Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-06-04
MANY FACTORIES OF STATE DE
cipEpIY LACKING IN NEcES.
sARY EMPLOYEES.
SHORTAGE TO INCREASE
AS WAR DEMAND GROWS
Labor Commissions Asks Commercial
Club Secretaries to Make Survey and
Report Needs to His Offiee-Con-
struction Work Falling Off Because
of Scarcity of Materials.

Des Moines, June 4.-Many Iowa fac
short of hands, so State Labor Com
missioner a. l.. Urick declares, and ne
is making AN effort to supply the de-
mand thru the state free employment
bureau This shortage will increase as
the demands of the army and navy are
to be met in the opinion OF Commits
Sioner Trick.
The state labor commissioners office
Saturday mailed letters to commercial
club secretaries in the larger cities OF
the state asking them to make a sur
vey Of the needs of factories in the
way of help and report to that office.
The employment bureau will then en-
deavor to find men for these jobs.
Scores of farm hands have been
placed on farms thru the cooperative
efforts of county crop agents and the
state free employment bureau and 1t is
the belief of Commissioner Urick that
a similar service can be performed for
the factories and machine shops Of the
state if the numerical club secretaries
will send in the lists Of factory help
wanted and cooperate in the same
manner as have the county, crop agents.
The reports coming in as regards
building are to the effect that conStruc-
ton work is falling off due to the high
prices for materials and in fact to the
difficulty Of securing building mate
rials. With the falling off in building
many men may be released for work
in factories or similar classes Of en-
ployment where an increased demand
for labor has come thru war needs.
The state free employment bureau
Yesterday received from the extension
department Of the State Agricultural
College at Ames a list Of thirty-four
farmers in southwestern Iowa who
were in need of farm help. The bureau
was able to put the farmers in touch
with a number of men seeking farm
work.
New Problem in Compensation.
The recent ruling Of the Iowa su-
preme court that a contractor who
contracts to do farm work is not liable
under the workmens compensation act
to pay compensation to an injured en-
ploye has presented a new problem to
the state industrial commissioners de-
partment. The question is who is ex-
empt under the agricultural pursuit
exemption Of the act.
The high court held that contractor
who had a contract for shredding corn
was not liable for compensation to his
employee because the man injured was
engaged in an agricultural pursuit
The state department has heretofore
held that in cases where farm work
was contracted out to a party that
party was liable to pay for injuries re-
ceived by his men the same as any
other employer.
The high courts ruling was made IN
the case Of Slycord VS.. Horn. Horn
owned corn shredder and was taking
contracts thru the country in the vi
entity of Grinnell when Slycord. who
was employed by him, had his hand
badly injured in the shredder. The
superior court of Grinnell refused to
award compensation to the injured man
and now the high court has sustained
this decision, the grounds being that
the injured man was engaged in an
AGRICULTURAL pursuit, which work is ex-
empt under the law.
The accident occurred on a farm
owned by a man named Swaney. The
high court, in discussing the point as
to whether or not the contractor was
liable, said:
There can be no doubt but that
shredding corn is a part Of carrying on
farm. Swaney could have employed
defendant to pillow forty-a acre ffelc
and defendant could have employed
plaintiff to assist him. The fact thai
the defendant may have agreed tc
piow the entire field by contract would
not change the character Of the work
and both he and his assistant would
still be engaged in farming operations
The industrial commissioners office
| now has a case pending where paint
er was injured while painting farm
barn. The contractor who had the
painting job is claiming exemption
from paying compensation under the
clause which exempts farm labor.