THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



71 



The United States Government has 

 The shown great activity in its prosecu- 



Question tion of so-called trusts, which has 



Of no doubt resulted in great good to 



Monopoly the people generally, and under the 



sane, cautious guidance of our high- 

 minded President, we may safely look for legislative 

 action that will be far-reaching and beneficial to all. 



The farmers of the country seem to be as free 

 from the baneful influences of money combinations 

 as any class, notwithstanding the cry that various 

 combinations of manufacturers of agricultural im- 

 plements is an ever growing menace. 



There has been no time, in the recollection of 

 the writer, when farmers and ranchmen were more 

 prosperous or happy. 



This brings to mind the litigation against the 

 International Harvester Company of America, a 

 large organization which has taken over many con- 

 cerns in its line. Our observation leads to the be- 

 lief that so far this centering of interests has been 

 a benefit, rather than a detriment to those who use 

 its products, not to the farmer alone, but to the 

 dealers in implements and accessory lines as well. 



If the harvester concern is a trust, it is as- 

 suredly a clean one, and very little has been brought 

 out that would indicate that it is burdensome to the 

 people. On the contrary, the general trend of evi- 

 dence presented against it would indicate that the 

 users and dealers in this class of goods have been 

 treated with the utmost fairness, and in the majority 

 of instances, the dealers have made larger profits 

 and easier progress than under the old system 

 when intense competition apparently compelled the 

 slaughtering of prices and an attendant loss of 

 profits. 



The writer speaks on this subject with a fair 

 knowledge of past conditions in the farm imple- 

 ment field, as he has been connected as an employe 

 of, and later as publisher of an implement journal 

 which covered that entire field. In this experience, 

 dating back to the early eighties, it was possible to 

 gain information from the three bends of this 

 triangle, the farmer, the dealer and the manufac- 

 turer, hence in justice to the bend of the triangle 

 against which the fight is being forced, it is only 

 fair to state that there is one of the so-called trusts 

 which has been of clearly defined benefit to farmers 

 and dealers alike. 



look after reclamation affairs, by Secretary Lane, 

 we hear very little about Mr. Newell, director of 

 the reclamation service, or his chief lieutenant, C. J. 

 Blanchard, who is listed in the roster as "statis- 

 tician." 



It is difficult to judge, without being on the 

 ground at Washington, the exact status of affairs, 

 nor do we hear much from the outlying country 

 concerning the movements of the new commission. 



It is presumed from now on all complaints 

 against the reclamation service will be investigated 

 by the commission, hence the usefulness of our 

 friend Blanchard, as a peacemaker, will diminish. 



This brings to mind the fact that the reclama- 

 tion service would often have been placed in diffi- 

 cult positions, had it not been for Mr. Blanchard. 

 \Yhen any severe criticisms appeared in publica- 

 tions throughout the country, Charles Blanchard 

 was usually on the ground to explain away the 

 "seeming difficulty," and as Blanchard was cut out 

 for the diplomatic service, he usually left the im- 

 pression with the average publisher who was not 

 familiar with the inner workings of the service 

 that he (the publisher) had been "bunked"' by some 

 over zealous correspondent, and these interviews 

 frequently resulted in making the editor a friend 

 of the service, and precluded the possibility of 

 further investigation of the subject, which in many 

 instances would have placed the affair in an entirely 

 different light. 



It is hoped that under the new commission 

 plan, a new era has dawned and that the settler may 

 be given a fair hearing when complaints are regis- 

 tered. 



It may be well to suggest here, however, for 

 the benefit of Secretary Lane and members of the 

 new commission, that a large number of western 

 publishers are awake to the real situation, and if 

 the "star chamber" method is adopted in connec- 

 tion with their work, they may keep a keen lookout 

 for rocks ahead. 



Affairs in the Interior Department 

 The and its subordinate branch, the 



New Reclamation Service, appear to be 



Reclamation moving along noiselessly, and so far 

 Commission as the general public is concerned, 



everything is apparently satisfac- 

 tory. Since the appointment of a commission to 



The year 1914 opens with the in- 

 Industrial dustrial and financial condition of 

 And the country not quite so buoyant as 

 Financial it was a year ago, yet far from being 

 Outlook discouraging to those who look 



beyond the hour's perplexity. In- 

 deed, when we consider that within the past six 

 months there has been enacted by congress a new- 

 tariff law and a new currency law, both of which 

 have compelled a country-wide adjustment of busi- 

 ness to their requirements, the wonder is that so 

 little real disturbance has resulted. 



It is one of the most cheering aspects of the 

 business conditions of the entire country that they 



