The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-06-21
80 TO 40 CENTS
AN HOUR TO BE
PAID WORKERS
Several Hundred Men Have
Volunteered to Aid Far
mers in field.

Members of the labor working re-
serve who have volunteered their
services to help the farmers harvest
their crops this year, will receive from
30 to 40 cents an hour for their work,
according to J. C. Kline, Wayne coun-
ty agriculture agent.
The price of labor in the harvest
fields, like other things, has gone up
a few notches-in fact has almost
doubled, Mr.. Kline said. Two years
ago ordinary labor could be secured
for about 50 a day, or even less than
that, while engineers for threshing
charged $3.50 per day. Now the far
mers will have to pay nearly 81 per
day for common labor and about $5
or even more than that to the en-
gineers.
Several hundred men have pledged
themselves to help on the farms, and
many men have agreed to turn over
their entire earnings to the Red Cross
or some other worthy Institution.
Will Determine Price.
According to NJ. E. Foley, chairman
Of the Indiana state council of de-
Tense, there is a tendency sin some
places to charge exorbitant prices for
grain threshing. and this has caused
the government to take the matter Of
a proper scale of prices into consid-
Grafton.
The threshing work will come un-
der the direct supervision of the Unit
ed States food administration, and
county food administrators will have
the power to set the price to be
charged, and to see that the work is
done in conformity with government
regulations.
Questionnaires have been addressed
to all owners of threshing outfits and
are being filled out and returned to
the county food administrators and
the. county agriculture agents This
will help the government keep an ac-
curate tab on the threshing men.
May Set Sale Saturday.
Harry Gilbert, Wayne county food
administrator, has not yet set the
price to be charged, but at a meeting
of Wayne county threshers to be
held Saturday afternoon at the Rich
mond Commercial club rooms this
scale will probably be announced.
Official notice was sent out Thurs
day by Mr.. Gilbert and Mr.. Kline to
all owners of threshing outfits. stat
ing that the meeting would be held
to discuss plans for saving the 3A
bushels of wheat lost on the average
out of every 100 bushels threshed be-
cause of improper methods and sys
tenn.
A committee representing the state
council of defense made an inquiry
into the question Of fair prices for
and reported favoring an
increase, but setting maximum price
of cents per bushel as against the
former price of cents. This is prob
ably the price that will be set by Mr..
Gilbert, though the maximum price
may go as high as cents.
In letter to the state council Of
defense, Governor Goodrich said: "My
has been called to the fact
that there is a movement on foot in
Indiana to increase the price for
grain nearly 100 per cent in
certain communities of the state. In
some of the counties understand the
men have met and decided
to charge 5 cents per bushel for oats;
10 cents for wheat and II cents for
rye. ~
"These rates are clearly too high, and
steps ought to be taken at once to Sc
cure more reasonable prices in our
state"
This letter caused the state council
to take immediate steps to control
the prices, and regulations have been
set which the threshermen will be ex-
pected to follow.