Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-04-13
TOWN WOMEN MAY
AID FARM WIVES
May Also Release Men Employed
in Lighter Industries for Az
rlCultural Work.
ALSO AID IN TRUCK FARMING
Not the Policy of Agricultural Depart.
ment to Call Upon GentIer Sex
Until Nations Food Produc-
ton Is Threatened

Only when the man and boy supply
Is exhausted and the failure of the
nations food production campaigns are
threatened, should the United States
call upon women to do mems work on
the farm.
That, briefly, may be said to be the
policy of the United States depart
ment of agriculture in the matter of
women as farm laborers. Badly as la
Dor will be needed to carry through
programs of food production this year,
the department does not believe the
situation yet demands the employment
of women for the heavier farming OPP
erations. Rather it believes that eff
forts now should be directed toward
persuading able-bodied men in the cit
les to do farm work and that commu
nifty action should be directed to this
end.
Work for Women.
But there will be work to do for
the thousands of women who are Of
fering to help the farmers with their
big task. Helping farm women with
their added duties and taking the place
of men in the lighter industries, thus
releasing male labor for the farms, are
important ways in which women may
aid agriculture's program, department
officials point out Furthermore, wom-
en- can be expected to help, as they
have In the past, with the lighter work
of truck farming, in picking and pack
Ing berries and fruit and with much
other light labor of food production.
But If a serious labor shortage threat
ems the harvest of the country's food
crops the department of agriculture,
in cooperation with the department
Of labor and other federal and state
agencies, will request women to help
meet the situation. It has instructed
its field agents to aid farmers in OBJ
tanning women workers when such con-
ditons arise.
Among the sources from which adj
ditional labor may be obtained on the
farms are. ~ from among the wom
en- already on farms; (2) from rela-
tives of farmers who are livingin cit
les and who are willing to work on
farms during slack business or indus
trial periods; (3) from the foreign
women who are accustomed to work
In the fields under a system Of inten-
sive agriculture before migrating to
this country; and (4) from women in
nearby villages and towns who might
be employed on farms and still live at
home.
If in any community it becomes nee
essary to employ women the princi-
pie problems to be met are to stimu-
late women to take up farm work and
TO make farmers realize the necessity
of using woman labor in order to main
tain production.
Wages for Women.
The farmer desiring woman labor
ers should indicate the kind of work
which he wants done, the amount and
the probable dates and wages offered,
and the woman offering herself should
indicate the kinds of work she is WILL
ing to do, and whether she is willing
to work all day and every day in the
week. II should be thoroughly undE-
stood by all parties concerned that the
women are to receive wage equal to
that given men for performing the
same amount of work. Wherever pos