The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1903-06-20
FARM LABOR POORLY PAID.
Men I'm Various States Are Formina
Union to Better Their Hard
, Conditions,

According to the census Of 1900 there
are 5,321,o daily wage earners in the
United States, and of that number
there were 1,522, 100 who were regularly
employed as farm "hands" working by
the day or month, exclusive of farmers
who own and operate their own farms.
Of late years farming has been yield
ing large profits, yet the farm "hands"
have received the poorest wages of any
class of labor in the land.
The scale of wages paid them is from
80 cents to $1.25 per day, or $50 or $25
per month and board. The wages for
helpers, extra and regular, amounted
to 1865 sos, 1921, while the value of farm
products was over 81, 700, 100000. The
average expense for each farm SO far
as the labor is concerned, was $64 in
1899, while the average value of the
products per acre was SAT-. White
farmers paid more for their help, on
the average for each farm, principally
because their farms were larger.
Approximately each white farmer paid
ST. for his hired help throughout the
year. OF course, some Of these farm
ers did not hire any help at ALL har-
vesting their grain in midsummer
alone. But, on the other hand, some
of the "big" farmers of the corn and
wheat belts paid out from $500 to $500
daily for helpers during the garner
ing seasons. It costs more to run
sugar farms. $1.9s5 being paid for each
nj To- of - 4 ;o1 =
ed a crop in 1899. In 1899 the price paid
for the running of various cereal and
produce farms is given by the census
bureau as fellows: Per farm, wheat
and grain farms, SIG; cotton, $25; to-
bacco, $51; nurseries, $1,136; vege-
table, $1O6; dairy, $105.
Besides the regular number of farm
helpers about 100000 are employed in
addition during the wheat-cutting sea-
son in the grain belts. These are
known as harvest hands and are paid
from $3.50 to SO per day. These har-
vest hands are now forming themselves
into unions for their own protection
from overwork and low wages. Many
labor unions for regular farm hands
are being organized in Indiana, Ohio,
Kansas and the southwest. The young
man who has made his home on the
farm year after year is paid less than
any other class of workers. He has
had longer hours and no vacations. He
has brought to his employer larger
returns for the work than the coal
miner, the steel worker or the mechan-
ic OF ordinary skill. The total ex-
pense, for instance. on an acre of wheat
is Sc. OF this $4.1O goes for horse hire.
Irvine. seed. ETC.. while the remainder
Is paid to the two men who gather it
and the one who plows the soil and
sows the grain seeds. The profits upon
their $3.50 worth of labor yield from
IS to So to their employer. Corn is pro-
duced for $5.s5 per acre, of which
1925 goes to the man and his team.
GENERALLY the horses are owned bv
the farmer and the man is getting $50
per month. The duties and wages of
the farm hand of to-day. it may be
seen. are not commensurate with the
profits of his emnlove~ ..
True to Life.
One morning a banker stepped into
hisoffice and most effusively greete his
bookkeeper who had entered his SER
vice just rs years before, at the same
time handing him a closed envelope
with the remark:
"This is to serve you as memento
of the present OCCASION" ~:
The grateful recipient did not ven
ture at first to open the envelope until
encouraged to do SO by a nod and a
smile from his employer: And what
do you think it contained? The
bankers photograph-that and moth
ing more. The bookkeeper. was dumb
for moment. r., ~ >%. s.
We'll what do you think Of it?"
his principal inquired. l3.S. q. IS !.
ITS just like you was the reply
New Yorker. S. IS '. q.