Year: 1874

-rOLIO


LIABILITY OF LABORERs.
ALTOONA, Polk Co., Iowa,


Aug. "a, 1874.


To the Agricultural Editor Of til,
Register will you please give YOU
opinion in the Weekly Register O
the following case:


Last spring hired man Tor the sea
son, or until after corn husking, at $1s
per month. He worked as per agree
ment until harvest commenced. l hsd
made an arrangement with two of m,
neighbors to cut their grain and they
were TO help me do my harvesting
Now had not moral right to take
my hired man along and get help Ia re
turn for his labor without paying him
harvest wages when he worked in my
neighbor's fields He refused to work
wages, IN consequence of which act
suffered an extra expense of at least SEQ
in harvest and stacking. rwo other
cases of this kind within my knowledge
this year. Is he not morally and legally
bound to work with me and for me
wherever l went? When neighbors har
vest together il 1t right or wrong tc
take men who agreed to work by the
month, through the season, to work fol
the benefit of othhers, as well as myself,
l wish you would give your views ol
the case BY so doing you will greatly
oblige one who delights in reading the
Agricultural Department Of the most
enterprising newspaper published in the
State Of Iowa.


H. p Brown


Here comes before us one of The
greatest troubles Of Iowa farming NJ
now practiced. There has been such
demand for harvest hands at enor.
nous prices that but few laborers
can be found who will stand to their
contract with the farmer. They will
hire out for eight months a, SIS OF
$40, which is to include harvest.
They will work four months and then
resort TO various devices to get their
full pay, and sometimes little more,
when they will inform the farmer,
for trivial or supposed reasons, that
they will work no longer, and march
off to the neighbor, whose hand has
also left him for like mercenary
causes, and the farmer being in a
pinch, needlessly agrees to pay him
81 or a3 per day. This has SO long
been the successful trick nearly all
have leared it. Some complain OF
sickness, some that they are not treat
ed well by the family, others that
they are worked too hard. But the
meaner sort will do all kinds of dirty
tricks-neglect business, abuse teams,
break all the farm implements, &C.,
to harass his employer SO that he will
dismiss him. This kind of cases are
all around US, until some men are in
duced to abandon farming to avoid
such troubles. Friend Brown need
not suppose that his nei9hbor's har-
vest field was particularly objectiona-
BILE to his hired hand. 1t was only
one of the tricks to get released from
his contract, SO he could get harvest
wages. To cure these things the
farmers must unite and determine to
pay no more wages for harvest than
for any other labor equally rs la
borious. And the times are rapidly
tending in this direction. Science
and brains are laboring to invent ma
chinery to aid the farmer in his har-
vest so that he will not be slave tc
rowing harvest hands. Railroads and
gamblers in wheat are also uniting to
drive the farmers from the unprohta.
BILE and farm starving business o
raising wheat. In few years there
will not be such temptations to farm
laborers to resort to so many dis
honorable tricks to violate their con-
tracts.


But Mr.. Brown wishes to know il
his hand was not morally and legally
bound to go with him in exchanging
with his neighbor in cutting hi.
wheat, unless there was very specia
contract that the man was to work a,
a special place. There is no doubt
about it. If a man hires a hand te
work on his farm in general terms i
is clear he has the right to take hin
on the road to aid in working out hi
road tax, to go to mill, to market will
his produce, to help a neighbor t.
plant his corn, SO that he can get hi
neighbor's planter-to help a neigh
Dor raise his his barn-and to ex
change work with neighbor in har
vest, or in stacking, or in haying
These are all necessary labors of th'
farm. And the requirement is rea
sonable. The hand has to work NJ
longer in harvest than if the employ
er cut his grain all alone, without ex
changing with his neighbor. Nor il
corn planting would there be an,
extra burthens imposed. If he re
quired the hand to plant his corn b
hand without the aid Of the planter
it would be more laborious than tn
exchange. So with cutting his grair
If the employer had no reaper, h
would require his hand to cut hi
grain with the old fashioned cradle
which the hand would find more Ell
pensive than exchanging with


neighbor. Laws as well as moral
are presumed to be founded on righ,
eousness, and when no wrong is don
to the individual, the necessary labo.
Of the farm, whether performed on (
off the farm, are all part of the dutie
of the lahorer. II would be a ci