Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-05-29
Farmers and Their Machinery.

Al UuyluS ldIm uuCuiAOAy sASAS olS
two important factors, price and val
ne, as compared with cost. Another,
and quite as important. is to know
with whom one is dealing. The farm.
ers Of the section of country tributary
to Cresco when purchasing farm inn
plements from d. A. Lyons knew ex-
actly with whom they were dealing
and that oral representations made as
to tie merit Of any implement would
be faithfully adhered to.
Among the harvesters, all but the
Osborne, the Wood and the Mlnneapo-
lis are controlled by the International
Harvester Company. No one of the
several machines in the combine can
make contract but in accordance
with terms dictated by the Inter.
national, whose president is j. Pier
pont Morgan.
Article of its contract with agents
require them "to take signed order
from the purchaser on blanks furnish
ed by the company and to give no war
ranty but what is incorporated in the
machine order blank. An order once
made cannot be revoked or cancelled
by any local or general agent without
the written approval Of its head officers
who are unknown to the public. An
order when given constitutes the
terms Of the sale, regardless Of any
statements made to obtain 1t, and in
suit to enforce the contract, all
other evidence would be excluded.
II a machine will not do the work,
and another must be had, the farmer
has an elephant on his hands until
Pierp. Morgan, or some other high
functionary of the international can
be found, to revoke or rescind the
order.
Section six requires the local agent
s'to settle with the purchaser of each
machine, either by cash or note at the
time of delirery" and the agent is pro-
hibited from allowing it to be tested
| in the field before it is paid for, either
by cash or by note, which note is in
the form of a mortgage and vests the
title in the combine until paid for.
Mr.. Lyons will allow the purchaser
to take the Wood or the Minneapolis
harvester into the field, test it with
any machine made by the Information
al combine and then If it cannot be
made to do good work, the purchaser
to return it to him at Cresco and Mr..
Lyons will refund the money or notes,
il any has been paid, as has been his
custom for the past twenty-five years.
The farmers of each locality tribu-
tary to Cresco should meet the har-
vester combine with one of their own,
to buy machines outside of the Inter
national, and deal with men who have
the absolute control of their business
and who car make contracts as to
time and price agreeable to both par
ties to the contract.
In q few days this county will be
flooded with men representing the
machines in the trust. Although none
OF their idle statements can vary the
terms of the printed order blank they
will be liberal 10 promises as to what
they will do, while they will be as
lpoWerless except to deceive as the
devil was when Offering the Savior the
whole world to fall down and worship
him. All the cost incurred in this
canvass must be paid and will cost the
international trust from ten to TWEEN
lty-tive dollars for every machine sold
by them. We would suggest that the
farmers In the various neighborhoods
Inject, say by five, six or eight, come to
4 Cresco and see what they can do with
the dealers who are not hampered
with the horde ofsolicitors out through
the county with the trust goods OF
the combine. 1t is our sincere belief
that the difference in price between
machines thus ordered and those sold
by the travelling solicitors the combine
fare to send out, will be ut least five
dollars on each binder and halt as
much on mower.
j Every farmers experience Is that the
knives, sickles, sections, canvasses,
reel-boards, reel-arms, neck Jokes SIN
lyle trees and tongue are the parts liza
BILE to give out and break, and the
very articles that the warranty Of the
international does not cover and which
| itprovides "must never be given freen
The bull wheel, which never breaks,
| is about the only part OF machine
the International fully warrants.
The Minneapolis Harvester Compa-
ny will keep ample stocks of repairs
| on consignment with each and all It's
agents.
| On this point the travelling horde
may be expected to dwell largely, tell
ing the farmer that the extras needed
for the machines not in the combine
cannot be obtained, endeavoriDg to
obtain through fear what they cannot
by falsehood OF aattery. The fact is,
none OF the machines in the combine
have back Of them larger or more
complete plant than either OF the
three outside of it represented In Cres-
CO. AS a matter of fact, Mr.. Lyons
has on hand more extras than all the
machines represented In Cresco, b.
L - 49, u 4. n