New-York tribune., 1919-11-14
international Will Act as
Its Own Banker to Ex-
tend Necessary Credits
to Dealers in Europe
Appeal to Financiere
Comprehensive System l.
Needed to Aid Industry
During Reconstruction
Special Cori'espondenc

SA'' ''H OIclSt business from HiS-
appearing as result of exchange dif-
hcultles. Acting as its own banker,
inns huge manufacturing enterprise.
which has SIX of its sixteen American
plants IN this city, is extending long
time credits TO dealers in Europe.
however, the management is par
tlcuiarly anxious for the bankers of
America to work out comprehensive
plan Tor financing the purchases Of
the Old Worll. TOR it feels that it is
an open question how long the com
pany can carry the credit load itself.
an officer of the company told The
Tribune correspondent to-day. Up to
inc present the company has been
able to resuscltate part of its Euro
pean trade, which fell off tremendously
while the fighting lasted. In extending
credit 1t Is, In some instances, accept
ING collateral Of European farmers
Foreign Trade Drops
In prc-war times one-haf Of the
trade Of the International Harvester
Company was foreign and one-half
domestic. AT present the ratio is one
fourth foreign and three-fourths do
nestle. The change, it is said, is due
entirely to falling off Of external
III domestic business.
Making machinery for next springs
harvest the American plants of tho
company, 1t is asserted, are operating
close to normal and arc employing 30
O00 workers. They are operating between
SO and So per cent Of maximum capac-
lty. This state of activity cmbodles a
vast improvement over the record Of
the war years, when the plants never
operated more than SO 10 s. per cent
OF capacity.
When geared to their full speed the
plants in this country can produce
100 eo0 harvesting machines annually.
$4,000 tractors. l2o geo tons of binder
twine, in addition to threescore other
products turned out in large volume.
Although the companys plant at
Moscow, Russia, is believed to be under
Soviet control, the company is operat-
ing in Europe. 1t recently regained
controi of its factory on the west bank
Of the Rhine IN the occApied zone III
Germany and is turning out its
products there once more. The unit in
Lille, France, Is not yet operating, ac-
cording to officers Of the company be-
cause the Germans removed the ma
chincry from it during the strife.
In getting back to peace basis the
international Harvester Company has
an easy time in its American plants
a it did comparatively little war work.
The output of it's normal products dur
ing the war years was cut down by the
lack of raw materials and the relative
paucity of orders.
An officer of the company was asked
to say whether the prosperity Of the
American farmers had tremendously
stimulated the agricultural machinery
business.
He replied, Not greatly. Farmers
prefer instead to buy automobiles and
otEer things which cannot be consid-
+ cred eSsentialS.'
Did the great increase in the pro-
duction Of the farms Of the country
during the war require the buying of
an unusual amount o. new machinery ~
was the mex question.
This was answered in the negative,
With the explanation that because OF
the hien prices of machinery farmers
had instead, IN many instances. bought
new parts for their OLD machinery. In
cldentally, it was explained that the
american farmers as q result of rising
prices have learned % take slightly
better Gaze OF their implements. \
harvesting machine, it was asserted,
ought to last thirty years if properly
cared for and kept out of the rain and
sleet. But in the past the ordinary
farmer in the United States, il is said
would leave his machine exposed to the
elements from one season TO the next
and it woul9 thus become Worthless
prematurely.
Workers Given Voice
The company Installed a program Of
''democr. cy in industry" in its plants
last spring. 1t is designed 10 give the
workers a voice in the affairs OF the
company in which they are directly
concerned, The plan extends chiefly to
hour, and wages. and representatives
of the employees meet to discuss such
problems with representatives OF tho
management.
Cyrus H. Mccormick jr who is works
man>.scr OF lirec ,nAcago pant, Sald
that the system has been working ex-
ceedingly well in Chicago However.
as an owner of steel works and coal
mines, the company was affected by
the two strikes in those basic indus
tries.
Members of the Inter-Allied Com
mercial Missions from Great Britain,
France, Italy and Belgium, who Will
Tonight leave Chicago for Detroit, Wis
tied the Harvester works. 1t is chiefly
the countries which they represent
which are getting longtime credits
from the con pany tatern Europe,
however, including CZecho-Sloyakia,
Jueo-Slavia and tne Balkan generaIIy,
are shut off from trade because O. cur
rency decentralization in these coun-
tries. Russia, too. which was one Of
the largest customers Of the company,
is, of course, barred to trade.
Before the delegates went 10 the
Harvester plant, they inspected 1he
factory of the Western Electric Com
pany. manufactures OF, perhaps 80
per cent of the telephone equipment
used in the United States. A program
OF expansion is now being carried out,
and officials of the company predicted
that 1920 would be BY far the biggest
production year in the history Of the
enterprise. Three new wings 10 the
factory, which were .tArted during the
war, are practically completed, and
will be in operation by the first OF the
year. Then work will start on three
additional wings. Each group OF three,
it is said, will increase the productive
capacity Is per cent
At the peak during the way, when
commercial work was dropped entirely
and the company was manufacturing
telephones and signal corps equipmen nj
for the government, $4,000 workers
were employed here. Now there are
about . 600 employees working. More
will be taken on as soon as pending
conversions to new types are made IN
the machinery of plants. The company
is finding il difficult to keep up its
personnel, because of the scarcity of
labor.
Now back to commercial work, il