Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1889-04-25
A Practical Solution Of the Twine
Trust Quest1on-Advlce to
Farmers.
Col. Dodge Denies his Interview
Z Sons Of Veterans Encamp-
y ment at Jamestown.
Episcopal Easter Services-A Lot
OF tAppolntments-Other Lo-
cal Matters.

large manufacturers of self binders will
sell an attachment this year for using
wire instead of twine for binding.
i While this may be good move as a
temporary expedient to keep the price of
twine from going to exorbitant limits, it
furnishes no guarantee that what has
happened this year may not occur again
next season. Wire was tried some years
ago, but has been driven out of use by
the twine binder for several reasons,
chief among which were the increased
cost and the difficulty Of keeping the
wire out of the threshing machine.
Everyone agrees that something is
wrong with the present state of the twine
trade, but in order to find remedy 1t is
|:necessary to seek for the cause Of the
trouble. When the cause is removed the
matter will right itself, but for the farm
sers to work themselves into rage over
q fancied monopoly or trust is not the
way to set 1t right. The cause Of the
present high price Of twine is that the
demand is greater than the supply and
therefore the price rises as naturally as
in the case of wheat 1nder the same cir
cumstances.
Ira Bursley, Of New York, one Of the
largest and oldest importers Of MANILA
and sisal hemp, when asked to what he
attributed the advanced price of these
|fbers, said:
"The immediate cause Of the in
Grease is the falling off in the re-
Isceipts of sisal. The receipts of this fiber
Fin 1880 were 1000 bales of 400 pounds
Ieach, in 1881, 136, 900, and so on increas-
ling at the rate OF 10 to Is per cent yearly
until 1887, when the import was 216,O 900.
/ OF course, we assumed that the ratio of
increase would be maintained, but in
stead of that the scale turned so that
last year we received only 100000, and
this year there has been further de-
crease down to the first of March of
$4,000 bales as against $4,000 IN the cor
responding period of last year. This
| falling off in face of a growing demand
has naturally had the effect Of raising
the price of the fiber, and 1t has also
affected the price of manila"
The last number of the Farm Imple-
ment News gave general statement and
summary for the years Of importation,
stocks, prices, etc., of MANILA and sisal.
On January l, 1886, MANILA was cents
per pound, and sisal was from 3 1918 to
4 cents. Although manila had not
changed much during that year sisal had
nearly doubled, and both materials had
climbed until they stood-manilla from
131s to IA cents and sisal 101s to IL cents
per pound. The hard fact is that one
portion of binder twine material has
nearly doubled and the other nearly
trebled IN cost during the last three years.
Afew long-headed men last year took
the trouble to find out that the supply
of manila and sisal fiber would be short
this year, and acting on that information
they boug up all they could get. They
also bought up as much as possible of
the twine left over from last years har-
vest, which they have since held, and
this has aided them to control the mar
ket and demand higher price in return
for their foresight and business sagacity.
The question now is for the farmer:
"What are you going to do about it?''
The whole of our supply of manila
and sisal fiber is produced abroad, and
there does not seem to be any prospect
of that supply largely increasing. There
fore the price of this fiber may be ex-
pected to advance rather than decrease.
But the remedy lies at our own doors, if
we will only use it. There IS flax straw
enough going to waste in Dakota every
year to bind every bushel of wheat grown
here. It is true that it is now too late to
do anything in time for this years crop,
but no time should be lost in making ar
rangements to have Dakota grown twine
on the market in time for next seasons
crop. Instead of paying out our money
to the East Indies or Central America,
let us keep it at home and utilize the
raw material now gong to waste in every
county in Dakota.
North Dakota needs a flax twine fac
tory right away, and jamestown is the
place to locate it.
The Day is at Hand.
This is the day set for the meeting be-
tween Archbishop Ireland and Bishop