Full text: Agricultural relief (Pt. 9)

AGRICULTURAL RELIEF 
unemployed, I would say about 200,000; if you estimate it upon 
part-time employment—and, remember, I consider four days and 
a half as full employment in the coal mines. 
Mr. KincHELOE. I was going to divide that. You say that there 
are over 200,000 out of employment absolutely? 
Mr. WavrLace. Absolutely. 
Mr. KincHELOE. Then how many are working on part time? 
Mr. WavrLace. I would say 75 per cent of the rest. - 
Mr. KiNcHELOE. Is it not a fact that a hundred per cent of the 
bituminous mines are on part time? Do you know any bituminous 
coal mine in this country running six days out of the week? 
Mr. WarLace. Thee may be a few in certain industries like the 
railroads and the steel mills that have a monopoly that are working; 
as I said four and a half days in the week is almost full time for a 
coal mine, because of the natural stoppages in the coal mines. 
Mr. KiNcHELOE. Mr. Wallace, is your organization—of course, 
you are the representative of the United Mine Workers in Wash- 
ington? 
Mr. WaLrace. No; I am the representative of the American Fed- 
eration of Labor, but I am a miner. You see, the American Federa- 
tion of Labor comprises all of the organizations cooperating? 
Mr. KINCHELOE. Yes; that is true. 
Mr. Wavrrace. Of course, they pick men from the various indus- 
tries to represent the American Federation of Labor. 
Mr. KincHLOE. I understand. Then, you are the coal miners’ 
representative in the American Federation of Labor in Washington? 
Mr. WaLrLace. In the American Federation of Labor, one of them; 
yes. 
Mr. KincHELOE. Has your organization ever talked over this 
farmers’ situation in convention assembled? 
Mr. WarLLace. Yes, quite often. Now, I want to call attention to 
the fact that I am here—that is self-evident. But what does it 
mean? You know what my evidence has been before this committee 
each time I have appeared here. My organization knows how to 
put a fellow out if he misrepresents the intent of that organization, 
and so the very fact that I am here means that my organization feels 
that it is being properly represented by what I am saying now and 
what I have said in the past. 
Mr. KincaeLok. The point I was making was, has your organi- 
zation in convention assembled discussed this farm situation? 
Mr. WaLLace. It has discussed this farm situation and has arrived 
at the same conclusion that I have tried to express here. 
Mr. FuLmer. Mr. Wallace, do you not find that because of the 
poverty out on the farm that farmers are leaving and coming In 
competition with your workers in the cities? 
Mr. WaLLace. Oh, yes; there is a great deal of that. Some say 
that is because of farm machinery, that a man can cover more acreage 
with present-day farm machinery. There is some truth in that, 
but if the improvement of farm machinery is to result in driving men 
away from their employment, why, then, machinery is not good. 
[ welcome all kinds of improved machinery because 1t means more 
pase for the people. But the net result has been to drive the people 
off the farm into the industries. I think the figures last year were 
that the farming population had decreased by 500.000, and that
	        
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