The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1920-08-06
THE FARM LABOR "PROBLEM.'


Most of the discussion in the daily |
press concerning alleged shortage Of
farm labor consists of half-truths. |
One fact never touched upon is that
to the cultivators of small farms the
alleged shortage of farm labor is I'M
known. Doing their own work with
occasional help from members OIL
their family they do not need to hire
anyone 1t is different with The
owners of large farms. They cannot
do all their own work. They must
hire help, and if demand elsewhere
has called the help away by offers OF
higher wages, the farmer must meet
these higher wages or do without
help. Now we are told these farm
ers are unable to pay higher wages
and will meet the situation by re-
ducing the cultivated acreage. They
will let part of their holdings remain
unused and cultivate only so much as
they can without help. The result
must be reduced production Of food
and a still higher cost Of living.
What is the remedy? If public
attention were called to the fact that
the small farms are not affected by
a shortage of labor then people
would see that practical remedy Is
to do away with large holdings. If
these were divided into small farms
and made easily accessible to labor
many of the farm laborers lured to-
the city and many city laborers with
a taste for farming could be induced
to take them up. But that means
interference with the right of a land
owner to withhold land from use.
To a large part of the press such
suggestion is obnoxious since 1t de-
MES the right of landowners to with.
hold from willing workers opportun-
tiles to engage in production. So we
find the press engaged in discussing
schemes to force laborers back to the
big farms at wages lower than are
now to be had elsewhere.
The Baltimore Evening Sun of
June 23 devotes several columns to
this farm-labor problem as it exists
in Maryland counties near the city.
There are the usual complaints that
the men insist on short hours and
demand SO a day. There is the
usual indignation over the report
that men who do useful work are in
d,,Ir;no II, ,,ortarhouco cfook inatn9 n
of round steak, are riding TO and
from their work in public busses in
stead of walking, and in other ways
are getting something out of life for
themselves instead of merely shaving
for others. The "blame" for this
dad state of affairs" is laid on the
alleged high wages paid by the fac
tories. But in one county the federal
government is blamed. Here is the
reported complaint from Hartford
county.
"Our whole critical situation is
due entirely to the proving grounds
at Aberdeen and Edgewood Arsenal
said B. B. Derrick, county agricul-
tural agent, of Bel Air. Farm
hands have been employed there at
much higher wages than the farmer
has been able to pay them. Besides
that, they have been employed to
loaf and not to work. Talk with
any man on the proving grounds.
He will tell you that he is not doing
one days work week there. We
believe that producing food for the
country is more important than some
of the work going on at the proving
grounds at the present time. We are
sore about this situation.
Last year l went there and asked
them If they could not find some
remedy for it, and they told me
every man in their employ was under
civil service and that they could not
discriminate. 1t had been taken up
time and again by number of men
here in the counties. We are now
taking it up with our central organi-
cation, known as the Farmers Fed
Grafton of Hartford County, to see If
they cannot get some results In some
way, so that labor can be released at
least during the harvest season"
If, as Mr.. Derrick says, "produc-
ing food for country is more import
ant than some of the work going on
at the proving grounds" then Why
cannot laborers employed in produc-
ing food be paid at least as much as
those on the proving grounds? The
money to pay the proving ground
laborers comes principally from taxes
on wealth producers. A very big
part comes from the farmers. II
labor and labor products were not
taxed the farmers of Hartford county
and elsewhere would nave kept in
their own pockets the money now
spent on the proving grounds and
could pay farm labor as much as the
government now pays at the proving
grounds. And IL the government,
instead OF taxing labor. were ia take
- a.