the grain districts =: the emo
ployment agencies Ill the Twin Cities hut
they ind now that they will ~. be abe to
send many more ~ ~
Third street agent, there viii be no more Gre
harvest hands to be obtained. We usually
send ab0ut 5,CGO men each season to the har
vest heids, but this year We will be fortunate
II we secure half that number We send men
to all districts in this state and the Dakotas
IN south Dakota the demand for men is mar
ticularly pressing. For some reason the men
North Dakota p+o-0'
The railroads have taken an unusually
"a large number OF men this year. We are daily
IN receipt OF messages from railroad contrac-
TORS TO send them adj the men we can get The
roads pay only 81 per day and the men have
10 board themselves. Thirty men were sent
Sosle[aay 70 Brooklyn, 3. c., to work on the
o "a Pacific branch line. We are sending
all we can get to the Deer River on the Foss.
ton line. The Chicago Great Western is also
demanding men, " ''''
do not know where we are going to get
harvesters The supply is about exhausted"
told. "'0-'
The harvest hands usually begin in Illinois
ana work north as the crops are ga he. ed unit
the end OF the season, but this year they are
scarce. said member of the concern.
think good many of them went to the
klond1ke and got stuck out there and others
went to the front in the war.
AT any rate they are not coming in this
direction this year. l am overwhelmed with
applications for harvest hands, but cannot Sc
cure the necessary men. The shortage in
harvest hands threatens to be serious
Similar complaints come from Tacoma and
other points in the Pacific Northwest The
farmers in Washington and Oregon are in a
dilemma, for they cannot induce enough men
TO work in the fields. The Klondke and the
war are there held responsible for the condi-
ton Of things. There, as here the rate of
pay for harvest hands has been greatly in
creased in consequence of the shortage OF
hands