The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1905-07-19
IN KANSAS
Procuring Help the Wheat
Growers Big Problem.


phone to the NeishbOrs In Their
Anxiety to Hold Their Men-The
Fine Art of ShOveIinG Gain shown
by a KinEman County Farmer.
Just at the moment the Kansas har-
vest hand is undoubtedly the most in
teresting figure on the industrial hori-
zon says a Kansas City Star reporter
writing from the Kansas wheat belt.
He is like an eclipse of the moon-he
must be observed quickly, for his ca
reer is brief. cut in the situation
there is food for thought, for romance
and farce, but also for reflection. Here
is wherein the case is humorous. Farm
er Graingrower hired man in the
dull season a month before the haryeS,
opened. with the stipulation that in re
turn for being given employment when
there was little work the man would
remain through theorush season of til
harvest AS further precaution he
sent word to the free employment Of-
fee in Kansas City telling them he
needed five men Further, he asked
his father-in-law, who lived in town, to
hiresthe first four men he could at har-
vest time and bring them out. Then he
went to town to meet trains and hire
men himself. This anxiety about Sc
curing men for the harvest is'a phase
that indicates that the day of the float
ing harvester is not to be Away.
The force Of Farmer Graingrower's
precautions is seen in the results. He
met the Santa Fe trains to find the FIVE
men asked for from Kansas City. But
they came in on the Missouri Pacific
and found no employing farmers, so
they continued on their journey. Mr..
Graingrower induced one man passing
on the other railroad to enter his en-
ploy, and he sent him to his farm. the
father in-law hired two men for him
and kept them at his own home over
night and during the next day, as it
was rainy. The harvest day came, and
Farmer Graingrower drove to town to
bring out the harvesters. A few mo-
ments later Mrs. GraingrOwer goes to
the telephone and calls Farmer Wheat
land, a mile south
Hello, hello! Is that you, Mrs.
Wheatland? This is Mrs. GraingrOw-
er Why, John has started to town to
get two men that pa has hired there,
and now our regular hired man has
skipped out, as l feared he would, and
is snealzing down the road in your di-
rection. Can't Mr.. Wheatland or the
BOYS go out and head him off? l wish
they'd thrash him If they have to-"
''Well. Mrs. Graingrower, our Jake
skipped this morning, and the boys are
out looking for him. Pa has been pay
ing him 80 cents a day above regula"
wages on his promise that he would
keep blowing the corn through harvest
The corn needs tending, and help can't
be got. l wish you'd call up your ia
theirs place in town and tell them and
your husband to catch Jake if they see
him. He'll try to hire out for the
higher wages of a harvest hand"
Mrs Graingrower through two coun-
try centrals called her father in town.
He said:
Those two men l hired yesterday
were tramps who wanted free board
and lodging. They pulled their freight
this morning when they found that
harvest would begin"
Isn't that nice?" said Mrs, Grain
grower. Were in a fine fix. Our
regular hired man lit out this morn
ing, and that only leaves US the one
hand George brought out yesterday.
She turns from the telephone as her
son enters the room.
Mamma, that man said he was not
O real harvest hand, but was just
around studying and investigating In
dustrial and social conditions. He is
hiking across the pasture now toward
the next town"
Such comedies as this are frequent
in the wheat country. The unreliable
ity Of the floating labor is such that
the present methods of wheat produc-
ton will be short lived AS a rule, the
harvest hand is incompetent Men
who carry about in a grip under their
arms all their worldly possessions are
not the kind whose touch turns things
to gold. Those who are competent
stay where they first stop, accumulate
unto themselves and leave the float
ing army forever.
"A hand working for 50 a day." said
a wheat grower, who spills two bush
els of dollar wheat in shoveling it into
the car, costs 81 a day"
Fourteen years ago a man came into
Kingman county who could shovel
carload of wheat without splitting
peck. 1t was all in a simple twist OF
the wrist. His name is William Dut-
ton. and today he owns 5000 acres Of
land. two-thirds OF which is planted
to wheat. The whole story was told
in the episode of the scoop shovel. He
has many employees, but he will per-
NIT none of them to shovel the ground