The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1918-07-02
Women on the F arm
An Address by Clarence Ousiey assistant Secretary
of Agriculture


able to employ their services. There
are thousands of men checking hats
brushing clothes, carrying hand bag.
gage, running automobiles, sprinkl-
ing lawns, and announcing visitors
who represent a sinful waste of en-
ergy in a time when every ounce OF
energy is needed. 1t is against the
fashion in England, France and
{, Italy to employ useless servants.
Women set the fashion. The ex-
ample of social leaders, with the in
dorsement of organized women,
would speedily put an end to indul-
gences which to the right-minded
and the patriotic must soon appear
as vulgar and wicked. ...
Men Doing WOmen's Work
In the next place, there are
thousands of men in the towns and
cities doing things that women can
do as well. There are men cooks,
! men walters, men clerks, men book
keepers, whose places might well be
filled by women. This is a situation
not so easily affected by degree of
fashion, and yet it is none the less
subject to an irresistible influences
which women can instantly exercise.
The man does not live who can resist
the scorn of his fellow men; much
less can he resist the scorn of wo-
manhood. 1t has come to pass al
ready that the coward who tries to
evade military duty without a good
reason finds no favor among his
women friends. 1t would be quite
becoming If the women of the land
in discriminating and just way
would visit their unspoken, but none
the less sufficient, condemnation
upon the man who is not in the true
sense doing mans job.
With the relief of man power by
the suspension of useless service and
by the substitution of women in
tasks which woman can readily per-
form, there will remain more to be
done upon the farm, and there is
opportunity from time to time for
women to work on the land. 1t
would be extremely unfortunate, l
think, if we should get the notion or
herald the idea that we have come
to such a pass in the United States
that we must drive our women to
the farms. AS God made woman a
little finer in spirit than man, so he
made her a little Trailer in body.
She can endure more suffering per-
haps, but as a rule, she lacks the
physical strength and endurance for
the hard labor from sun up to sun
down that constitutes the days work |
on the farm.
Men First for Heavy Work
| will despise American manhood |
if the great body of our men permit |
our women to be drafted for these |
hard tasks of agriculture until we |
have sent every able-bodied creature |
in breeches to the trenches or driven
him to the fields, but women are to |
be encouraged, so far as their physi-
cal condition will permit or the cir
cumstances surrounding them will
advise, to engage in the lighter
tasks of the farm, particularly in
dairy work, in vegetable cultivation,
and in fruit harvesting. Well-plan
ned undertakings to this end should
be stimulated, provided only that we
do not fall into mysteries about it,
that we do not undertake the I'm
possible, that we do not create the
power, and most important of all,
that we do not encourage physical
slackers to keep the shady and shelf
cred places while our women take
the sun and the rain.
However, let me remind you that
there is a considerable army of wo-
men already in the field of agricul-
ture. The department of agricul-
ture, in cooperation with the land
grant colleges in all the states, main
tains service of home demonstra-
ton in domestic science and arts
in 1875 out of 1857 counties in the
United States. This service is con-
Quoted by 1850 trained women who
are in the homes of the farmers,
teaching them better ways of living,
showing them new methods of con-
and making the farm
home point of as much concern in
The interest of health and comfort as
The farm establishment from the
of profit.
What the Home Workers Did
These leaders last year taught
100000 women and girls to can and
Try vegetables and fruits. The girls
Under instruction canned over A.
100000 containers and, the women
more than 100000 containers.
At the minimum wholesale price of
these products their value aggre-
gated more than $7,000,O00, and the
recorded activities represent only a
part of what was accomplished I'M
Ter the leadership of these women
by the department of agri-