The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-21
HAD TO HAVE HELP
KANSAS FARMERS ADOPT HEROIC
MEASURES TO SECURE HAIR
VEST HANDS
FORCE MEN TO WORK FOR THEM
Held Up Train mt Peterson and
Gave LabOrers Choice of Going
to Work at SO so Day
or BEING Shot.
MaANsAs farmers, driven to despera-

farm hands. The man who doesn't want
: to work, not only must keep out of the
state of Kansas these days, but he mus
keep at least hundred miles from the
boundary line, says the Brooklyn Eagle
for the farmers are quite willing to go a
little matter of a hundred miles to lasso
an able-bodied man. And, beside, they
nave. the employment agencies in all the
surrounding states subs died so a lazy
man really isn't safe anywhere in the
vicinity. Why, good strong, husky
fellow cannot cross the state in railroad
train without danger of being dragged
out of the. car AMI put to work at good
wages. 1t isn't necessary to hunt for
work; on the contrary, it takes a right
lively man to dodge it,
This sounds Ike an exaggerati- n, hut 1.
ism t. The railroads brought lot of men
into Kansas to work on their tracks and
roadbeds and the farmers took them
away. The roads were paying the men
$3.50 day and the farmers offered all
the way from 81 to So. so a day and board.
The roads have had to send for more
men and they are not at all sure that
they ever will get to their destination.
You can't ship a man who Is willing to
work to any point in Kansas and be at
all sure that he will reach 1t, unless you
shut him up in a box labeled Handle
with care!' and send him through in
the night time. Some farmer will APP
propriate him. sure. IL he isn't hid
den
Just listen to the wall of T. B. Gerow,
director of the Kansas Free Employment
bureau, with headquarters in Topeka.
I've lost lot of men," says Mr.. Ger
ow, "tust lost them out-and-o out, and
don't know where to find them. I had
them and I knew just what I was go
ing to do with them, but now they are
gone. was shipping them to various
places where they were needed, but farm
ers boarded the trains and took them
away 1 tell you, If you want to keep
a farmland in Kansas now, you've got to
chain him up, Just as you would a dog
If he wanders away from the place, some
one will catch him sure"
DO you mean to say the farmers are
really taking men from the trains?"
That's just exactly what they're doing.
They board the trains and lure away the
men under agreement to work elsewhere
by offering them better wages or som e
other inducements. What's the use Of go
Ing any farther?' they ask. Get right
off here and go to work for me- And in
many instances the men have done It,
They disappear all along the line Of rail-
road and 1 don't know what becomes Of
them, except that I am reasonably sure
that in one way or another they are
helping to harvest the Kansas crops"
Only week or so ago train was held
up in regular bandit fashion in order 20
get two carloads of men. The farmers
tagged it and took possession. RevolY-
ers and shotguns were discharged in or
der to make the train crew tractable, the
two immigrant cars were detached and
the engineer was ordered to pull out with
the rest of the train. The cars left be-
hind were filed with farm hands bound
for another part Of the state
Come, pile outp" said the farmers.
Here's where you go to work.
'Oh, no, we don't" returned the occu-
method of giving them employment.
ooh, yes, you do!' asserted the farm
ers, and in the argument that followed
a fight was started that soon emptied
the cars. Some peacemakers got to
work, however, and a truce was de
clared.
"All we want" said the farmers, is
the privilege of giving you $3.50 day
and board, and you'll either have to
Thus 1t happened that men elsewhere
in Kansas, who were waiting for help,
We're disappointed when the train pulled
in. Three dollars and half q day,
backed UP by a vigorous pugiIiStic dis
play had done the business. This hap
p&ned at Peterson, Kan.
Then there Is another thing to remem-
or. II you have girl who knows how
to do plain cooking and you want to
keep her, don't let her get anywhere In
the vicinity Of Kansas. If your daughter
Is going West send her around that state;
Otherwise you may not see her again
until the crop is harvested, for the house
wives are having all kinds of trouble
getting the help they need to feed the
farmhands and they don't mucn care
now they secure the necessary assist
ance, so long as they get it.
mats what's ffoy. xxyikb
She mas more work to be done than she
is able to 90, and she is desperate. The
CONDITIONS are absolutely unprecedented
Ina te may seem extraordinary in fact,
lmprobable-that there should be a re-
sort to lawlessness to secure farmhands.
put just put yourself in the place Of a
Kansas farmer for a minute? Your crop
b s w yo nio Stapit ne and you find that you
you can gather it in. If you can't do
that, 1T Is loss. You apply for helm
Sofrerlng good wages, and you can't get
L 10Y . near about the unemployed in
the cltles, the men who can't get work
Wnhe you have work and can't get men
you make your wants known in +ha
cities, and the result convinces YOU that
1ne men VINO can't get work are men
your capital is in danger. With pientv
In sight, you are confronted with tha
possibIlty-nay, even the probabjIitvNof
t d'ss s+e Eac I passing day brings financial
proht riehtfully should be we'll within
your grasp; How would you feel about
II! wouldn't you be desperate enough to
n roru up tram In order to save your
SSdpNaI! All or seasons labor going
for naught because of a lack of roas
70 earn higher wages! Why, the nredica1
m n,d IN Which many Kansas farmers
i hroo themselves today Is actually heart
" edkLls 1t Is no wonder thew have
reached the point, in some instances of
oelng ready to thrash the man who WON'T
%orK Tor them. Any man will fight to
Sitslo t g grip on prosperity, and that's the
but POSSIBLY someone thinks the oondI
ions are largely OF their own TnsIrirg.
n n tnere has been a lack of foresight
IN preparing for the harvest Rut thIS ~
an erroneous idea. No state leads Us Us 10
Sas IN the matter of systematizine fba
Tree employment agency business. Nc
state mas given more thought to the fII1
ture In this respect or has tried he 49, du
to make adequate preparation ADd ~ b oer
is a subject that may be studied Droft
ably elsewhere. Kansas has been sbo1+
OF farm hands before although never in
quite so serious predicament az now
Still, like other states, she has exnovS
enced difficulty In getting the men st,a
Deeded. and this year she went at fho
work earnestly and systematically. even
getting the railroads to help her Nv ,oeIr
ing special rate of a cent a TniIa -.
men willing to work in the fields co +bo+
there could be no excuse for NOT gettjne
10 the iocailtles where they were needad
Jhen the state employment bureau I'M
that the men might be properly fistrfb
Eted, and applications for help wera
made to nedghboring states In Missouri
y. 3: Howard was temporarily made an
agent Of the railroads for the purpose Of
gathering and distributing men who
We're willing to work. But let Mr.. Gerow
of the Kansas bureau. explain in his own
way what was done by the organization
that
perfect and asserts that he thinks better
results will be secured In another year
but the methods already adopted Ger,
ta1niy show progress and intelligent d.