Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-08-06
GREAT TRACTOR
SHOW STARTS At
FREMONT TODAY
Forty-TWo Companies to DEM
onstrate Steel Giants at Ma
tionaI Power Farming
Exhibition This Week.

When the crowd of farmers begins
to arrive at Fremont this morning,
scores of gasoline and kerosene en-
gines will already be popping and
roaring, for the great farm tractors
will be clanking into position for the
National Power farming demonstra-
ton to be held just outside the city
of Fremont all week
Every year the army of farm trac-
tors at this show grows larger. Every
year, these monsters are trimmed
down to greater and greater eff
cheney. They march together today,
forty-two abreast at Fremont, like a
mighty army of steel giants, trained.
skilled, Misunderstanding in their
strength and masterfullness.
1t has been process OF prepared
ness, this process of mobilizing the
farm tractors during the past few
years. A dozen years ago farmers in
Nebraska laughed at the idea of farm
ing with tractor. They believed
that tractors belonged only on the
great wheat farms of thousands of
acres in the Dakota's and Mime
sofa. They sneered at the idea OF
blowing an eighty-acre or forty
acre field with tractor power.
Faith is Lasting.
But there were those who had
faith in the ability of the horse of
steel. There were those who insisted
that the day must come when horse
farming must give place largely to
power farming. They toiled with in
vention after invention, confident they
must reach the epitome of power and
efficiency at last.
Then came the gasoline and kero-
sene tractors, and with their coming
the old steam tractors began TO be re-
garded as too heavy and clumsy for
the fields. Soon invention after in
vention began to improve the tractors,
until farmers saw that they could be
used to advantage on the smaller
farms. Still they were slow to try
them, though they heard good reports
at long distance.
Practical Exhibits.
Then came the Fremont Power
farming demonstration, when tew
alert minds decided to show the
farmers of this and adjoining states
what tractors could do in the fields.
Only fifteen tractors were exhibited
at the first demonstration in Fremont
in 1918. -.
Forty-two tractor companies will
exhibit their various tractors today
when the show opens. Ihirty.-slx ac-
cessory companies will exhibit their
accessories.
A field of 5000 acres lies ready for
the demonstrations. With much
clanking of steel, and churnlng OF
wheels, the Kissing iron monsters
will fling the furrow wide, and hurf
the stubbled sod of the many acres
lightly aside.
From tables of the crowds OF peo-
pie who have visited this show during
the past four years, it is carefully esti-
mated by the management that there
will be fully 100000 people at the
show this year.
To Haul Water Wagon,
Some tractors will attract special
attention because of similarity to the
British "war tanks" now in action IN
France.
The little outfit shown above is the
invention of Rollin H. White of Cleve-
land, renowned automobile and motor
truck designing engineer. 1t will, in
addition to participating in competI-
tive demonstration work be used for
hauling the official water wagon"
around the demonstration grounds.