Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-18
A 1HREsHERMaN,s OCTOPUS.


Indiana farmers are about to appeal
to their legislature for protection
against combination of threshermen.
The farmers will ask enactment of a
law to limit the charges of the thresh-
,r-men and forbidding concerted ac-
ton or agreemen by them as TO the
rates to be charged per bushel 1or
thrashing. They claim that they Will
be obliged to pay higher prices his
year for threshing unless they are af-
forded some relief from this new octo-
nus. On the other hand, the thresher-
men claim they have been doing busl-
ress at an actual loss for the past ten
years. and at the close of each season
have had barely sufficient to make tn
payments due on their engines anu
separators, Consequently they nave
agreed to a, general advance in rates
and after July / will charge cents per
bushel for threshing wheat, 2s cents
for oats and cents for rye.
The thresherman's trust has mace
some nrosress in Iowa within the Last
few years. Considerable complaint
came from different country neighbor-
hoods last year of prices raised by an
agreement between local threshermen
which farmers were compelled to pay.
The contention of the machine operat-
crs was the same here as in Indiana,
that prices were too low to allow re-
spectable margin of profit. They proved
their contention by figures.
The threshermen seem to nave the
best of the argument. Every one at ali
familiar with the grain threshing bust
ness knows that the threshing machine
operators have not made any MONEY!
since hard times and competition
crowded threshing rates down TO the
lowest minimum. The thresherman OF
today Invests from three to five times
the amount the old line horse power
narrator did, The new machines are
run by a sixteen or twenty horse pow
err engine. They cut the bands, meas :
ure and load the grain and stack the
straw. All this saves hands" and cost
to the farmer. Instead of week OF
threshing, as was sometimes the cas-
with the d-fashioned machines, the
traction engine pulls the new separator
into the stack yard In the morning and
puffs away with it at night, leaving a
symmetrical straw stack and the far
mers' grain in the bin. Threshing last
ed all winter in the old days. Now a
thresherman's season last from three
to SIX weeks.
The farmers should not deny divis-
ion of prosperity to the threshermen
They should be willing to pay an hon.
est urice for honest work. The high
rrice Of their own products is a serious
drain on the income of every salafied
worker or small business man, yet j.
has been unguardingly and even cheer
fully paid without an appeal to the
legislature against the farmer. Ihey
should meet the conditions of increased
cost of laber with the same spirit
Competition will regulate the thiesh-
ing rates despite any agreement b.
threshermen When the profits of thu
business are large enough to justify the
outlay farmers will form companies
and neighborhoods operate their owr
threshers. However until there Is a
respectable profit in the threshing bus
mess, farmers will be consistent to re-
frain from petitioning the legislatures
for relief against an octopus which
lives the hand to mouth existence of
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