744 



AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



were not available for 1903. The proportion of cash sales ranged 

 from 74.4 per cent in 1905 to 64.2 per cent in 1911. There was, of 

 course, a corresponding increase in the credit sales, which in 1911 

 reached the maximum, namely, 35 .8 per cent. 



TABLE LXXIV 



COMPARISON OF PERCENTAGES OF CASH AND CREDIT SALES TO TOTAL SALES 



OF THE INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER Co. IN THE 



UNITED STATES, 1904-1911 



* Percentages as in original statement; do not equal 100. 



Examining the amounts of notes of various maturities taken in 

 each year, we find that notes for the longer terms have shown an 

 almost uninterrupted decline. Thus, three-year notes constituted 

 14 .4 per cent of the total in 1904 and' only 6.5 per cent in 1911, while 

 four-year notes sank from 2.9 per cent in 1904 to only 0.4 per cent 

 in 1911. Practically no five-year notes were taken. For the three- 

 and four-year notes combined, the amount taken by the International 

 Harvester Co. was 17.3 per cent of the total notes in 1904, and only 

 6.9 per cent in 1911. For one-year notes the proportion taken in 

 1904 was 34.7 per cent and 28.9 per cent in 1911, while for the two- 

 year notes the proportion taken in 1904 was 48.0 per cent and 64.2 

 per cent in 1911. Taking these two classes together, the percentage 

 was 82.7 in 1904 and 93.1 in 1911. 



The assistant general manager of the International Harvester Co. 

 insisted, however, that the company was earnestly trying to reduce 

 the proportion of credit sales generally. "We should be very glad," 

 he said, "if some plan could be worked out by other interests than 

 ours to do more of the financing of the farmer. Broadly, our policy 

 has been to try to shorten the terms, and we have met with compara- 

 tively little success." 



