The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1915-06-10
OUR SLEEPING SISTER

During our newspaper experience
we have found IL the best policy to
not misquote any proposition and not
say our town was going to get some
thing until IL was assured. On few
propositions Clovis has slipped one
over on Tucumcari and made a good
showing, but now il seems that she
has attempted something she must
not know much about.
Last weeks Clovis News contained
an article about column in length
which was headed "Clovis Will Prob
ably Secure Fibre Factory" 1t said
that Mr.. Raymond Of Tucumcari was
there and delivered message to a
large crowd Of business men and farm
ers. The article in part was as fol-
lows and most of it is the truth:
The factories which MIR. Raymond
md his associates operate make fibre
from the Yucca plant or bear grass"
plant and he exhibited at the meeting
some of the fibre made in the Tucum-
carl plant, which has just been put
into operation. This fibre is made in
to binders twine or rope and the short
fibre is used for upholstering work
such as is used in automobile cush-
ions. He has market at present for
all the fibre that he can make and he
keeps his plants running day and night
The capacity of the Tucumcari plant
at present is $4,000 pounds every two
weeks but it can he made TO run n
maximum of 10000 pounds. Out of
every 1000 pounds of bear grass t.!ey
secure about 40 per cent of fibre, the
balance being waste. The waste will
make frst-class paper but as there
are no paper mills in the southwest
it would not pay to ship it east. lie
says that the raising of bear grass
for market is profitable and that he
paid one man at Tolar $4,000 in eight
cen months for grass that he himself
cut. II amounted to 20 cars. He pays
$500 per ton for the cured grass in
bales.
"lf they locate n plant here they ex-
pect TO market 500 cars "A year. They
employ over 100 men in the Tucumcari
factory and their pay TO the employ
ees last Saturday night for nine days
was $l0i5, Their scale of wages to
employees runs from Sl.25 to $500
per day. They have paid out to wa
gons which brought in the grass as
much as Si00 in single day and be-
sides this amount shipped in many
cars from other places.
"if they locate n plant here Mr..
Raymond said that it would be much
larger than the one at Tucumcari as
this is n better field for operations
and as to the two towns, he said there
was no comparison. II is much easier
to get er1 ployes here in n larger place
ne said, and that has been one of the
chief obstacles in operating ut Tu-
cumcari.
"lle thinks this would be a splen-
did location for a small binder twine
factory as New Mexico alone last year
shipped in 45 cars of twine at 24,000
lbs to the car.
In company with Mr.. Dennis he was
west and south in the bear grass dis
trict Wednesday, going as far west
as Melrose. He has wired favorable
'NEpiN w tio poiAHcio hi SHiCukO anu
will have IA proposition of some kind
to submit to the people Of Clovis by
next Wednesday. He left Thursday
morning"
The Clovis News played politics in
this article and while il did not say
definitely that the fibre factory would
be established there it would have its
readers believe so. While il did not
say positively that the binder twine
factory would not be established at
that point it desired to leave the i'm
preston that it would be.
After reading the article over Mr..
Raymond denied the charge that he
said Clovis would be favored with
factory. He said there was mo COM
parison between the two towns" but
that Tucumeari had the class of labor