The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-05-15
AFTER THE TRUST.

The story comes from Washington
that President Roosevelt has directed
the department of justice to institute
an investigation against the Interna-
tional Harvester company, in COM
pliance with the Hansbrough resolu-
>tion which was passed by congress
last winter That the investigation
will be of the Rooseveltan style can
not be doubted. What the result will
be can not be questioned.
There is no more fragrant violator
of the spirit of the antitrust laws
in the country, not excepting the
Standard Oil company. When there
were a number of concerns engaged
in the manufacture of binders, the
competition kept the prices down to
something near a reasonable point.
But shortly after the harvester trust
was formed the prices began to ad-
vance until now the farmers are pay
ing far more for their machinery than
they did three years ago.
When the trust was formed it was
declared that it would reduce the cost
of the machinery controlled by the
consolidated companies, because the
business would be centralized, and
instead of having six operating and
administrative expenses, as was true
before the formation of the trust,
there would be but one. And even
this ratio of reduction does not in
dictate the actual saving to the trust,
for while before the combination,
each of the six companies which now
constitute the trust, kept large mum.
Der of travelling men on the road
since opposition has been eliminated,
there are none.
The reduction in operating ex-
penses, including the centralizing of
the office forces and the abolition OF
the travelling forces, it would seem,
would be sufficient to balance the in
crease in the cost of the steel and
wood which are used in the manu-
facture of binders, for the small
amount of either material used would
not make very perceptible differ
ence in manufacturing cost even If
the price of these raw products were
doubled.
Now as a matter of fact the cost
of binders to the farmers has been
increased since the trust got in con-
troll, from ninety dollars to one hun
dred and thirty dollars, with a de-
cidedly smaller profit to the dealer
than he realized before the formation
of the trust. 1t can therefore be seen
that there is forty dollars trust blood
money in the price of every binder,
and the trust is now reaching out for
the control of every piece of farm
machinery. 1t already controls the
binding Irvine output in many Of the
states.
During the session of the late leg
islature Representative Martin Thore-
son of Barnes county introduced a
resolution in the house inquiring into
the expediency Of establishing a plant
for the manufacture of harvesters at
the state penitentiary. The matter
did not reach the stage of definite
action, but it showed conclusively the
sentiment OF the farmers of the state
against the trust.
The Hansbrough resolution recited
the same oppression and unreasona-
BILE and unjustifiable advances in
prices that the one introduced by
Representative Thoreson did. The
advantages which a national investi-
cation would have over one conducted
by a state is that while the latter
could only investigate, the former be-
cause Of the concern engaging in in
terstate commerce, is able to dissolve
the trust and practically put it out
Of business. The scope of the inves-
tigation required under the Hans
brough resolution is wide enough to
bring to the attention of the courts
any violations of the antitrust laws,
and should it be found that they
have been violated, the trust will GER
tainly be dissolved.