The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1908-01-02
KEEPING HELP ON THE FARM.

"NSuie reliable felD tndt WIS Willing I
WORK twelve to eighteen hours a day TO-
mere p~ittance, those times AVE gone wit
the stage coach and the sickle, and tn
progressive farmer. as well as the progres
save man of other lines of business. Wi
pray that they may never return. TIL
cnanges that the intervening time ha
brought, nave been changes for the better
they have been beneficial to the lahore
as wen as to the employer of labor. The,
nave brought improved methods, and i'm
proved machinery, and broader markets
ana greater profits in all lines of business
IN farming no less than in other business
Other lines OF business have recognized
TINS and have made the concessions tc
their iaborers that the changed conditions
demand and justify.
III Is up to the farmer to face the logic
OF events and make the concessions
necessary TO secure the help, and the kind
OF help that his business requires. II
won't dc to say that the farmer can't do
thls' He must do 1t, and then, it is not
true that he can't do it. There is no
legitimate business that is more profitable
IMAM farfning-in proportion to the capital
llvestea-when rightly conducted and in
tellGentIy managed, and it won't do to
quarrel with existing facts and conditions.
II existing conditions are not satisfactory
TO us, the only thing to do is to adjust ot,r-
serves ana our business to these condf-
l!ohS, since we can not change the condi-
tons.
nat we farmers, as a rule, arc having
ttouple to get the necessary help on our
Laffns Is certain. That the fault lies with
our business, or rather, with our manner
OF conducting it with reference to our help.
IS EVIDENT from the fact that there is no
oedrlh Oh laporers in other lines of bust
ness, Railroads, factories, construction
work and the various trades seem to be all
supplled with plenty of help to do their
4 no rT1 al, - -. l..
men since the fault evidently lies with US.
IL is to ourselves we must look for the
remedy. Any relief that we should receive
Ny securing the services of newly arrived
immigrants would be doubtful and at hest
,outu De ppt temporary, as they would
ieaNe US as soon as they became .'accli-
mated. The trouJle is not that work on
the farm is harder or more ardnous +b.n
lte work in other lines of manual labor
l iiiS inight nave been true in the good old
uaSs that some of us mourn but in this
oay OIL improved machinery and up to date
lhe,hoas' the labor on the farm is light
ana comparatively pleasant. 1t is NOT in
the social status, or the lacl, nj soeial
status, that the position of a farm laborer
ior 1t Is a notorious fact that in no
o'her business does the master and the
man come so very near to occupying the
same social position in the community
other things being equal. In other words
" ~ ioid Via One man Is as I
good as another, so long as he behaves
pretty well. We must look then in some
'lier direction for the cause of our from
ana, as this is the age of finance. and
~ inose OIL our troubles are financial trou-
rs we come back to our original propo-
ioi' eIat IL VIII be found, in some way.
% pc a question of dollars and cents
'hall make a few statements of fact aIo,.
ms me, ana allow the reader to draw his
WV isiieuies mostly, as no general rule
'ould be laid down that fits all cases.
All employers of labor, except farmers
10y shelr help at stated intervals, usually
nee a month, in some cases as often &c
nc a week.. which enables the laborer ~
now that upon a certain date he will 20
eiNe ms wages and to plan ACCORDINGLY
except upon a farm, is a laborer
Npected TO give more than ten hours ser
zee Tor a days work, and in some cases
hours is the rule. Nv brother wbot
QUO you say to the man who should ask
on TO give five pecks of wheat. or.corn Nv
osatoes for a bushel? Knowing Won 40
~, L thlnk you would decline without
hahks. custom and practice have made
hoars OF labor a days work. lust az
LILY as custom and practice have made
/, and we should not be surprised ar fool
ssrleVed, when those of whom we mn
iiase iapof insist upon that rule and ;f t
~ eNisencles OF our business compel us
I times, to ask those who work for nc 70
DOT more than ten hours of the twentv- {
=. !, sitoulu pay Tor the extra work. as {
e would expect pay for the extra necL q
MOST FARMERS do not manage their husI-
SO as TO furnish steady employment a
.neir help, thus compelling their holm to !;
iof other employment during four mr. y
We months OF the year. This is a serious
,uwoack, ana, IN nearly every case, could -.
. provided for by judicious and ;ntoIli Q
emit management.
me claim that farm helm ts not o. 49,
iio as the same class of labor in other q
. y! business is not generally true 4
,e1ytnlns considered, while it NAV he .
IN some cases, with those who hoa ri t
~ .oase with their employers, as I'M
airiea nelp usually does. 1t is seldom n
ever. true of the married NAV 49, $
'ards lodges himself. as the farmar :
'uaiiy furnishes a house, rent free To hi. S
reu man, fuel for the mere labor or c,,t- a
" IT. ana sufficient ground to raise yeee- S
ples lot ms family, and sometimes ever t
wv or rather, the milk of one. witt v
any other little perquisftes that would
money anywhere else, that more +baa 4
ahe up TOT the difference, If any there ha &
~ actuai money wage. In most cases !
tnlngs are properly appreciated. "
Ut II the help should chance to he ~ S
~ OF man whose object is not to save
It 70 spend, and so DESTROYS To r,or1, r
mere he will have the most actual mnnaM /,
spent on Saturday night, the remady n
less perquisites and more money h
There is a class of laborers who conon,.,. "
there IS too much sameness about ,ifa s
a farm: that they dom nave the opnoro "
nifty to see things" and have a rood h
ne. that they do in the city or village f
MS class are rather hard to deal with G
ID that seeing things and having . .
cd time" generally means spending tbetr Il
enings and off days at some saioon q
aging cards or pool. and running IN = h
ore that will make a big hole in the &
seks wages. instead of staying quietly d
home or spending the evening attending t
me orderly gathering at the schoni Ii
use or the church. Perhaps it wouJd not II
advisable to establish a saloon al ~ n
oss roads and hire a circus or a minstrel n
oupe to exhibit In the neiphhorhaod Y
cry week.. in order to relieve the SAVE a
IS and furnish the excitement thar mi. o
lss OF labor demands. Come to think ~ "
they are not the kline to helm j sa,s
farmer would care to hsua g
ouid, any way. M Il
having mentioned some of the mos4
obabie causes that seem to be maLinr g
9 life OF a farm laborer so unponular s e
u leave the matter to your inteli,gan+
rnlsr readers. II i have said anvtSina t
at Will helm any of them -,