HUMAN EFFORT A FACTOR IN PRODUCTION 19 



guided persons, ignorant of the first principles of economics, are con- 

 stantly clamoring for. But a large supply of cheap labor means a 

 large number of families supported on very low wages; and that 

 means in turn widespread poverty, which is precisely what the study 

 of political economy aims to prevent." Show what this means in the 

 present stage of agricultural development in the United States, and 

 point out what kind of labor policy is necessary to insure a large 

 product per man. 



6. "The one way to solve the labor problem is to organize the 

 farm business so well that the labor used on the farm is unusually 

 effective. In other words, to so manage the farm work that a given 

 amount of labor accomplishes more than on the average farm." Do 

 you agree? How is this process to be carried' into effect? Can we 

 draw any lessons from the management of labor in industry ? What 

 differences are there in the two situations ? 



7. "One of the greatest sources of low productivity from farm 

 labor is to be found in the amount of time lost through unfavorable 

 weather conditions. Until this leak is stopped our farms remain 

 in a low state of efficiency as compared with other industries." Is 

 this true according to your observation ? Do you know of any farm 

 proprietor who has solved the problem ? What suggestions can you 

 make? 



8. "The whole scheme of labor efficiency in industry is based on 

 division of labor. But no such division is possible in agriculture." 

 What are the gains from division of labor ? Is it entirely absent in 

 farming? Do certain new types of farming take greater advantage 

 of this principle than the old ? 



ADDITIONAL REFERENCES 



Warren, Farm Management, chaps, i and xi. 



Taussig, Principles of Economics, chaps, ii and iii. 



Emerson, Twelve Principles of Efficiency. 



Labor, "Factory Management Series/' A. W. Shaw Company. 



Hourwich, Immigration and Labor, Part II, chap. v. 



Hasbach, A History of the English Agricultural Labourer. 



Industrial Commission (1900), Report, Vol. X. 



TOPICS FOR SPECIAL PAPERS 



Why the Proportion of Farm Workers Is Decreasing. 



What the Immigrant Has Contributed to American Agriculture. 



The Meaning of Efficient Farm Labor and the Means of Securing It. 



Machinery as a Substitute for Farm Labor. 



The Negro an Indispensable Factor in American Agriculture. 



The Possibilities of Specialized Labor in Agriculture. 



The New Labor Demands of American Farming. 



