Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-08-16

Z, who were willing to give good service
in return for wages which the farmel
could pay and still have somethinf
left out of the crop. Today's distress
ingly large proportion Of the men
who come to this territory ostensfbly
in search of work. are the ~offscour
ingS of the cities, men who will work
crly. when driven to 1t, and whose
| purpose is to get IS much as possible
| for as LITTLE labor as possible. return
| ing at the end of the short season to
| dissipate their earnings in the cities.
| and often to become, public charges
until warm weather again.
This is by 10 e true OF all tho
; men who come seeking work. but it
is true of a greater proportion Of them
than formerly. and the farmer is the
man who is made the victim of these
conditions. With numbers of men Of
this class collected in groups in the
smaller cities the field is excellent for
the operations of the Destiferous agi-
tators who make a living by telling
the loafer and the hobo that the world
is his. and that all he need do is
reach out and take it. 1t is this that
is responsible for such Scenes as those
that have been enacted in Minot of
late and for similar scenes on a small
er scale in other places.
The farming industry cannot pros
per if the farmer is each year to be
at the mercy Of companies of profess
sional hoboes, led by professional mis-
chief-makers such as most of the lead
ers of the l. W. W. appear to be. The
solution of the problem lies in the
country producing it's own labor. And
that thing can be done.
The first requisite is that Of dis
tributing the summer labor over a
longer period. With the one-cror sys.
tenn we have a short rush period in
the spring, a lull in the early summer.
and a grand rush in the late summer
and fall when the farmer is face to
face with the problem of cutting and
threshing all. the. grain on his hun
dreds of acres in a few weeks. Talk of
changing work" with neighbors is
idle. All the neighbors are rushed.
Just as he is. The simple fact is that
when harvest time comes there are
not enough men In the country to do
the work. no matter what combina-
tons of them may be made. The
diversiication of crops will help. With
the raising of such crops as winter
rye and winter wheat. and the rails.
Ing of more of the fodder ron the
work that is now crowded into a few
weeks will be spread over a longer
period. and it will be possible for
the farmer and his sons to do more
Of the work themselves. Because OF
the longer season the farmer will be
able to engage men for a longer time.
and work on his farm will be more
attractive to the man who is really
looking for work. This will result
in a better class of labor seeking en-
ployment here.
Still further, the diversification of
field crops must go hand in hand with
the greater Investigation Of all the
Industries of the farm. There will be
more cattle, more hogs, more milk
cows, more sheep, more stock of all
kinds on the land. This will mean
a smaller relative grain acreage, and
a greater demand for labor all the
year round. Farm labor will become
more attractive to men with families.
for there will be opportunity to have
their families With them. 1t may be
that We will reach an era of small
farms, on each OF which practically
all the work will be done by the own
er and his family. Or it may be that
around the home Of the large farmer
will be grouped the cottages of his
laborers. each with it's garden. its
COW and pigs and chickens. tand its
family who look upon the place as
home. In whatever direction the de-
velopment may progress it will be 2
change for the better, for the present
conditions are becoming uncomfortable.
. .