The Morgan County press. (Wartburg, Tenn.) 1916-1926, 1918-06-28
FARM LABOR IS BIG
PROBLEM THIS YEAR
War Emergency Calls for Great
est Efforts to Produce Food.
Both Country and City People Must
Sacrifice Comfort to Furnich Pow.
err to Cultivate and Harvest
Necessary Crops.
prepared by the United States Depart
mcnt of Agrieulture)

prepared by the United States Depart
mcnt of Agricultural
In a statement issued by Clarence
Ousley, assistant secretary OF agrlcui'
ture, attention is called to the fact
that both country and city people must
sacrifice something Of their comfort 10
furnish the necessary man power 10
cultivate and harvest crops necessary
this year to carry on the war. Ihat
part of the statement which deals d.
rectly with farm labor and what the
department Of agriculture is doing to
solve the problem. follows:
The principal difficulty in farming
operations for 1918 is the problem or
labor. That is serious. hut it is not
insuperable. The department OF agri-
culture has farm-lahor offices in nearly
all of the states working In cO-opera-
ton with the agricultural colleges,
the county agents and other state ac-
tivities. and the department of labor
has employment Offices in nearly all
the centers of population. These two
departments together are enabled to
contribute much to the solution or the
problem by furnishing information and
by shifting labor from neighborhood
to neighborhood az the seasonal de-
mand passes, and generally ny brlng-
ing together the laborer and the en-
ployer, But when all has been done
that may be done by these depart
ments or by any other governmental
agency, much will remain to be done ny
the states and communities. especial
Nv by the cities. for there is not enough
labor seeking employment to supply
the farms for cultivation and harvest
ing. For years the cities with their
great fortunes and bright lights have
been drawing young men from the
farms. The war has merely preciW-
tated a drift that sooner or later would
have caused more or less OF fOod
crisis. In peace times that Is mat
fer that might well he left to read1ust
itself through such reduced prOduc-
tion and consequent high prices as
would make farming more profitable
and attract men to the Industry. But
in the war emergency we must have
food at all costs. and since there is no
way Of getting 1t without labor. and
since labor is lacking, the cities must
sacrifice something and harvest the
crops. In many towns and cities last
year the business men closed their es-
Establishments or spared numbers OF
their employees to help the farmers.
In a few places already business men
are taking surveys and are making
hedges to furnish labor which has
farm experience, to the adjoining COM
munities as may be needed. The same
methods must be put into practice IN
every town and city adjacent to q
farming region. The men OF the cities
must be brought to understand the
vital Importance Of agriculture. Many
Of them have sneered at 1t or have re-
garded it with Indifference. Now they
must lend it much of their thought and
tbeIr effort. They should understand
TINT the United States is going to
furnish food to the armies and the
civil population behind them, and they
may depend upon 1t that the farmers
will feed themselves. 1t behooves the
cities therefore to take some thought
of their own sustenance by readjusting
their activities. There is hardly bus
mess or an industry In the United
States that cannot spare temporarily
for the cultivation and harvesting sea-
sons a considerable part of it's man
power, or even close, say, for three to
fifteen days during the period as the
local need appears. In many cases
women can take the places of men for
tbe lighter commercial and industrial