El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-08-19
BOYS ON FARM
IS NOT A FAD
Story That VIII Convince
the Most Skeptical Of the
Work They Can Do.

Work They Can DO.
The United States Employment Ser
rice doesn't urge the use OF boys be-
tween IS and q for farm work as a
fad It does so because the supply Of
regular farm labor has been depleted
and new sources OF supply must be
found and utilized II war-winning
crops are to be produced and because
boys are one OF the best kinds OF po-
tential workers. Farmers rapidly are
learning that after some intensive
training the average husky boy is no
poor hand at farm work. z. E. Frizen.
state labor director for Kansas and
prominent farmer. says ~ he has
found them much superior TO the
usual hobo labor used in the western
harvest work Certainly, boys are
better than no help at all
story for skeptics.
And here is a story for the skeptical
farmer and the armchair Cill) adviser.
Incidentally it tells OF what only one
state IS doing, for boy training is go
Ing on now in the majority Of the
states:
The Farm Plattsburg" is Pennsyl-
rauia's solution 10 the problem OF
taking the greenness off the mex
perlenced city high school boy and
equlpping him for real farm work in
a short time. Like other Industrial
states. the greater part Of Pennsyl-
ranla's members Of the Boys Work
ing Reserve are necessarily from
large towns and cities. Since the lat
ter part OF April the Keystone State
has been turning out several hundred
intensively trained reserve boys and
placing them on farms every fort
night
Camp ut state College.
The training is given through Penn
sylvania state college, near Belle +
fonte. That institution is devoting I
its entire agricultural equipment and 4
faculty TO this patriotic service. The /
boys are selected for training accord /
ing 10 their physical and mental I
adaptabiIity. They live under canvas T
on the college campus and dress in .
uniforms contributed by the Pennsyl- 4
vania national guard The camp is T
under semi-military discipline. All +
practical instruction IS given on a
1900 acre farm, on which actual farm (
ing operations are being carried on. F
A y. II. C. A. hut has been opened on I
the campus. and a director organizes T
The leisure time Of the boys-althoush +
there is very little OF that
The graduates Of this Farm Platts-
burg are being taken readily enough I
by farmers some 80 directly TO the
farmers homes, while others live in +
camps. known as Liberty Camps" E
sleeping there at night and going TO f
nearby farms during the day
$50 Boys Every Two Weeks.
squads OF between 800 and 400 boys
are being turned out by the training T
camp every two weeks approx
mately 1900 boys already have been
trained through the Keystone states
camp. {
The boys rise at dawn each day and E
are put through setting up exercises. +
Then they tackle a strenuous day of E
caring for, Harvesting and driving
horses; feeding and milking COWS;
caring for pigs chickens and sheep; {
handling OF farm machinery OF all
kinds: planting. blowing, using the
scythe, etc. The speed Of the boys
in assimiIating the essentials Of
farming has been a revelation 10 their
teachers and to the farmers. and the
physical change IN them is most
After two weeks Of train
ing the boy goes TO a farm bronzed /;
and hardened and with a knowledge {
Of all the rudiments OF farming. He
has sufficient knowledge not 10 injurs
the prospective employers property
All Of the boys are over Is years OF
age. and recently an official OF the
Department Of Labor mistook the
squad. lined up on the parade ground,
FOR part Of the national army.
where Credit Is Due. L;
Great credit is due DR.. Sparks,
president Of Pennsylvania state col
lege. the agricultural faculty. and DR..
J. C. Frazee. state director Of the
United States Boys Working Reserve,
and I. II. Dennis, associate director,
for the comprehensive manner IN
which the plan has been worked out.
The state committee OF public safety
has financed and supported the opera
tion IN a praiseworthy manner.
Although a number OF states are !
on a somewhat similar train
ing program fer Boys Working Re
serve members. no other state has so "
completely worked out an intensive
training course in an agricultural col
lege- The high schools OF the Key
stone state give fun credit for work
done IN the training camps and on the
farms. as a part OF the regular curri-
culum- It IS expected that many :
states viii follow Pennsylvania ex-
ample next year.