The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-28
Relate How They We're Out
witted by the Sisal Trust.
HOW SECRET
Bought Letters OF Credit on the
Bank of Yucatan.
Took Over a Half Million Along
to Buy Raw Material.
Trust "Got Next" and Hur-
riedly Raised the Price.

L~eavenworth, Kan, Dec. 2S.-The
three wardens who went to Yucatan to
buy sisal for the penitentiary Irvine
plants, returned without having pur-
chased much of the raw material. They
thought they were stealing a march on
the Irvine trust, but they weren't. When
they arrived in the land of sisal, they
found the price of the product had been
advanced a few days before with a sud-
den bound to as high as ten cents per
pound.
The three men who went are Warden
Jewett of the Kansas penitentiary.
Warden WoOlfer of the Minnesota state
prison and Warden Boucher of the
South Dakota prison. Their intention
guarded secret.
The year before. when Deputy War
den Thompson went down to buy sisal
for the Kansas pe~nitentiary, it was an
nounce for weeks before in the news
papers. The Irvine trust got hold of it
and wired their agents in Yucatan to
raise the price a few lays before
ThOmpSon's arrival and keen the price
up until he departed. In Consequence
Thompson had to pay a big price for
the sisal and the trust getting it cheap
er was enabled to compete with the
product sold by the state.
Wardens Jewett Woolfer and Bouch-
er determined to profit by Thompson's
experience. Not a dozen persons OUT
size OF their immediate fr1enQS and the
state officials knew of their destination
until they had been gone a week. What
was their surprise when they reached
Yucatan to find the price of sisal as
vanced even higher than it was last
year when Thompson went down.
Each warden bought about 500 bales
of the raw material and came back
Not on,y this, but the climate didn't
agree with them; they contracted the
d~ysentery, and haven't from
the effects of the trip yet
The wardens, of course, were much
chagrined at the outcome of their trip.
They at length found out how the Irvine
trust "got next to their plans. The
three wardens took with them over a
half million dollars in drafts and let
ters of credit with which to purchase
the sisal. Jewett and Boucher took their
money in the shape of drafts on New
York city banks.
Warden Woolfer, however, decided to
take his money in the form of a letter
of credit On the Bank of Merida, Yucca
TAM. He accordingly secured a letter OF
credit on that bank for over $500, 900.
The bank in Minnesota which issued
the letter of credit at once notified the
bank at Merida so the latter would
know 1T was all right it was pre-
scented.
The officials of the Merida bank at
once saw what it meant for the warden
of the Minnesota penitentiary to come
to Yucatan with SO large a sum of
money. Through the bank the informa-
UOH T0dcHeu the agents Oh the JW1ne
trust, and they raised the price of sisal
all over the territory where the hemp
is raised.
This is why the weIl-1aid plans of
the three wardens miscarried. 1t will
probably result in binding Irvine being
higher in Kansas this year than it was
last. owing to the small supply the peni-
tertiary officials were able to secure. 1t
is understood Warden Jewett purchased
a limited amour of the raw material
at a reasonable price.