Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-10-23
Was Sad Disappointment 10
Farmers Of State During
1wIne Shortage
Warden Failed 10 Buy Fiber
When Coming Needs Of Far.
mefs We're Apparent
Distribution Of Campaign
Literature was More In
pOrla0t Than 1Wine

North Dakota has q large twine mill.
This was built by the tax payers OF
the state OF North Dakota, and 1t WAS
represented to the farmers and other
tax payers at the time dt was built
that it was a necessity, as 1t would
prove safeguard, not only In regu-
lating prices, but In case OF tamlne,
1t would insure them a sufficient
amount OF twine to save their crops.
You can we'll imagine what a surprise
and disappointment it was to the farm
ers, when they sent In orders to the
Bismarck penitentiary for twine, to
receive stock notice, that the supply
was exhausted, and that the mill was
c.osed down. and now to find that the
warden OF the penitentlary, who 10 q
candidate for governor on the demo-
cratic ticket, both IN. his written state.
ments and talks to the people, making
the claim that twine advanced s OrS6.
cents a pound. after he quit. II he
could have saved the farmers Of North
Dakota s cents a pound on their twine,
why did he quit? He will answer that
his stock was exhausted; then why did
he allow his stock to become exhaust
ed? Every twine mill in the country,
at times saw their stock exhausted,
but they went onto the market and
purchased fibre and kept every spindle
running, until the Inst sheaf of grain
was bound, while the Bismarck peni.
tentiary plant lay as silent as the
tombs, and let the farmers SHIFT tor
themselves, and get their twlne as
5est they could.
AS to his statement that he quit and
closed the mill, there can be no dis.
pute, but In that part OF his statement
where he claims that twine advanced,
after the Bismarck mil closed, there
is no truth so far as the large manu-
facturers of twine is concerned. He
makes the statement that he sold
about 3,119,400 lbs OF twine. This
is misleading. He evidently
wants the farmers to infer from this
that he manufactured and sold during
the season Of 19Al. 3,119,40O lbs. OF
twine. Now, he manufactured very
much less than that, for hundreds of
thousands of pounds OF this 3,119,40O
lbs. of twine was carried over from
the season of 1911, which was made
out of fibre that cost on an average of
75c per hundred less than the fibre
that was brought and manufactured
into twine this year. The deprecia-
ton in the carried twine would
amount to about SOC per hundred, for
there is no farmer but what would
pay SOC hundred more for new twine,
than he would be willing to pay for
twine that was manufactured for the
season Of 1911. In nut shell, the
farmers who bought the hundreds of
thousands Of pounds Of twine from
Hellstrom, that was manufac.
tured for the season OF 1911, paid SIPS
more per hundred for it than they
should have paid, or got $1.25 less In
value than the men who bought twine
which was manufactured during the
season of 1912.
He further claims that he saved the
farmers &c pound on every pound OF
twine that has been manufactured In
the Bismarck peniteptiary plant, since
he has been warden, but he furnishes
no figures to substantiate this claim.
Now, If he saved the farmers &c q
pound on every pound OF twine, that
has been manufactured in the peniten-
tiary since he has been warden, then
the farmers of North Dakota have
been paying &c a pound less for thedr
twine than farmers have been paying
in states where there was no peniten.
tiary twine plants. An Investigation
Of the price paid by farmers for twine
In the states Of Illinois, Iowa and Ne
braska, where there are no prison
twine mills, shows that farmers In
these states paid a lower average for
the twine they bought, than the farm
ers Of North Dakota have latter taking
the difference in freight into consider
ation) for the past six years.
If our penitentiary plant is to be the
protection that It should be to the
farmers Of North Dakota, 1t must be
kept in operation during emergencies,
lcontinusd q - 9