Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 89, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1907 — DEARTH OF FARM LABORERS. [ARTICLE]

DEARTH OF FARM LABORERS.

Fall? 50,000 of Them Are Needed la New York State. Despite the establishment of agricultural colleges and the agitation for a “return to ihc land,” there are 15,000 fewer farms in the State of New York at the present time than there were in 1890. And it will possibly be equally surprising to the average city man to learn that in spite of this decrease ia the number of farms, the shortage ol farm laborers has grown to such dimensions that the State is advertising in 11 foreign newspapers for agricultural laborers. These facts have been brought out by Representative Bennett, who is the chairman of a committee appointed by Congress to go abroad to study the immigration question from the viewpoint of attracting more immigrants from the agricultural countries of Europe. In addition to this, the Immigration Commission ia to make another investigation, the scope of which will include all pasts of ths country, with a view to getting at the real facts as to the shortage of farm laborers throughout the United States, and by next winter’s session of Congress its members hope to be in possession of statistics that will materially help to improve the conditions of employing agriculturists nil over the United States. Bolton Hall, who Is a missionary In the cause of people taking up small farms near the large cities and of working’them on scientific principles, says the decrease in the number of farms in New York State U owing to two causes. One is the great rise in land values near the large cities, and the other is the creation of vast estates by rich men through the absorption of many small farmers' holdings. Within the last year alone, he estimates, 1,000 farms were sold on Long Island for conversion into building lots. In the counties just north of New York City many thousands of acres of farm land have gone to maks up great estates.