New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-05-24
Cities Asked to to-
Harvest. Crops,
AvertnFa11lille
- gs1H@ 81 '.sI ;. 49,, ..
Secretary Of Agriculture
Predicts Shortage of
Food Unless Labor r.
Sent to Help Farmers
Production Already Cut
Effects Of Late. Spring Are
Felt; Wartime Energy
Urged to Save Situation
From The Tribune. Washington sxrsou

From The Trtbx~e's Washington Bwrsou
WASHINGTON, May 23.-Edwin T.
Meredith. Secretary Of Agriculture, in
an interview to-day predicted a serious
food shortage next winter unless labor
from the cities can be diverted to the
farms during the summer months to
help harvest the crops.
Handicapped by q combination of cir
cumstances over which .le has no con-
troll, the American farmer, the Secre-
tary insisted, is doing his utmost to
meet the food needs of the country.
He absolved him without question OF
the job. But because of the handicaps,
chef among which is the shortage Of
"a o.. the Secretary said, the farmer is
fec. I, ny the necessity Of curtailipg his
production unless aid is assured him.
For this reason Mr.. Meredith appealed
to city business organizations and
student bodies throughout, the country
to pledge themselves to send large
numbers among them out to the farms
this summer and help the farmer
gather his crops. ...,.
mans as it is the farmer,,s."' the Secre-
tary said. Their interests are mex
tricably bound up and, ipterdependent.
| often wonder if the people Of the
cities realize how closely the problem
comes home to them. With the excep-
ton of the packing centers, the cities
of the country have on hand at any
time only enough meat Ito feed them
for perhaps four days. They have only
enough -four to last a few weeks. Their
vegetables and fruits come in from day
is only a day, or at most few weeks,
removed from the farm. Whenever
there is shortage Of production it is
reflected almost instantly on the peo-
pie of the cities.
Acreage Curtailed
Right now we face the danger Of
such shortage for the next year. Cur
tailed acreage necessarily means cur
tailed food production, and without
adequate labor farmers cannot main
tain adequate acreage. Not A1ons is
there shortage Of 80 per cent in the
supply Of hiredtfarm, labor the country
over, but farm work is greatly behind
because of the backward spring. Even
until harvest those two things-short-
age of labor and late spring-mean re-
duced production With poor season
from now on a food scarcity is in
evitable. And food scarcity 10 men,
ace to national prosperity everywhere.
High wages would mean little to the
city worker II he could not buy food
except at famine prices.
THE curtailment Of immigration
alone during the war has been sufficient
to make deep cut in the normal supply
of labor of ali kinds. With what labor
there is the farmer feels he Is unable
to compete with the higher paying in.
dustries Of the cities. II he Is to ret
the help he needs this summer he must
rely on athorough awakening on the
part Of the city people to their respon-
sibilities in che situation. They must
realize that, so far as agricultural prod
ucts are concerned, it is an emergency
that faces the country, as grave in
many respects as that which faced US
during the war, and calling for the
During the war the city people
showed what they could do to aid the
farmer in emergency. The present
shortage Of farm labor exactly CORE
spends in figures and, in fact, to tho
shortage which existed in the summer
of 1913. Yet exceptionally large crops
were produced that year. Why? In
the first place, because the individual
farmer himself gave every ounce of his
energy to the patriotic duty of seeing
that the country at war did not lack for
food. Old, retired, and sometimes Grip
pied farmers, with their wives, went
into the field to help. But important
also was the fact that large numbers
Of business men, students and workers
in the city responded to the appeal that
they spend a part. or all Of their vaca-
ton periods in the fields helping the
farmers. Only by similar cooperation
can we meet the present emergency In
the agricultural situation. Will the
city folk respond7"
Urges Colleges to Aid
The secretary would not predict what
the present break in food prices, partic-
ularly In the grain market, IS going to
mean to tho farmer. Nor would be ven
ture an opinion as to whsther this
break Is likely 70 Be at the expense Of