Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1917-07-09
Secretary of Agriculture Explains
Farm Labor Problems.

Secretary of Agriculture Explains
Farm Labor Problems.
The secretary of agriculture, in
statement before the house commit
tee on agriculture, said
"There is one factor in particular
Of great Importance, one about which
thereis much concern. refer to the
labor supply not only for the ordi-
nary farming operations but es-
pecially for the harvest season.
There is general agreement that la
Dor may oe the principal limiting fac
tor in increasing production. 1t is
true, generally speaking, that in the
section west of the Mississippi river
and south of the Ohio river the labor
supply is not very far short of nor
NAL, but even in that region there are
particular areas where there is a
shortage reported. The exact extent
of it / have no means of knowing
There have been reports Of migra-
tions of negroes from Alabama and
Georgia.
"In the neighborhood of the larger
industrial centers, even in the west,
there are reports of a considerable
shortage Of labor. There are reports
of greater shortages in the northeast
generally-in the section immediate
ly north of us, in eastern Pennsyl-
vania, in New Jersey, in northern
Delaware, in southeastern New York,
in southeastern Michigan, and in
parts of New England, especially In
Connecticut.
"The creation of large army will
involve some additional abstraction
of labor from the farms. 1t is, there
fore, of the utmost Importance that
steps be taken to assure the farmers
that in the harvest season especially,
they with be able to secure an ade-
quate labor supply. believe the
problem can be solved. 1t must be,
and | believe farmers should have no
hesitation in extending their planting
to the limit. The nation must see to
it that they have labor to harvest
their crops and must extend such aid
as may be needed.
MANY suggestions have been made
looking to its solution. believe
that the problem can be solved large
ly by organization and cooperation.
The department is taking steps to
place in each state, in contact with
the state central board, man whose
thought and time shall be given to
the matter of labor supply and its
organization. He will work with the
state central board and the loca!
bodies that are being formed.
zone Of the first things that we
shall undertake to do will be to make
sort of farm-labor survey. We
know, Of course, that even In the
same community the load may not
come on one farm at exactly the same
time that it comes on another
Through cooperation on the part of
the farmers, even in the same COM
munity, something can be done to
mobilize labor, to render help in a
pinch on certain farms that need
help, through the utilization of labor
on other farms which may not, at
given time, be so hard pressed.
"Over larger areas, the possibility
of discovering labor in one section to
render help in another part is even
greater. The load does not come at
the same time in different states.
Through careful survey we can dis
cover surplus labor or labor not fully
employed at a particular time in a
given section. give information con-
cerning it to the proper agency in
another section or state where there
is deficit, and assist in securing the
surplus.
1--WE shall, as l have pointed out,
work with the state central and local
agencies and shall cooperate with
other federal departments, particu-
larry the department of labor. We
have done this in the past with some
success without very much organiza-
tion and without very much previous
planning.
''In former years when the crops
we're large the department of labor
has been instrumental in assisting
state commissioners of agriculture in
certain states to locate labor not then
employed in their states and in ad-
joining states. / think we can do
much to make more effective the
regular labor remaining on the
farms in particular localities. /
think we can do something to bring