FARM LABOR AND WAGES 171 



living is less, hence the supply may multiply on a lower income 

 scale in the South. In the western states wages have been 

 relatively high, due largely to the relative scarcity when com- 

 pared with the East. 



In general the price-fixing forces operate in much the same 

 manner in determining the price paid for labor as in determin- 

 ing the price paid for the products of the land. One differ- 

 ence when compared with a staple of world commerce like 

 wheat, arises out of the fact that the supply of laborers does 

 not move so readily from place to place to adjust itself to the 

 demand as the wheat supply does. Any arrangement which 

 will provide for the easy shifting of labor will tend to bring 

 the wages to the same level for men of the same ability in 

 regions far from each other if the living conditions are the same. 



Variations in wages are in part due to the differences in the 

 usefulness of the employees. These differences relate to knowl- 

 edge, wisdom, skill, physical strength, interest in the work, 

 honesty, and temperament. In general the range in wages is far 

 less than the range in usefulness. This is partly due ^to lack of 

 a good measure of the differences, and partly because there is 

 a variety of positions to be filled which require varying degrees 

 of ability. Then again, some men possess one quality, some 

 another quality, and to the extent that each person finds his 

 proper position, he realizes on his strong points. One may have 

 knowledge but possess poor judgment. For example, a man 

 who knows something of the anatomy of the horse, and knows 

 many things about giving first aid to the sick in the horse barn 

 and in the dairy, once seriously proposed hitching to a mowing 

 machine a i4oo-pound three-year-old colt which had never 

 had a bridle on before. Another example is that of a man 

 who possessed heavy muscles but who used poor judgment in 

 deciding how much muscle to use on a given occasion. As a 

 result fork handles were continually broken, bolts were twisted 

 off, and the cows' udders suffered from the excessive applica- 

 tion of muscle in milking. Again a man may possess good 

 qualities but be a grouch. He may hate nearly every one he 

 comes in contact with and be kept on the job, at ordinary 



