The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-06-29

) time we had a wet spell, which last
} ed a few days, so the haying was
postponed till the weather should get
} finer.
was now occupied on various
, jobs, one of which was the making
of straw bands to be used in binding
the sheaves when the grain would be
, cut. These were all made before
, cutting time and kept in the loft.
Another chore was the cutting Of the
chop. Bundles Of straw and hay
were passed through an ordinary
chopping box, which was worked by
horse power. My job was to carry
the chop upstairs in a large basket.
AS it had to be carried down again to
be used, it seemed a waste Of labor,
but 1t was the only place they had to
store anything. Toward the end OF
July one Of the cows had calf
which was born dead. Next day the
butcher came from town and killed
her. She was skinned and hoisted up
to set. after that the carcass was di-
vided up and taken away, but the
farmer retained the heart, liver, etc,
for his own use, and girls were kept
busy making sausages. l suddenly
discovered that I did not like the
taste@of sausage and turned vegetar-
ian right away. By now the crop was
In splendid shape, the rye being over
six feet high, whilst the wheat equal
led any have ever seen. Cine night
we had a. bad storm and a good deal
of the grain was fiat next morning
but few days Of sunshine soon
brought 1t upright again.
The prisoners working on the
farms were being paid the large sum
of thirty pfennigs a day (siX cents)
| Id ~
was sick Of it all so refused point
blank to work no more. After two
weeks Of confinement was taken
back to Minden, and whilst there, l
had an opportunity to study the work
in harvest time. Although not &C
tually employed on the job I was
able to take note Of what was go
ing on. The grain was cut with
soythe attached to which was era
die which left it on the ground ready
for tying. Women and children fol-
lowed on and tied the bundles with
the bands which had been made dur
ing the summer. After them came
the prisoners who would stack the
I sheaves in long windrows and all the
i grain cut that day was stood on end
before knocking off time. After the
sheaves had matured and were dry,
they were unloaded and carefully
Estacked to await the coming Of the
threshing machine. I saw two ma
chimes in operation, one was gaso-
line outfit, and the other was a
steam rig, the fuel used being wood,
OF which there was an abundant sup
ply. The separator was one Of the
old fashioned hand feed variety and
generally did a clean job.
The straw came out intact, the
grain being pounded out Of the ears
leaving them on the straw. The grain
was sacked and carried by the pris-
oners up some steps to the loft
where III was emptied out on to
the floor. The straw was bound up
by women into large bundles and
passed from hand to hand till 1t
reached it's resting place in the part
Of the loft where il belonged. This
was used for bedding and chopped
up for feed when it was required.
Government officials took note Of the
amount of grain that the farmer
threshed, and he would be compelled
to keep track of and account for ev-
cry buBhel during the following year.
A good many lodges were devised,
however, to cheat the government
and many q bushel Of rye has been
hidden away unknown to the in
spector. The farmers in Germany
are better off than all the rest Of the
population, and they have food to
eat and to spare whilst the rest OF
the people are suffering from the
pangs Of hunger. Spies, however,
abound all over the country and the
farmer has to be always on the alert
to prevent himself from getting into
trouble. One day whilst we were
at dinner on the farm l was aston
| ished to see the Frau grab the dish
OF meat off the table and hastily hide
it in trunk that did duty for a
cupboard. Before I could inquire the
reason a gendarme walked into the
house. He had brought a. paper for
Windheim to fill in. He had to show
how many pigs, chickens, cows, etc,
he had, and the amount of acres he
had under cultivation, also Of what
they consisted. When the gendarme
had gone the Frau produced the dish
Of meat, and we resumed our dinner.
| They told me that they were not
supposed to have any meat at all
and would have been heavily fined
had the officer caught them with 1t
on the table.
Shortly before left Germany an
order was issued that where a farm
er kept poultry he had to bring in
for sale to the government a certain
number of eggs per month in pro-
portion to the number Of chickens he
owned.
The roads in Westphalia, are lined
with apple trees, which are owned
| by the government and the farmer is
responsible for the fruit which is
growing on that section Of the road
adjacent to his farm. Much as I de-
test the Germans on account of the
brutal treatment which was subse-
quently given me, I am compelled to
admire them for their wonderful
powers of organization, and their
hard working thrifty nature. Not a
thing is wasted, all offal, manure,
ETC., is utilized for something. There
is more wasted through careIessness
on some Of our large western farms
than is produced on a little holding
in Germany, that is giving a good
| living to a large family.
Obedience is bred in the people.
They would no more think Of open
! ly disobeying an order than they
would of flying to the moon. That is
why they are hanging together so
long. Without their spirit of loyalty
to the 'F'atherland' they would long
ago have been a beaten nation.
"A great NUMBER or industrial con-
Germs stifle a mans progressiveness.
For instance, they pay by piece work.
In their own minds they set limit
that any one man can be allowed to
earn. If he proves particularly able
he may overreach the limit set. When
this becomes a common occurrence.
| the price paid is cut on all that line
Of work, thus eliminating fair deal
ing, failing to reward energy and
ability, affecting discipline. and VIC
lating a rule Of common sense.
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