The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-09-28
POSSIBILITIES OF
n. D. FLAX STRAW
EXPERT FROM WASHINGTON
WRITES A RESIDENT or FARGO
CONCERNING LINEN MANUFAc-
TuRE FROM NORTH DAKOTA
FLAX STRAW.

In letter to Prof. III. Bachelor Of
this city. President Hand OF the Wash
ington Industrial Co. Of Washington,
d. c., writes as follows:
Your very interesting letter of July
% received this morning, together with
several copies OF the Fargo papers, and
have given both your letter and the
papers earnest consideration. It is
hardly necessary for me to enter into
an extended discussion of the various
propositions presented in your letter,
but in order that you may know just
where l stand, and where my company
stands on this proposition, I beg your
consideration Of what follows:
In the first place permit me TO say
that have not as yet had the pleasure
of a personal mountaineering with
Prof H. J.. Bolley, but i have read
bulletin No. n and also many other
publications relating to the fax culti-
walton and fibre production; publica-
tons issued both in this country and
abroad, and / do not hesitate for an
instant to tell you that consider Pro-
fessor Bolley the best posted fax and
fibre expert in the country, and I am
greatly surprised that people who have
given so little consideration and at
tention 20 the fax and fibre industry
should assert that any statement con-
tanned in his very valuable publication
lbulletin No. I'll is open to criticism.
Some seven or. eight months ago the
corporation took over a process for the
production of hbres from various
fibrous plants; processes on which DR..
r. r. Roberts of this city who is now
78 years old, worked since his fiftiethl
birthday. Processes which am, af-
ter many months Of careful study and
experiment convinced are OF such a
character that they can produce a.
higher grade ibre and at less than
half the cost produced by a natural
retting process now in use either In
this country or abroad.
Under the caption, Can North Dakota
Raise Flax for Fibre Purposes? Pro-
lessor Bolley says: But I viii saw
again that 1t is unreasonable TO ex-
pect that good linen from common seed
fax can be made when II has been
run through an ordinary threshlng ma
chine; then further ground up in a
common tow mill. IT is also very
foolish to say that North Dakota can
not raise fax FIBRE" Again he says.
that tow mills are not fbre mills; that
tow is not called fibre BY linen mill
men; that II is a by-product OF the
ibre mill. They never look upon n
as fibre.
Professor BoIley hits the nail
squareIy on the head, and In these two
paragraphs he has made statements
that / believe TO be worthy OF the
consideration OF every citizen of North
Dako.a who wishes to sec the agrfctI
tural interests OF the state advanced
and expanded by the utilization of
what at the present time is mere
waste material I want to say TO
you that positively know that
the fields Of North Dakota are
capable OF producing max from which
the very finest fibre can be produced
and as an evidence OF this fact / am
sending you under separate cover a
few samples made from last years
crop Of North Dakota straw, q bun
die which escaped the tfreshfng ma
chine, and which was sent to me a
short time ago by one OF the largest
nax raisers in your state. / submit
these samples TO you with the full
~SA@tAA~A4N1 NtAAl t&OE4tcFC IA EfUFOUS or
elsewhere can any fibre be found OF
finer quality than IL contained IN these
samples. l do not want you to under
stand that claim they are simply
because they we're produced by our
processes lfor they could have been
produced by the old netaiod) but they
are fine simply because the straw
from which they were made contain
every element necessary Tor the pro-
duction Of flne fibre.
am well aware OF the fact that
any move made to establish a new
industry always meets with more or
less opposition, and this opposition
usually emanates from the source that
is ignorant Of the true situation, ana
from the source that win not give up
the necessary tiar1e 10 post themselves
az to the merit OF the proposition.
Lake Professor Bolley, | think that
II Il very foolish for any man 10 say