New-York tribune., 1907-08-05
TIOG4 W1NTS L1BORERS.
Farmers an Bad Way from Exodus
of Young Men.

Candor. y. Y. Aug iSpeciaD-It is safe to say
that in other section OF the state has The Trib
unes abandoned farms articles depicted the cond
ton OF affairs in truer light than it has in the
southern tier, especially in Tioga County. The exc
dus of young and women the congested
Inunities and manufacturing practically
oepopulated this county of farm help. Wages have
scared 50 that a farmland get almost any
price for his services during the five months of
planting and harvesting. Farmers paying men
sixty years old-men who should be sitting in the
back Yard ali day in the shade snokng-nore
wages to-day than young man could have de-
marded twelve years ago \ good workman
get 81 20 day for ten hours work now. where ten
years ago he would have been fortunaTe indeed II
he could have got 75 cents for fourteen hours work
The effect Of This is shown the fruit market.
This town Is in the centre OF one of the best nat
ural berry counties in the state. Germany Hin
raises the best strawberries in this section, and
formerly had large fields devoted their culture
and the raising of respberres and blackberries-
The berry crop has gradually been cut down how
ever. until about one-tenth many are grown now
as there FIVE years ago II is almost in1
possible TO buy quart Of berries at any price in
this town.
little way the north is the fruit country
about the lakes. Fruit growers there say their
get no one to pick them. Any one with horse ana
buggy could have driven through this country and
picked cherries all day long from any ones trees
b. giving the owner half of them Cherries have
sold all the season about here'for from 10 10 Ia
cents quart Two mon can pick 2o quarts OF
cherries day without much trouble making. after
3 division with the owner profit Of from & TO
s. n apiece for days work.
one fruit grower on the shore OF Cayuga Lake
says he VIII Try il wear more and if he has to
see his crop rot the trees. as It did this year
fi'Tn lack OF workmen to pick it, he VIII cut down
his orchard and use il for firevond. sell the
whole place for half what he gave for if
say one cherry grower had two three barrels
OF cherry wine in his cellar. lie could shake the
fruit of In sheets for This, and rather than see il
SPOIL wont 10 this profit destroying expedient
The situation In the valley IS. miniature re-
production Of the broader situation OF the entire
state This village has only about fifteen hundred
inhabitants. hut 1t is the magnet which draws the
young Mon and women from the farm for miles
around And Il was not magnet until the husi-
ness Of the town made il attractive in a financial
way 10 the rising generation.
There once a time when the Cat-ta -touk Val
lev WAS something OF a vegetable truck gardening
spot This. however. was before manufacturing
teTprscs came to Candor. Then the only occupa-
ton for Young man entalled life OF farm and
nearly all rather than leave home, settled down to
he farmers. Some one started a, taunery in this
village twenty years ago. and the Young left
the farms to work in It The large
and the hours were shorter than the farm But
.he tannery went into the leather trust and was
discontinued. leaving blot on the face Of the viii
lage and a sore spot in its prosperity.
Then for about ten years the young n1en-or those
OF them VIII" had been utterly demorazed by
the life I'm town. drifted back to tie farms. The
country more took on its old productive ap-
pearanCe. and everybody prospered but the saloon
keepers in Town
There only one manufacturing enterprise here
at that time blanket factory. and this employed
only few work men and women.
But twelve years glove factory was estab-
ish%d- The first year II employed about twenty
five persons. Year by year il grew. that now il
is one of the largest producers OF heavy gloves Of
the cheaper grade in the state. Two hundred men
and women are employed and all but about ton OF
them have been recruited from the farms in the
immediate vicinity OF this
Farmers wives instead Of making butter as they
formerly did. often find II profitable TO sell
the milk 10 the creamery aud take sewing from the
faCtory' TO do at home
Farmers would welcome almost kind OF
laborers from I<ombardy. suggested in The Trib-
une. any other nation. provided they could I'M
derstand enough English pitch hay or hoe corn
II is serious situation that faces them. and the
effects of any t"n-rnile drive about
the county in the empty farTnbouseS and dilapi-
dated barns. Land meant for cultivation Is beng
turned into grazing pastures for stock that WI!
give milk, but will be driven to town ana
loaded into freight trains for Now York