|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.