_ ( 29 ) 



Farmers Produce Surplus Labor 



In addition to producing more food than he needs, the 

 farmer produces more human labor than he needs. There are 

 more children produced and reared to manhood and woman- 

 hood than can be effectively employed in agriculture. 



In the country, children are an economic asset. They 

 gather the eggs, milk the cows, drive the team for the hay- 

 loader, and do many other tasks that would otherwise take 

 the time of a man. Furthermore, the country is a cheap place 

 to raise children. Food is abundant and relatively cheap. 

 Housing is less expensive than in the city, and many of the 

 goods and services that are required in the city can be dis- 

 pensed with in the country. It is not surprising that farm 

 families average larger than city families. 



Country children are well trained for either farm or city 

 work. They are taught to work at an early age under the di- 

 rect supervision of their parents. In working with their fa- 

 thers on the hay wagon or in the barn, they take part in dis- 

 cussions of the issues of the day. Thus they learn manual 

 skills, resourcefulness, and the ability to think. The country 

 annually trains and turns over to industry about 500,000 

 workers. Industry finds these recruits well qualified to be- 

 come manual or skilled workers, and a considerable propor- 

 tion develop into executives. 



In Good Times Labor Shifts to Cities 



The rate at which this surplus labor leaves farms, and con- 

 sequently the supply of labor on farms, are determined pri- 

 marily by changes in labor efficiency, prices of farm products, 

 and employment opportunities in the cities. If farm prices 

 are low and agriculture is not prosperous, more than the nor- 

 mal number of these farm-reared children seek employment 

 in the prosperous urban industries. If employment oppor- 



