FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   >>  
to cooperate with one another." "I am not a merger man myself," said William Deering, "although I believe that the International Harvester Company has been a benefit to the farmers." Cyrus H. McCormick goes still further. He is a "trust-buster" himself, so far as the over-capitalised and oppressive leviathans of business are concerned. He said to me frankly: "Some of the hostility to our company is inspired by worthy motives, growing out of the general opposition to the so-called trusts." And when a North Dakota congressman proposed in 1904 that the International Harvester Company should be investigated, Cyrus McCormick at once sent a message that amazed the Bureau of Corporations--"Please come and investigate us," he said. "If we're not right, we want to get right." "Yes," said one of the highest officials of the Roosevelt administration, when I asked him to corroborate this very remarkable story. "It is true that from 1904 it has been the continued desire of the International Harvester Company that we should investigate them. In fact, during the last year (1907) they have urged us with considerable earnestness to make this investigation." So, this big business has evolved from simple to complex in accordance with the same laws that rule plants and empires. It has probably not yet reached its full maturity, for it is greater than any man or any form of organisation, and the tiny ephemeral atoms who control it to-day are no more than its most obedient retinue. They come and go--quarrel and make friends--live and die. What matter? The big business, once alive, grows on through the short centuries, from generation to generation. And what does it all mean--this federation of thirteen factory cities--this coordination of muscle and mind and millions--this arduous development of a new art, whereby a group of mechanics can take a wagon-load of iron ore and a tree, and fashion them into a shapely automaton that has the power of a dozen farmers? _It means bread. It means hunger-insurance for the whole human race. As we shall see in the next chapter, it means that the famine problem has been solved, not only for the United States, but for all the civilised nations of the world._ CHAPTER IV THE AMERICAN HARVESTER ABROAD The first American reapers that went to Europe were given a royal welcome. There were two of them--one made by McCormick and one made by Hussey, and they were exhibited before Albert Ed
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   >>  



Top keywords:

McCormick

 

business

 

Company

 

International

 

Harvester

 

generation

 
investigate
 

farmers

 
millions
 
muscle

obedient

 
control
 
retinue
 

coordination

 
arduous
 

development

 
centuries
 

federation

 
cities
 

mechanics


factory

 
quarrel
 

friends

 

thirteen

 

matter

 

AMERICAN

 

HARVESTER

 

ABROAD

 

CHAPTER

 

States


civilised

 

nations

 

American

 
reapers
 
exhibited
 

Hussey

 

Albert

 

Europe

 

United

 

shapely


automaton

 

fashion

 
ephemeral
 

hunger

 
chapter
 
famine
 

problem

 
solved
 
insurance
 

investigation