Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 258, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 November 1918 — Objection to Farms By Returned Soldiers Is Cause of Worry [ARTICLE]

Objection to Farms By Returned Soldiers Is Cause of Worry

By DR. J. T. SIMMONS

of Toronto

■ Provision for the soldiers returning from the war and the suggestion that a plan be evolved to place them on farms is being given serious attention among students. A great deal has been written in the press about this problem in a purely academic manner. It has been suggested that the soldier has lived so long out of doors that he will be loath, to return to the desk or factory. In a way there is a lot of truth in this, but it does not balance the desire of the soldier to be in constant contact with his comrades. Not long ago a survey of some two hundred soldiers who were in convalescent homes was made by an expert in Canada. It showed that about 50 per cent had been brought up on farms but only about 10 per cent had remained there. A very small proportion owned farms and only about 4 per cent declared they wanted to return to agriculture. This, of course, is to be regretted, but it does not look very promising for the plan to send the soldiers to the farms. We know that a great many men. from the farms, since the war began, have gone into the cities and entered factories at greatly advanced wages. They have had a taste of the city life and it will be difficult to get them to go back to the farms. It is therefore going to be a very serious problem. We have got to have men to till the soil if we are to feed the people in the cities. The farm tractor and other improved farm machinery will help to make up for the lack of men, but machinery cannot be run without the help of men and the population is increasing all the time, making increased production of food products absolutely necessary. This is one of the most difficult results of the war and one which will require a great deal of study and planning to meet.