WHAT OF THE HARVEST? 275 



(Tarbock) contested the position with a noted gentleman of 

 means. The voting was equal. A recount occurred. Again 

 the votes were equal. To settle the question it was decided to 

 spin a coin, which, unfortunately (from our standpoint) came 

 to the ground in favour of the opposite side. 



" Men of to-day are certainly better off, in spite of much that 

 is said to the contrary, than in pre-war days. Logically this 

 is the outcome of the organisation to which they belong. Many 

 a man to-day is in receipt of 485. and 505. a week who was only 

 in receipt of 22s. 6d. and 235. and i a week when war was de- 

 clared. I have known agricultural labourers spend 2 in a trip 

 in a Sop with this summer at Southport." 



Even the heavy-footed have an ambition to fly ! 



" Manliness is asserting itself. Men on the land are realis- 

 ing their importance ; but unfortunatel}' tyranny still exists. 

 There was a case of a member threatened for being in a union 

 in the Burnley district. Waylaid by farmers (father and son) 

 he was kicked mercilessly and left to die. The wife started in 

 search and found her husband torn and bleeding in a lonely 

 road (Worsthorne). She summoned medical and police aid. 

 The doctor pronounced the case serious. A solicitor was en- 

 gaged, and the case would have been tried at Burnley. It was 

 settled before going into court for the miserable sum of 8. 



" The farm-tied cottage is the modern curse of agriculture. 

 Men loathe the system ; masters, cling to it. 



" North and East Lanes, are notoriously bad in this respect 

 and there will never be any improvement substantially until 

 the system is totally abolished. Bad sanitation ; impure water ; 

 dampness ; defective roofs ; are amongst the main grievances. 

 The Fylde area is particularly bad. At Westby Mills (where I 

 have slept myself) these facts are glaring. In the Reedley 

 Hallows, Pendle Bridge and Cliviger districts of East Lanes, 

 the same conditions exist and there is almost a feeling of des- 

 pair amongst the dwellers. The Bolton-Bury district is similar, 

 and as the farmer is both landlord and architect, as well as a 

 shielded person, there is very little chance of successful appeal. 



" The boon of shorter hours is a great one to the agricultural 

 labourer. All that is needed to perfect any working arrange- 

 ment is an improved organisation of the conditions. To-day 

 hours are wasted in the conveyance of food to cattle, also lack 

 of better arrangement for preparing same. There is a consider- 

 able mileage covered by the ordinary cattleman in connection 

 with watering and feeding. 



" In my work as an organiser my experience with farming 

 since childhood has been invaluable. Sometimes I have posed 



