Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-03-21
Prices of Farm Implements
and Machinery to Be Adj
vanced
FIVE PER CENT INCREASE
Made Necessary by High Prices Of
Lumber and steel--scarcity Of Ma
teriaI Sending Prices sosrne-0ea'-
or Talks of Conditions of the Farm
Implement Trade.
Special to Times-Republican.


Council Bluffs, March 21.-An hb-
sorbing question not only among I'M
plement men, but all who are in any
way conversant with the situation, IS
the prospect of general advance In all
implement prices. Rumors, statements
and misstatements OF an alarming but
on the wholly hazy character have gone
the rounds, there being no central as
ISOLATION Of implement men in Council
Bluffs that could sanction OF deny such
reports. the field has been lIt free to
surmise.
The decision reached at special
meeting Of the National Wagonmakers
Association in Chicago some time ago,
seems to voice the sentiment Of most
Of the local implement men, not on'y IN
respect to wagons, buggies, ana the
general products of the wagonmaEers
craft, but to other lines Of the imple-
ment business The decision reached
was that unless present conditions re-
garding raw material and transpSfta-
ton take beneficial change retail
prices Of these products will be raised
about per cent this spring.
A we'll known implement man stated
yesterday that the raise would PROB
ably go into effect June /. This &C
ton is taken with reluctance ard Is
impelled not by desire to take adVan-
tage of the public to line our purses
but by veritable necessity growing
out of the universal advance In cost OF
production" he explained.
Another implement man OF the city
went further into the statement of the
existing conditions. "The past couple
of years have been the most strenuous
in our experience to make a living profit
in our investment. Cost of materials
into construction has advanced
by leaps and bounds, and, hoping
against hope that relief would soon
come. we have advanced prices sufff-
GENTLY to cover only part of the adj
ditional cost. This hope, however, has
proven futile and manufacturers and
dealers must now advance. This means
higher prices, and right away"
conditions regarding lumber re-
uuirements are especially trying. The
have a corner on the Sit
uation and they profit by it. 1t is about
the same in iron and steel. except that
these high prices must eventually set
tie to a reasonable basis since the sup
ply is in no respect approaching ex-
haustion. Orders now are all accepted
There was Il time when
we could contract for iron and steel,
and If. for any reason, delivery was
not as agreed we could go out and buy
on the retail market, charging the diff.
ference in price to the company with
whom we had contract. That is not
the case now. Delivery is in no case
promised definitely, nor Is the time set
In many instances we must order six
supply in advance, and are then
by shortages" ~
A large share of the spring trade will
come in under the present scale of
prices, and the advanced rates will tell
strong on fall business. The
second orders" are especially heavy at
present, and the dealers turnout the
state will probably have their stocks
well in hand before the installation of
the various new schedules.