The Tupelo journal., 1918-05-24
FARM LABOR SHORTAGE

ing and cultivation in Mississippi
farmers in many parts of the state
are finding some difficulty in secur-
ing labor. Steps should be taken I'M
mediately to Offset this shortage
where it occurs to prevent curtailing
in any degree the production OF a
maximum food crop. Already various
communities are adopting means TO
take ARE of the situation. Among
these are the calling for volunteers
from the townspeople, the forcing OF
idle labor to go to work, the elimina-
ton Of Saturday holidays, and by
community cooperation, which IS
one of the most practical means OF
accomplishing the results.
Regarding this pooling of commu-
nifty interests, E. H. Thompson Of the
Office of Farm Management at Wash
tington announces through E. L. Rob
erts, State Help Specialist OF the
Mississippi Agricultural and Mechan-
ical College, the following valuable
suggestions. After stating that in
the present world crisis only those
efforts should be carried on which
have a direct bearing on the success
full conduct of the war, and that the
aim of every farm should be to con-
fine all efforts to those crops and live
" E.2.r 49, -
stock which are contributing directly
to the food program, and to dismiss
all possible work which can be post
poned until the crisis in food produc-
ton is safely over, Mr.. Thompson
shows how cooperative methods, or
swapping work, can be used to ad-
vantage in preparing land, planting
and cultivating crops.
He then says, "When it comes to
harvesting, the pooling of commune
ty interests is even more necessary
and beneficial, because on such work
the greater efficiency gained through
larger crews and larger machines is
the most important factor. For in
stance, in the neighborhood there may
be n farm having $50 acres of hay
to harvest, surrounded by three farms
having 25 to 80 acres each. The pres
ent custom is for each mar to do his
own work. The small farmer has two
horses and one moving machine. He
may do his haying with the aid OF
one man. Or of his wife and chill
dren; but it takes him the larger
part Of the haying season, to accom-
plish this work. The same is true of
the other small farmers. The farmer
with a large haying has to hire ex-
ira labor from outside sources and
these, with his larger equipment, do
his haying in about the same time
that it takes the small farmer, or in
a period of from two to three weeks.
"By pooling their interests the
three small farmers could assist one
another and do the haying on each
farm in two or three days, by reason
of more equipment, more teams and
more labor, together with the greater
efficiency from larger crews in hay
ing operation. In the same way this
group of small farmers having been
able to complete their harvest in a
much shorter period, would be avail
able to assist the farmer with a lar
ger haying, either by hiring to him or
by an interchange Of work. Such an
arrangement would permit all of the
harvest work on these four farms to
be carried out without hiring addi-
tional labor, which has been the usu-
al custom in a great many instances.
.sThese are only a few examples
of how community effort on the part
of the farmers can materially in
crease the efficiency of their avail
able resources. Heretofore this uni
versal interchanging of labor has not
been 1t has been confined
to only a few operations such as
threshing and silo filing. It is true
that there are disadvantages con-
nected with this interchange of labor
and that the crops on one farm may
have to be cut a little too early or the
harvest may be delayed a little on an
other. Again, it is difficult to find
a number of men who are OF one
opinion concerning just how the work
should be carried out on any particu-
lar farm. However, in this great
crisis, the interests of the individual
are secondary and those of the ma
ton, Of which the community is a
part, are Of first consideration"
-W.S.S-.
Most disfguring skin eruptions,
scrofula, pimples, rashes, ETC., are due
to impure blood. Rurdock Blood