An Army of Harvest Hands Rides the Rails Into Eastern Washington
With California's fields barren, thousands of laborers descend on the region's mammoth crops — arriving on foot, on freight trains, and under the noses of train crews.
Laborers are pouring into the fields of eastern Washington by the thousands to harvest the mammoth crops. They make an army by themselves, and have come in afoot and by brake beam. A representative riding from Portland to Walla Walla last week noted the tops of the coaches covered with grimy fellows with blankets strapped to their backs. The patrol of the train hands was of no effect, and no sooner were they driven off than they swung under again as the train moved on. A large number have come up from California, where this year the fields are barren, owing to the widespread drought.
There will be work for all for many weeks now, and at good wages.
Edward Hughes, agricultural implement dealer, Portland, is happy over the largely increased business in his line.
“There will be work for all for many weeks now, and at good wages.”
The harvest economy has always depended on mobile labor, and eastern Washington's fields still draw workers from across the West and beyond. The image of men riding brake beams for weeks of good wages echoes today's debates over farmworker shortages, migration, and whether the people who bring in the crop can afford to stay.
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