The Washington herald., 1918-03-29
TRACTORS now
DOFARM WORK
Holland Describes Growth
of Industry Manufactur-
ing Farm Implements. !,

AS--t Afo1Aolls Mlcu-s u 70 DeBln 10 uo-
liver to> the state Thousand tractors
ven adapted for farming purposes on
April = The probabilities are that Mr.,
Forrs output OF tractors viii not be
limited to the purchase made by the
state of Michigan. A large demand
mas come from many parts OF the
West fpr farm tractors. and recently
an attempt was made to learn wheth-
Yer the Great industry whose output Is
farm machinery would be able, within
few months. possibly by July !, TO
furnish at least 1900 tractors.
In addition 20 tractors some of
our Industries are now occupied with
the construction OF tanks. A few days
ago q representative Of the French
goveynment received a leave OF alb
senee which permitted him to Depart
from the verdun front, where be had
been engaged as an ofdcer since the
German attack on Verdun began.
The French government was anxious
to secure as rapidly as possible at
least. 5000 tanks. and as this officer
was before the war prominently iden-
tihed with a mechanical industry he
was chosen by the government to visit
the Emitted States and make contracts
for as many as aOOO tanks. The I'M
derstanding Just before he sailed was
that he had succeeded in this mission.
VIII Build Tanks
Therefore some Of the large indus
tries. especially Henry Ford's and the
International Harvester Company,
will be greatly occupied for a few
months in building tanks and trac-
tors. Mr.. Ford's output will consist
exclusively of farm tractors and
ploughs
The State OF Michigan in this time
OF war emergency believes that 1t is
= expedlent to undertake what in times
Of peace might be called a State So
tcialis1a operation. But it is not with
any fiev to establishing Socialism
Of this kind that Michigan is to be-
como FLOR the time being a soil tiller
with intent ito feed its people at a
reduced cost from the present high
prices OF the, necessaries of life"
There Is abundant acreage andyery
rich soil in Michigan awaiting ade-
quate., cultivation. This can be OBJ
tanned through the use of tractors.
Mr.. Ford, as an incident to the manu-
factufe of tractors. and presumably
for farmers in other states, has un-
dertsken to procure tractor plows in
large numbers.
These consist simply OF an ordi-
nary plow, representing the latest inn
provements. which is to be con-
veniently attached to a tractor.
The farmers in the Northwest have
been. for some years making use of
tractors with such satisfactory ex-
peTienee with this service that they
are now anxious to secure a large
number of additional tractors, be-
H-.N II. n, tar
crops can be cultivated and harvested
than would otherwise be the case.
The far Western farmers report
|. that the most available tractors are
mot the very large ones. The best
for farm service should be so con-
<stTuCted that a lad in his teens can
operate one, and one tractor will
do the work which would require
eight or y4en horses in a single day.
Out OF the tractors came the tank.
for il Is now we'll known that 1t is
due to the chance observance of a
tractor which was at work upon a
large wheat farm in the Northwest
that an Englishman after the war
began conceived the idea Of adopting
the tractor principle in such manner
as to make It possible to build a
great armored machine to which the
colloquial name OF tank has been
given.
Tractors and tanks in large num-
bers are to be this spring manu-
factured i'm the United States. the
tractors for domestic agricultural use
and the tanks principally for service
in France.
The Garfield Trust.
Within a few days after the death
of President James \. Garfield. in
September. 1851, Cyrus w. Field
made inquiries with intent to learn
whether the estate of President Gar
field would be found large enough
to secure adequate support for Mrs.
Garfield and her family. His chill
dren at that time were al in their
teens.
Two OF them. who afterwards gain
ed distinction. DR.. Harry \. Garfield
Rnd James A. Garfield. were stu
dents at Williams College, where
their father was graduated. \ brief
investigation made it clear to Mr.
Field that the Garfield estate would
be small. He presumed that Con-
gress would follow precedent and ap-
propriate for the benefit of Mr.. Gar
fields heirs the balance Of the first
years salary of Gen. Garfield as
Presidept. amounting possibly to
S4O.OO0A
That and the. farm at Mentor,
Ohio, would comprise substantially
the entire estate. Mr.. Field there
upon, with his customary impulsiye
earnestness, set about securing a
subscription which he hoped would
be large enough to provide. Mrs.
Garfield with an income Of at least
$1,000 "a year. possibly $4,000. He
made the pursuit of this subscrip-
ton his exclusive concern for weeks.
He found many men of wealth
glad to put down their names for
certain generous amounts, while
peopls in moderate circumstances
cheerfufly contributed. The time
came when he was able to announce
that he had secured three hundred
thousand dollars which II properly
invested would be sure to yield an
income to Mrs. Garfield of at least
fifteen thousand doiars a year.
After consultation with friends of
Een. Garfield and with men of fl
ancfal authority it was decided
No put this sum into trust for the
benefft OF Mrs. Garfield during her
life. She was to have no authority
to make disposition of it by will,
The reversion was to go to the
children after her death. That re-
version Is now established.
II the trustees who have for thir-
ty-seyen- years held this trust fund.
have taken advantage of oportuni-
ties which since 1881 have arisen
they may have increased that fund.
n Is certain that IL is not dimln-
ished. Therefore when the time