Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1918-06-19
WOMEN ON THE FARM
,ess by Clarence Ousley Assistant Secretary OF Agriculture

a y
needed. 1t is against the fashion
in England, France, and Italy to
employ useless servants. Women set
the fashion. The example of social
leaders, with the Endorsement OF
organized women, would speedily
put an end to INDUCES 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 thou
sands 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 situation
not so easily affected by decree OF
fashion, and yet it is none the less
subject to all irresistible influence
which women can instantly eN-
crcise. The man does not live who
can resist the scOrn of his fellow
men: much less can he resist the
scorn of womankind. 1t has come
to pass already that the coward who
tries to evade military duty with
out a good reason finds no favor
among his women friends. 1t would
be quite becoming if the women OF
the land in a discriminating and
/ Just way would visit their unspok-
en-, but none the less sufficient, con-
demnation upon the man who IS not
in the true sense doing a man S 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
perform. 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 wo-
men to the farms. AS God made
woman a little finer in spirit than
man, so he made her little Trailer
in body. She can endure more suf-
fering, perhaps. but, as a rule, she
lacks the physical strength and Ell,
durance for the hard labor from
sun up to sun down that constitu
ties the days work on the farm.
Men First for Heavy Work
| will despise American manhood
if the great body Of our men per
, nit our women to be drafted fol
these hard tasks Of agriculture un
til we have sent every able-bodleo
, creature in breeches to the trench
es or driven him to the fields; but
) women are to be encouraged, so fal
as their physical condition will per
nit or the circumstances surround
ing them will advise, to engage IL
the lighter tasks Of the farm, par
ticularly in dairy work, III vege
table cultivation, and in fruit har
, vesting. Well-planned undertak
ings to this end should be stimulat
ed, provided only that we do no
fall into Mysteries about it, that W.
q do not undertake the impossible
that we do not create the impress
sion of exhaustion of man power
f and, most important of all, that w
: do not encourage physical Stacker
!; to keep the shady and sheltere,
q places while our women take tn
# sun and the rain.
J. However, let me remind you tina
r there is a considerable army Of We
O men already i'll the field of agr
culture. The Department of Ayr
culture, in cooperation with til
= land-grant colleges in all the State
), maintains a service Of home d.
70 monstration in domestic science an
- arts in 1915 out of 1857 counts
l. in the United States. This serviC
e is conducted by 1,150 trained w
4 men who are in the homes of ii
:, farmers, teaching them better wa,
~ of living, showing them new met
Il DDS of conservation, and making Il
Il farm home a point of as much 60
~ Germ in the interest Of health al
~ comfort as the farm establiShme1
1o from the standpoint of profit.
If What the Home Workers Did
" These leaders last year taught
r 100000 women and girls to can al
he Continued on Page =
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