St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-25
WHITEWASH DON'T GO
Merriam Indites a Long Let
ter to the Board of Prison
Managers,
Urging Them to Introduce a
Twine Factory in the
State Prison.
He Attempts to Gloss Over
Report of First Irvine
Commission.
A Letter Demonstrating How
Prison Managers Transact
Public Business.
Is black white and white bIackq

members OF the prison DOdTu WHO IT.
ported that it would require from 81 ,000,-
0OU to 100000 to establish factory for
the manufacture of binding Irvine at
Saltwater, and at the same time has
approved the report OF subsequent
committee which, after Investigation,
rendered it as their opinion that
such a factory could be started
for less than $4,000. And yet
the governor in his letter issued yester-
day to the prison managers directing
them to take steps at once to carry out
the project, says that 'unintentional IN
justice has been done to the gentlemen
who made the (irsb investigation. He
then goes on to quote portion OF their
report, which must convict them Of
gross dereliction and failure to do their
duty, winding up with the statement
''that it Is but an act of simple justice
that be should call attention to this
matter"
Ibid the old states prison ring that
for years has fattened off of the labor OF
the convictS of Minnesota have any
thing to do with the first repOrt"'
This is question that the farm
ers of the state are gong to ask"
remarked a member of the Farm
ers' alliance last evening, after a
careful reading of the governors COM
munication. What the governor ought
to have done when he was shown the
evidence collected by President Hall
and Secretary Lathrop, of the alliance,
was to have removed part OF that
prison board at once for gross neglect
of their duties"
The entire communication of his eX-
cellency will be found below, and
careful reading will enable the reader
and farmers of this state to discern
where the justice of the question lies.
No amount of excuses and apologies
can efface the fact that Prison Inspect
orS Dunn and Temple. after junket as
expensive as it was useless to the state,
attempted to forever blast the project
of making binding Irvine at the states
prison.
In this connection it may be stated
that had the governor not attempted to
eXculpate the members of the prison
board for their outrageous report, let
ter which is here published would never
have come out. 1t is from j. q. Todd,
of Paterson, n. j., the only manufact-
urer of binding twine machinery in
UIlO OIlllCu Ob0UCos oilu WhO3 W
the way, was carefully avoided
bv Messrs. Dunn and Temple. who rem
dered the opinion that the machinery in
question was not built in this country,
when, as matter of fact, Irvine fac
tories in Ireland get their machinery in
this country. Here is the. letter:
So DEFY STREET, New YORK, March %,
1S9)-R. j. Hall, Esq, Morris, Mimi
Dear Sir: 1 duly received your esteemed
favor OF the 18th inst with the prison COM
mittee's report, both of which have had
careful perusal ana. due thought, and it is
the old adage verified that, there are none
so dumb as those that wont know" 1t is
most astonishing that young Mr.. Deer
ing had such q poor memory as to who and
where hemp machinery was manufae-
tured in this country, L find by refer
ence to my books that my first invoice
of machinery sold to William Deer
ing & Co., Chicago, is dated Dec. IL, Is 81,
and from that ON to July %, 1889. On June
IL, 1889, Mr. behring's superintendent Wis
tied my Irvine mill at Paterson, and saw the
jute and flax machinery in operation making
Irvine, and on the 18th of the same month
sent them samples of both jute and flax
binder twine and later on young Mr.. Deer
ing visited my factory and saw the machin-
cry in operation, ana | made some Jute
silver for him and sent it to Chicago, and
he very cunningly evaded the committee S
question when he made the answer. there
was not supposed to be any, flax machinery
built in this country. AS for Mr.. Hartshorn,
of the Cable flax mills. l have known him
for some twenty years, and have done bust
ness with him for that length of time, and
if / am not mistaken, think his name is on
my books to-day; and Mr.. Hartshorn's COM
pany bought out whole large mill full of
my machinery down in Lewiston, Me-, some
three wears ago. He is right i'll regard to the
raising of fax for both seed and fiber.
The Barbour Bros referred to in the report
are using not less than from $40, 600 to $40,
900 of my build of machinery at Paterson, in
their mills, and have shipped considerable of
it to their mills in Lisbur, Ireland, near Bel
fastwhere their brother is one of the firm of
Comb, Barbour d Comb. For this reason it
is not surprising that they should refer par
ties or the committee to Belfast. AS for Mr..
Gerwig l built the first machinery for
them that they ever ran, which was fully
thirty years ago. and imagine probably the
last they bought for it's somewhere about
two years since | built the last machine. and
it is strange Mr. Gerwig himself should not
know where 10 direct the committee. also
know James Thompson, Valley Falls, and
have built machinery for him.
Mr. Phalen. OF Chicago, who l do not
know, seemed 10 know more than those / do
know, for he said lit could be made down
in New Jersey to ORDER and he was right,
andl may state that this class of machinery
is always made to order, as you will see by
my enclosed circular
Regarding the practicability OF employing
convict labor, if it were old and decrepit, l
should say not but cOnyictS are generally not
of that class, and while by the admission of
all, who claim to use mostly girls, 1t proves
conclusively that it does not require skilled
labor, but the cheapest labor in the market,
therefore why cannot sprightly convicts
operate the machinery as easily as to make
boots, shoes, printing, etc.? That is too alb
surd: They are just the ones that
stages, and in a weeks time learn
to operate any machine in a
system. There are several processes for cut
ting and cleaning fax straw, but they would
not have to be resorted 10 as the straw can be
retted by spreading it on the ground by the
farmer after it is threshed and then taken to
the prison to be broken and cleaned prepare
tory 10 be put into twine. To my mind it is
just such labor that would make an almost
poor material valuable and would pay bet
ter than anything that l can call to mind at
present. Had that committee visited Pater-
son, they might have seen a full
system of machinery in operation
as it is running to day. In order
to settle the question beyond a peradyenture
l shall send you by express two balls of fax
Irvine, one made from retted tow, which cost
four cents per pound, and another made
from green or unretted Kansas upholster tow.
which cost me two cents per pound delivered
at Paterson, while the party from whom L
per pound freight on it. which might be saved
by working it on the spot. l will also send a
sample of rope suitable for sash cord, and
worth here from II to Is cents per pound,
made from this same upholster tow, but
mind you l am not advocating the
working of it green or unretted, nor of using
such poor stock for the reason that the
cent tow is found to make better twine, and
cheaper in the long rum for it don't waste SO
much. and just here is where prison labor
has decided advantage over hired help. 1
think there is no doubt that there has been
''axes to grind" in regard to the investiga-
ton of that committee, and as you remark,
have tried harder to LEARN not how to have
done than to have done how to do it" or
they must have been very easily misled in
their investigations. From the samples of
Irvine which / send, you will be able to judge
whether making twine out of fax is practie-
able or not.
l will also enclose to you specification
and estimate of cost of srstem of ma
chlnery which gives particulars as to room,
power and hands to operate the machinery,
and from this estimate l can allow 7i2 per
cent discount for cash. A jute Irvine manu-
facturer said to me only yesterday after ex-
amining the fax Irvine: You should not
encourage nor recommend it as it will
hurt our business My answer to this
was: Il make jute and fax Irvine
and also the machinery to manufacture it,
and have no interest in misrep presenting what
are facts. If have not already tired your pa