The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 13, 1918, Page 14

- factories, — a ton of seed to $109.50 of which $39.50 is profit. All in all, the oil busi- ° ness appears to be a pretty profitable one. Besides the thousands of factories that are owned by the meat packers, soap manufacturers own a considerable string of and they all appear to be able to keep in the business. They certainly are in better condition than the cotton growers of the South, who are “frozen out” by the thousands each year, through low prices, drouths, unfair grading and bad luck generally. It is another case of the “handlers” making Collingswérth cotton gin at Frisco, Texas, with baled cotton in the foreground as it comes from the gin. money while the growers lose. And. because the “handling” business in cotton in theé South ap- pears to be more profit- able than farming," the farmers belonging to the Nonpartisan league now are planning on going into the “handling” busi- ness as a sideline to farming. They are work- ing for state-owned oil mills, gins and com- presses; to the end that the rich profit now being made off the cotton crop be saved to the pro- ducers and consumers, instead of going into the pockets of the “Big Five” of the meat trust and powder trust. Plenty of Help on Farms This Spring United States Employment Service Reports on Minnesota and the Dakotas— Confident of Ability to Meet the Harvest Demand CCORDING to a statement of | R. D. Beard, examiner in charge, United States employ- ment service, department of labor, with headquarters at Minneapolis, ample farm help is available in North and South Dakota and Minnesota for the spring seeding operations. Mr. Beard has had reports from both the Fargo (N. D.) and Huron (S. D.) offices of the employment serv- ice, and these reports state that there has been plenty of help on the farms for the spring work. In Minnesota, Mr. Beard has had reports from 137 third and fourth class postmasters reporting farm labor conditions in their localities. Of these, two reported an oversupply of farm labor, 95 reported a normal supply and only 40 reported any difficulty on the part of the farmers in getting help. The postmasters throughout country districts are acting as employment agents of the government bureau and are taking applications from farmers for farm labor and registering farm hands who want employ- ment. In practically every locality in Minnesota, farm- ers are putting in extra large crops this spring. One hundred and eighteen postmasters. reported that in their localities extra large crops were being sown, and 18 postmasters reported crops fully up to normal, while there were no reports of crops smaller than normal. IN PREPAREDNESS FOR THE HARVEST The government employment service expects to have its organization in such shape by harvest sea- son to be able to supply the needs of every farmer in the country. Throughout all farming districts the government is establishing agencies, which will receive applications from farmers for help and will register farm hands who desire employment. Post- masters, newspapers and other institutions are be- ing designated as employment agents and, when harvest time comes, the government expects to move farm hands from oversupplied districts to under-supplied -districts and to recruit large forces | of volunteer farm help from the cities. In the bulletin of the employment service bureau for April 9, the Nonpartisan Leader is named along with 71 other publications which have offered to co-operate with the government employment bu- reau in making the employment plan a success. The Leader has informed the United States em- ployment service that it stands ready -to carry to the farmers all information, advice and other mat- ters .which the department deems will be of aid in solving the farm labor problem. From time to time, therefore, the Leader will carry these reports for the department. Mr. Beard, examiner in charge at Minne- apolis, favors an arrangement next fall under which the government will require the rail- roads to carry free, or for a very nominal fare, harvest laborers from one part of the country to another. Now that the government is oper- ating the railroads, such an arrangement ought to be made and can be made readily, in Mr. Beard’s opinion. Canada and other countries have adopted similar plans. . What the United States department of agricul- ture thinks of the Nonpartisan Leader is indicated in a recent letter from Washington. It was written by Roger W. Babson, the famous statistician who is a director of the government’s employment service. He said: “Editor Nonpartisan Leader: “In behalf of the United States employment serv- ice, I wish to thank you for your two kind articles in the papers of February 8, and April 15. Like all your articles, these were exceedingly good. “We find that farmers are exaggerating their needs. A farmer will tell us that he wants five men when he wants only two. The result is, that when his neighbor, a few days later, asks for two, I AM A FARMER I am a farmer. I will do my share. I will plow. I will sow. I will harvest. I will PRODUCE. I will fill vast granaries. I will crowd huge stockyards. I will distend giant warehouses. I will load great ships. I will feed the WORLD. I will help win the war. I am a father, I must defend. I must guide. I must encourage. I must inspire. I must PREPARE. I must seek way for my children. I must establish better conditions. I must enforce laws that are just. I must .defeat corporate greed. I must have POWER. I must help win. the war. I am a citizen. I shall assert that citizenship. I shall understand. I shall discuss. I shall consider. I shall ORGANIZE. I shall seek constructive measures. I shall name miy own candidates. -1 shall finance their election. I shall destroy office-seeking. I shall get RESULTS. I shall help win the war. I am a FARMER. I will. I am a FATHER. I must. I am a CITIZEN. -1 SHALL. PAGE ‘FOURTEEN - power, the son of this landlerd the neighbor gets only one. Educate the farmer to tell his absolute needs and then to hold the employ- ment” service responsible for the result. To have the farmer exaggerate, or to have him apply to two or three sources, greatly complicates the situ- ation and reacts to the detriment of all farmers. “With the cost of living going up and wages ad- vancing in every line, it is only natural that they must advance likewise for farm labor. The real truth is that the farmer gets more today from labor for a dollar than anybody else. As the farmer gets higher prices for his products, should he not have to pay proportionally higher wages? “Congratulating you on the good work- which you are now doing, and with kindest regards, I am, “Very truly yours, “ROGER W. BABSON. “Inquiry and Education Division.” WHERE TO WRITE FOR FARM HANDS Farmers living in the states of Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana can receive in- formation in regard to the government farm labor service by writing to the United States employ- fignt service, 301 Federal building, Minneapolis, inn. Farmers in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colo- rado and Wyoming are in another administrative district of the employment séervice, and should ob- tain information by directing letters to the United States employment service, either at Oklahoma City, Okla.; Topeka, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; Denver, Col.; or Cheyenne, Wyo. - Texas farmers should write to the United States employment service, either at Dallas, El Paso, Houston or San Antonio. : : Idaho, Oregon and Washington farmers, if they desire . further information, should write to the United States employment service, either at St. Anthony, Idaho; Portland, Ore., or Spokane or Seattle, Wash. - . : Wisconsin farmers can obtain information by writing to the United States employment service, either at Madison, or at 809 Manufacturers’ Home building, Milwaukee. Iowa farmers should write to the United States employment service at Des Moines.. 2 ONE OF THE TEXAS KAISERS “If you don’t resign from the Nonpartisan league, I'll not advance you a cent of credit for seed or ' from the company store.” The millionaire landlord of a great feudal empire in Texas said that.to one of his tenants. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF— You had a wife and three children. And two mules, harness, wagon, one cow and two hogs. Everything mortgaged except the wife and kids; crop and household goods with a lien on them.. - - The boss could starve you to death if he didn’t like your organizing to better your condition: g - Well, it wouldn’t be fair to this farmer to tell what he did, but he found a way. & i Just to show how these autocrats go after the is- one of the . sheriffs who stood by and watched League organ-: izers get beatup, PRI B