Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1908-02-06
KEEPING HELP ON the FARM.

80 'H~AIp AANS ia ~
business questions. Is largely, II nct eli
urrly. q question Of dollars and cents.
WHAT used to be" is of no consequences.
" in times gone by the farmer could
secure reliable help mat was willing 10
work twelve to eighteen hours q DAY for u
mere ~pittance, those times have gone with
tae stage coach and tho sickle. and the
progressive farmer. as well as the progres-
''se man OF other liEc:s of business. will
pray that they may never return. Tie
changes that The Intervening time has
bro'isht. have been changes for the better.
lhey nave been beneficial! to the laborer
az "cll as TO the employer of labor. rhcy
nave brought improved methods, and i'm
proved machinery, and broader markets.
ana greater profits in all lines of business,
IN iarmtnE no less than in other business.
other lines OF business nave recognized
this and have made the concessions to
their laborers that the changed conditions
demand and justify.
III is up to the farmer to face the "iogic
OF events" and make the concessions
necessary to secure the help. and the kind
of help that his business requires. IL
won't do to say that the farmer can't DO
this. He must do it. and then, it is not
true that he can't do 1t. There Is no
legitimate business that is more profitable
than farming--in proportion to the capital
invested-when rightly conducted and in
teillgently managed, and 1T won't do 10
quarre! with existing facts and conditions.
III existing conditions are not satisfactory
TO us, the only thing to do is to adjust our
serves and our business to these condi-
lions, since we can not change the condj-
ions.
Ihat we farmers. as a rule, are having
trouble TO get the necessary help ON our
farms Is certain. That the fault lies with
our business, or rather, with our manner
OF conducting 1t with reference to our help.
Is evident from the f1cf tbnf fl,or> A., ar
dearth or laborcrs In other lines of bust
ness. Railroads. factories, constructions
work and the various trades seem to be all
supplied with plenty OF help to do their
work. The farmer only is complaining.
Ihen, since the fault evidently lies with us,
1t is to ourselves we must look for the
remedy. Any relief that we should receive
by securing the services Of newly arrived
Immigrants would be doubtful and at best
could be but temporary. as they would
leave us as soon as they became "accli.
mated The trouisle is not that work OH
the farm is harder or more arduous than
the work In other lines of manual labor.
This might have been true in the good old
lays that some OF us mourn but In this
day OF improved machinery and up to date
methods. the labor OH the farm is light
and comparatively pleasant. 1t ia not in
the social status. or the lack OF social
status, that the position of a farm laborer
entails. for 1t Is a notorious fact that in NO
pther business does the master and the
man come so very near to occupying the
fsame social position in the community.
!cther things being equal. In other words.
FARMERS are apt to hold that one man is as
soou as another, SO long as he behaves
pretty well. We must look then in some
other direction for the cause OF our trou-
Ole, n as this is the e of finance. and
the most OF our troubles are financial trou-
pies. we come back to our original propo-
sitton. that it will he found, in some way.
TO be a question OF dollars and cents.
snaii make q rev statements of fact along
THIS line, and allow the reader to draw his
own remedies mostly. as no general rule
could be laid down that Ats all cases,
All employers OF labor, except farmers.
pay their help at stated intervals. usually
once a month, In some cases as often az
ono q week, which enables the labOrer to
Know that upon q certain date he will re.
ceive his wages and to plan accordingly.
nowhere. except upon a farm. Is a laborcr
expected to Civ more thar ten hours' ser.
Vic for q days work. and in some cases
eight hours Is the rule. My brother. what
would you say to the man who should ark
you to give five pecks of wheat. or corn or
potatoes for a bushcl? Knowing YOU an
! do. l think you would decline without
thanks. Custom and practice have made
ten hours OF labor a days work. lust az
surely as custom n practice have made
four pecks OF grain, or vegetables. a bush.
ell; and we should not be surprised, or feel
aggrievcd. when those Of whom we pur-
chase labor insist upon that rule. and. IL
the exigencies of our business compel us.
at times. to ask those who work for us TO
labor more h ten hours of the twenty
four. we should pay for the extra work. as
we would expect a for the extra peck.
MOST FARMERS do not manage their busi-
ness 80 as to furnish steady employment
TO their help. thus compelling their helm to
look for other employment during four or
tive months OF the year. This Is a serious
drawback. and, in nearly every case. could
be provided for by judicious and inteli-
gent management.
The claim that farm help Is not as we'll
paid as the same class Of labor In other
lines of business Is not generally true.
everything considered, while 1t NAV he
true in some cases, with those who hoard
and lodge with their employers. as un-
married help uotlaiiy does. It is seldom.
if ever, true Of the married mar who
boards n lodges himself, as the farmer
usually furnishes q house, rent free. to his
hired man, fuel for the mere labor OF cut
ting Il, and-sufficient ground to raise veee.
tables for his family, and sometimes even
a COW. or rather. the milk OF one. with
many other little perQuisites that would
cost money anywhere else. that more than
make up for the difference. IL any there be.
In the actual money wage. In most cases
these things are properly appreciated.
But II the help should chance to be the
sort OF man whose object is not to save.
but to spend. n 30 DESTROYS to work
where he will have the most actual money
to spent on Saturday night. the remedy
In less perQuisites and more money.
There Is a class OF laborers who complain
that there Is too nue. sameness about ne
on a farm; that they don't have the oppor-
TO See things" and have q GOOD
time that they do in the city or village,
This class are rather hard to deal with.
find that seeing things and having !