Evening star., 1943-01-02
kanpower Shortage
Threatens 10 Reduce
Production Of Beef.
Ronchers Adopt Longer
Work Doy in Effort
To Reach Meat Quotes
By the Associated Press.

To Reach Meat Quotes
By the Associated Press.
KANSAS CITY. Five thousand
calves unbranded on a single ranch
for want of cowhands. Ranch
executives driven by necessity back
to the saddle. =. time Indus
try Turing away help through high
wages. Cattlemen working
long hours. -.
It's a gloomy picture you get In
talking with the men who have been
called on by the Government to in
crease by II per cent their 1913
marketing Of beef animals to meet
the food-for- production goals.
On the other hand It's hard to
keep q good cattleman down, and
Sam McKelvie, former Governor of
Nebraska, publisher Of the Nebraska
Farmer and owner of a ranch in
Cherry County, Nebr., believes the
ranchers will come through and give
the country big meat production.
Lawrence Mollin, American Ma
tional Livestock Association execu-
tive, holds somewhat to the opinion
Of MIR. McKelvie. An accurate FORE
cast on the effect of the manpower
shortage on cattle production is i'm
possible with the data on hand at
present, he said. because while the
ranchers may complain when they
lose foreman or other key men,
they will still be In there pitching,
producing just as many cattle as
they can"
The men on ranches, according to
Russell Thorp. secretary of the Wyo-
ming Stock Growers Association, are
working as many IS II hours . day
and seven days week IN An attempt
to carry on effectively, tsking up the.
slack left by reduced help. 2
How serious the situation is was
illustrated by State Senator Charles
Murphy of Spicer, Colo, president
of the Colorado Stock Growers and
Feeders Association, and operator of
a large Colorado mountain ranch,
who noted that he has seven men
working for him today compared to
10 year ago.
The number of men is not so i'm
portant as the ability of these men" !"
Mr.. Murphy said. "One good man
is worth three or four inexperienced
men. I don't understand why, but
country boy can 60 to the city and
make good in reasonable time, but
boy from the city, as a rule, never
succeeds on a ranch or farm"
Too Many Called.
The Army and industry, Mr.. Muir
ply declared, have taken away too
many men needed on the ranches.
Mr.. Molliin said the cattlemen
hope there will be good results from
the new Selective Service rule allow
ing deferment OF essential ranch
workers. So far it has been head
ache keeping q man, he said. Even
If rancher got a deferment for q
key man, there was always the
chance the man would enlist when
people began looking at him and
wondering aloud why he wasn't in
the service A man, like most cow
boys, Mr.. Mollin remarked, wouldn't
stand for many looks and many
audible comments suggesting he was
a Stacker.
The Wyoming Stock Growers As
sociation Executive Committee pro-
posed that Secretary of Agriculture
Wickard should provide some char
acter OF enlistment in the armed
forces and furlough to inactive
duty of essential men of military age
now employed in agriculture and
livestock production until such time
as a more practical plan is pro-
vided to meet our minimum labor
demands"
The spokesman for a New Mexico
cattle growers association said New
Mexico draft boards have beer
drafting all COW hands without de.
pendents and telling the ranchers
to hire married men, but that nc
qualified men were available.
Richard j. McCusker OF Denver
regional war manpower commits.
sioner, said the ranchers were short
Of men, but that few complaints hat
been made to the Selective Service
the Federal Employment Service OF
the War Manpower Commission.
Mr.. McKelvie, writing in the Ne.
braska Farmer, said he had made &
labor survey Of 20 ranches in thu
vicinity Of his own ranch and hat
decided that the deferment Of ke,
men in ranching and other essentia
agricultural pursuits came none tot
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