The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-04-24
HOW TYPICAL AMERICAN FARMING IN
COMMUNITIES FOUND FARM LABOR

: - - t~~as'- - ~
that this amount of foodstuff would
have been lost unless emergency
measures had been adopted.
The county agent in Burlington
county, Iowa, sent to every farmer in
the county a card requesting state
ment of his probable labor needs
With this information in hand the
county agent located all the expert
enced farm help that could be made
available anywhere in the county, or
ganized the older high school boys
and secured some outside labor, these
supplies succeeding in meeting the
local situation fairly we'll.
.,.f - &C., .',r..t 81
A labor agent was appointed for
each community in Douglas county,
Wis, and exact advance information
of the farmers labor needs secured.
Town volunteers and high school boys
supplied a good deal of the seasonal
help, and the county agent reported
that he was able to supplem ent the To-
cal supply with enough good mon. Sc
cured from the labor o.,.css in Mil.
waukee and other centers, to meet the
requirements. -.@~ - 49,. ..,.5t~
Three boys training camps were
established in Suffolk county, New
York, from thirty to fifty boys in each
camp being available as farm help
for the farmers in that community.
Also the camps formed a Flying
squadron of eight or ten boys, equip.
ped with an automobile and tents
The flying squadron went all over
the county to farms where labor
needs were especially urgent, work.
ing there until the crisis had passed
or a steady supply OF help had been
secured, and then shooting to another
section where emergency help was
needed. r-, r., ~. -.
The authorities in Villas county. Wis
c0nsin, according to a report Of the
county agent, passed resolution
that every man must go to work or go
to jail This had the good effect OF
causing to go to work people who only
been loafers before that time.'
In Colorado, Maine, Wisconsin and
all the potato-growing states there
were many instances of clerks and Of
flee workers taking q leave of ab.
seince and going to the fields to- dig
potatoes. One man, describing his
experience, said he took part Of his
pay in POTATOES and as result had
plenty of that food for his family this
winter( at much less cost than If he
had bought the supply from his city
salary; that the outdoor work improv.
ed his health and, which he said gave
him more satisfaction than anything
else, he has the consciousness of hav.
ing helped his country. just a. little by
his own physical eff0rt-evens though
in an humble and unpicturesque way
j WY 81 ~" e. ~" -,
The Pittsburgh Y. M: C. A; carried
over 200 boys to Pennsylvania farm
camps where with high school" boys
and other volunteers. they helped in
harvests as we'll as general farm work.
The Denver Commercial club em
ployed a secretary who spent his en-.
| tire time placing Denver high school
boys on farms. At GlenWood Springs,
Colo, the schools closed, the shOps
spared as many men as possible, bust.
ness houses allowed employees to, 60
to farms temporarily and, owners of
automobiles gave the use of, their
-, cars to carry the town people to the
Arms and back. Through county
agents, the State Farm Help Special.
lists. and federal and state labor repre-
sentatives,. various sections Of Colo.
RADIO exchanged labor, as itlwere77-that
is, the. dry landers" and the "irrigat.
ed farmers" reached their respective
; busy season at different times. More
or less labor was switched from one
"oc+'on to- a'other-from the dry
lands where the farmers were not
busy to the irrigated sections where
the harvest was on, and vice versa.