The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1912-12-26
WHY WASTE HUMAN EFFORT?
BY J. z. Waggoner, Service Bureau
Manager.

witnessed greater lack of farm help
than perhaps any harvest that we
have known. The cry for farm labor
ers from the Northwest, megaphoned
over the entire country, lost none of
its intensity when heard at short
range. Farmers boarded trains at the
station Offering $500, $3.50 per day
and in some cases more for farm help.
Their solicitations were met by the
stare and dumb silence of the passen-
gers.
At this point one is apt to ask
why" if such is the case, and there
seems to be no doubt but that it is
is the farm help problem growing
greater year after year. There are
many reasons for this-some are lured
away from the farm by the attrac-
tons of the city, while others turn
their backs to the farm because of the
| drudgery and long hours they are re-
quired to work on tie ordinary farm.
1t is right and proper that the farmer
should work long hours during certain
seasons of the year in order to save
| the crop. but We find the largest per-
centage do not stop at this point, but
pride themselves in early rising, say
ing nothing, however. of the work
actually accomplished. We do not
wish to discountenance early rising.
but that in itself will not be produc-
| tive of results. We often hear the old
adage, 1.-The early bird catches the
! worm"-this success was not neces-
sarily due to early rising but to know
| ing where to go; in other words, the
farmer should combine with early
| rising-early and careful planning.
Just recently the writer was on an
| Iowa farm where a new silo had been
| erected. It was discouraging to note
| that the silo had been built eight or
| ten feet from the side of the horse
barn, in fact. it was 200 or 800 feet
from the place where the. silage was
| to be fed. viz: the cattle barn: in
other words. a large percentage of the
| silage would have to be carried 200 or
300 feet during feeding time. The
energy and time expended as result
of carelessly building the silo at this
point can be placed On the "loss" side
| of the ledger. 1t is not infrequently
! the case that it takes fifteen or twenty
| minutes to carry the corn for feeding
the horses. and even longer to feed
| the hogs and other animals, but if the
| corn crib were properly located it
| would save two-thirds to three-fourths
| of this work
| By the proper arrangement of farm
buildings hours of time and scores of
| miles of travel can be saved. It is
much easier and usually takes no more
| time to unload a load of corn or grain
! in a crib or bin in the barn or hog
| house than it would to unload it at
corn crib standing several hundred
! feet from either.
If we were to visit modern plant
i that is manufacturing machines for
the farm or other machinery we would
| find that every casting and every part
had certain route through the works.
The holes are bored or punched with
| one machine, it is then handed or
| delivered to the next machine where
the milling or planning work is done;
in ether words, it passes from machine
to machine until the article is COM
pleted. II the method practiced on
many farms were in vogue in factor
les. either the price of machines
would be higher or the factories
would 20 cut of business.
Conditions and methods have
changed The farmer now has at his
disposal farm equipment which will
enable him to reap greater profits
from the area farmed if he spends
part of his time planning the various
| operations than if the old methods
were followed. He should no longer
view his occupation in the light of a
day-laborer, but from the angle of a
business man. There is, perhaps. no
occupation that requires any keener
Judgment and better management
than to operate farm successfully.
The scarcity of farm labor can be
met, in degree, by SO planning oper.
atoms and growing diversified crops
Y dS 10 TIC WOIh OtCI q lOH6-
er period. There is no question but that
the farmers in the northwest in the
wheat sections and the cotton formers
Of the south will soon realize the i'm
portance ard necessity, not only from
the standpoint of its effect on the soil,
but from the viewpoint of the laborer,
to practice better and more complete
rotations.
Data collected by. the government
shows that the yearly earnings per
farm hand is almost directly proper
tional to the farm equipment used.
! The using Of larger number of farm
| machines and more power, and follow
ing better plans, including q proper
rotation of crops, viii help to solve
the labor problem.
Fodder left in the shock will lose
from Is to 40 per cent OF it's feeding
value, besides it is a bad practice to