Chapter XI · THE ORGANIZATION OF A CADET CAMP

In organizing camps for supplying cadet labor it is well to keep in mind that they are to be established on the basis of a business proposition; that they are not primarily play camps or recreational camps; that they are not to be located on a river or lake because there happens to be a good place for boys to swim, if there are not paying jobs near that river or lake on which the boys may work; that they are not to be established at random without reference to the continuity of work during the season, or without any real knowledge of the local demand for labor.

Out of considerable experience during the past year it has been discovered that there are three great elements: first, the boy; second, the farmer; and third, the job. In addition there are the elements of leadership, of housing, and of cooking. Of course there must also be considered the elements of recreation, religious observances, and the general social life of the camp.

With reference to the boy it would seem that he ought to be one of a group which belongs to a public-school system, or to an institution, or to some society or organization which is ready to coöperate in placing him in a farm camp. We are hardly prepared as yet to take individual boys, unassociated with any organization, and bring them together in a camp where the lack of unity will give the leader little hold. A number of boys from New York City were picked up at random and sent out to a distant place up-state under the direction of a leader who had never seen them before. The boys had not met one another until they were put on a train in New York. Not coming from any single school or organization, they felt no particular responsibility to anyone. All they knew about the proposition was that they were to go to a certain place, where they would be met by someone who was to conduct them to a camp. They were undisciplined and later proved to be unmanageable. At the very start the plan lacked that coördinating influence which would have existed if the leader had been a teacher in a school from which these boys had come as one group, or if a Y.M.C.A. boys' secretary had organized a group from his association. Of course, some day a way may be found to bring together a group of boys independent of previous association and place them in a new environment in about the same way that adult labor is gathered up in the streets of New York and shipped by employment agencies to some distant point. But boys are not men. The responsibility of sending a more or less irresponsible youth to a distant point by the same methods that are used by employment agencies in sending men is too great for any state or community to undertake.

It is generally understood that the best boys for farm work are those who are over 16 years of age. This is true, of course, of boys who engage in general farm work, such as plowing, milking, horse cultivating, haying, and harvesting grains and potatoes. Many such boys were placed in the dairying and general-farming regions of New York State. These boys, in most cases, lived with the individual farmer and were paid by the month. But it has been found from experience that the 14-year-old boy is often better adapted to certain types of farm work than is the older boy. For example, the young boy, with his adolescent enthusiasm, his nimbler fingers, and his general physical alertness, is more desirable for picking small fruits, such as strawberries, currants, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, and cherries. The 14-year-old boy must, however, work on a different basis from the one who is over 16.

It is necessary for the boys to pass a physical examination, because no state authorities care to assume the responsibility of taking the physically unfit. It is taken for granted that the boy is to fit into the organization of the camp as a business proposition and that he is to stick to his work, pay his share of the cost of the food and its preparation, respond to leadership, and in every way do his part toward promoting the general efficiency of the camp.

The enlistment blank used by the New York State Military Training Commission is shown on page 276.

The farmer is as important an element as the boy; yes, even more important, for the boy gradually loses his individuality in the camp conscience. The individual farmer remains an individual. He has his notions of what boys can do; he compares the work of the inexperienced boy with the adult foreign labor which he has previously employed. The latter has, until very recently, been available. Women with their children came to his farm and picked the small fruits without much regard to the length of the day's work or to living conditions, and, of course, without any reference to the social life of the community. This labor went out as it came in. If it did not like the job because the pay was insufficient, it demanded higher wages and got them or left the job and moved on to the next one.

NEW YORK STATE MILITARY TRAINING COMMISSION

BUREAU OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING

ENLISTMENT AS FARM CADET

Name_____________________________________

Residence________________________________Street

Age___yr. Height____ft.___in. Weight_____lb.

Place of enlistment________________________

(Name of institution, club, or association)

I desire to enlist for farm work and will report for service:

From mo.___day___to mo.___day___

From mo.___day___to mo.___day___

Kind of work desired; picking fruit, vegetable gardening, general farming, etc.

Can you drive a team?_____Can you milk?______

Can you drive an automobile?_______________________

State briefly any other farm experience you have had.

I have examined the applicant and do assert that he is physically fit to do farm work.

__________________________________

(Physician's signature)

I permit_________________________________to enlist for farm work as stated above____________________________________________

(Parent or guardian)

It did not mind shacks which lodged vermin. It was not particular about sanitary conveniences; it was not particular about anything except wages. In shifting from adult foreign labor to boy labor, the farmer was obliged to readjust his mental attitude. Not only that, but he often had to readjust the physical, economic, and social conditions on his farm.

In April, at the time the New York agricultural census was taken, the farmer said that he needed labor. He even said he would take boy labor, but when it came actually to engaging such labor, he was inclined to ridicule the idea. Untrained city boys were not in great demand in May, but when the foreign labor did not appear on the scene and strawberries were ripening on the vines, the farmer suddenly discovered that he could use the untrained city boy. But he had expected the boys not only to work as many hours but also to pick as carefully and as much as adults. He expected the boys to work at the same price as had foreigners for years past, regardless of the advance in price of food and the standards of living. Of course he was disappointed, and this is where the leader of the camp, through his authority, represents the interests of the boys and the newer conditions of farm labor which have come out of the employment of boys.

An instance of what happened in Highland, New York, will illustrate the power of leadership on the part of a camp leader and the coöperative instinct of a group of city boys who have considerable familiarity with the principles of strikes, lockouts, picket duty, and street-corner oratory. The boys were being paid one and one-half cents a quart for currant picking. In years past this had been the usual rate. They could, on the average, pick about 40 quarts a day, which brought them $3.60 a week, assuming that they worked for six days in the week and there was no rain or other interruptions. Meanwhile each boy's proportion of the board at camp amounted to about $3.50 a week. At this point a combination of training in school debating, listening to speeches of industrial disturbers, and a knowledge of trade-union methods came into play, for these boys gathered together and determined to demand two cents a quart. They held a meeting and voted to strike for two cents. They marched around the berry-storage houses, each wearing an empty berry basket as a cap, on which was marked "two cents" and which was decorated more or less artistically with bunches of currants. A meeting of all farmers of the district was called by the general camp supervisor of the district. The boys had presented their arguments to the individual camp leaders, and in turn the supervisor presented them to the farmers. The farmers, in turn, presented their difficulties. They said they could not afford to pay more; talked about middlemen, commission-men, express rates, greater cost of baskets and crates, mortgage on the farm, and everything, in fact, except the federal income tax. But the boys won out, and the meeting resulted in a new price never before paid for picking currants. And the boys who, up to then, had been able to pick only 40 quarts a day, were able to gather many more after the advance in rate, picking 60 quarts a day instead of 40 quarts. There are people who can read into this short story an economic principle.

It is absolutely necessary to have a clear understanding between the boy-camp group, through its leader or the organization sending the camp, and the individual farmer or the group of farmers employing the boys, as to fundamental points of remuneration, type of work expected, length and permanency of service.

The boy-camp-group problem is wholly different from the problem of the individual boy who works for an individual farmer and has no established relations with any camp. The latter is a contract relationship between the boy and the farmer. The farmer usually hires the boy by the month for general farm work, and the duties incident to such a job are familiar to everyone. The hours may be long or short, the work hard or easy, the food good or bad, the boy's room clean or unsanitary; but there is nothing unusual in this problem.

The one which is discussed here is that of the labor camp, where a group of boys are projected into a strange community to work at a job unfamiliar to the majority of them,—working for a farmer or a group of farmers who have never before employed such a type of labor. Any single employer of farm labor who is in a position to employ a group of boys may be assumed either to be conducting a large farm on which there is a great diversity of crops extending over a wide range of time of harvesting, or to be a specializing farmer working in an intensive way on a comparatively small area with special crops which are harvested in short periods of time. Perhaps it may be better to think of three types of jobs, or rather, three types of employers who have jobs to be filled by groups of boys.

First, there is the individual farmer who is a specialist. Such employers grow berries and other small fruits. Here the boys get very little farm experience. They do obtain an idea of country life, and they have excellent camp experience, but in order to learn much about the fruit and berry business they ought to be on the farm during the time of spraying, pruning, and fertilizing. In reality these boys are but factory hands under farm conditions. Of course this type of work is extremely well adapted to the inexperienced boy.

Second, there is the type of employer represented by the vegetable grower. In this case it is readily seen that crops are put into the ground as early as April, and seeding may continue until the fifteenth of August, and with weeding, thinning, and cultivating, the work may continue practically throughout the season. The harvesting of certain crops may start late in June and continue until the ground freezes. In this work the boys obtain the very best sort of farm experience outside of that obtained from general farm work. The work which they do is diversified, and they learn about many farm operations.

Third, another type of employer is the business organization made up of farmers; as, for example, the shippers' or growers' association, where a group of farmers unite under a more or less compact organization for the purpose of raising and moving crops. Another illustration—somewhat different for the reason that the organization is not made up of farmers, but rather is allied with farmers—is that of a canning company. In working for such a type of employer the boy may or may not gain considerable agricultural experience, depending entirely upon whether he is working on diversified crops for long periods of time or doing specialized harvesting. It is necessary to keep in mind these different types of work as represented by different types of employers.

It is clear that in some sections, under certain agricultural conditions already described, the job might be guaranteed a group of boys from the middle of April until the first of November, with almost steady work for six days in the week. The nature of crops and weather conditions determine continuity of work. A heavy rain means a good deal of cultivating and weeding immediately afterward in order to conserve the moisture. A light rain means that the boys can work for part of the day in the fields, while in the case of small-fruit farming even a slight rain prevents the picking of the fruit. Again, in vegetable farming a boy may work all day if the fields are not too hot, without any injury to his health or to the crops, because the vegetable plants cannot be injured by handling, no matter how hot it is.

In the case of the specialized farmer, there is little or no guarantee for work beyond a short and definite period; that is, the period is necessarily short, but whether or not it is definite depends a great deal upon the weather and prices of crops. It is obvious that an abundant crop might cause a low market price,—a price too low to pay for picking,—and employers who early in the season thought that they wanted a group of boys might decline to accept them at the last moment. They might even contract for the boy-labor camp and after the boys had picked for a few days desire to drop the whole enterprise because of a fall in the market price,—a fall which would not be evident until the crops commenced to come. Or, again, the employer might contract for a camp of boys to pick strawberries, for example, and complete arrangements might be made for bringing the boys to the locality, only to have the camp project abandoned because a week of rain had absolutely ruined the strawberry crops. Such an experience was met in New York State the past season. A hailstorm in Chautauqua County completely destroyed in a few minutes the prospects of a camp for the harvesting of tomatoes. Now, it is evident that it is a difficult matter always to guarantee a job.

The Bureau of Vocational Training of the Military Training Commission of New York State requested the zone representatives in the farm-placement bureaus to see to it that jobs were guaranteed to boys and that the time of service, place of service, and pay should be clearly stated. It furthermore recommended that the job should be guaranteed in writing by a single farmer, by a group of farmers, or by the corporation desiring these boys; that the employing party should state the kind of work, the pay, the number of boys needed, the duration of service, the living conditions, the provisions made for the food supply for the first week, and so on. It made it clear that there should be an assurance in writing of what the boys were to expect, and that someone should be delegated to see that the employer lived up to his agreement. Out of a theory not based upon any previous experience it was obviously easy to write up such a statement, but to expect it to be carried out without a hitch in all parts of the state and for all kinds of work and all types of employers, not taking into consideration climatic and market conditions, to say nothing about the prejudices and idiosyncrasies of employers and boys, was to count the chickens before they were hatched. About all that can be said at this stage of this movement is in illustration of the way the job guarantee was handled. In what follows it must be kept in mind that much of what has been said or what may be said about the proposition of guaranteeing the job is not at all difficult to carry out in the case of general farming and is only moderately difficult in the case of vegetable growing.

Every camp failure due to the lack of a workable contract justifies the original contention that guaranteeing the job is extremely important.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING IN REFERENCE TO THE SOUTH LIMA (NEW YORK) CAMP

Between the New York State Military Training Commission Farm-Cadet Bureau, West Central Zone (Nathaniel G. West, Field Inspector, Rochester, New York) and the Growers' and Shippers' Association of South Lima, New York.

The Farm-Cadet Bureau, West Central Zone, agrees:

1. To furnish 25 or more unskilled farm cadets, 16 to 19 years of age, for labor on muck and upland farms.

2. To furnish a camp leader, who shall have general charge of the camp of boys, who shall hire out the boys to near-by farmers, collect all wages, and purchase supplies.

3. That the camp leader shall keep an accurate account of all wages paid to farm cadets and percentage collected, such accounts to be open for inspection by committee designated by the Growers' and Shippers' Association.

4. To furnish a competent camp cook who shall prepare all meals for the farm cadets.

5. To pay each week, through the camp leader, to the Growers' and Shippers' Association a sum for overhead expenses, as explained below,—such sum to be procured by adding to all wages earned by the cadets a sum equal to five per cent of such wages.

The Growers' and Shippers' Association agrees:

1. To provide work, as continuously as possible, for each of the farm cadets in the above camp from June 11, 1917, to November 3, 1917.

2. To pay wages for each farm cadet at the rate of $2 per day's work, such day's work not to exceed ten hours.

3. To pay at the end of such week to the camp leader all wages earned by farm cadets during that week.

4. To pay in addition to the above wages a sum equal to 5 per cent of the wages, such sum to be turned over to treasurer of the Growers' and Shippers' Association for payment of overhead expenses of the camp.

5. To arrange for rental of suitable quarters for the cadets, furnish two ranges and fuel for same, furnish 27 or more cots, tables, benches, and chairs for the quarters, install a telephone, and arrange with local grocer for two weeks' credit for the camp leader for the purchase of supplies.

6. To pay for the items mentioned under 5, above, out of the 5 per cent received from the camp leader, as agreed above.

MASSACHUSETTS PLAN OF INDIVIDUAL AGREEMENT WITH FARMER

To the Committee on Food Production and Conservation

(Department of Mobilization of Schoolboys for Farm Service)

Dear Sirs:

I hereby apply for ____________ boys to be employed by me as general farm labor according to the terms and regulations on the reverse side of this application.

I shall require these boys to begin work upon ______________ and probably require their services, if satisfactory, until ______________________

I agree to pay each boy $4 per week for the first two weeks, and $6 per week thereafter; such payment to be made on Saturday of each week. (Afterwards changed, see chapter on "Farm Cadets," p. 250.)

If the boy lives in a camp, I agree to pay $4 per week for his board, and if he lives with me, I will furnish his board; the above to be in addition to his wages.

I agree to employ the boy on rainy days as well as fair days, and on rainy days to use his service as far as possible under cover.

I agree, if the boy is unsatisfactory, to give him one week's notice or one week's pay, providing him with a statement in writing giving my reasons for his discharge.

Whenever in the opinion of the local supervisor, the conditions of living or of labor are not satisfactory, the boy may be withdrawn without prejudice to him.

The nature of the work for which the boy is required is _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Sign here ___________________________________________ (Farmer) Phone ____________ Street address _____________________ Date ________________________ Town _____________________

The right leadership in a camp is very essential. The camp, after all, is but the lengthened shadow of its leader. It is not difficult to write the qualifications essential to leadership in a boys' farm camp, but it is another matter to find any one person who will fill all the conditions that are peculiar to a labor camp. A hundred-point man capable of measuring up to the problems involved in camp leadership must have had experience in school or Association work. He would have knowledge of cooking utensils and personal equipment necessary to take to camp; capacity to arrange for transportation for the boys by the most direct, convenient, and economical route; ability to deal successfully with the problem of the first night in camp,—a night when boys cannot or will not sleep, when they are stirred up by the novelty of the situation. He would be able to recognize good, substantial, nourishing food, and to see that the boys had proper food in such an emergency as the camp cook's suddenly being taken ill or deserting his job. He would have had experience in adjusting working conditions, would know how many quarts of fruit, for example, the average boy can pick; would be able to help these boys get the most out of their work by showing them the most effective method of harvesting; would understand how to use first-aid equipment. He would have to see that the boys kept up correspondence with their homes. He might have to sit up all night with a boy who had eaten more fruit than was good for him.

The right leader will also have to think of reading matter for the camp and of the problem of having the boys attend church services on Sunday when the membership of the camp has varied religious beliefs. He may have some orthodox Jews in camp when the country village has only a Methodist church. He must satisfy the boys who want to have a minstrel show, or the townspeople who offer to entertain the boys. He may even have to arbitrate in labor disputes. He may be the local placement bureau. He should be able to drive an automobile, in order that he may carry a flying squad five miles from camp for a day's work for a farmer who is in immediate need. He must be able to answer the questions asked on blanks sent out by the state departments of agriculture and education, by city boards of education, by state Y.M.C.A.'s, by child-labor bureaus, and by all other organizations more or less directly interested in the new aspects of old problems. If the boys have been excused from school, he must certify that their labor-camp work has been equivalent to the school work which they otherwise would have had. He must be the banker of the camp and help the boys conserve the money which they earn. He is accountable to the group for the expenses of the camp, in order that these may be divided pro rata. He must be able to buy supplies at the least cost.

It is with deliberate intention that this list has been made lengthy and of wide range, in order to show that no man exists who could meet adequately every condition imposed. He is bound to be "born short," as William Hawley Smith would state it, on some of these angles. If he is a social-minded man of the Boy Scout or Y.M.C.A. type, he will be long on entertainments, recreation, food requirements, knowledge of personal equipment, group work, first aid, and sanitation. If he is of the school-teacher type, he will probably be strong on discipline, efficient in looking after details of school credits, camp expenses, records, moral conditions, letter writing, and keeping boys busy. If he is a technical man in agriculture, he may know nothing about baseball on Saturday afternoon or how to organize a minstrel show, but he will probably know how to do more than keep boys busy. He will keep them effectively busy; that is, he will arrange to have certain boys do the lines of work adapted to their skill and knowledge. He will discover ways of utilizing the labor of the unskilled boy. He will be able to judge whether or not a boy is working to his full capacity, and he may be somewhat pitiless if the boy does not measure up to a farm-labor standard. In other words, such a man will be very largely interested in a working camp. He will be interested in meeting the conditions imposed by the farmers. He will know that the berries must be expressed by four o'clock and that the picking may have to stop promptly at two. He will know that a leaky crate of raspberries means a low price for possibly a whole carload. He will be less interested, perhaps, in the balanced ration and more interested in using the products of the community on the camp table. He will not be interested in the records required by school officials so much as in those expected of him by the farm-bureau agent. In short, his idea is to promote agriculture and not to promote the county Y.M.C.A. movement, the back-to-the-farm movement, or any other movement which may be allied with the farm-cadet service.

It is not possible to find any one man who is socially, pedagogically, and agriculturally minded. If he claims to be good in all three fields he probably is mediocre. The experience of the past year, however, shows some remarkably fine work done by leaders of boy camps. Some have been public-school teachers who have given their summer services for nothing or for a nominal fee. Some have been released from their duties as Y.M.C.A. secretaries in order that the association might make a contribution to the farm-cadet movement. Some have been physical directors in public schools. Some have been scout masters among the Boy Scouts. Others have been agricultural teachers who saw that this work was, after all, in the line of their usual duties.

The following illustrates one of the hundred things which a camp leader must know about: