Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-06-19

Never in all my thirty years in deal
ing with the farmers of this county
have / asked one of them to sign such
a "cut throat" note and 1 refused te
do for the International Combine
what 1 would scorn to do for myself.
You are asked to give the combine
the right to sacrifice your property at
public or private sale to crafty its
whim, and you agree to be responsible
for what of the debt remains, conced-
ing the few days possession of the ma
chine to be an equivalent therefor.
What the coal trust did against the
public is fresh in the memory Of all.
Suffering, priyation and death to the
poor victims it could cheerfully look
In the face; in the mean time taking
1913, 000, 600 of profit from the people
from the sale Of a scanty supply.
And here is a trust in the implement
business which is struggling to get
absolute control Of the business, and
1t seems to me 1t behooves every farm
er to ask himself for what purpose?
A short time since the implement
manufacturers outside the trusts petit
TONED President Roosevelt for relief
from more than thirty institutions
which they denounced as trusts, promi-
nent among them being the Interna.
tional Harvester Company Of America,
which they allege manufacture and
control 80 per cent. of the implement
manufactures OF the United States.
Let us for moment contemplate
the time when, unfortunately to the
farming world, the International
Harvester Company shall own and
control the 10 per cent. now made by
the petitioners Of the President. I
firmly believe that il permitted to
exist, In very short time this trust
will not only own and control the
binders and mowers and hay rakes but
will control the sale and manufacture
OF plows, harrows, wagons buggles
and in fact everything made and used
on farm and that this gigantic trust
has for its object the increase of prices
by destroying honest competition In
their production which believe is
wrong and a menace to the public
welfare, and sooner or later will cause
serious trouble to the peace of our
country. When the day arrives that
this giant combine controls the imple-
ment business will be their harvest in
ian advance in prices as was the
harvest of the coal combine when it
had the public at its mercy.
Already many farmers are asking:
l"Well what are you going to do about
tt?n To me the remedy seems very
simple. Refuse to buy the goods con-
trolled by the trust and encourage
the binder companies which have re-
fused to enter into this combine.
Two of these the Minneapolis Harvest
er Company and Walter A.. Wood
binders and mowers may be bought
from me in Cresco upon better terms
and with better warranty than is
given for the trust made goods Of the
International trust.
After having sold binders and
mowers In this community for the
past thirty years, I feel it is not claim
ing too much to assume that I surely
ought to know something about what
constitutes good binder or mower,
and honestly believe the Minnie
binder is the best that l have ever
seen or examined. These binders and
mowers, have bought for cash, they
are mine, and when a farmer buys one
of them he deals with me for my prop
erty, he settles with me and pays me
for the goods ii they work and prove
as represented.
In conclusion, will add that any
parties wishing to purchase q binder
OF mower from me can have the priv
ilege of testing 1T with any binder or
mower controlled by the trust, name
ly, the Deering, Mccormick, Cham
pion, Milwaukee or Plano, in the
same field, and il my binder or mower
will not do as good or better work
than either Of theirs I will take my
machine back and surrender to the
purchaser his notes or return him the
money he may have paid. All I ask
is trial to demonstrate the fact that
my binders and mowers are equal to
or better than those controlled by the
combine.
Very truly,
D. "A. LYONS.
No.aa. Ca.i-xa E.Ae