The Great LIBERATOR

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Survey says

Elmer's response to the committee's query is curious in light of the Liberty tractor's carefully planned design compared to forethought given by other tractor makers of the day. Prior to 1920, many tractors were manufactured on a whim, with little or no research involved.

On the other hand, the P.J. Downes Co., a tractor sales and distribution company, which had been involved in the tractor industry for eight years before it began with the Liberty tractor, was a progressive company.

In fact, the Nov. 29, 1918, issue of Farm Implements and Tractors reveals that the company surveyed farmers to discover what they wanted in a farm machine. The company also hoped the study would uncover the flaws farmers found in tractors already on the market.

The survey was fruitful, and the tractor's promoters determined that the most-economical tractor for the average farmer was the four-plow size, 'because one farmer could handle four plows without additional time but increased (production) work,' according to a Nov. 29, 1918, issue of Farm Implements and Tractors.

Thus the Liberty tractor was designed as a four-plow tractor.

Liberation

The lightweight Liberty tractor weighed 5,775 pounds and used a four-cylinder Climax engine with a 5-by-6 1/2-inch bore and stroke. The tractor had a 15-30 hp rating, and was built to pull four 14-inch plows. The two-compartment fuel tank held 20 gallons of kerosene and 5 gallons of gasoline.

The tractor, truly a different breed of farm machine, was sleek and small for its time. In fact, C.H. Wendel wrote in Encyclopedia of American Farm Tractors that the Liberty tractor's 'neat and compact lines signified the coming of modern, streamlined machines.' Further evidence of its fine design is found in a Nov. 29, 1918, Farm Implements and Tractors article that shows the '... fine adjustment of bearings makes the Liberty tractor so light in draft that it can be pushed back and forth on the sample floor with one finger.' The article even added that an oilcan was unnecessary since the tractor's lubrication was so thorough.

Records show that the Liberty appeared to be a solid tractor. As Elmer, the tractor's inventor, prepared for the North Dakota Tractor Demonstration in 1918, he called on a man identified in records only as Mr. Jenkins, Minneapolis branch manager for the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, to furnish four breaker bottoms. Jenkins inquired about the Liberty's weight, and when he learned it was only about 5,800 pounds, Jenkins scoffed at Elmer's assertion that the tractor could pull four breaker bottoms. Elmer assured Jenkins the Liberty would perform beyond expectations.

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