The Rich Hill tribune. (Rich Hill, Mo.) 1903-1911, 1905-05-18
DICTATES SALE OF
FARM IMPLEMENTS
international Harvester Compa-
NY Accused by Farmers.
ALICE ORASPING CONTRACT,
To Clear reId Tor Their own nipple
ments-AItornative Confronts Farmers
of submitting 90 Terms Imposed or
Combining % Fight.

DIES MONIES, Ia, Nov. 90
Farming Implement dealers and
country storekeepers throughout
the west are up in arms against
the recent action of the Inter.
national Harvester company in
attempting to prevent the sale of
farm implements except those of
its own manufacture. This ac
ton is the elimination of a series
of steps which have been taken
since the international Harvest
err company, otherwise known as
the farm machinery trust, was
promoted by J. p. Morgan & Co,
some three years ago.
Until the formation of the
trust, the farmers benefited by
the keen competition between
the implement manufacturing
companies, which kept down
prices, but now all this is being
changed, and the situation con
fronts the farmers and the coun
try dealers of either accepting
the terms imposed by the trust
or making an effort to combine
for the fight.
The same problem was pre-
sented to farmers by the grain
elevator trust when they were
confronted with a choice of either
selling their grain at whatever
price the elevator trust chose TO
offer or of finding some other
way to get it to market. and the
other way was effectually closed
by the grain elevator people
standing in with the railroad
men and discriminating against
individual farmers shipments.
This situation became so OPP
pressive that the farmers com
bined to build their own grain
elevators, and then when the
railroads refused side-track priv
ileges and locations along the
tracks, the farmers went to the
legislatures of the granger states
and compelled legislation which
gave them at least nominally
equal rights with the railroads.
COMPANIES IN THE TRUST.
The Farm Machinery Trust
was formed by a combination Of
the Deering Harvester Company,
the Plano Manufacturing Com
pany, the Warder, Bushnell &
Glessner Company, the Milwau.
kee Harvester Company, and the
well known Mccormick Company
of Chicago. These were capital,
lied under the auspices of j. p.
Morgan & Co., at S120, 900, 600.
A New Jersey charter was taken
in the name of the international
Harvester Company.
One western and three eastern
concerns refused TO enter the
trust. and one of these concerns
had II large amount of paper from
different farmers discounted 10y
the banks.
Through its ramidcations and
banking connections, the Farm.
Machinery Trust obtained con.
troll of this paper, Endorsed by
its principal competitors, and in.
sisted ON immediate payment,
and as a result, the independent
concern had the choice of going
into the receivers hands or OF
accepting the terms offered and
selling out to the trusts. Attic
perfectly solvent and having al.
most $1,000 00, 600 of assets
more than It's liabilities, it could
not raise the cash required h
pay all its floating debt at once
and so was forced 20 accede b
the trust proposition and sell
out. Two smaller competitors
were then easily bought out.
CRASHING CONTRACTS.
Then having put itself in the
position where it was the only
concern in the United States