The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-12
PENS Irvine SALE
More Than 100000 Pounds
Furnished to Farmers.
TWO-Thirds of This Amount
Went to Ruralists Direct.
aHIlnII Mnnc WEc NCcncn
MUCH MORE WAS NEEDED
Shortage of Labor and Sisal at
Lansing Prison.
Warden Is Experimenting Now
on Local Raised Hemp.

The Kansas state penitentiary this
season, furnished more than 2,20o, 900
pounds of binder Irvine to the farm
ers of Kansas, more than two-thirds
. Of this amount going to the farmers
direct and the balance thru dealers
Considering that the Kansas harvest
this year required more than ten
times the samount of binder Irvine
turned out by the penitentiary plant
and furthermore that the prison
product was purchased by farmers at
to cents a pound less than the
current retail price OF binder Irvine,
TO state that Warden Codding was IN
able to fill all orders is putting Il
mildly. He was simply swamped with
orders and early in the season was
required to appoftion his supply
among the patrons in much less guam
titles than their orders called for.
One might suppose that the one
place of all that would be immune to
the current labor shortage problem,
would be the state penitentiary, but
not so. The penitentiary binder
twtne plant has a capacity to turn out
three million pounds Of Irvine in
season." stated James A. Kimball,
state manager for the board Of ad
ministration, but we were short on
workmen. There were not as many
men available there, as there have
been in previous years"
Plant Has Grown.
The binder Irvine factory OF the
state prison has grown from a dubious
venture to a thoroly established bust
ness, generally recognized by the
farmers of the state for whose benefit
in particular it was established. Orig
inally nearly all the prison Irvine was
marketed thru retail dealers because
the farmers failed to appreciate the
advantage Of buying direct from the
plant This year about 20 per cent
OF the product was shipped to farmers
direct.
The necessity for greatly increasing
the output OF the plant and the grow
ing shortage in the available raw ma
teriaI, sisaI. which comes from Next
co and Yucatan, have prompted the
state board OF administration to do
some e lerimenting with a prospect of
substituting hemp for sisal in manu-
featuring binder Irvine. At present the
penitentiary has seventy acres in
hemp which is to be used in this ex
pertinent.
Try an Experiment
I'VE are uncertain as to what the
results will be, but We have reason to
feel hopeful, at least, over the exper-
iment," declared State Manager KIM
ball Before we put in the hemp
crop we satisfied ourselves that the
hemp fiber would make even a strong
er binder irvine than sisa1. We made
some at the prison plant from the fiber
after it had been removed by hand
from the stalks of hemp. But the
question will be as to the ad1ptability
of the machinery we have for han
ding hemp in quantity-for separat-
ing the stalk and the fiber by MA
chinery."
The prison price for binder Irvine
this season was 21.S cents a pound
cash, in car lots, f. O. D, Lansing. up
TO IS cents q D0uUd If ua vuapt is
made later than November l. The
prospect for next year is that the price
will be several cents cheaper as the
Mexican governments price to the
! United States food administration de-
partment is Is cents this year, while
year ago 1t was 19 cents, Manager
kimball says He attended a confer
en- in Washin gton recently when the
price agreement was made with the
Mexican board.