Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-09-19
Osborne Company Bought Two Years
Before Fact Was Announced.
MINUTES ARE IN EVIDENCE
Record of Meeting of Voting Trust
Produced by Attorney.
GOVERNMENT WILL EXAMINE IT
Adjournment is Taken Until Today
to Enable Attorneys for Prose-
cution to Go. Over the
Document.

CHICAGO, Sept 1S-Contracts and
other documents by which the Inter
national Harvester company is alleged
to have formed and carried on trust
were introduced by the government to-
day in its antitrust suit against that
corporation.
One of the eleven contracts showed
that in the purchase of the .. NJ os-
borne & Co., with plant al
Auburn, N. Y, George w. Perkins had
signed for the Harvester company, In
this instance, the government charged
for two years the defendant concealed
and denied its association with the Os-
borne company, and represented the lat
ter as an Independent company. This
was in pursuance OF the defendants pol
icy, by denying ownership to use con-
trolled companies. to break down COM
petition and secure for themselves the
benefit of public sentiment against COM
binatlons."
Minutes In Evidence.
In response to subpoena, attorneys
lOI lHC HdlPGSlcI COlupduy plOuloSu "
submit the minutes of the meetings Of
the stockholders the board of directors
and of the voting trust" composed Of
George w. Perkins, Cyrus II. Mccormick
and Charles Deering. 1t was announced
these minutes would be scrutinized by the
government before they were offered in
evidence.
Referring to the testimony Of R. c.
Haskins, president Of the International
Harvester company of America, Mr.. Gros-
venor stated before the examiner that it
had been shown that the Minnesota state
prison had been competitor in the man
ufacture Of harvesting machinery and
had tended to reduce the prices, parucu-
arly in Minnesota.
Without taking any further testimony
> this afternoon. the hearing was adjournees
until tomorrow to enable the government
attorneys to examine those Of the har-
vester companies books which are to be
introduced as evidence.
Firm is Selling Agent.
Although it sold s1O0, 100000 worth Of
farm implements, the international Haf-
vester Company Of America last year
made only sl5O00O in profits, or fifteen
hundredths of per cent, according to X.
C. Haskins, the president, who testified
yesterday.
Questions were asked by the govern
ment attorneys to show that the Interna-
tional Harvester Company Of America
was merely the selling agent of the In
ternational Harvester Company of New
Jersey and that the latter company was
TO make all the money.
rs it not your object to buy from the
New Jersey company at such price as
will enable you to sell SO that you will
have neither a loss nor a profit?", asked
Edwin P. Grosvenor, special assistant at
torney general.
"Our object is to buy as cheaply as We
can and to make as much as posi- ble
We try to buy from the New jersey COM
pany at prices we would get from any
other company" replied Mr. Haskins.
but you never have paid a dlvidend?''
mo. we never have"
Methods of Sale.
Most of today's session was devoted to
describing technical features Of farm i'm
plements. Mr.. Haskins related the
methods Of sale to farmers in answer to
the governments charge that as a trust
the harvester company maintained prices
ITO the serious injury Of the farmer"
The witness said the company sold to
agents with per cent discount for cash
and the agent, by adding his profit, de-
terrnined the price which the farmer was
to pay.
One reason, Mr.. Haskins explained. why
the sale company made only $15000O while
it sold $l0o,O0oo0o worth Of implements
was that it was constantly expanAng its
business and expending large sums for
olr