331 



opportunities caused a stampede of young men to cities. 

 As in most cases of violent readjustment, the pendulum 

 went a little too far. See also page 32. 



(6) Foreign immigrants are not going to farms so much 

 as formerly, because our methods now depend on machin- 

 ery with which the emigrant from European farms is not 

 generally familiar. The hand labor types of farming, like 

 truck growing, are getting more foreign labor than ever 

 before, but probably 95 per cent of American farming 

 calls for machinery. 



211. The labor problem for the individual. The 

 average farmer makes interest on his money and wages 

 for the work he does. 



The labor problem is not to be solved by having more 

 laborers or cheaper laborers, but by directing labor better 

 than the average farmer directs it. 



The individual had just as bad a labor problem when 

 wages were $10 a month as now that wages are $30. 

 Whenever it becomes easy to make money out of labor 

 by average methods, hired-men change to tenants and 

 effect a readjustment of wages. The problem of making 

 money out of hired labor can never change. If labor is 

 abundant and cheap, it is because the average profit from 

 using it is low. He who is to make by employing labor 

 must direct it better than the average. Whenever labor is 

 effective, it is high priced. Wages are low in China be- 

 cause little is accomplished in a day. 



The individual farmer is always better off in periods 

 when wages are high. At these times, the problem of 

 making money out of hired labor is the same as it always 

 is, but much of the farmer's profits are on the labor that 

 he and his family do. When wages are high, the average 

 returns for this family labor are good. 



