The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-14
WORKINGMEN AND FARMERS WORKING OUT OWN PROBLEMS
No Longer a Waiting" At- titude, But They Are Going Ahead to Make Matters
 Better Themselves
By RALPH BURTON Special Correspondent of The Age-Herald Copyright, 1921, by The Age-HeraId)

Copyright. 1921. by The Age HeraId)
 Washington, August (SpeciaL) Workingmen and farmers of the United States, the two largest classes in the population and the classes which have perhaps been hit hardest by the period of industrial depres- sion, are showing a rapidly growing tendency toward independence in working out solutions of their own problems. There is no longer, in the more progressive sections of farm CTS and union members, the waiting" attitude; they are going ahead to make matters better themselves.
 Some interesting aspects of this situation have just come to light so far as labor is concerned. Unemploy- ment is the big problem confront ing labor today. Because 100000 men are out of jobs, the labor movement is weak; it must constantly make concessions, because of the great reservoir of the unemployed ready to fill any jobs that are vacant. Prob ably unemployment is more serious here than in almost any country in Europe, though as yet the problem has apparently given the govern ment no great concern. Approximate Iy 20 per cent of the wage earners or the country are out of work.
 They are, however, beginning to find work for themselves. There has, in the last few months, been wide spread movement for the construc- ton of labor temples-buildings which provide a headquarters for all the varied activities of the labor movement of city and which tend f,r ern aur nf locality into cohesive body. As an example, the case of Jackson, Michp may be cited,
 Before the War
 Before the war a lot had been pur- chased for the erection of labor temple, and the growth of the city during the war, when building opera tions were suspended everywhere, made the lot much more valuable. Dur ing the last few months, when the building trades have been hard hit' the union movement of the city de- cided to build the temple in order to give workers in those trades some thing to do at a dull time. A similar policy has been followed in a num- Der of other cities, and labor temples are rapidly increasing in number.
 In Boston, workers in the building trades have formed a cooperative building association, eliminating the contractor and his profits. Recently too, there has been a marked tendency toward experimentation by men out of work. Cigarmakers have estab- lished cooperative factories, and the telegraphers contemplate a bank as a means of added security for their members and the organization.
 Their own Efforts
 tl~ rtea ,tf,er to pend on their own efforts, even in the south, where economic forces have thus far operated perhaps as crush inRly as anywhere in the country. Figures received by the department of agriculture show an absolutely unprecedented reduction in the acre age of cotton, tobacco and rtce-2S per cent, it is estimated-as a result of low prices received for those prod ucts last year. But because south ern farmers had to pay high prices for everything they bought, they have turned much of their cotton, rice and tobacco land into other crops, ana thereby may free themselves from economic dependence on other sec tions of the country.
 ! Experts of the University of North Carolina, who have just completed a survey of the rapidly increasing tenant farmer problem in the south, look upon this plan of growing at home crops for home consumption as the surest means of ending tenancy. The tobacco crops would then be- come surplus-and incidentally mo- nopoly-products which could be mar keted for cash. These experts fore cast that within 10 years the south ern farmers, by following this prac- tice, would make themselves the richest on earth. convert tenant farm CTS into proprietors.