THE WORKER'S SHARE IN AGRICULTURE. 149 



crop unless there is a reasonable prospect, first that it will not 

 be diminished, and secondly, that he will get some return for 

 its use. The general theory that capital will not be invested 

 in an industry unless it will bring a return equal to that which 

 could be obtained, with the same degree of risk, in some other 

 use, is not strictly true of Agriculture. Capital is, and always 

 has been, attracted to Agriculture at a relatively low rate of 

 interest, but there is a point at which no one will be prepared 

 to risk his money. 



A similar principle applies to the wage-earner. He will 

 only consent to work on the production of the crop if he is assured 

 of not less remuneration for his services than he can obtain 

 in some other employment, subject again to the fact that some 

 men are willing to work on the land and in the country for 

 lower wages than they will accept in other occupations. 



These truisms lead up to the self-evident proposition that 

 both capital and labour must each take a share of the proceeds 

 of the crop, if the crop is to be grown at all. The problem 

 is, on what basis are those shares to be calculated ? 



Among the questions which will receive the consideration of 

 the Royal Commission on Agriculture will no doubt be the mone- 

 tary share of the workers in the produce of the industry. At 

 present the material for any calculation is scanty. From the 

 data given in the report of the Wages Board Committee on 

 the financial results of farming, 1 it appears that on twenty-six 

 farms the labour bill during the five years 1913-14 to 1917-18 

 represented from 17 to 19 per cent, of the total expenditure, and 

 from 15 to 18 per cent, of the total receipts. On twenty-one 

 " home " farms the labour bill represented from 22 to 24 per cent, 

 of the total expenditure. Such figures, however, help us very 

 little to form an opinion as to the basis on which the worker's 

 share should be assessed. 



The facts which have to be taken into consideration are not 

 merely statistical. They are mainly human and personal. 

 From the employer's point of view, the first consideration is 

 that the work should be done efficiently and punctually, that 

 it should be done with a sense of responsibility and with 

 willingness to meet any disturbance of daily routine which 

 weather conditions, or the nature of the work, necessitates. 

 The employer does not want a human machine, he wants an 

 intelligent man who is interested in his work and its results. 



Now it is generally true, human nature being what it is, 

 that men will not continually put forth their best efforts, physi- 

 cally and mentally, without a definite incentive. The incentive 

 is not always financial. It often is simple pride in their work, 



1 Cmd. 76, 1919. 



