The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-02-03
Problem Of Farm Help Dur
ing Coming Season Must
Be Tackled Now.
UP TO COMMUNITIES
Here lis How Some Sections
Met Crisis When 1t Came
Last Year.

EVERY American believes nc can 90
anything any other man has done--and
maybe do 1t little better Every com
Inunity expects to be New York or
. Chicago some day. 1t is natural.
We are born that way. And, because
we believe we can do anything, and
because we back up our confidence
with an abundance of hard work-why,
we usually succeed in doing il.
All Of which is by way Of saying that
individuals and communities through
out the country faced farm labor short
.agco last year--and solved their prob
lens. Various methods were used
ssnergency volunteer workers from
towns and cities, high school boys,
county labor bureaus. The labor ques-
tion Is pressing and perplexing one
now. Governmental agencies are doing
everything they can. But, after all.
Individual Initiative and action must be
relied upon largely. You-yonr town
your county--can do what other peo-
pie. other towns, other counties did
hast year.
In the counties of western Montana
schools were closed a couple weeks
during the harvest season, liberating
hundreds OF children for farm work.
thereby contributing 10 the saving OF
hundreds of bushels Of potatoes and
apples that otherwise would have fall
len prey to the heavy freezes during
the latter part Of October. II was an
emergency call from the farms Of the
valleys that awakened the urban pop
ulation to the crisis that threatened our
food supply upon which they We're de-
pendent and which meant SO much In
its proportion to the feeding Of the
country and the allies in this war of
world-w proportions. This is in the
far west, where the shortage of labo,
has not been felt as keenly as In the
east where most of the war prepare
lions are conducted.
This Is how some of the communi
ties In other states met the critical con
ditions that arose:
In one Wisconsin county where po-
tatoes are raised extensively and farm
help was scarce, the county agent ar
ranged for and conducted seven pota-
tO-digging excursions business mer
and high school boys volunteered fol
the work, and persons owning automo-
biles allowed their cars 10 ne used
to carry the "excursionists' t. and
from the fields. Local authorities es-
timated that about 1000 bushels of po-
tatoes were dug by these voluntee,
workers. and since no other help was
available at the time 1t is probable that
this amount of foodstuff would have
been lost unless emergency measures
had been adopted.
Cherries were harvested in Dooi
county, Wisconsin. by $50 boys in Il
Y. M. G. A. camp and by IA smaller
number of boys in Boy Scout camp
the first outfit from Milwaukee and the
second from Chicago. The boys lived
in buildings at the fairgrounds. con-
verting them into temporary barracks.
They were under semi military disci =
pine. as was the case In practically
all boy camps throughout the coun-
try.
Three boys training camps were cs-
tablished in suffolk county, New YORK,
from 80 to so boys in each camp being
available as farm help for the farmers
in that community. Also the camps
formed flying squadron of eight
or 10 boys, equipped with an automo"
bile and tents. The flying squadron
went all over the county to farms
where labor needs were especially urg
tnt, working there until the crisis had
passed or Il steady supply of help had
been secured. and then shooting to
another section where emergency help
was needed.
A number Of Indiana high schools
have asked farmers of that state to
Cooperate in preparing the high school
boys for farm work by giving practical
demonstrations 20 the classes on Fri
day afternoons and Saturdays during
the winter. The boys are taken out
10 the farm, or the use of a suitable
vacant lot near the school is secured
and the farmers who are cooperating
In the plan put the boys through real
farm work and show them how to hal
ter. harness and drive teams, for in =
stancve, and other simple-but very
essential--bits of farm knowledge.
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