The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-06-15
JOHN LIND TALKS FLAX.
An Earnest Protest for Fair Play to
the Farmers.

WASHINGTON, D. c., June 9.-In the
House to-day the section of the Mills
bill proposing to put on the free list
flax straw and fax not hacked or
dressed" was reached and caused ami
mated discussion in which Representa-
tives Lind, Nelson and Wilson, of Min
nesota, and Clifford, of Dakota, took
part. Mr.. Wilson was the only men,
Der from the Northwest willing that
even fax straw should 20 on the free
list, where the bill places it. He said
Minnesota and Dakota raise over one
half the flax produced in the country.
The crop is largely short one, and is q
God-send to the farmers. While he was
willing that fax straw should be put on
the free list, because it was worth only
some 81 or S. ton, and did not need
protection, for it had nothing to COM
pete with, as no person or corporation
would ever undertake to import ton of
fax straw, which is as large as load of
hay, into this country at such q price,
yet he thought fax seed and linseed oil
should be kept on the dutiable list with
q reduction of about 40 per cent. on lin
seed oil. Mr.. Lind said:
The farmers in my district raise fax almost
wholly for its seed. About 1000 600 bushels are
raised tnere per dnnum. Inc uDer Is uSeu
chiefly for tow There is no justice in the
idea OF putting this staple, which affords such
q snug little competency to so many farmers
in the Northwest, upon the free list. Prior to
1887 II was on the free list and but little was
raised, but the present duty on fax has
brought the industry up to a standard where
it paid the farmers in his state to engage in IL.
In 1886 q severe drought caused small crop,
and OF course the price of seed advanced, and
about that time one of those terrible monsters
SO much prated about by Democrats, a trust,
raised the price still higher, but 1t was in the
interest of the farmer and no farmer ever
complained Of IL. Flax seed has risen continu-
Ously until now q bushel Is worth to the farm
not far from 81 so. A bushel Of seed will pro-
duce about two and a half gallons of Oil.
While not gallon of OIL, as linseed oil, has
been imported for years. more than half a
million bushels of seed has been imported.
Trusts can exist Just as well in England as in
America. Human nature is about the same
everywhere. The duty on the oil might be
reduced Is to Is cents but take the tariff on
entirely, and Just as sure as the world, the In
dustries will be ruined in this country, for the
Argentine Republic will bring IL here In such
quantities and sell IL so cheap as to render IL
impossible for our farmers or manufacturers
side, "don't you think It would be
better to get your oil from Minnesota, from
Dakota or some other fax growing section of
your own country than from England, and
India and other foreign countriesf Give the
chance to grow. Let the farmers
in the Northwest who are engaged in IL I'M
derstand that you are going to still protect
supply the demands Of the United States and
they will in a few years not only be enabled
to do so at a lower price than 1t is now sold
for, but can export IL to other countries"