Evening star., 1907-10-22
THEHARVESTERTRUST
General Manager Funk De-
MES Charges Usually Made.
PRICES NOT INCREASED
Company Under Rather Than
Over Capitalized, He Says.
OLD-TIME RIVALRY FEATURES
Declares That Sane Competition Has
Succeeded to State Of
Generalization.
OLD-TIME RIVALRY FEATURES

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
| Chicago Record-Herad
NEW YORK. October q. 1907
Meeting Mr.. c. 8. Funk, general mana
ger of the International Harvester Com
pany, On the fly, asked him to tell me
| frankly whether that was a good trust
or bad trust. according to the classi-
hcation OF our President. I imagine that
Mr.. Funk is rather tired of that joke,
FOR he smiled patient sort of a smile and
observed that the Attorney General seemed
inclined to include the International Har-
vester Company among the bad trusts, al
though he was confident that Mr. Bona
parte would transfer it to the other class
when he knew more about it.
AS rule" continued Mr. Funk, -four
things are charged against great corpora
tiors these days:
Il. Overcapitalization
y. Unloading watered stock on the
public
%. Crushing competition.
-: Increasing prices.
Not one of those four charges can be
sustained against the International Har-
vester Company. In the first place, 1t is
undercapftalized rather than oyercapital-
lied. The stock has not been unloaded
on the public. but 80 per cent of it is held
IN the Mccormick and Deering families,
the original owners, who inherited their
interests. and would not part with them
under any circumstances. The company
Is very largely family affair and no one
would believe that the members of those
families watered their own stock, In the
third place. competition Is Just as free
and unrestricted as ever. and although the
price of raw materials has Increased from
- to 66 per cent since the consolidation of
the Mccormick and Deering companies
and the average wages of our employees
nave increased 16 per cent, we are selling
self-Dinding harvesters by wholesale at
exactly the same price that they brought
IN 1SO, before the consolidation.
Prices Not Increased.
"Everything that farmer buys except
harvesters has increased in price from
10 to so per cent. He pays more for his
plows and every other machine and tool he
handles. He pays more for his clothing
and food: and everything that he sells has
increased in price in a corresponding ratio
during that time. The cost of manufac-
ture and all the materials we use has In
creased. Pig iron has increased from
1880 to $2075 per ton since the consoli-
pine lumber from $26 to $3.50 per thou
sand: hardwood from $3.50 to $37 so per
thousand: Grating from 50 to SIS per thou
| sand: cotton duck from q to SO cents a
yard: and labor from an average Of 1914
| to. 22.6 cents an hour: and yet the con-
tracts with our agents are made on the
same basis and at the same prices as
! those made by the Mccormick and the
Deering companies before the consOlida-
tion.'
AS evidence of this Mr.. Funk produced
original contracts. in which the prices
are the same. One of them was made
with F. c. Simon Of Alma. Kan. on Jan
uary II. 1902. in which the Mccormick
Company agreed to furnish him six-foot
grain binders at SIS each for cash, and
500 On time; fve-foot moving machines
| for $36 cash. and $3S on time. and self
dumping hay rakes for $18.75. The con-
tract prices with agents in 1905 and 1906
were written In the same terms at the
same prices. The contracts for 1907 show
an Increase of S. on the price of harvest
ers sold on time. These prices are to
local agents. who charge whatever they
please In theif sales to the farmers. The
company does not sell on commission,
but handles its business like any other
wholesale concern. and the retail dealer
fixes his own price according to circum-
stances and conditions.
Has Heard No Complaint.
Il have never heard a complaint con-
cerning our prices" said Mr.. Funk. ''They
may have been made without my knowl-
edge, but should have heard of them If
they had been IN any way serious. In
suit brought against the company at
Atchison by the attorney general of Kan
sas. the star witness for the state Will
liam Christian. recently testified that
Twenty-Five years ago he paid $500 for
|self-binding harvester: fifteen years ago
he bought another for $40: eight years
ago he bought new pattern for $130. and
this year he paid 1920 for his fourth ma
chine. which he considered the best Of all.
There has been no change In the prices
of harvesting machinery for many years"
continued Mr.. Funk. land the consolida-
tion Of the Mccormick and Deering COM
panies has not affected the terms upon
which machines were sold. Any farmer
can get machine now for the same
money on the same terms that he could
before this terrible trust that you read
about in the newspapers was organized.
Machines are sold on two and three year
payments as was the practice before the
consolidation. although 1t Is fair to say
that, the percentage of cash received on
sales Is very much greater now than be-
fore the combine. and, possibly. the first
two years after it was made. But we are
not responsible for that said Mr.. Funk.
big crops and big prices have enabled
the farmer to pay cash. He is not com
PEELED to ask time on his purchases.
Features of the Old Rivalry.
eral companies for five years before the
consolidation Of two of them. their agents
tried to get the trade by offering more
favorable terms. The price Of machines
remained the same, but the company al
lowed retail dealers to sell machines on
the best terms they could and made
their settlement accordingly. This re-
suited in demoralizing the business. The
prices In the catalogues remained the
same and contracts were drawn on that
basis, but the farmer was induced to buy
a new machine by taking his notes for
four and five years without interest. An
other inducement was to take his old
machine at a high price as part pay
ment There were other minor conces-
sions, and. by working one company
against another s.1rewd FARMER could
get a machine pretty much on his own
terms
Don't you still take old machines in
part payment for new Ones?'
ut was never the practice with either
the Deerfng or the Mccormick company to
take old machines in part payment. Such
exchanges were made by the local deal
ers on their account, and they got rid of
the old machines by reselling them to
other farmers who did not care or could
not afford to buy new ones. 1t Is still
customary to a less extent than formerly,
however. for a local agent to take an
old machine in part payment for a new
one and get rid of 1t on the best terms
he