The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 14, 1916, Page 10

. tractor demonstration next year. ORTH DAKOTA has been vir- tually assured by the National Tractor Farming Demonstra- tion Circuit that it will have a states were included in the circuit this season, and -at every city where the tractor men held forth - there were fmmense throngs of interested people. Some of the towns reported that the tractors proved a bigger drawing feature than their state fairs. This new method of supplying valu- able information and entertainment in one operation has become so popular that several other states and cities than those visited are anxious to get a visit from the circuit managers with their train loads of machinery and hundreds of operatives. That this state did not procure one of these demonstrations in 1916 was because a suitable date could not be arranged and sufficient land of the right kind could not be procured. J. P. Hardy, - secretary of the Fargo Commercial club, began as early as last January to work upon the matter, and the instant success he had shows that when the North Dakota demonstration materializes next year, it will be among the biggest and most enthusiastic. Mr. Hardy wrote to many implement dealers in all parts of the state asking them what they thought of the propo- sition, and without exception they replied that they would favor it, that they would visit the show, and for him to be sure to notify them of the dates so they could ' - prepare for it. Several expressed the belief that Fargo is the best place in the state for holding such a demonstration, and commended the Commercial club for taking the initiative. " THINK TRACTOR DEMONSTRATION WILL HELP ALL FARMERS As soon as the responses from imple- ment dealers showed him the unanimous interest in the matter, Mr. Hardy at once took up with the commercial clubs of cities that held demonstrations last year, the matter of ‘entertainment details; expense, and other features, and found that regardless of the expense (and in some instances it amounted to $4000 or $5000) the business men and - commercial clubs believed it was well worth the money. In their replies to the Fargo Commer- cial club’s first letter, the North Dakota machinery dealers pointed out that such a demonstration ‘would give the farmers . & better idea of the kind of a tractor ... to buy; just what a tractor could and could not do, and would enlighten the dealers in- different sections as to the kind of . machines that would be best suited’ to their own trade. One 'dealer wrote that while he had great faith in the tractor, up to the present time he - had not found a, machine that would plow equally well on level and hilly ground, on alternately light and heavy - soil, The demonstration would show the manufacturers what they must do in order to meet the demand for a tractor that will do all these things. “WILL BE HELD AT TIME CONVENIENT FOR FARMERS Many of the dealers declared that the farmers of their own sections aré becom- . ing-interested in tractors, and said that the ‘demonstration should be held ‘at-a time when the farmers would be able to b',_attend. Without the farmers ‘to see their work, and .make comparisons, Eight ‘the’ A view of the tractor uemonstration iield at Hutcninson, Kansas ~ Circuit Managers Willing to Include This State In Next Year’s. Contest -demonstrations, they thought, would not be as useful as they should be. _ Incidentally a number of the writers expressed their- appreciation of the welcome and hospitality extended to the last gathering of‘- the implement dealers’ state association when it met in Fargo. Based upon the widespread interest shown in North Dakota, Mr. Hardy has . received assurances that this state will be granted.a tractor demonstration next season, and as soon as some pressing matters now on hand can be disposed of, * he will at once take up with the manu- facturers’ - committee, of which J. B. Bartholomew of the Avery Tractor com- - field at the same time. pany is chairman,A the matter of date, acreage, and exact location. With so many railways centering here, and such a -large population close at hand on both sides of the Red River, - there is no doubt in his mind but that Fargo will: be the point selected. The' tractor demonstration idea was made popular by Fremont, Neb., a town of less than 10,000 population, in 1914,. Fremont, like Fargo, is in the center of a great farming section, and some happy genius there was struck with the idea of making the little city the Mecca of all people interested in modern farming methods, by putting on a show that would be to practical farming what the automobile is ‘to transportation. The idea swept over the state like a prairie fire. Fremont at its first show in 1915 had over 31,000 visitors. Other towns grabbed at the bait, and before they knew it the tractor manufacturers were swamped with applications. ] TRACTOR SHOW IDEA - SPREADS OVER THE LAND How._quickly and completely organiza- tion can develop an idea was never bet- ter shown. In that same year two or three towns, Hutchinson, Kan., and Bloomington;- I1l.; among" them,- put. on - independent tractor ‘shows, charging $50 entry fees to each manufacturer entered. The ‘manufacturer gladly paid the fees. and sent a large number of machines and expert operators. ' Before the seas- on was out they had formed the nucleus of a nation-wide association ‘of manu- facturers to take control of the tractor demonstration: enterprise, cut-out pay-- ing fees to the towns that offered them opportunities to ‘show, and in turn lev- ied ' fees upon the towns that asked .them to come. As a result eight towns. An eight different states this year paid. from $1200 to $5000 or more for these demonstrations, and: everyone concerned _believes-they are the biggest innovation ~ connected with farming exhibition Field demeonstrations of the gasoline horse, which have awakened intense interest on the part of the farmers all over the nation, are almost cer- tain to be held somewhere in this state next year. North Dakotans will get an opportunity to see hundreds of tractors in operation on the same The manufacturers now are in com- plete control of the tractor demonstra- tion, and this year spent several hun- dred thousand dollars making it success- ful. They ‘ask of the towns they visit that some responsible local organization will guarantee entertainment, and’ pro- vide for the crowds. The last tractor show of the season at Madison, Septem- ber 4 to.8, was guaranteed a big fund by the Rotary Club- there. The Fargo show .planned . for last spring. was under the auspices of the United -States. Experiment station with the financial -cooperation of the Fargo Commercial Club. In other cities, dif- ferent vrganizations have helped, but for the most part the commercial clubs have seized the idea as the biggest chance of the season to advertise their town, sec- tion and state. ’ The 1916 circuit opening at Dallas, Texas, July 17, with a five-day show, including Hutchinson, Kans., St. Louis, Mo., Fremont, Neb., Cedar Rapids, Ia., Bloomington, 1l1., Indianapolis, Ind., and Madison, Wis. A good feature of the central control of the demonstrations is that a national circuit has been established, which no doubt will be expanded as -the demand increases, and a systematic rotation .of stops has been made possible.’ The scheme is for the earliest demonstra- tions to start in the south and work northward, keeping just behind the spring rush of work. The manufactur- ers realize that they must let the farmers se¢. their machines in operation. They were rewarded this year by immense - number of farmers visiting their fields, The distinguishing characteristic of the shows held this summer was that while 1_:he throngs were large, there was little idle curiosity—it was all keen business interest. -PRESENT SCARCITY OF HORSES - INTENSIFIES THE INTEREST The great scarcity of ‘horses: due to the drain by the European war has done much, to make this the psychological moment for touching off the tractor idea, with gasoline and kerosene and. mo- tive power. But even horse breeders have seen the use of this new machine, and admit it can do some things better an'(li'h more economically than horses. e rules to eliminate any tricks in demon- stration, ‘supply all ‘the machines, pay all the men, and transport their immense “equipment from place to place, This ,year they employed more than 1000 men, and they hay almost that many different. “tractors. . They move in special trains: E TEN manufacturers. take entire charge of the affair, have developed a set of .best for their purpose. - iently large area of varied land _every ' demonstration. Side like the biggest circuses. = They must have convenient unloading -and loading facilities and long platforms - of heavy plank - have- been provided at some places. : They must have a large area of land (several hndred acres) for above every- thing else they plan to make the demon- stration practical. A variety of land is ] For- instance the Fargo Commercial Club this spring looked over a piece of land that included timothy - sod, flax stubble, cultivated land of the season before and prairie sod, but it was not large enough in area. At the Dallas demonstration the tractors plowed and rolled over a heavy-soil that had been soaked with rains. A few days later -at Hutchinson,. Kan., they burst their way over a soil that had been baked by six weeks of hot sunshine into something like brick and rolled up in hard clods. These differences the man- ufacturers welcomed as best showing what the new farm power can do. One of the problems before the Fargo Com- mercial Club now is to procure a suffic- near enough to the city. . BIG REFRESHM_I;}NT STANDS TO CARE FOR THE CROWDS The communitied visited must make feeding and sleeping -arrangements. In addition to the hotels, hundreds of pri- vate homes were found necessary at Madison, and these were listed by the local comittee in a card index weeks in advance. - Large facilities for supplying lunches and refreshments at-the grounds must also be made, for thousands of people are there at all times. The fore- noons with their tryouts have been found as interesting to the farmers as the formal programs of the afternoon. The town must also furnish some sort of amusement and some public gather- ings, for half the value would be lost if — the demonstration were confined to field work, and there were no opportunities to get together. = The movies in some places made special arrangements of feature films; band concerts were given; a smoker was provided at almost all; and of course there was a banquet at trips to point of interest, such.as- local manufac- tories, typical farms, and parks have been utilized by those cities that had them, and in this respect Fargo is well favored. ; It is in these features that the towns derive their peculiar benefit. The de- monstration brings to the city visitors from all over ‘the state and adjoining states, and to give them a good impres- ‘sion is the privilege of the town or city that is host. - It is for this purpose-the national * committee asks ' a‘ financial . guarantee from IOcal interests: 7 CAREFUL RULES MAKE - ALL THE TESTS FAIR Under the plans developed by A. k. Hildebrand of Bloomington, IlL, who is superintendent in charge of the entire national enterprise, there are: regular programs, beginning at a stated hour and ending at a stated hour, a dynamom- eter accurately tests' the. ground so that machines get no exclusively easy. or difficult land, there is a regular assign- T judges take ‘ace the fu S