St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-15
Foreigners Favored in Pref
epenee to Home Manu-
facturerS.
How the Prison Managers
Squander Money Wrung
From the People.
President Of the Farmers AL
lance Writes a Strong Let
ter to the Governor.


Has the board of managers of the Min
nesota state prison decided to make
failure of the binding twine manufact-
uring experiment at the Saltwater
prison?
This is the question propounded to the
governor by President Hall, of the
Farmers Alliance, in letter Which
demonstrates conclusively that there is
something wrong in this matter. When
it was decided by the directors of the
Saltwater prison that a binding twine
plant tshould be putin at the prison, War
den j. j. Randall advertised for BIDS for
the necessary machinery. This adver-
tisement caught the eye of CoomDe, Bar
bour q Cootnbe.o Belfast, lreland, who
at once sent out an agent named David
son to look after the members OF the
Minnesota state prison board. How
well he did this wa, told hy one of the
three inspectors wno went to New York
city to examine the machinery made 10y
j. Z. Toud, of Paterson. n. j.. These
men were f. w. Temple, or Blue Earth
City; Nj. o. Hall, of Duluth, and
James S. O'Brien, of saltwater.
A gentleman vino was looking after
these men at the time wrote on the day
that the three visited Paterson ti.at
Davidson was always with one OF the
three, and that their actions We're h lrd
to understand, as they dad not remain
at Paterson long enough for the fod
system of machinery to he set in mo
ton. Those little pecullarites were
made trifie clearer when 1t was an
bounced that these representatives OF a
protective tariff state had decided 10
buy this machinery in foreign coun-
try, although it cost $500 more than
American machinery OF the same Ca
pacity.
This sounds and looks bad, but the
half has not been told.
The machinery made by the Belfast
men can not be used to advantage III
this country, and, after trials by Will
lam Deering and other twine manu-
facturerS in this country has been cast
aside for American machinery. The
reason for this are very plain and
easily explained. In Ireland, where
flax is raised for the fiber. aud not
for the seed. the fiber is much timer
than that of the flax raised in America.
This fact has been taken into con>iutr-
alton by the makers of Americ an nl;l-
chinery with the result that out OF
ton of flax straw that has been run
through a threshing machine in. this
country not less ~ per cent can be
turned into flax bv the American ua-
chinery, while the Coonbe. BAroour &
per cent of this same into
twine. This of itself should
have Influenced the prison board
In favor OF the machinery made in this
country. But it dIG not, as the bids of
the two firms will show. Here is the
bid made by j. G. Todd. of Paterson,
n. j., an American manufacturer and
employer of American TABOR:
American Machinery.
Copy of estimate furnished by j. C. Todd:
L 6 feet underwurK breaker and
cleaner. flax card. -. ........S 81, 7o0 20
1-foot circular finisher card, with
two doffers. 49,. -. 2,45O 90
2cylinder drop gill drawframes at
23head, 4boss I'd and Sd spiral WV W
gill drawing frames, at 81, Il o.. 300 90
] 32-spIndie | X5 reg. rowing
spinner leather l.ressingsj . 1925 90
l 4S-Splndie lrX0 reg. rowing
spinner ,leather pressngs) -. 1881 90
24-tobbin twine-sfzing aud fin
ishing machine =. =. =. 80. l,ee5 90
36-bobbin twine-siZing and fin
1Shlng machine ....... E. ..... 1,ISJ 90
2-spindle balling machines, at
S225 ............... -. - 675 90
2-hyer baling cod machine 20 10
DO 29xl " inch sheet iron card
200 i@lsx7l2 70 s5-inch drawing ~ W
and rowing cans. at S1.25 ...... 225 90
700 oxIO-inch rowing bobbins. at
$50 Sx1o-inch sizing finishing
and cord machine Dobbin, at 3Jc 45 90
Five Ier cent tor boxing ON Sl4,-
96S. machinery, etc ......... 74S 40
Freight and transportation and de
livery at Saltwater r.......... 500 90
Time ana eXpens e. OF two men
putting up machinery -. ...... 500 90
1Otdl DO o 4O
This allows my two men to remain
there one week after the machines have
been set up, for the purpose of starting
and testing said machines, and Sc per
day extra for any time over one week.
Terms. half cash when m achinery is
boxed and shipped and balance in cash
when same Is set UP and tested.
The day on which Messrs. Hall,
Temple, and O'Brien visited Paterson,
as was stated above, MIR. Davidson, of
COOmbe, Barbour u Coombe, had the
Duluth inspector III tow, it is said, and
after half hour at Todd's shops the
party left for Sheepshead Bay, where
they spent the afternoon taking in the
races. OF course. this was all right. 1t
was not exactly what these men were
sent East for; but here is the bid of the
manufacturing outfit of exactly the
capacity of the one on which the Ameri-
can manufacturer had submitted a bid
of Si6,7l64O.
Foreign Machinery.
Estimate furnished by Coombe, Bar
b0ur d Coombe, of Belfast, Ireland.
One shell-breaker card 4x6 cylin-
der. two pair rollers clothed COM
plete -. .......... ............ S1,673
Two finishing cards, 5l5x6 cylin-
der, five or six pieces of rollers, TWO
dotfers. Stripers by quick knives :. $3.50
One spiral drawing :1-heads of 4
slivers leather on flat covered press
ing rollers, and fitted with auto
matte conductors and dead tubes 1919
One spiral. ahead of knives
leather on fiat covered pressing roll
ers and fitted with automatic con-
duclors.: ...;..:. 49,, -: ...... LILY
Two spiral regulating glll spinning
frames. heads of SliverS each
boblins IOxl5, spiral headings
conductors and dead rubbers above
and below 80. ..... -. 49,. 1926
Three extra heavy polishing ma
Two balling machines, four spin
dies each. .--. .......... - 1,120
Extras, including betting, cans,
Wrenches, etc., ETC., etc........ -. 1877
Total.... ..-.........-..... ISL, ,693
Pertinent Query2
Were these men ignorant of the quail
ties and advantages of the machinery
of American manufacture?
h,E