Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-03-08
FACTS ABOUT BINDING TWINE.

FACTS ABOUT BINDING TWINE.
The Western Rural is urging farmers
throughout the country to hold meet
ings and pledge themselves not to
purchase any binding Irvine for the
harvest Of 1899 at Il price exceeding
twelve cents per pound. Let farmers
generally pursue this course, The Ru-
raj says, and the great trust which
controls the price Of Irvine must come
10 their terms. Only 4 few weeks ago
!, resolution cmbodying this suggestion
was unanimously adopted by Il very
large number Of farmers assembled ut
the city Hall in Mineral Point. Be
lIeying this action to be Of very doubt
fu expcdiency, to say the least, The
Democrat set about obtaining some
bottom facts in regard to the cost and
price Of binding Irvine, in order to lay
them before our farmer readers SO
that they might determine for them
selves the safest and best course to
pursue under the circumstances. We
obtained small sample of binding
Irvine, aud sent il to Belfast, ireland,
Inc great cordagc making centre of the
world, with the request that we be in
formed Of the price Of such Irvine in
that market. TO this inquiry we re-
ccivcd the following reply:
ImG BELFAST RorEWoEK Co.,
LIMITED.
BELrN~r. 18TH Fcb'y. 1889.
Rom. NJ CRAWFORD, The Demo
crat, Mineral Point, Wis, (North
America DEAR SIR: The editor of
The Belfast News Letter has handed
10 us your letter Of the 18th .jan'y, adj
dressed to him, and in reply, we think
the sample you enclose is intended for
Binder Irvine. We consider il. how
ever, rather small for the purpose. In
the case of Binder Irvine, we consider
ANYTHING less than $50 feet to the
pound does not catch the nippcr of the
machine satisfactorily, and it is also
apt to have light places in it, conse-
lucntly, we are spinning our Binder
Irvine from GOO to 6jO feet to the
pound cur price for Manila Binder
Irvine is at present Sd. per pound, F..
.. l.. Liverpool, but we need not add
that the prices change from time to
time with the price of Manila Hemp,
81 that we could not keep our QUOTA
lion open. Yours faithfully
For the Company, W. !. VI.
accompanying the above letter was
price list quoting net prices for diff
terent kinds Of binding Irvine, as fol
lows
Manila, per H., sd; Hemp, 1d; ,Iutc,
I'd; Hemp, single lbolD I'd.
The above figures show that the
price of binding Irvine is ruling high
abroad rs we'll rs ut home, the
price of the best Manila Irvine ut Bel
fast being equal to sixteen cents per
pound
The reasons for this state of affairs
are set forth in IN article in the Jan
nary number Of a trade journal called
Farm Machinery, published ut St
Louis, and Kansas, City. Mo, from
which we clip the following extract:
Binder Irvine was first manufactured
IN 1850 of some jute and other tibers
than ~isal and manila. but it has been
found that the two above mentioned
tropical tibers tsisal and manila) are
best suited for the purpose, and have
been found to stand all the require
mentS. Previous To 1880 the impOrta-
ton of SiSal from the Central Amer
lean states and manila from the Phil
hpine Islands was largely in excess of
what WAS required for the manufac-
tare of rope, etc But fifty tons were
used in 1880 for binder-twine. Now
il has grown to the enormous amount
Of 10000 tons, ana this has drawn so
largely on the production of the raw
material that il is now estimated that
there is not enough grown to equal
the demand. Coupled with this, is the
fact that the shipping interest. which
the past two years has been very quiet
and dull, is now very active and every
ship-yard in great Britain and the pro
vinccs is crowded with orders, not
alone for steam hargeS and steamers
which require mostly wire rope. but
for sailing vessels which require an
extra demand or call for rope over pre-
viouS years is another cause of the
high prices which promise to rule the
coming year. The planters who pro-
duce these tiberS, stimulated by the
high prices, have put into market al
the inferior as we'll rs the heretofore
selected ibers, which do not produce
rs good goods. Ii takes from three t.
live years to produce fiber from the
plants or cuttings,
Ii is now evident that the National
Cordage Association, the :. Boston Syn
dicate," and the London Svndi
cate are one and the same, or that
all are operating together for the
purpose of working the market fo
,ll il is worth. They have bought
every bale of manila, siSaI, hemp anC
Iute, they could get their hands on tn,
world over. They have control of tn,
raw material. More than that, they
have sent their agents to every factor,
NOT in the Association and contracted
for the output, or as much of it a
they could get, and the best price the,
could make and get the goods. Still
worse, their agents have invaded al
points at which Irvine was unsold las
season and bought from jobbers an,
dealers all they could get, at handsom
profits over last seasons prices. II
crowding our inquiry, we learn o
lob lots" bought from jobbers an,