The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-27
The FARM LABOR ARMY
THE TOPEKA. STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
BY Frederic j. Haskin. Director
Washington. d. G.


vacations working for farmers in the
surrounding country.
This is one result of the department
of agricuiture'S campaign to make up
the shortage in farm labor so that the
United States can produce maximum
crops this year The Boston car COM
panies co-operated by listing all of
their employees, finding out what farm
experience they had had, and agree
ing to give each man who was willing
to do farm work his two weeks va
cation whenever the department
wanted him. Thus fourteen hundred
weeks of first class help were made
available Tor the Massac husetts farm
ers.
The campaign is already a decided
success and the situation in the state
| of Massachusetts is good proof of the
fact. In the spring the Massachusetts
farmers faced a serious and consid-
| cradle shortage of labor; they did not
know where to get enough labor to
| harvest the crops they were planting.
Now nearly all of them are provided
with the labor they need.
The plan for supplying the farmers
| with labor involves close cooperation
! between the department of agriculture,
| the department of labor, and state
agricultural college, and other state
| agencies. The system is represented
| by a man in every community, who is
| d
| man in every county, generally one of
] the county agents of the department;
| and a state agent, who may be con-
nected with the State Agricultural col
lege or may be sent out by the depart
| ment farmer who wants help VIII
| apply to the community agent, or the
agent nearest him. If the community
agent cannot supply the demand, he
| passes the order up to the county
| agent, who in turn may give 1t to the
state agent if he has not the labor on
hand.
In the same way, those who wish to
do farm work apply to the agency
| nearest to them, and they will be
placed as near home as possible. The
| agents compile lists of rural and viii
lage people who are willing to do
farm work, making appeal to classes
who are especially suited or available
Thus about a million high school and
college boys have been listed. They
are between 16 and 20 years of age,
and a large percentage of them have
had experience in farm work. Some
/ critics to the contrary notwithstand
ing, the farmers find this sort of la
| Dor very desirable. Even college and
school boys who have had no expert
ence on farms do very well for har-
vesting work, especially picking ap-
pies and digging potatoes AS they
the farmer does not lose anything by
reason of their lack of skill, while the
| workers, If industrious, can make
from two to three dollars a day.
Another class listed is that of re-
tired farmers, of whom 100000 have
agreed to take up the hoe again.
About half of these men are under so
years of age, and perfectly capable of
| doing a good days work Most of
them are landowners, and many of
them Will play hired man to their own
| tenants.
When the department of agricul-
ture is unable to find enough labor to
supply the demand, the department of
IaDor supplements it's efforts thru its
eIaborately organized employment bu-
reau service. In New England. espe-
clally, the department of labor is the
mainstay of the system.
One of the most important narts of
the work is to induce the farmers to
make known their needs at the ear
nest possible dates. Large posters
printed in red and black are being
f Posteu an over the country, urging the
farmers TO notify the county agent how
many men they will need and when
II a FARMER is going to need ten naen
Tor ten days in August to pick toma-
Toes and will notify the agent now. he
mas an excellent chance to get them
oul II ne waits till the tomatoes are
ripe, ne is apt to lose part of the cron
1t has been often said that the raas-
on farmers cannot yet labor enough
Is that they will not pay enough
money to compete with the factories.
II is probable and to be hoped that
many men, who will go to the country
TO work as result of this patriotic an
peal will discover that this is NOT al
tosether true. The long hours and
heaVy work of the farm hired man is
the subject of one of the standard
american wheezes. Just a few weeks
ago the cartoonist of a great New
York newspaper drew a verv h11rnor-
Gus series of pictures, showing a la
borer Joyously rushing to meet death
IN the trenches after enduring a few
days of farm work. This and similar
masterpieces of journalism have pre-
JUDGED many workers against the
farm. AS matter of fact the farm
laborer is often well paid. Forty to
| f1fty dollars month is quite usual in
. the m1ddlewest. And this includes
board and lodging. How many factory
workers have that amount of cash left
after paying for food and room with
: the cost of living what it is: The
{ hours of farm labor are long. and con-
ditions vary greatly, but in general
the work Is much easier, more diver.
l sified and almost invariably more
healthy than any to be found in cities
The undeniably hard work of harvest.
ing the corn crop for example onI,
lasts about ten days The bulk of the
hired mans work consists in follow.
ing plough, driving a team, tendint
2 live stock and other relatively lgh'
Outdoor employment. Turnout the
north and west, he is quite general
I ly treated as a member Of the family
. He has a fair chance to save none,
and buy or rent land, thus becominl
T. independent. The factory worker
e chances for getting into business fol-
himself are generally negligible.
1t is curious fact that, just as the
u city man regards the farmer and hi.
o hlred man as overworked drudges. 81
e the rural dweller pities the CITY mar