The Richmond Indiana palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1854-1855, 1855-07-12
From the Buffalo Democracy
The Doom of Cotton Hands

Up in twenty -fourth-st. New York city. is
now surely spinning out the solution Of Cot
complaining Slavery. Iron and steel machin-
cry, and chemical solvents are making our
flax fiber more than rival for the Mississippi
fiber which underlies the Southern system OF
labor, and on which rests the politics Of half
this Union, and in whose behalf the extreme
resort to disruption Of the Federal ties, and
civil war is constantly menaced The rivalry
between flax and cotton is established. Can
there be any doubt about the final issue Of
this competition? Must not the Cotton Hand
loose his value-and Of consequence, will
not the Planter Generously insist upon the
Constitutional duty Of the Union, to buy his
slaves at high prices and deport them 10
Africa?
Five years ago in Buffalo, gentleman en-
gagged in spinning cotton, was led by peru
sal Of an article in Rees' Encyclopedia TO ex-
pertinent upon fax fiber with bleaching salts.
These he deemed to be merely identical with
a solution mentioned by Rees employed by
linen-makers in Sweden to whiten the fiber
before it was carded and spun. The result
was satisfactory. We have seen on a reel the
fax cotton produced by him.
We now have before US three samples from
the New York establishment Ne. is peart-
ly white. coarse though soft. and very glossy.
In this state it is 10 be put into market No.
is to show the length of the fiber This is
12 inches long. No. is the same article
carded. This operation is not intended To be
performed at the establishment. This will be
left for the manufacturer to do. The last sam
pie is white, soft, fine, and strong, and per
fectly clean. In this condition it can be spun.
either alone or mixed with wool, or with cot
ton. The sample would seem to leave no
doubt of the practicability of the Flax Cot
ton Manufacture Yet the process is new
one, and the works at which these samples
were made. were put up only to systematic
the invention and organize and perfect the
business
The process CT the manufacture as it has
been described to US is this: Rough flax is
cut into required lengths (say of The length
of the cotton fber) by a machine similar to =
this chopped stuff are put into steam res-r-
voir and steamed some three hours, till the
fiber is cleaned Of gummy matter and Separa-
ted impart from the wood. The mass IS then
dried. A beating process afterwards sepa-
rates the fbrous from the hgneous portion Of
the flax. The iibrous part is next stepped for
length of time in 4 solution Of bleaching
salts for the purpose of bleaching it. The
salts are then worked thoroughly out, and the
flax cotton is ready for bailing and market.
The process is cheap one We are in
formed, that the beautiful No. 3 article before
us costs but cents per pound. This ap-
pears to almost incredible, but when we
take into consideration that flax is raised as
a crop for the seed alone and that consequent
ly the straw or stalk can be afforded at
merely nominal price. we are led to think that
flax cotton can be manufactured at a price
vastly below the scost of making cotton in
the Slave States. There we think it is con-
coded that it cannot be raised for less than
cents the pound.