p'
The news in this publi
cation is released for the
press on receipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published Weekly by the
University of North Caro
lina for the University Ex
tension Division.
MAY 23, 1928
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XIV, No. 28
Editorial Uoartli E. C. Branson. S. H. Hobbo. Jr.. P. W. Waarer. L. R. Wlison, E. W. Knight, D. D. Carroil, H. W. Odum.
Entered as second-class matter November 14. 1914. at the Postoffice at Chapel Hill. N. C.. under the act of August 24, 1012.
FABM LABOR
We are presenting this week a table
■showing how wages for farm labor
compare in the different states, and
also how the supply of farm labor com
pares with the demand in -each state.
These estimates are mode by the
United States Department of Agricul
ture.
hand. It is amusing to read some of ,
the articles which appear in the news- i
papers and magazines to the effect that i
the farmer would share in the Nation’s |
prosperity if he would only follow the ,
example of big business and make
machinery do the work. It is true that:
many farmers are using inefficient and
antiquated methods, but the farm (if;
it is also a home) must remain a small;
It appears that farm labor is much i proprietorship with a variety of tasks
nore plentiful than it has been in j much hand labor, a large degree of
several years; in only four states is
there a scarcity and in these cases it is
slight On the other hand the surplus
is as much as ten percent in eighteen
states, and in one state-Oklahoma—
it is twenty-six percent. This surplus
of farm labor undoubtedly reflects the
curtailment of employment in industry.
Young men from the country who have
been working in the cities naturally re
turn to the country when times are
dull in town. There is probably no
large number of city residents seeking
work on the farms.
The excess of available - farm labor
ers is probably due in part to a reduced
demand. Increased mechanization has
released many workers. This is il
lustrated in the widespread use of the
“combine” in the wheat belt. Scar
city of money among farmers is anoth
er cause of economy in the employ
ment of labor. The low price of agri
cultural products which has prevailed
for several years has undoubtedly in
fluenced many farmers to curtail ex
penses and opera1?e as far as possible
on a seU'-suflicing basis.
Wage Factors
A study of the table indicates practi
cally no correlation between supply of
labor and wages. For instance, in
South Carolina and Georgia there is a
Scarcity of farm Ir-borers. yet these
states are paying lower wages than
any other states. On the other hand,
the New England states and the Moun
tain states pay high wages despite a
surplus of workers. This indicates
that wages are determined more by
custom and by the wages offered in
competitive industries than by supply
and demand. It is not uncommon in
the industrial states like New York and
Pennsylvania to find wholesale un
employment and a high scale of farm
wages at the same time. Industrial
workers when laid off return to the
country to live, but they prefer idle
ness or casual labor to regular work at
moderate wages. They would rather
work three days a. week at three dol
lars a day than six days at two dollars
a day. J’erhaps they should not be
blamed for it, yet it must be remem
bered that the farmer cannot offer as
high wages as the railroad or the fac
tory, for bis margin of profit is so
small that every dollar counts mightily.
Low wages in the South are unques
tionably due to the presence of the
negroes and to the relatively small
competition for labor offered by in
dustry—practically none so far as
negroes are concerned. Construction
work has of course offered employment
to the negroes and the result has been
a slightly higher farm wage scale.
The surplus of farm labor which
exists at present is probably a tem
porary condition. Competent farm
labor will remain scarce and high.
Wages are not too high from the point
of view of the laborer. Farm labor
has always been underpaid and perhaps
always will be. It is not that the
farmer is greedy and unreasonable; the
farmer is proverbially generous with
that of which he has an abundance; he
is niggardly with money because he
has so little of it.
Why Wages Are Low
As agriculture becomes more com
mercialized and more mechanized there
will be introduced more money economy.
The change that has already taken
place is striking. Yet thete are many
phases of farm work that do not lend
themselves to mechanical performance.
The mechanical milker, for instance, is
far from a complete success. It is of
no practical benefit on the average
farm where there are only four or five
cows. On every farm there are such
things as hoeing and chopping,
feeding livestock, repairing fences,
mending harness, cleaning stables,
doctoring sick animals, and countless
other chores that must be done by
self-direction, many immaterial com
pensations but no large amount of
money. A farm is a home as well as a;
unit of production; it offers a wav of
living as w’ell as an occupation. Nei-'
ther the tenant nor the farm laborer can
ever enjoy the larger satisfaction of'
country life and the perpetuation of
these classes should not be encouraged. .
ALL-THE-YEAR .FARMS
The tragedy of agriculture in the
South has been that it has been pitched j
upon a plane of mere periodic activity, :
confined chiefly to that specific time of,
the year for cotton cultivation.
No section of the country can prop
erly prosper with that sort of agri
culture. It has often been demon^i
strated bow impossible such a program I
is in order to make for agricultural!
achievement .and success. j
Take the case of Eastern Montana
that was a few years ago engaged only
in wheat-raising along with the prodiic-
*1100 of a little flax.
During the crop season, there was a
veritable insanity, a running to and fro
EDUCATION FOR LIFE
The farm youth will be best quali
fied for citizenship through an edu
cational process that gives him
mastery of the tools of learning; a
knowledge of his true relation to
the various groups which make up
the world social order and a knowl
edge of the independence of social
and occupational groups; a knowl
edge of the real possibilities ‘ and
requirements in the major groups of
occupations through which men
serve and gain a livelihood, and an
opportunity to test his ability and-
congeniality for characteristic tasks
in these occupations; freedom to
choose his field of service and op
portunity for efficient training
through a school curriculum that
specifically relates to its chosen
field of service; knowledge that
functions in physical efficiency and
habits that conserve health; moral
courage that comes of understand
ing, physical vigor, and a feeling of
self-reliance that comes through
such guidance that successful mas
tery of problems becomes habitual.
—John J. Tigert.
by the United States Department of: and essence of American democracy.
Agriculture in the Central states, Th^y fo--““‘"K expert
. Li. L i.u before they are sure what it is they
showed, m more than half the coup- ! expert knowledge upon. They
ties surveyed, that more than 30 per- j become so economical in the employ-
cent of the tenants were related toimentof (heir own mental powers that
the landowners. In the Southern I‘hey have no patience with the fellow
■ U1J-# ^ I '■ who IS trying to lead them into a con-
states, where much land is farmed by , sjderation of a subject that does not at
negroes, the percentage of tenants once and compeilingly concern thorn,
related to hmdowners is only ub^ut Thus—we have many evidences-^the
existing in the ■ of conversation is dying out, to-
[ gether with other cultural heritages or
' the American people.
Tenants related to their landlords! ‘here are reviyals. We '.e^n
^ .. J • XU J? XU I that in at least one typical metropolitan
are usually interested m the farm they j community a number of men deliber-
operate, and in the community in i ately went back to the slow but valu-
which they live, to a degree exceeding; able methods of the country grocery
bv the un-' store for a taste of that simple, neigh
borly democracy which in the past has
half the^percentage
North.
that ordinarily manifested
related tenant. Tenants related to
landlords in the North and Western
states, in 84 percent of such cases, are
either sons or sons-in-law, Obviously
so close a relationship exercises con
siderable influence on tenancy practice.
Among states having much farm
tenancy, Wisconsin has the highest
percentage of tenants related to their
landlords. The percentage for that
slate is 40 percent, compared with 20
percent in Dakota, the lowest state
in lliis respect. Variations in the rel
ative number of tenants related to
landlords in different parts of the
country are due in part to prevailing
customs in transferring farms from one
generation to another, in part to the
number .of • children remaining on
farmers’ Ifarms, in part to racial con
siderations, in part to the amount of
land held for speculation. —U. S. Dept,
of Agriculture Press Item.
! crops with rich food? Can a thermostat
i altogether replace the maternal in
stinct?
And what wll! be the effect on the
farmer and his family? Will he con-
i tinue hi.s commendable habit of early
j rising if he can milk a dozen cows at a
! time by simply turning on the juice?
jWill not the farmer's wife lose the
I well-rounded arms that she developed
in a mad scramble to get the thing
done tliat had to be done in the short
est possible time. The rest of the year
the farmers had nothing to do except,
to take care of herd ot that- ^ ^ ...
were eating their heads off in the idle
ness that followed the mad-house
tactics necessary during the short while
BACK TO CRACKER BOX
When a small group sits around the
grocery stove on a cold winter after
noon, their conversation may begin as
idle gossip, but as likely as not some
matter of common concern comes up
formed the matrix for even the highest
individual achievements in political,
social and religii us thinking. Call it
mere gossip if you like; there is in it
kinship with the mood of cooperative
inquiry. —The Inquiry.
AGRICULTURE LEADS
The place of agriculture in the econ
omic life of nations is readily shown
ir. the accompanying table which was
taken from the New York Times,
March 2?, 1928.
Rank Industry Employes
1 Agriculture 10,241,000
2 Construction 3,061,000
Railroads 2,184,000
Textiles 1,110,000
Machinery 868,000
Coal .'. 748,000
ljumber 474,000 .
Clothing 466,000
Iron and Steel....
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
33
14
16
16
17
18
19
20
438,000
Automobiles 430,000
Tel. and Tel 381,000
Publishing 296,000
Electricity 230,000
Sh.-)£s 207,000
Baking 160,000
Oil 168,000
Rubber 141.000
Tobacco 1S2,G00
Paper 124,000
Meat IZO.OOO
wheat-growing and harvesting called
for. Most of the farmers eventually
found themselves broke by this system.
Though wheat is still their principal
crop, Montana farmers are now raising:
sugar beets, beans, certified alfalfa
seed, certified potatoes, canning peas,
farm flocks, dairy cows, corn, poultry,
honey, apples, cherries,' and strawber
ries. Canneries, sugar factories, cream
eries, and seed warehouses have sprung
up. The people have become industrially
minded; they realize that where capital
is not working steadily it loses ground.
A farm investment of $15,000, idle two-
thirds of the year, is entitled to no
more return than a $5,000 investment
working all the time. Putting this
axiom into action, they are making
Montana farms all-the-year workshops.
Rotation and diversification of crops
that give the farmer a steady all-the-
year job instead of a hysterical over-
rush during short seasons and soul-kill
ing idleness during the rest of the year,
is the salvation of farming anywhere.
—Charlotte News.
complexion that she acquired over the
j cook-stove? • Will the tutigst(3n filament
i gh'e th^ well-grounded education that
we, or anyhow our forefathers, got by
means of the torch or tallow dip? In
short, will those whose hardest labor
has been to press a button or jerk a
switch acquire those sterling qualities
which have made' us what we are?—
Daily Science News Bulletin, repro
duced in Literary Digest.
ALAM/iNCE COUNTY SURVEY
An economic and social survey of
Alamance county has been completed
which is discussed with both heat and by John W. Harden of Graham, work-
knowledge. The heat may spring from ing in cooperation with the Depart-
the friction of opposed interests, and I
^ L X, X XI . X 1 University. It is a book of one bun-
the Knowledge may be that of a variety t pages, nicely illustrated, and con-
■ ELECTRIC FARMING
About 4B percent of the farms of
Sweden are using electricity for light-
ing and light power. In the United
States ‘not more than 3 percent of the
farms are receiving electric current
from power lines, ’ according to G. E.
Tripp, chairman of the Westinghouse.
California, of course, claims the lead,
with 664,000,000 horse-power-hours of
electric power used in agriculture dur
ing the year 1928, but 80 percent of
that is employed in pumping water for
irrigation. The number of electric-
power consumers on farms in Cali
fornia is reported as 2o,916. Ohio has
17,000 farms supplied with rural
electric service, and Iowa and Pennsyl
vania have about 12,000 each.
To read over the list of the applica
tions of the current one would think
that the electrical farmer hadn’t any
chores to do and that his electrified
stock were living in the lap of luxury.
I am skeptical, as one of my age
naturally would be, about the moral
effect of all these new-fangled ways.
Incandescent lights in the pig-pen!
Electric tans in the cattle shed!
Ultraviolet rays for hogs and hay! Is
it good for young hens to be kept up all
hours of the night under the white
lights, gadding about and stuffing their
BANKERS AID FARMING
There are several reasons for the
growth of the banker-farmer move
ment in Pennsylvania, William S. Mc
Kay, Chairman of the, Agricultural
Committee, Pennsylvania Bankers As
sociation, has" reported to the Agricul
tural Commission of the American
Bankers Association. The cooperation
and leadership of the county agents in
the several counties of the state; the
appointment and functioning of county
chairmen of agriculture known as Key
Bankers, one of whom there is in each
county of the state; and the organiza-;
tion of county bankers associations,
whereby agriculture is given considera
tion by all the banks, are responsible
for this interest. The following table
shows the activities for the year:
Project Number of
Counties
Sent young farmers to state col
lege for special course 6
Encouraged farm shows 16
Held agricultural tours 6
Sponsored various club activities 38
Gave illustrated lectures on poul
try, cow testing, and im
proved farm methods 1
Distributed pure-bred livestock,
chicks, and disease-free pota
toes
“There is probably no class of busi
ness men that has a greater oppor
tunity for helpfulness than the bankers
in this movement,” declares Mr. Mc
Kay. ‘‘It builds up a substantial com
munity which makes for better bank
ing institutions; it adds to the material
prosperity of our state, but above all,
it is the expression of a service which
will react favorably upon the character
of those interested.”—Roanoke-Chowan
Times.
of experiences rather than of expert
research. Nevertheless, what emerges
is in the nature of a cooperative prod
uct of social value, an agreement
leading, as likely as not, to common
action in that disputed matter of the
village pump.
Now, sophisticated city people, who
have no cracker boxes to sit upon and
no leisure for the slow process of gossip
as a means of detecting vital issues,
are apt to condemn this very fount
tains a wealth of inftnnation and sug
gestion relative to Alamance county.
The cost of publication was borne
jointly by Alamance county through
the general fund and the sclioiJ fund,
the Burlington Board of Education, the
Burlington Chamber of Commerce, and
the University Extension Division.
A limited supply of the bulletins is
available for free distribution by each
of the following agencies—the Burling
ton Chamber of Commerce, the Uni
versity Extension Division and the De
partment of Rural Social-Economics
at the University.
RELATIVES AS TENANTS
In parts of the United States where
farm tenancy is extensive, a consider
able proportion of the tenants are re
lated to their landlords. A study made^
FARM LABDR IN THE UNITED STATES
Supply and Average Wage, April 1, 1928
In the following table the states are ranked according to the average wage
paid to farm labor in April, 1928. The parallel column gives the supply of farm
labor in each state expressed as a percent of demand. The table is based on in
formation contained in the April number of Crops and Markets published by
the United States Department of Agriculture.
For the United States as a whole the current wage for farm labor is $2.84
per day without board. Stated broadly, wages are higher than the United
States average in all the northern and western slates and lower in all the
southern states. The highest wage scale prevails in the North Atlantic states
and the lowest in the South Central states. Rhode Island and Georgia rep
resent the two extremes, with farm labor wage scales of $3.70 and $1.30
respectively. In all sections farm wages are slightly lower than at the same
time in 1926 or 1927.
Farm labor is much more plentiful in most states than it has been in
several years. In the country as a whole the present supply'of farm labor rep
resents 107.5 percent of demand. In 1927 the ratio was 102.6; in 1926 it was
98.1; in 1926 it was 99.6; and in 1924 it v/as 92.8. It appears therefore that a
farm labor scarcity has gradually given way to a surplus.
Department of Rural Social-Economics, University of North Carolina
Supply
Wages
Supply
Wages
expressed
per day
expressed
per day
Rank State as percent
without
Rank State
as percent
without
of demand
board
of demand
board
1
Rhode Island...
..104
3.70
24
Minnesota...
..109
2.95
2
Montana
..102
3.65
24
Colorado ....
..no..
2.96
3
Massachusetts..
..119
3.60
27
Kansas
..Ill
2.80
3
Connecticut
...no
3.60
28
Illinois
.116 .. .
2.70
3
New York
..108
3.60
29
Indiana
..109
X....2.60
6
California
...114
3.60
29
Maryland,...
..113.. , .
2.60
7
Wyoming
..100
3.46
31
Delaware ...
..101
2.60
8
New Hampshire..106
3.40
31
Arizona
..no
2.60
8
New Jersey
...101
3.40
33
West Virginia..
..116
2.30
10
Washington
...109
3.30
34
Missouri
..109
2.16
11
Vermont
.. 97
3.20
34
New Mexico
..114
2.16
11
Michigan
..113
3.20
36
Virginia
..104
2,10
11
North Dakota ..
..103
3.20
37
Oklahoma..
..126
1.96
11
South Dakota ..
..105
..;..3.20
38
North Carolina.
...102....
1.85
11
Idaho
...108
3.20
39
Texas
-.117
1.80
16
Pennsylvania...
..113
3.16
40
Kentucky ..
..103
1.66
16
Oregon
..116
3.16
41
Florida
..n3..r...
1.66
18
Ohio
..no
3.10
41
Mississippi.
.. 96
1.66
18
Nebraska
...109
3.10
41
Arkansas....
..106
1.66
18
Maine
...109
3.10
44
Tennessee..
..102
1.50
18
Nevada
...104
3.10
41
Alabama ....
..101
. ...1.60
22
Iowa
..109... .
3.06
44
Louisiena ...
..102..:...
1.50
23
Utah
..113
3.00
47
South Carolina
.. 98
1.86
24
Wisconsin
..104
2.95
48
Georgia
.. 99
1.30