Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-28
THAT coRxsTlLN DISCOVERY.
A Few IrOnicnl Remarks On Cramps
Aftcr-DinnCr Find.


Washington dispatch stated that select
/ company of senator's and representatives from
| the ''corn-grOwing states of the west" were
! invited to luncheon by Mr.. Cramp, the eel
| cbrated Philadelphia shipbulder, to be in
! itated into the mysteries uf the corn stalk
as they had been unfolded by the chemist
! whom MIR. Cramp keeps in his employ. What
! relation there is between corn stalks ana
| iron ships that a chemist, presumably en-
! ployed to analyze ores and investigate the
/ properties Of iron. should have been led into
/ an investigation of the constituents Of the
! stan of our western agriculture, Is not per-
| ceptiDle at first glance, nor, for that matter,
| after long and profound reelection. But
| that IS mere speculation and not material
| to the matter submitted 10 Mr. Cramps S
guests, either as an accompaniment of or as
a dessert after their luncheon.
These representatives of the corn belt were
surprised and enlightened by the nfOrma-
ton obtained by the chemist and impaired
by Mr. Cramp, that corn stalks could be
made worth 81 a ton, or 50 an acre, by me-
chanism that would extract from them al
COhOl, cellulOse, a material for mattings,
carpets paper, smokeless powder and cattle
food. superior to any other" WheTeupOn
Mir. Cramp, who has an evident penchant
for figuring, as any member of the naval
committee of the senate or house could,
doubtless, testify, proceeded to calculate the
value of the discovery of his chemists to the
six great ''ccrn-growing states Of the west"
lAklnS the acreage az 4O,UUO,ODO, ne derived
the conclusion that the discovery" would
be worth $225,0CO,0O 600 per annum to the
farmers Of those states If their corn stalks
were converted into smOkeless powder, mat
tings carpets and alcohol. The triling dis
crCpancy of $4,000 600 existing between his
grand estimate ana the amount 40 900 600
acres would yield at So per acre is not worth
mentioning In view OF the greatness Of this
discovery and may well be attributed either
to the natural enthusiasm of Mr.. Cramp over
tho find of his chemist or to that "old par
ticular warm, champagney brandy-punchy
feeling" that usually follows a luncheon
given by a gentleman having and seeking
contracts with the government and his
guests when they are senator's and repre-
sentat!ves.
1t is TOO bad to throw cold water on this
groa. discovery. or to do anything that would
deter Mr., Cramp from his willingness to
invest very large sum In a chain of man
ufaCtories for these by-products OF corn"
but, unless he can figure out a greater profit
than 50 a ton CT a better yield than two and
q half tons OF stalks to the acre we appre-
hCDd that the intelligent farmer in the corn
belt Will prefer to continue his present
methods Of extracting profits from the stalk
He has long since learned that the feeding
value Of The dry stalk when minced in
fed cutter or shredded by gang of oscil-
lauing rotary saws Is but a small percentage
below timothy hay and worth within
couple OF dollars a ton OF It's price. He has
learned that, cut green and made into silage
the feeding value, especially for miloh cows
Is three times as much per ton Mr.
Cramps estimate, while the acreage value
Is six or seven times greater This being
the case, he Will hardly care 20 place his
corn fields, after husking, at the disposal Of
Mr. Cramps contemplated chain OF factories
for tho production OF smokeess powder and
other utilities. IL is probable that Mr..
Cramps guests politely refrained from tip
ping wlnks to each other across the table
as thu shipbuilder dlated upon his chemists
achievement, but they must have found II
difficult to maintain the proprletios OF the
occasion. Mr.. Cramp may better stick 10
his last and confno his chemists inyestlga-
tions TO ores and their manipulation.