Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1916-03-22
R. J. HALL WRITES ).
TWINE HISTORY
In View Of Yucatan monoDoIv
Recommends That Flax
Straw Be Tried


On receipt of the letter which an.
pears on page seven, the editor ad.
dressed inquiries regarding the early
history of twine-making at the States
prison, especially regarding making
tWine from fax straw, to number of
the leaders of the old-time Farmera.
Alliance. We have received the fol.
lowing from Mr.. R. J. Hall, of Morris,
who was president of the State ALI.
ance at the time:
Morris, Mimi, March 20, 1916.
Editor Willmar Tribune:
Dear Sir:
Replying to your letter of March 1s.
my recollection is, that about twenty.
hve years ago, there was an effort
made by the Farmers Alliance to have
the State manufacture twine at the
State Prison at Saltwater, and there
were a good many farmers who advo-
Gated that the twine be made from
tax straw or jute. I think it was II.
b. Boen Of Otter Tail county, then a
member of the Minnesota House of
Representatives, who introduced 4
resolution in the House requesting the
Governor to investigate the twine in
dustry with a view of putting machin.
cry in the Saltwater Prison.
VIM. R. Merriam was then Cover.
nor. He appointed members of the
Prison board to go east and make the
investigation. In 1890 was elected
President of the State Farmers ALL
ance and I, at once, undertook by cor
respondence to get information as to
the twine industry. Mr.. Joseph Todd
OF New York. who owned q plant for
the manufacture of twine machinery
| at Patterson, N. j., was the man was
corresponding with.
On the return of the Prison board.
after visiting various manufacturing
plants of Chicago, Albany, N. Y, and
Philadelphia, they reported against
the manufacturing plant. Governor
Merriam forwarded copy of the re-
port to me and requested me to critf-
cize it. I wrote the Governor and
asked for hearing, and told him
wished to have the members of tho
Prison board present as I wished to
criticize their report which claimed
that it would cost haH q MILLION do1l.
ars to start a twine plant, and that
the manufacturing of tWine was not
adapted to prison labor. had for.
Warded a copy of this report to Mr..
Joseph Todd and asked him to write
me a letter that could use publicly.
Mr. Todd in his reply stated that as
to the work not being adapted to
prison labor, if they were old and
decrep1t, that might be true, but If
the prisoners were young and active
men who could handle fibre, move
cans from one machine to another.
and bale the balls of twine, they could
do the work. It did not require skill.
ed labor. As to the cost of the plant.
Mr.. Todd offered to put in a system
OF machinery that would manufacture
10000 pounds of twine per day equal
to the sample he forwarded to me at
cost to the state of $4,000. When
l finished reading this letter to the
Governor and the Prison board, Gov.
Merriam at once ordered re-investi-
cation and requested me to go and
help get the facts. The result was q
report favoring twine plant. but
when the machinery was purchased
by the Old Prison Board, they bought
imported machinery. They would not
purchase the Todd machinery.
The agitation of the question of
cheaper twine, and a twine plant at
Saltwater by members of the Farm
ers' Alliance resulted in the manufac-
turing of twine at the Prison, and the
great success Of that industry has led
to the manufacturing of farm machin-
cry at Saltwater by the State, with
prison labor.
According to a report Of the Board
OF Control, the state has been reim-
bursed all of the money 1t has ex-
pended, and the manufacturing of
twine has resulted in a saving to the
farmers of the state of over two mil
lion dollars in the cost of twine. Tho
members of the Farmers Alliance
were urged to stand Loyalty by the
twine plant, and this and the fact that
the state was furnishing a good quail
ity of twine at a reasonable cost was
the reason the proposal to manufac-
ture twine from fax straw was aban.
} doned.
The sudden raise in the cost of fibre
from Yucatan this year is not be-
cause of shortage in the fibre crop,
but is because of combination that
can put the price up or down at their
pleasure.
It is time the question of making
twine from fax straw was investiRat
ed, and If it is found that good twine
can be made-twine that can be used
in the self-binders-its manufacture
should commence at once. have
written at some length because I be-
lieve that, it is only by agitation and
public discussion of matters of public
interest that we get the people to act.
The Willmar Tribune can help.
Yours very truly,
r. J. HALL.
Vice President of the Farmers
Home Mutual Tornado and Cy.
clone Insurance Co., of Mime.
sofa.
earaca Class Of Fahlun eapt. Church.
The Baraca Class of the Fahlun
Baptist church will give the following
program, Thursday, March 80:
Bible reading and prayer. ..........a
.................. Andrew Larson
Song .......... .Baraca Male Chorus
Reading .......... Albert Blomquist
Song -. .Baraca Male Quartet
Piano solo s.......... Emil Lundquist
Baritone solo Robert Johnson
Speech e. G. Melbye
Song .Bar1ca Male Chorus
Remarks -. ......... Rev. Ei011nn
Song ..... .Svea Male Se4tofto
81 An oyster supper will be served g
the close Of the program Everyuua