SOME PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR 843 



that the man who has worries at home is likely to be less efficient in 

 his work and the standard of efficiency is kept up on this farm. 

 Every man is treated with consideration; no abusive language toward 

 the men is allowed. Merit is recognized. Hands who work in the 

 fields are not required to do the chores after a hard day's work. Men 

 whose services prove satisfactory are assured of employment through- 

 out the year. And every employe is paid promptly. Christmas is 

 observed in old-fashioned style every year. Every man, woman, and 

 child is invited to "the big house" and everybody gets a present off 

 the Christmas tree. Kindness is a consideration in keeping help on 

 this farm. 



Somewhat similar is the experience of a prominent grape grower 

 of Fresno County, California. He learned that one of the fixed 

 habits of the Japanese was to take a hot bath as often as they could 

 get one. He concluded that a little deference to the habits of the 

 men would be worth what it cost. He installed a big sheet-iron tank 

 and water-heating device. Every day, at noon and at evening, the 

 delighted Japanese splashed about in the hot bath that they loved, 

 and grape pickers were easily secured when the neighbors could not 

 get them at any price. 



Then the idea was carried on to the treatment of the permanent 

 white laborers. The "bunk-house" of the majority of western 

 ranches is a rude, unpainted "shack," thrown together on the theory 

 that any covering from the wet is enough for the "blanket stiffs" who 

 bring their own bedding on their backs and who have known too often 

 the necessity of sleeping in the open or under a friendly haystack to 

 disdain something even a little better. But Mr. Tarpey felt that 

 more than this was needed to give the men the comfort that would 

 persuade them to give their best efforts and their personal interest to 

 his work. So he built a neat, two-story frame house with a separate 

 room for every man. Instead of the straw-lined bunks there were 

 plain iron beds and mattresses. There was a bathroom with the 

 simplest kind of shower attachment but with hot and cold water. 

 And one large room downstairs was fitted with writing and card 

 tables, some books and magazines, plenty of light to read by, and a 

 good stove. Here the men could spend the evening in cheerful social 

 pleasures instead of in the dismal, lantern-lit, and cold discomfort of 

 a bunk-house. 



That investment, also, has paid well. It has enabled the employer 

 to attract and hold the sober and self-respecting and industrious men 



