ver-production; but what
has caused the over-production? One thing that may have had
something to do with it is the new mills they have been putting up
in the Northwest. Many of the Eastern mills used to get large
quantities of seed from Iowa; but they are building cities out
there now, as well as raising flax-seed, and when they were booming
some of those cities they would raise heavy bonuses in aid of new
enterprises. Among these were some great linseed oil mills, which
have loaded up the market pretty heavily of late years; so that not
only has the price sagged down, but we have all had to work to get
rid of our stocks. The firms which had the best mills and
machinery, and were in a position to get their seed reasonably and
put their goods on the market with least expense for
transportation, etc., have been making a small profit over and
above their expenses. But some of the works which had to bring
their seed a long way, and which haven't quite as good machinery as
can be had now, were in a bad way. There were some of the oldest
houses in the trade among them, too, and with fine men at their
head. It was too bad to have them go under. They tried to cut down
expenses, but strikes and trouble with their men prevented their
saving much in that way. Then there was one item of expense which
they had to increase instead of cutting down: that was the cost of
marketing. Competition was so fierce, that, in order to keep up
their trade, they had to spend more on salaries of expensive
salesmen, and in advertising and pushing their goods, than they
would dream of ordinarily.

It seemed too bad to cut each other's throats in that way, for that
was what it amounted to, and when the association met,--or what was
left of it, for the business rivalries had grown so bitter that
many of the former personal friendships between the members had
become strained and one after the other had dropped out,--the
situation was discussed by the few members who met together. It
was discussed earnestly, too, by men who felt an interest in what
they said, because unless some remedy could be devised, they had
got to sit still and watch the savings of a lifetime slip through
their fingers. One thing was very clear to all. Though competition
was as sharp as any one could poss