Show iW JINi i P t I I 5 1 A S 'S S L E itly y WJ 9 i 1 to can lead a horse to water but you cant can't make him drink ace Recently in Oakland Califor Califor- California ala nia relief clients of the ares area staged a wee weekend kend demonstration tion antI and sit In at the UtO offices of the Alameda County welfare administration Crops were go- go goIng going Ing in hear nearby by fields due to the shortage e of labor and the welfare took the position that it Ii would be well It If their able bodied clients not only help help- helped ed out by do- do doIng tag Ing some work In this field but they would also earn some money ace These welfare clients Imme Imme- Immediately started a brannigan taking the position it was an in- in insult insult sult on their dignity to expect them to work on farms Cur Cur- they said nothing about the dignity involved In taking public welfare ace This episode Is only interest interest- interesting ing Insofar as It to the larger crisis coming up created by the Congressional ending of the bracero program ace For many years the agriculture ture of California Arizona New Mexico and various other states has depended on some Mexican nationals brought In under a set of rules formulated and overseen by Federal authorities The employers furnished transportation from Mexico 1 furnished Inspected housing as ast ase t e t of 11 fh 1 which were under inspection although the braceros paid a alow alow low cost for them ace In addition although the work is on a piece work pay pay- payment ment plan they are guaranteed a minimum of 1 per hour However when peaches grapes lettuce tomatoes and other crops are In peak harvest It has not been unusual for a man manto I Ito to average 40 per day At the end of the season they are transported back to 1 co with sith their saved earnings and In the off season are not around to become public charges es Cs of the taxpayers of the US Labor leaders had long fought this system inasmuch as they cannot collect dues from these Mexicans They were joined by a lot of do under the category of social welfare groups with the result that Congress voted to abandon the plan Ce a Of course the big argument was that the Mexicans l were taking jobs that unemployed Americans should have eec California growers seeking to work out a solution without Mexican nationals this current season spent thousands of dol- dol dollars dollars lars bringing irs In unemployed workers rom from Mississippi Tex rex as and other states But the experience has been that some 70 ore are either Incapable of per forming the tasks or quit C C C Looking forward to the corn com big debacle some of the big processing companies have es- es established plants In Mexico l moving out of the US This Is progress |