Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-24

land owner was incidentally his own
cl Jthes manufacturer, coap maker, butch
or, baker, and pract cally everything
else, assisted sometimes by retInue OF
servants, sometimes only by his large and
energetic family. But since his time the
age Of specialists has come and other
industries rightly claim a share Of the
eighty-sevcn per cent Of labor that used
TO be on the farms. The trouble is that the
pendulum has sw ung too far, 50 that even
with machinery and the mass of technical
knowledge recently acquired there is not
enough land under cultivation to meet
the needs Of I07 900, 600 people.
The situation right now Is that the
wheat crop in Kansas Is being handled
more easily than had been anticipated
due to the fact that the wheat and straw
are light this year, and therefore twenty
to thrty-fivc per cent less labor Is required
than was needed last year. The grain
IL reported to be satisfactory.
TRUCK srrUArror BAD.
The truck crop is hit harder. Low
prices which the farmers have been get
ting have 30 discouraged them that good
many cut down truck production 10
what they themselves could consume, and
what they are sure OF selling
Live stock conditions are also regarded
as unprrnising Last summer, Europe
cut off her meat and stock imports from
this country The prices were impossible
for her 10 pay. partly because Of the high
rate Of exchange This resulted IN de-
preston of prices IN thus country and 3
decline IN the number OF animals kept
and produced last winter. Farmers are
DOW debating whether stock production
is going To be profitable IN the near future,
or whether It VIII be losing game a. 1t
has been recently.
Among all the clouds Of food crises and
calarnltIcs there IS one ray Of cheer. Milk
Is reported as adequate. THIS, one
agricultural seer points cut, Is the effect
Of the dairy men getting together to FIX
prices at rates where they will be sure Of a
return on their Investment He further
adds that when other branches Of agrl-
culture are similarly Organized we may
| expect more stable conditions in farm
industries than At present.
Everybody knows why farmers have
been leaving home for the city but 1t ls not
SO generally known that IN the past
| twelve months the exodus has been greater
than ever before. In New York state
alone there are "a 600 vacant farm houses,
and 1T is estimated that within ten miles
OF any city IN the country, possibly ex-
eeptIng New York, there are many thou
sand acres of untitled land, and many
vacant houses. This Is q clue to the
| reason for the Labor Department $ re-
| ports that the cost of food has advanced
nearly every month since the war ended.
| To get the small farmer 10 return TO his
land Is less important 10 the country as 8
/ whole than TO see an increase IN the com
mercially run farms The farm of from
| 30 to $50 acres, run by the farmer ano
his family without help. produces com
parativelv little food for the city. A gooc
part of has crops are consumed at home
| and what little is left IS exchanged fol
necessities at the store and with neigh
bors Every small farmer Is one les
consumer and one more producer. il /
true, but he is not the vital factor IN iced
| ing the masses OF workers who are no
food producers.
BIG FARMS NEED HIRED MEN.
The difficulty connected with the com
mercialiy-run farm which speeializes L
| that it requires hired labor, and labor Il
| still scarce Stories of harvest help AZ,
somewhat confusing. Farmers of one
section report that they have labor
enough Others say that they cannot get
any kind of help, and, Others want only
| skilled hands and refuse city vaeatlonlsts
One editor of a farm journal, who tried
to get the harvest hand and the farmer
| together, SAYS that he got the addresses OF
workers and then was surprised TO s1nd
that almost none OF his farmer readers
| asked for them This is onIv the story
| of harvest labor There is an undis-
putabie shortage of regular farm help
| estimated at between 20 and so per cent
Increased immigration is being sug-
| gested as a means of bringing labor 70
/ the farms, but il Is doubtful if the ordinary
run of immigrant could be attracted to
| farm life under present conditions. In
recent years immigrants have avoided the
| country because the cities and industry
| promised better chance of prosperity
| As this was never truer than now, and as
| the foreigner is usually we'll aware OF II
when he comes. the farms could not
expect to take any large proportion oi
| labor that might be imported. The Danes
| and Norwegians have always stuck TO the
soil when they came TO this country. The
| Swedes on the other hand have been
| absorbed by woodworking and alheC
| trades. Germans of two generations back
| went on the farms, but since then German
| immigration has followed the crowd lntC
industry. Southern Europeans, who art
| good farmers at home, come to this eoun.
| try with ambition to try new fields.
! The only kind of immigrant who eolllc
be hustled past the city and out to the
| farm is the oriental. An agricultural com
| mittee of Chicago suggests that eoolls
| labor be brought to this country III ship
loads and dumped on the farms. The
| orientals would not be allowed TO brine
| their families to establish homes, ans
they would be shipped back where the,
came from when their contracts expired
or when they are no longer efficient
This doubtless would be an effective
| price reducer, but the treatment of thr
labor like so much stock or machinery
would, besides rejecting on American
civilization, be destructive of country Inf
and be resented by the oriental govern
ments, with whom immigration is alread,
| q sore point.
Immigration, though seriously con
sidered, seems a remote possibility o
help in our food difficulties. The Nationa
Grange authorities say that America cal
only solve the problem by getting down Z
actual work, and that there will be NOR
of an incentive 10 farm operation whe
the farmer is represented on all boards an
commissions involving governmental az
tiv.ty.