Where there once were 20 tractor companies to choose from, now there are three or four, as a practical matter. The little towns, far from the distribution lines, were the first to lose locally owned manufacturing. Then came the bigger-size communities. Mason City, Iowa, pop. 20,000, which once was a center for construction materials, is now primarily home to plants that are owned by large corporations.
Community leaders are middle managers with no real stake in their community.
The consolidation phase is now sweeping our largest community, Des Moines. A Dutch conglomerate has bought Equitable of Iowa. The Des Moines Register, gobbled up by Gannett, celebrated the Equitable sale as being good for Des Moines. The money that once rested in Iowa now will flow across the Atlantic. Now comes DuPont to buy a major stake in Pioneer Hi-Bred International.