Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-10-31

The Deering Harvester company of
Chicago, quoting from their retail prices
of their various classes of machinery in
1913 and 1896, make the following state
ment,. showing the decreased cost and lin
creased efficiency of farm machinery.
''The Irvine binder was unknown in
1873, but the Marsh harvester. a. much
more primitive machine. in which the.
binding was done by men riding on the
machine, EetaiIed at 5000 to S225. The
Irvine binder retails today at from 500
for cheaper machines to S145 for the.
Deering roller and balboa ring naa-
chimes.
1.-The selfrake reaper, which is now
sold at from 500 to $40, sold for $3.50 to
500 in 1873
Mowers sold in 1873 for from $50 to
$115, according to the make and width
of the cut Machines of vastly greater
efficiency sell today at from $50 for
cheaper machines to $40 for the Deering
roller and ball bearings.
When the wire binding attachment was
added to the old Marsh harvester from
1876 to 1879 the combined machine sold
for $500. of which S120 was for the at
tachment and $50 for the harvester
been superseded by the Irvine binder In
1878 we introduced the Irvine binder
the machine that now cuts the grain of
$40 to 1925. A better and more cana bic
machine is sold today, as above init
mated, at but little over one-third that
price. Binder Irvine. for use on these
machines, sold in 1888 at from 10 to %
cents per pound. 1t was, of course IN
known in 1878. Today a much better
Irvine retails at from 61b to - cents per
pound, according to quality.
This steady decrease in price does not
mean a decrease in quality and efficiency
On the contrary an upward tendency in
the mechanical construction and quality
of material has been marked as the
downward movement in prices This
with the decline in price-has been made
possible by the use of economical meth
DDS in construction. and by Iabor-sayipg
machinery, rather than by any decrease
each machine has also been reduced by
the tremendous number of machines
turned out by single firm.
The old mower, for which the farmer
paid in the neighborhood of 500. had
but meager means for adjustment and
were neither as efficient as dura BILE
as machines that retail today at $40
The old self-rake reapers which retailed
at 5000 were primitive and clumsy as
compared with the $65 machines of to-
day.
The Deering Irvine binder today. run
ming on roller and ball bearings cost
500 less than the old Marsh harvester
and requires two less men and two less
horses than did that machine. In other
words, one man and two horses can
handle more grain with the Deering roll
er-bearing Irvine binder than three men
with Marsh harvester that cost the
farmer 500 more money.
These statements of leading manu-
facturers of high-grade farm machinery.
merely emphasizes what any man of or
binary intelligence already knew in a !.
general way and what every wheat-grow-
er in the country knew by practical ex-
perience. that the last twenty years have |
been marked by wonderful improvements
in the efficiency of farming tools accom-
panied by no less marked reduction in |
the retail price. When Gov. Altgeld |
and the lesser lights of Populism claim |
that part of the decline in wheat is |
the result of improved machinery and |
they simply run contrary to |
facts which are patent to every observer |
and put themselves in a false position by |
denying truths that are as well known !
&c the nulfiDlica tiOn IA ble