Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1904-04-22
TRUST COMPANIES AND HOW
TO CONTROL THEM.

~ NOtV BNO6 1beUhs
Ehe following is an address by E.
r. Moses, before the retail nipple
ment dealers of Kansas, Missouri,
Oklahoma and the Indian Territory,
over fourteen hundred dealers belong
ing to the association:
Farmers, after you read this ad-
dress ask yourselves, where do you
stand. In favor of the trusts or in
favor of the machines that aree strug-
Cling for existence, in order to have
competition so that farmers can buy
as low as they possibly can. Patron
ize these trusts and you destroy COM
petition. Patronize the independent
companies andyou will have chance
to live and let live.
All trusts could be brought to time
if the people would patronize indie
pendent companies and keep them in
existence, provided they sell goods as
cheap or cheaper than the trusts, and
they are as good or better.
We are not fighting trusts, but we
are fighting for existence in. order to
be of benefit to- the farmers, and to
ourselves. e :,
The machines that. are in the. trust
are the Mccormick, Deering, Plano,
Milwaukee and Champion The Ac-
me and Hodge machines are not.
Everyone knows that the Hodge
and Carver headers, the Queen bind
ers, the Harvester King combined
machine, and the Hodge mowers, hay
rakes, hay stackers, and leaders are
as good as made and are selling fox
less this year than any of the trust
company's goods. g They are not in
the trust, but are struggling to keep
out Of the trust aud ask the farmers
to stand by them. not simply because
they are outside of the trust, but be-
cause they will give as good or better
goods for less money, and that is what
the farmers want. 50
Mr.. Moses spoke as follows:
Mr.. Moses I am. glad to- see this
magnificent audience here this morning.
I can see that there is interest felt
upon the only live, burning iibject that
we have had before this convention for
the past seven years. The wonder Is to
me, Mr.. Chairman, why it is that our
harvester committee is temporizing and
contracting and wIping out certain
clauses that are improper in the contract
with only one company, while there are
six Others in existence. Who are we?
What are we? Two years ago Mr.. Nc
COrmlck stood on that stand and gave
to this association the sa me platitudes
that have been given to US ever since,
with the temporizipg that we, as an
association, should be met half way by
them; that their prices would be re-
duced by the elimination of the local
agents ON the different territories
throughout the United States; that in
the reduction Of prices the prices would
rebound to the interest of the Individual.
Has that been done? (Cries of sNo,
Mol" "Raised themp) They have stood
before you with the same splatitudes. and
said that these things would, be elimi-
mated from the contract and that the
lllegitimate dealers would also be elimi-
mated. Has thatebeen done? (Cries. of
mo. y No, they have come to you with
their contracts that are more binding,
rar more serious, far greater in portent
to you in making future sales than ever
hnf -
array OF thought and feeling and sentl-
ment of delay that have sbeen asked
from time to time, until all of the things
would be adjusted satisfactorily to the
retailer and to the manufactures, and
that manufacturer one company, to the
total exclusion of your own existence
and of the % five or six companies
outside of that?
By Member: I move that Mr.,
Moses time be extended to ten minutes
lCries of Go on" 60 on.")
The President; You made the rule,
gentlemen. q q
By Member: Mr.. Chairman, Il move
Sthat the rules be suspended and that
Mr.. Moses be allowed to continue
(Motion seconded by large number
of mem bers.)
By Member: We are here. as free
men, not to be gagged by any trust.
Motion carried vociferously.
Mr.. Moses: Gentlemen, Il want to
shank you, want to say I am not here
berating the individual members of that
trust. I am not here to talk harshly
against men. I am simply talking
against dollars and cents, watered bonds
upon the market. without heart, with
ont g sentiment. without a feeling that
you and / could go to and receive any
consolation, as we did when we could go
and shake the hand OF the president and
OF the secretary and Of the general agent
and know that there was g responsive
feeling for our interest, because our