Imperial Valley press., 1941-06-06


boards to give full consideration to
requests of farm workers for defer
red classification on account of oc-
cuption, there is an interesting
story of what's happening to the
supply of and demand for agrl-
cultural labor.
In the first place, there isn't any
general shortage of farm labor.
The scare reports to that effect
are not only premature but also ex-
aggerated. There are spotty dislo-
cations the. wages paid to farm
labor have risen since the first OF
the year, but there has been ample
farm labor to plant all crops and
to harvest the early fruit and gar
den truck. The situation varies SO
much from county to county, how
ever, that any attempts to genera
lize quickly resolve themselves into
abSurdities.
Attention was focused on this
situation the other day by Secre-
tary of Agriculture Claude R.
Wickard's letter to General Lewis
B. Hershey at draft headquarters
This letter was pretty generally
misinterpreted. While it pointed out
there had been a reduction in farm
labor supply it also pointed OUT
there had been large surpluses OF
farm labor. What mad been cut
down was the surplus. With the
surplus reduced, the wage OF the
available supply had gone. up
AVERAGE WAGE UP
Is CENTS DAILY
Latest quarterly report from Ag-
ricultural Marketing Service esti-
mates that the wage of farm labor
was up an average of Is cents a
day over a year ago, with a top oil
$3.15 without board in Rhode
Island and Connecticut, and ma
tional average of $1.70 a day with
out board. Naturally, when farm
labor prices started going up, far
mers began to mention it, unfav-
orably.
It's in the areas where defense
production activities are concen-
trated that this competition for
farm labor supply is felt most
keenly. If you want that area
roughly bounded, it's the triangle
starting in Minnesota, extending
eastward through New England,
down the Atlantic to North Caro-
lima, then diagonaly northwest back
to Minnesota. Elsewhere, pick out
the location of an army camp or a
defense plant and you'll find labor
flocking in to get the higher wages.
This decrease in the farm labor
surplus has been reported as high
as 30 per cent from the automobile
area of southeast
ern Michigan and along the lakes
to Buffalo. Another sharp decline
was in the Philadelphia Whining
ton area. Elsewhere, migrant Ia
Dor has appeared and in some sec
tions there has been a definite in
dication that a shortage of farm
labor, if it develops further, would
be met by increased use of farm
BOARDS TOOK
NEEDED WORKERS
One other factor that has COM
plioated the farm labor situation
has been a misunderstanding about
selective service registrations. "A
of the six million farms
in the United States are still fam
ilv sized farms. Sons help their
fathers on these farms and grad
uallv take over their operation. AS
these sons appear for draft regis
tration. however, instead OF claim
inc deferment on the grounds OF
they have claimed oc-
cupational deferment. Draft boards
have rushed these farm boys right
into the service, leaving the farms
without competent help. That's one
of the errors the draft boards are
now being asked to correct.
Handling the farm labor shortage
is something that has to be done
locally. Responsibility for, correct
ing bad situations is being put on
state farm labor committees made
up of representatives of farm
agencies ard WPA. y
South Dakota is pointed to in
as one state that has
handled this problem we'll. 1t has
made farm-by-farm checkups on
labor supply. When one county re-
ports a shortage of help and an
other has a surplus, a shift is made
and everybody is keyt happy, the
at least
WASHINGTON CROP NOTES
Prices received by farmers rose
points in April to ITO per cent