The evening times., 1898-07-14
A POSSIBLE ROPE FAMINE.
Only q Three Mtnths' supply of
Hemp Outxide the Philippines.
L. No.l Woxld L

Admiral Dewey's blockade of the Phil
ippines threatens TO create cordaSe
dearth throughout the civilized world
L, has doubled the price of Manila rope
and twine in this country, and by douo-
ling the value of Manila hemp has made
fortunes foI manufacturers who had
large stocks in reserve.
The John Good Co-dage and Machine
Company, which was forced into the
hands of a receiver several months ago.
was among the fortunate concerns which
held reserve stock of the hemp. and
steps are being taken to reorganze the
company en- a solid financial basis.
In the meantime. the Western farmers.
who are the largest consumers of Ma
Mia cordage. are wondering whether
they will be able to obtain a sufficient
supply to bind this years wheat crop,
and shipping firms and builders of ships
are beginning to fear they may run
short of material for sheets and rigging
and for the big hawsers used in towing.
All of these are made almost ex-
clusively from Manila hemp
The subject has been agitated among
the farmers and the shipping people.
and If the Manila blockade is MAIN
tanned much longer they propose.
through their representatives in Con-
gress. to gain special permission from
the President to bring out the hemp.
The Government itself. which has one
of the finest cordage plants in the world
at Charlestown, Mass, for the supply
of its naval vessels. has limited sup
ply of the hemp, and will soon be OBJ
liged to get more.
John Good, of cordage fame. discussed
the situation yesterday at the machine
works. Park and Washington Avenues.
Broowlyn.
ut will require" he said. "about 150.
cOo. GOO pounds of Manila twine to bind
this years wheat crop in the United
States. From the closest estimates We
can make we find the present supply OF
Manila hemp. outside of the Philippine
Islands, will be exhausted in three
months As considerable time is re-
uuired to transport the hemp from Ma
nila to this country, We will have to ar
range matters soon, or the cordage man
ufacturers will find themselves without
any raw material
I'm that event the great Western wheat
farms would soon have no binding ma
teriaI to use on their reapers and might
be forced back to the old-fashioned meth
cd of binding their sheaves with striw.
This would be a tremendous task In the
fields. which cover miles of territory, and
might result in the loss of much of the
grain through exposure of the weather.
Sisal twine, the material for which comes
from Mexico, might be substituted in the
reapers for the Manila. but the supply Of
that is limited and would certainly not
be sufficient to meet the demand.
"You may gain some idea Of the i'm
mensity of the demand when I tell you
that the $50, 600. 900 pounds of twine re-
quired this year by the farmers would
contain 90 900, 900 900 lineal feet and would
cost them about s1s.00o,00O. Since the war
began the price Of Manila hemp has run
up from to 1-2 cents a pound. l think
it is selling at cents today. English
merchants, through their local agents,
are offering it for sale here at the mar
ket price, but will not guarantee its de-
livery at any specified time"
Mr.. Good is happy over his business
prospects. The millions he had made
from his inventions melted away in his
big fight against the Cordage Trust. and
when his company went in to the hands
of a receiver 1t was generally believed he
was commercially dead. Since then he
has been quietly working as a salaried
employe in the company's shops. superin-
tending the making of and devising i'm
provements in the manufacture of cord
age machinery. His wonderful inventions
in this line are employed all over the
world. but 1t Is understood that the most
ingenious and valuable Of all his inven-
tions is yet to appear, and that at an
early day.
His ambition has been to create a ma
chine into one end of which he can toss
a ball of hemp that vii be discharged
from the other end as rope. Such ma
chine, 1t II said, would supersede all his
old inventions and revolutioniAe the corr
dage industry.