The herald., 1893-05-28
SAN QUENTIN BAGS.
Governor Marlshsh's Pasadena Friend
Criticised.

GoVOfuOr DaAfkhhhB Fhghueuu Bflenu
Criticised.
The San Francisco Chronicle says /:
Warden Hale says that he ia making
good jute bags at the San Quentin mill.
He says he knows this is 30, because he
has only received five complaints from
farmers so far this season. But then he
admits that there have been but 26 in
quiries this year, as against 200 or 800
in former years. To account for the
lack of demand he says that nobody is
selling any sacks and that the market ia
extremely dull. lie does not, however,
furnish any explanation of why the
prison commissioners were compelled to
carry over FROM last year over 600 600
| grain aseks. Those who know all about
! jute bags say that it i5 impossible to
turn out uniformly good article unleas
the superintendent Of the mill is an ex
pert. Ono Of the fante TO be found with
those made at San Quentin is that too
much material is wasted in sewing and
hemming. Aa consequence the sacks
do not hold quite enough grain.
And then the weaving is not
up to tho standard. The convicts
are careless about the broken threads,
and it requires constant watching to sea
that they do not neglect their work. A
foreman who is not an expert might gee
the weavers do bad work time and time,
but on account OF his lack of knowledge
would be unable to correct them. Be-
sides they would not be likely to be
careful when they knew their superior
would not he able to detect sovenlinees.
/ 20 flt,a.tttv, i,1k ho
are not in demand and were not last
year, and experts say that it is because
the quality ia very poor.
This state of Affairs Is traceable TO but
one cause, and that is the incompetence
Of MIR. Markham's friend Butterworth,
| the Pasadena liveryman. Under Super
intendent Rector good bags were made
and the iaoilitien at that time were very
much poorer.
Said q we'll known merchant yester-
day: "No good business man would
put in as superintendent of iute fac
tory, or any other kind OF mill, man
who had absolutely no experience. Why
should the state do go? The only quail
itications Buttervorth seems TO have
possessed were that he was personally
agreeable TO Governor Markham and &C.
ceptable to the rect Of the politicians !"
The prison directors give as 3 reason
why SO few OF their bags have
been sold, the restrictions placed on
them by the Ostrom law, passed by
the last legislature and signed by
Governor Markham. This bill, which
was introduced by Senstor d. A. Ost
rom OF Yubs, commands that the price
Of the bags shall not be more than
cent above the cost OF manufacturing
them. There is slao provision that nc
order shall DO filled for more than 5000
and that each order must be accom-
panied by an affidavit that the sfcks ere
for the personal use of the purchaser
and that none but actual consumers
shall be allowed to buy bags from tbs
state.
The prison authorities say that the
big farmers do not want to order sacks
in lots OF 5000, and would rather buy
from jobbers, even though they have tc
pay little more.
But there is clause in the act which
provides THAI, on the request of the was.
den and the unanimous approval of the
directors, orders may be filled for any
number. In fact, one order fer 20, 00C
has already been filled this spring, and
advertisements have been inserted in
the papers to the effect that Warden
Hale hes over / 1,000, 900 sacks to sell, and
that he will sell as many to any one
customer as may be required. Accord
ngly, if the farmers wanted to buy
their grain bags from San Quentin they
would have no trouble in doing so
There are $40 000 worth of them over il
the prison warehouses, 100000 of which
were left over from last year.