The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-22
State Employment Agent Look
ing for Harvest Hands.
Anticipated That Demand Will
BE Larger Than Ever
HAS HAD MANY CALLS.
Farm Help in Kansas Is Already
Scarce.
When Wheat Is Ripe Conditions
Will Be Worse.

The present indications are that there
will be a greater demand for harvest
hands in Kansas this year than ever
before. and the shortage win also be
more pronounced, according to the
statements of T. B. Gerow, director of
the State Free Employment bureau. Mr.
Gerow says it is too early to say def
nitely that the demand will exceed that
of 1901, but that is the present "indi-
cation" He says he win know definite
" about the middle of May, when he
receives replies to his inquiries on this
subject. which he will shortly send to
county clerks and to others who have
facilities for making an accurate esti-
mate on this subject.
That there will be an unusual short
age OF hands is proven by the fact that
there is a shortage even now That is.
there is a constant demand for farm
hands. more so than usual, although
there is also a steady supply
Mr.. Gerow has stack of letters on his
desk which have come in within the
past three days, all calling for help. ".
Y Morgan writes from Hutchinson that
the farmers around Hutchinson would
like number of good farm hands. An
Augusta man writes for a farm hand.
A letter from Beattie, Marshall county,
brings a request for quarrymen and
farm workers. A Frankfort firm wants
a man and wife to live on a farm. A
TOnganoxie man writes that twenty
men could find work there in twenty
four hours. A request from COTS comes
for two good farm hands. Westphalia
writes for ten or twelve hands. A How
ard man writes that ten or fifteen could
get immediate work there
This is the tone of letters coming in
every day from all parts of the state.
1t indicates that the supply of men who
are willing to work is used up close to
the limit and that there are few men
who are hunting work. In eight or ten
weeks harvest will be here and there
Will be great demand for harvest
hands. AS a usual thing other parts of
the state send hundreds and hundreds
of men into the harvest fields, but it
looks as though the rest of the state
viii have no men to spare to the wheat
belt, unless the men simply quit their
work elsewhere to get the higher wages
offered by the wheat growers.
'In19o1 there We're 5000 men who came
into the state to work in the harvest
fields besides what went from the east
ern part of the state" said Mr. GeroW
today If favorable conditions con-
tinue it looks as though we will have
to draw from 10000 to 1900 men from
outside of the state to harvest the
wheat this year. / do not absolutely
say that we viii need that many men,
because there is still time for something
to cut the crop short. but I say that if
good weather continues and the wheat
turns out as well as present conditions
indicate it will, we will probably need
that many.
L am now getting ready to send out
my inquiries over the wheat belt to
ascertain the number of men that will
probably be needed in each locality. OF
course this cannot be definitely ascer-
tanned because mems opinions vary so
Ill
pretty good idea of the number by the
middle of May, at which time l shall
call for report.
This harvest hand problem is no
small matter. You do not know how
many men drive in in teams. and when
you start lot of men for a given point
you do not know whether they will go
there or be switched off at some other
place on the way. In this way confusion
is liable TO arise and there may be too
many hands in one place and not near
enough in another
Another thing which makes it diff
cult to compute the number of hands
that will be needed is that in some
years the wheat ripens slowly and gives
the farmers a chance to get along with
fewer hands and take longer to harvest
the grain. Then the harvest will move
slowly across the state from north to
SOUTH and perhaps the extra men in
the south get through there in time to
help further north. In other years the
weather will turn off hot and the grain
will ripen at once. that in the north just
few days later than that in the south
so that large number of men is needed
/ Immediately to save the wheat from
Smelling All of these things have TO
/ be taken into consideration.
Il have taken the matter of harvest
hand rates uD with the railroads. but
no arrangements have yet been made
but Mr. Black of the Santa Fe. as
sures me that the railroads will do all
they can to help bring in what harvest