The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-30
PRISON TN|NE ALL RG1T
FARMERS OF NICoLLET COUNTY
PUT THE ST. PETER EDITOR
IN A HOLE
NONE HAS ANY FAULT TO FIND
Senator johnson Asks Every Pur-
chaser I'm the County, and
Finds They Are All
Satisfied.

tHIee weeks ago the st. Peter Journal
tried to enliven the campaign in Nicollet
county with column article on binding
Irvine for the sole purpose of creating a
prejudice against John Lind and his adj
mfnistration. The Herald answered the
| article and showed that not a statement
made by the Journal was borne out by
| the facts. Then to divert the public mind
| from the real issue, ]. A. Johnson's name
was dragged into the controversy. John
son was charged with having voted for a
certain bill in the senate. The record
showed that the bill was not what the
journal claimed and it also shows that
Mr.. Johnson voted against it. Instead of
an acknowledgment of its error, it then
says it proved that Mr. Johnson voted
| ON the bill. Why not tell the truth and
state how he voted?
Then Mr.. Johnson's speeches were re-
| ferred to and editorial utterances from
hles Of 1893 were produced
In the campaign of 1898 We said that
the system of selling binding Irvine was
| wrong; that in 1893 farmers could not
buy the Irvine from the prison, but were
| compelled to buy from dealers at an ex-
! orbitant rate The charge was true, and
| In that campaign those charges were not
even denied. In fact they were so gen.
orally admitted that the legislature en-
acted law covering the very question
| at issue and providing that the board
| must fix the price of Irvine not later
than March 1, and that up to May l
the Irvine should be sold to farmers only,
and then only in quantities necessary for
their own use. After May l the Irvine
on hand could be sold to dealers, but
even then 100000 pounds must he reserved
for direct orders from farmers. A pro-
vision was even included making dealers
agree not to resell to other dealers, but
only to actual farmers and only at a
cent a pound profit Neither Mr. John
son or the Herald accused Mr.. Wofer Of
corruption. 1t did accuse the prison board
with mismanagement, and the enactment
of the above law proves this to be true.
So general was this opinion shared by
the public that the legislature made an
investigation of the Irvine business AS
the Herald stated two weeks ago the leg
isature did exonerate Mr. Wolfer from
any corrupt motive. But the report of
the committee included this language,
which the Journal purposely omits from
the report:
I'VE think, however, that under the
then existing conditions 1t would have
been advisable to have restricted the
sales to local dealers and reserved a still
larger amount for cash farmers orders.
We claimed two years ago that the
system of binding Irvine sales was not
lature proved cur position to be correct.
But the original contention Of the
Journal was that there was much dis
satisfaction among the farmers Gnl
quoted dealers IN tNine to prove lie
statement.
Peter Weisgerber one of the dealers
quoted, repudiates the interview entirely.
On the contrary he stated to the writer
that prison twine this year was the equal
IN X1yQU wi
Joseph Mason. G. T. Nutter and A. Carl
son, dealers, gay prison Irvine is equal to
outside Irvine also.
Mr. John A. White, of Markato, general
agent for the Deering company, was also
quoted. Mr.. White was mtsquoted. He
does rot wish to be mixed In the con.
troVersy, but in a personal letter 10 Mr.
Weisgcrb Der, of this city, says that what
no said 20 Mr.. Cowles was that some
time ago the Irvine was reduced to 9
cents for standard and stsal, not on the
seasons output, but on future deliveries
He adds that very likely Mr.. Cowles
did not catch Just what was said In re-
gard to when Irvine prices were modified
Mr.. Peter Weisgerber, of this city In
the presence Of A. II. Dobhin, agent for
the Kingman & Co. Irvine and the writer,
measured a pound OF prison sisaI and It
measured $50 feet-e pound was measured
at that.
When driven to the wall and the false.
hood exposed, the Journal reiterates its
statement as to Dissatisfaction of the
farmers and gives FIVE names One state
ment was from H. c. Fiene. a school
teacher, who did not buy any twlnc.
Another was from John Garvin, who was
not 9. purchaser Of p1tScn twipe; another
Joseph Arnold. who did not use prison
Irvine, but says his neighbors did: another
was from William Bode Jr.. NI.oiict,
and he denies ever having authorized any
such statements as attributed to hirl.
On the contrary he was satisfied with the
Irvine as Will be seen from an actual IL
terView had with him.
1t Is difficult to argue with a man who
has an utter disregard for facts and who
will not admit his error when the same is
proved beyond question.
Mr.. Schlottman, of CORTLAND, also is
allowed to enter the controversy with a
letter of q column in length. If Mr. S.
reads the Journal he must know that the
Herald did not drag him into this matter
and only mentioned his name Incidental
ly. The Journals original article said
Mr.. Schlottman, by actual measurement,
found pound Of peering Irvine to meas
IRE 615 feet In his Journal letter of Aug
Is. Mr.. Schlottman claims that he only
measured one quarter of a pound and
that it measured 126 feet or 5O4 feet to
tho pound, a discrepancy as shown by
the Journal itself Of eleven feet. In the
letter he also says he measured a quarter
pound of prison twlne and measured 1O5
feet.
Every hall Of prison twtns Is a dishonest
one.-St. Peter Journal.
We have a list OF every farmer in
NicoIIst county who purchased prison
Irvine, and there are over 40 of them.
Resd II you will the testimony Of the