Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-08
MAKING BINDER
1N|N[ FROM FLAX
Some Facts Bearing ON the Prob
lem of Starting a State
Twine Factory
PROGRESS IN THE INDUSTRY
Development in the Industry Of Maxi
ing Binder Irvine From Flax Has
Been Rapid and Is Now Perfected
A Factory Now in Operation at st.
Paul.
LBy Ora Williams.l

L
Special to Times -iiepm,liuan.
Des Mones. March S.-One of the
side problems confronting members OF
the Legislature which is causing not a
little worry is the effort being made by
interested persons for establishment at
! one OF the state penitentiarieS OF a
plant for the making Of binder twine
by prison labor, to be sold to farmers
at cost or a trifle more than cost. This
idea has been gathering some strength
1 for number OF years largely because
there are twine- making plants In Min
nesota Kansas and North Dakota. The
sole purpose of the proposal for Iowa
to go into the making of binder twine
is to secure to Iowa farmers twine at
prices lower than 1t can be obtained
at present.
| The writer has had opportunity the
past year to learn something Of a
movement or development which may
be of news tosthe farmers of Iowa, and
may be taken to have some bearing on
| this subject.
This is the development of the in
dustry OF binder twine making from
flax tow. For many years inventors
have been at work trying to utilize the
| fibre of flax for making twine, and it
is now certain they have succeeded
and are able to make a twine much
cheaper than any other and equal to
that which Is most used.
| And this industry is to be started
practically in Iowa. or on the Mime
sota-Iowa line Last season there was
sold out Of the flax district Of Northern
Iowa upwards Of eight thousand tons
OF flax straw to be used in making
binder tw.ne.
There is now established and in OPP
Grafton in st. Paul the first fax twine
factory in the world, the forerunner
of others. This factory has nine or
ten spinners IN operation and will have
twenty in operation by April 1. when
the plant will be started night and day.
Each Of these spinners has a capacity
of 1900 pounds of twine per each ten
hours. The work Of making and PLAN
ming the machinery for this plant has
been going on for a number of years,
and there is no doubt that the ma
chinery is perfect and will turn out the
desired product.
The plan is to locate baling stations
in small districts where flax is grown
and for the company to purchase the
flax with the seed in the straw, then
to have the straw with the seed in 1t
baled in special way for the making
Of twine. 1t then goes to the factory
and is worked up-and this process
may take all winter. The flax seed
is saved and sold. There will be estab-
lished about forty of these baling sta
tions, number Of them In Iowa.
Some Of this fax Irvine was on the
market last year and was found to he
equal to the best of sisal twire. The
twine was sold at the price OF sisal
twine What the price will be IN the
future is not certain, but this much Is
true that 1t will be cheaper than any
twine of similar grade ever sold
before to American farmers.
The significance of this new flax
twine industry lies in the fact that Vt
opens a new industry right In Iowa,
and in the flax region, and 1T will de-
velop flax growing in the northern
counties. It is also important to know
that with these new machines and nnls
new method fax twine can be made SO
cheap that all competition OF every
kind, even though 1t should come IRON
prison labor and under state supervl-
sion, would be at great disadvantage
It has been claimed that by this
method company may procure max
and by dealing in the seed and the
twine both be able to turn out the lat
ter at a cost very much less than the
sisal would cost for ordinary twine. AS
to this, however, there are no exact
statistics The industry has not yet be-
come fully established.
The state of Iowa, should 1t enter in
to the making of twine, would be COM
PEELED to buy its raw materials IN the
markets at the sea coast and make
Irvine in the old fashioned way out oi
expensive materials.
Members of the board of control es-
innate that the establishment OF tWlne
plant at Anamosa would cost the state
probably over s150,O00 for the begin
ming: then there would, of necessity
be other additions to be made from
year to year and large amount OF
capital would be tied up In the busl
ness, and this the state would nave 70
supply. In view of the progress maac
| in development of the flax twine IN
dustry which promises so much In a
few years for the farmers, legislators
| also fear that state twine making
plant might become wholly valueless IN
a short time.
YOUNG IoWAN is PLUckY.
Patsey o'Neill, Aoed IL Years, Already