Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-03-08
SAYS MARION COUNTY
IT FACING SHORTAGE
Of HELP ON FARMS
J. W. Brewer Says Patriotism
Will Solve lt---Speaks
Here Tomorrow

| That patriotism is going to have
much to do with sowing the threaten
Ied shortage of farm labor this summer.
| lis the belief of j. w. Brewer, of the
Federal farm labor bureau of Portland.
1The Portland office is receiving hun
dreds of letters daily from Oregon
lpeople, women for the most part, ask
ing what they can do to help in the
war, and offering to go to the farms
| to work during the summer months.
while most of this volunteer labor Is
inexperienced, it is believed that the
assistance received from this source
Twill balance the loss of men in the
draft, and that which has been at
tracted to the shipyards and factories.
Mr.. Brewer states that Oregon is
short of experienced dairy and farm
hands, but that improved methods, and
"a better handling of the situation will
solve this question. In lines of work
that do not require experience, such as
fruit and berry picking the probabili-
ties are that many families who have
been in the habit of spending the sum
mer working in this way are now in
the larger cities where they have found
work in the factories and shipyards.
They will be missed but their places
will be filled by the thousands who
have written to the farm labor bureau
asking what they can do to help win
the war.
Marion county is facing a shortage
of several thousand fruit and berry
pickers this summer, it is stated by
those familiar with the local situation,
and. Mr.. Brewer will address meeting
"a u nf 4ba OF
Marion county. The situation will be
the government is planning to use to
meet the emergency will be told. 1T
is believed that closer cooperation
between the local association and the
federal authorities in the state will
lead to much good being done.
1t is considered probable that cam
paign will be started in the near flu
ture to educate the people of the larg-
YER cities to the necessity of increasing
the production of the farms of the
state and to secure more volunteers
for farm work, While the voluntary Of
fers which have been received will ma
terially assist, it will be necessary to
secure thousands of helpers if the sit
is to be properly met.
Mr.. Brewer has been in Salem tins
week directing the work of the high
school studeH5s who are classifying
the reports received from the farm
survey blanks sent out over the state.
This will probably require until next
or Wednesday to complete al
though hundred students are helping
with the work.
The bureau believes that when the
is complete, the best re
port of farm conditions ever made in
the state-will be available. There are
returns received from 10000 Oregon
farms to be classified, and when the
work is finished it is believed that
over rs per cent of the producing land
in the state will have been included
The government census gives the
humber of decided farms in the state
as $4,000 This, however, includes
homesteads, timber land, |
and undeveioped property. The state
authorities believe that from 10000 to
35 900 producing farms should have
been listed. Returns have been reeelv-
ed from 10000 farms, and NEST OF |
the farmers who failed to send in their !
reports were those living in the hills I
and in the backward portions Of the /
state