Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-03-11
A V|RG|N|hN PROBLEM
WHICH MUST Be solved
Food Administrators tells His
Troubles to tho Editor OF the
Review OF Reviews.
FARM LABOR SCARCITY SEEN
Colonel White Writes to Magazine
About Conditions In Most Typi-
cal Farm State OF the Atlantic
Observation-Disclosures Comment.

The American Review Of Reviews has
becn In communication with Coloarl j..
T. White, Federal food adminls;ra, or
for Virginia. and in the March rum
Der gives II rather gloomy picture aa
obtained from III" administrator. "hc
story II prints under the head "Nir-
ginia's Farm Problem" liz AS follows:
The great difficulty that confront';
Virginia rs the most typical farm State
of :he Atlantic seeboard Is that OF aGri-
cultural labor. II was not only the
draft that affected the labor situation.
Immense war industries had developed
like that cf The powder plant bclo"
Richmond. at lIopewcll. Then there
came the special demand for common
labor In many Industries ut and near
NorfoIk. Newport News R:chmord and
Washington. The building Of the car-
comments at Camp Leo and Camp Meade
alsr drew away thousand. OF men.
Others went off TO the woods = cut
pulp This was thr situation that c.-
listed when the draft came along and
left good manY farms with no avail
able labor at all
No one undrrsi anls the farm stu
alton better than Colonel z. q. White.
OF Loudour County. who IS also the
Federal food administrator at P!ch-
mond. He iE best known over tho cum
try as "a horscuan and president of
the pcrcheron Association OF hrrcrica.
In his own state he IS distinguished as
man of public spirit, banker and
n practical farmer. He ia working 10
the utmost with tho Agriculture De-
partment and the food administration
l;ut he doc not hesitate TO tell us
about the difficulties that the farmers
Of Virginia ana other Eastern Stn;as
are now facing. We are permitted to
quote the following from personal
letter written TO tho editor OF this
magazine By Colonel White. bearing
Mpon the prospects for tho coming
farm season:
''Rcgardirg tho conditions In VIZ
rinia | wil' say that do not see how
IL is possible to expect as large an
acreage 10 lie planted In Virginia next
srrir". This l. entirely due 20 tho in
ability Of the farmers 20 obtain SUI
hcien' labor 30 care for and gather
the cropF. Ono ran can prepare tho
land and plant = much larger acreage
than he can cultivate and SAYS later
on.
Farmers last spring planted n max
i-tirn mum Der OF acres ari later found
they could not save tn" crops There
Is n let OF corr in the fields nf Loudour
County now unshucked. but being fast
shuckcd b. thr crows t,vn taken
n great deal ri pride in ny farm, and
In tho fact that ! generally had NY
work 'uD,' but ! must ad.rit that
am IN tic afternoon class this ycar rs
] have about ljo barrels Of corn stiil
IN tho field. !. h1s simply been ,nlpos-
Sihir 20 get hands a. any price IN SUI
fclent numbers 70 save the crops. 7
paid last fan - cents per shock ma
hoard for cutting corn. and the same
for shuckirG. - this price good
man could make as high NJ S. pe- day.
u. however was not entirely matter
az price. More money would haze been
ratl II the labor could hav'. been hal.
''hdioirirg ny farm are 100 acres
~ corn etll uncut. The farmer. all
over my county, and from best intor-
nation | car get. all over the State. be-
cause Of their experience in regard to
saving crops, as above outlined. have
they decm !, useless and wast.ful 10
plant what they carao; save.
"Urless formers can obtain more Ia
Dor II looks to me as though we were
going 10 have tremendous hight in
crdnr 10 maintain present production
md great Irivc must he made for
conservation.
according 80 repo-ts abou. : ncr
cent has been seeded to wheat In 1917
more than IN 1a,f. hut \ very IL gc
percentage ot this was sown verv late.
and some OF 1t, might say y goo!
deal did not come up and Therefore
II is doubtful whether n satisfactory
crop therc Is some doubt whether any
of D VIII he harvested from this very
late seeding