The Measuring Stick Of the Tractor Industry ã
Part VII
"A Thorn Between Two Roses"
Dan Whalen 2165 Berry Road, Amelia, OH 45102
A history of Wallis and Massey-Harris would not be complete without the story behind this disclaimer at the bottom of the J.I. Case Plow Works and Wallis ads:
Notice- "We want the public to know that the Wallis Tractor is made by the J.I. Case Plow Works, Inc. of Racine, Wisconsin and is not the product of any other company with "J.I. Case" as part of its corporate name."
The J.I. Case Threshing Machine Company sold steam engines, threshers, and horsepower machines. The J.I. Case Plow Works made tillage tools. The two companies existed next to each other just fine until approximately 1912. The T.M. company started to sell plows which had the Case name on them. Of course the plow works would have to protest and to take it a step farther Henry Wallis and Jackson I. Case, who owned the plow works, formed a new company; the J.I. Case Company. In doing so all mail addressed J.I. Case, Case Company, etc…had to be delivered to the Plow Works. The T.M. Company protested. The situation ended up in court. The final ruling by the court was all mail without street address with Case or J.I. Case had to be opened in the presence of a representative of each company at the post office. The postmaster served as a mediator. Any disputed mail was given to the court to decide ownership.
This process continued until 1928 when Massey-Harris bought the Wallis tractor, the J.I. Case Plow Works, and the J.I. Case Company. Not needing the name, Massey- Harris, sold the name to the J.I. Case Threshing Machine Co. for $70,000 allowing the TM Company to use the Case name on all of it’s products from then on.
We are developing a written history of Wallis, Massey-Harris, Massey-Ferguson, and Ferguson tractors to clarify and document for future generations of tractor enthusiasts. It is important that anyone who worked in the Massey factories, field service, sales etc...in North America, or any information that needs to be put in this history record, please get in touch with me NOW!
Many hours of research has gone into this ongoing series. If you have any information to add, please relate this and documentation to Wild Harvest or Dan Whalen. There are too many books, articles and VCR tapes on this subject that are in whole or in part inaccurate and misleading which has damaged and eclipsed the reputation of these fine tractors as the facts show.