Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-09-25
FARM BOARD TELLS
 WILSON TO KEEP
 FARMERS 0N FARM
Point to Shortage of Farm Labor and Declare Food
 Necessary for Victory.

Necessary for Victory. X Washington, Sept. 24.-Representa- tives of more than two million farm CTS met President Wilson at the white Mouse this afternoon at o'clock and discussed with him the methods of
 determining exemption of farm labor in connection with the draft. The farmers were accompanied by large assemblage. of senators, congressmen and prominent persons from various states who gathered here to present their case to the president. The farm
 CTS presented memorial drawn by the federal board of farm organiza- | tions, a federation of national farm as sociations, which was formed shortly after the outbreak of our war with Germany, as a means of giving the farmer a voice in national affairs. The
 board proposes to do for farmers what the American Federation of Labor does for workers and the chamber of commerce of the United States does for organized business interests. Join ing with the board were the legisla- l tive committee of the National grange. The memorial presented to the pres
 ident said:
 There is an unprecedented short age of agriculaurtl labor. Because
 of it the farmers of the United States fear they may not be able to do, as | they desire to do, their full share
 in the great common task of winning the war. Agriculture is the only
 great industry now undermanned as
 compared with the standards existing
 before the war. Many industries want additional help. Agriculture actually has less.
 "The shortage of farm labor is cut ting down the productive power of American farms. Transportation com panies, contractors, and industrial
 plants offer for labor prices higher
 by far than any/farmer can pay and
 still produce food for the consumer at
 reasonable rates.
 Farming is highly skilled occupa- tion. Trained farm labor cannot be
 replaced to advantage by untrained
 men, women and boys. Furthermore,
 the common necessity to make the farm laborer, whoever he may be, a
 member of the family circle, still fur
 ther restricts the availability of stran- gers.
 "The return to the farmer is far
 below that to men equally skilled in any other occupation, while the spe- cial risk he runs from weather, in sects, and disease are greater than theirs by far. Therefore men who leave the farm seldom return to it. lOfficial figures taken from the | school census of the state of New York show that in June, 1917, there were 16,0O0 less farm hands on the farms of New York than there were
 in June, 1916. On March l, 1917, the farm labor supply in the United States as a whole, as reported by ten minutes after you will say this
 the bureau of crop estimates, was 15 per cent below normal, which means that one in every seven productive
 farm workers had been taken away from the farm. The situation is
 worse today.
 "On the other hand. we arc familiar | with official statements and statis-
 tics seeking to show that there is no
 shortage of agricultural labor in the OultCO oSdtOo. 1ACy AoAA CO lAApA Vo0
 us. Whatever may be said to the contrary, the farmers of America
 know, by the undeniable proof of
 daily experience, that they are short
 of help. Merely to deny it gives them
 no relief.
 ''We do not approve of class ex-
 emptions from the draft. But we
 understand that it is the chief pur- pose of the selective draft to keep
 those industries which are most essen tial to the winning of the war manned to the point of highet efficiency, at least until such time as the need of
 men at the front shall compel short age in every line of work. In our judgment the present method of ex- ecuting the law will result in greatly
 reducing the productive power of the farms just at the time when an in crease in that power is the one most essential condition of victory. Many farmers who should be ex- empt refuse to apply. Many young men voluntarily enlist in the army
 who can serve most usefully else where. We ourselves know of many young farmers who have left the farm for the army; to the loss of the nation as whole. Mere exmption or dis
 charge of skilled farmers from the draft would not meet the case They should be required to remain in pro ductive labor on the farm during the period for which their exemption may
 be necessary.
 "What we seek is a more perfect administration of the purpose of the act to protect the essential occupa- tions. We ask you to see to it that farm laborers and farm owners may be kept or placed where they may serve the nation best"