St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-21
STARCH AT SALTWATER.
The Proposed Industry, With Elements
Of Feasibility.
SOME STARCH STATISTICS.
Argument Favoring the Enterprises
"a The Culver Suicide--Prison
City News.

The proposed establishing here Of a
elements of feasibility than any plan
lately preached looking to the develop
ment of Stillwater'S industrial re-
sources. S. Richardson, practical
man, for some years prominent in the
employment of the car company. is a
confident champion of the talked-of en-
terprise, and bases his belief in its ulti-
mate success on personal experience in
that line of manufacturing. and in a
thorough acquaintance with the con-
ditions requisite to the profit
able carrying On OF such a
business. He has had eleven years eX-
pprience in potato starch making and in
raising potatoes for such manufacture.
Potatoes, he says, for starch making
purposes are given much different
culture from that generally pursued
when the provision market alone is con-
sdered. In the first place. there is nee
essary but comparatively little care in
choosing the variety of potato, though a
mealy quality would make more starch
than the coarse, overgroWn kind. The
starch industry is confined largely to
New York, and finds some Judgement in
New England, but in both cases the
business has of late steadily decreased
and is dying out because of the increaS-
ing demand for the potatoes in the New
York provision market. The annual
consumption of potato starch i'll the
United States he places at from 1000 to
5000 tons. the product being mainly
used for sizing in the cotton factories.
and in case OF shortage in the domestic
supply the deficiency is made up by i'm
portations from Germany. With the
demand constantly growing in eX-
cess of the home supply, the
absence of such an industry in
the Northwest. and with the
local conditions Mr.. Richardson believes
Saltwater presents peculiarly favorable
midable industry in this line. With
the low freight rates and the city's posi-
ton on the ST. Croix. by which stream
potatoes could be cheaply brought here,
he says that farmers going into potato
raising would have an advantage by
which they could compete with any
section he knows of. Following Mr..
Richardson. and commenting on his
suggestions, S. W. Powell, one of the
most prominent farmers of the st CrOiX
valley, says that the proposed enter
prise would meet with the most hearty
approval of all the farmers in the sec
ton tributary to Saltwater; that there
is certainly no farm crops that would
yield so large profit, even at low
prices. as good crop of potatoes, and
that IF we go to raising potatoes on
large scale we must get suitable ma
chinery, such as planters, sprinklers
and diggers, all of which can be made
in Saltwater lower than elsewhere"
He urges the calling of an early meet
ing of farmers and business men to con-
slider the matter.
The suicide at Sacramento. Cal, of
Ned Culver, formerly of this city. and a
son of Col. Culver, at one time of the
Metropolitan hote1, st. Paul. is reported
here. but his friends believe that he is
in this matter COMPOUNDED with his
cousin, also named Ned Culver, and
who was for time at Duluth. though
the recent whereabouts of neither are
know. The Saltwater Culver married
a sister of Mrs. DIR. W. II. Game. of
Saltwater, and formerly conducted
small book store on South Main street.
He went from this city to st. Louis,
where he was proprietor of the Allerton
hotel: thence to Galveston, and next to
Minneapolis, whence he went further
west. lie was quite popular young
man here, where he was well known in
business and society circles.
q. W. Snyder. of Wilkesbarre, Pa, a
gentleman interested extensively in
flour milling, registed with his wife at
the Sawyer house yesterday. 1t is init
mated that his visit may have something
to do with the re-establishing of the
milling industry in Saltwater, though
nothing definite could be learned yes
terday.
The district court will reeonvene to-
day for the trial of court eases.