The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1911-04-06
OF INTEREST
TO FARMERS
Some Valuable Hints and In
formation Taken From
Farm Papers
The Boy And The Easy Job

for many years, | have had an op-
portunity to observe the caliber Of
the boy-employee spirit under many
circumstances and conditions.
The hoy or young man looking
for the easy job seems, like the poor
to be ever present with US; but the
boy or young nan who is looking
for obstacles to conquer, who is
looking for stepping-stones to prop
erty-owning himself, is not always
at hand, and yet hundred and thou
sands of these earnest young men
have made for themselves homes on
the plains and accumulated a good
fund Of practical knowledge and
understanding.
Do not think because | said that
the boy after the EASY lob Is always
to be found and the other sort only
rarely, that the easy-job boy is in
the majority. Probably he is not.
The reason why the good worker,
the one who is willing to do any and
all work, and to do 1t faithfully and
well, who does not watch the clock,
nor quit at the most important crisis
in the work. the reason why such
fine help IS rare is because these
boys soon become owners of land,
and become themselves employers
instead of employees.
1t is a pitiful thing to see the kind
Of laborers that throng the harvest
fields of the West. There are some
fine men, some good workers, some
college students. who want to earn
considerable money in a short space
of time, but there are many old
men, grown old in searching for an
easy job and big wages. And you
can tell just which ones Of the
Younger employees will walk that
same way. because they make it
manifest by their spirit towards the
work.
Last year young man we employ
ed was a model of goodness and will
ingness until harvest time; then he
was bound to quit unless he received
the highest day wages; and. boys,
when the real heat and burden Of
the harvest time came. the boy
sbirked his work. dawdled around,
let the other men harness the teams,
feed, do the sundry chores associat-
ed with the work, and he took the
lines and drove the team for a head
er-bed. This work is nothing but
guiding a team close to the header,
that the elevator may drop its grain
into the header bed. He did not
help when TIE unloading time came.
In every way he showed that he was
after the easy job and the high
wages.
This is a single case. but it is typi.
cal of many others. | can 90 or
further with this boys case. Ir
thrashing time he got a chance tc
drive a water wagon. This is easy
work too; all he had TO do was tc
take care of two horses, and hau'
water for the steam thrashing ma.
chine, and to get it there in time to
keep the great engine supplied with
the needed water. The loading o1
the water-tank required no labor,
there are flowing artesian wells al
around, and all it was necessary tc
do was to turn the hose of the flow.
ing well into the nozzle of the tank
and wait for the well to do the
work. Simple. isn't il? You would
think a boy with such easy work
could be on time and satisfy his
employers. Well, he didn't; he let
the water into his tank, and then
crept into the barn loft and fell
asleep. The water filled the tank
and ran over, making q very bad
place in the farmers yard; and the
boy did not wake up until some one
seeing the devastation Of the water
overflow. called him. You would
think that one such experience
would be enough to teach him q
lesson, but it was not. 1t was q
common occurrence; and he did not
keep the thrasher supplied with the
water needed: the machine would
have to stop. and all the many men
employed had to stop too and wait
for John to fetch the needful water,
The easier that boys jobs were.
the easier he meant to make them,