The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1909-06-15
WHEAT HARVEST
ON in KANSAS
OPENING DAY WILL BE NEXT
THURSDAY, OFFICIALLY
COLLEGE MEN AS THE
LABoRERS.

Salina, Kas., June 15-The Kansas
wheat harvest opens officiaily next
Thursday. That is the date fixed for
that event by Charles Harris, director
OF the state free employment bureau.
Beginning that day the reaper and the
header will begin to sing and will
keep II up for several weeks. The
grand army of harvest hands will bat
tie with the heat and elements TO save
the crop that promises 70 bring the
farmers Of Kansas another $6o,o0o,O0o
in cash.
Harvest in Kansas begins in the
southern tier of counties. The crop
natures there early. BY the time IL
is harvested the crop farther north
is ripe. This enables the harvest hands
TO begin in southern Kansas and keep
marching north. gathering the sheaves
nearly all summer.
Harvest hands are now pouring into
the state from every direction. The
employment bureau has called for 49,
600 outside men and 1,100 outside
teams. The railroads have given no
reduced rates to harvest hands this
year. They say that the 2-cent fare
each way is the same as the old i
cent q mile rate into the harvest fields
and cents mile out.
Many College Students Appear.
Southern and eastern colleges are
sending an unusually large number Of
students to the harvest fields. The
work not only gives the students good
exercise and good appetites but It en-
ables them to pick up enough money
to take In ,the Yukon exposition and
see the western half OF the United
States.
Director Harris has adopted a new
plan to outwit the employment agen-
cies OF Chicago and other eastern
cities. He declines TO make public
tust where the men are wanted. He
tens the men either TO write him di-
rect or concuit one OF his agents. Chi
cago employment agencies especially
used to cause much trouble by dump
ing a whole raft OF men into town
where there was absolutely no de-
mand for hands.
The harvest this year is different
from those OF the past. Most of the
grain will have to be cut with head
ers. The straw is too short for bind
ers. This means that more help viii
have to be used. When binders are
used the bundles can be left on the
ground for a week or so without mucn
damage. But with headers the grain
must be stacked Immediately. The
state prison twine plant, which usual
ly sells 2,500,O00 pounds Of twine, has
Sold only half that amount this year.
High Winds Do Big Damage.
High winds and a long dry spell
early in the spring cut short won
derful prospect for a crop. At the
close of winter the crop conditions
were almost perfect. II is estimated
by crop experts that Kansas will pro-
duce between 5O,000,000 and $4,000, 600
bushels OF wheat this year. At pre-
vailing prices this will net the farm
ers more money than the 70,000,000
wheat crop did last year.
Every precaution win be taken by
the farmers to save all the wheat
grown. II Is worth so much that 1t
viii pay the farmers to be more care
fIl than they have been In past har-
vests. Should hands become scarce,
the farmers will simply draw upon
their own women folks to drive the
machines and haul the grain from the
headers to the stacks. Kansas women
can adapt themselves to almost any
kind OF environment If they have
nothing else TO do they can play the
social game as well as any women,
but IL necessity demands 1t they can
help save the wheat crop.
L y ~