The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1920-02-02


unrest The farmers are simply
distressed at their growing inability
to cultivate the land. They can't do
what they want to do. The labor
market is rapidly making 1t impossi-
BILE for them to feed the country.
Somebody is going TO go hungry.
Unrest may come as a consequence
in the city
SCARCITY OF FARM LABoRVERY
SERIOUS.
"The inability to obtain farm labor
is the most serious thing. Before the
war the farmer trained his children
and hired help in the country. Now
with the attractive wages in the city
the farmer boys who were n the army
don't want to come back 70 the coun-
try, and l don't blame them or any
body else for staying in the city IL
higher wages are obtainable there.
But city people must realize that
as farm labor gets scarce the country
must begin Offering high wages. and
! thus costs OF production must rise.
Add 10 that the great cost Of distri-
button and you see why the cost of
living is going up. Why, reckoned
relatively. food is the cheapest thing
Of all. Our city friends ought to
realize that there are about 100000
farmers selling individually. They
can't be prohteers. They are help
less because they have to take what
is offered them. They have no organ
ization to fix prices and there are
no signs OF one. They deal individ-
ually.
| Now / know that nobody ever sold
what he had to sell, either skill or
labor or commodities. for less than he
thought he could get. We all do it.
We should recognize it as a funda-
mental fact. Well. the normal source
OF farm lalbor-namely, the Sons of
Farmers-is almost gone. The farmer
boys who went into the army got
taste Of the world and city life. They
! have rubbed up against city cOmpan-
ions and are lured by high wages and
what appears to them a more at
tractive life. / am told that out of
! S5, 900 questionnaires sent out in con-
nection with the rehabilitation of
troops, about ! per cent. appears to
have gone back 70 the farms.
FARM LABoRERs LURED TO CITY
BY HIGH WAGES.
"Also farm 1aborers don't want to
stay in the country II the city offers
them better opportunities. Normally,
farm laborer gets for his days work
the equivalent of a bushel OF wheat.
The other day had some carpenter
work done at my house in the city,
and what l paid for ten hours work
would have bought barrel Of -four
or four and a half bushels Of wheat
A man is a fool for staying in the
country II he can get that much more
in the city.
But some day those high wage fell
lows are going to wake up and find
that there isn't enough food to go
around at any price. It's something
like conditions after the Civil War,
when we paid IS a keg for cut nails
for about four years and then sud
denly the price dropped to about 80
cents a keg. We had been selling
wheat at 81. then it came down to 80
cents a bushel and certain people got
! hurt in the crash.
There is little use OF talking about
the high cost OF living when you
consider the high cost Of city labor.
The cost Of distribution, moreover, is
all out Of proportion to the cost OF
food production. What we need is
Increased production everywhere, in
the city as well as the farm. In
stead Of agitating for shorter hours
and more pay, 1t would be much bet
ter II everybody in the cities and
factories worked hard for the pres
ent high scale Of wages.
GREAT FALLING OFF IN WINTER
WHEAT PRODUCTION.
"In the same connection Judge o,
G. Smith OF Nebraska, President OF
the National Farmers Congress, told
his colleagues at their gathering here
that the actual condition OF winter
wheat to-day showed only 81 per
cent, and a falling off of about 80
per cent. in production. The leaders
Of the farm prganizatious-and they
all have National headquarters here
insist, also, that people are crowd
ing every bit of housing space in the
city, whine in the outlying districts
and suburbs there are plenty oil
vacant houses.
"As for the talk about pnofiteering
among farmers. the leaders pointed
TO the statement just ISSUED by the
Department of Agriculture, which
says:
"'The average net income OF
s24 farms in the richest portions
Of Iowa, with no allowance what
ever for interest on the invest
ment in land and equipment was
S3,ASO. If five per cent. be al
lowed for interest on the invest