312 



THE ILLINOIS TAEMEE. 



Oct. 



Flax Cotton. 



•^ A meeting of the citizens of Lockport, N. 

 Y., has bee J held to organize a company for the 

 manufacture ot flax cotton. It was attended by 

 Ex-Governor Hunt and Hoo. S. B. Ruggles, the 

 latter of whom, eay^ the Lockport Journal, 

 '' made some interesting statements of tlie merits 

 of the invention, the simplicity and certainty of 

 the scientific principle upon which it is based, 

 and its great value at the present crisis, in cheap- 

 ly extracting from flax a fibre capable of being 

 Bubstltuted for cotton, at leas^ to a considerable 

 extent. The company who controlled this most 

 important inventidU had the whole United States 

 for their field of action, but after careful inquiry, 

 had selected Lockport for their fir=t and princi- 

 pal establishment, as enjoying convenient access 

 at once to the productive flax regions of the in- 

 terior, ai.d to the centres of manufacturing in- 

 dustry on the sea bciard ; possessing, too, in its 

 own great hydraulic power, the means of manu- 

 facturing the fibres to any desired amount. 



"He dwelt earnestly on the importance of de- 

 veloping this new branch of indu-try, not only 

 in increasing the trade pnd revenue of our canals, 

 and opening new sources of agricultural weal'h 

 but its far higher influence in securing to the 

 Northern States and to Europe, comparative in- 

 dependence from ' cotton domination,' with which 

 the world has been threatened. 



"Among the statistical views which he present 

 ed was the fact that the pvicp of the flax fibre 

 thus produced and ready for use, would fall far 

 short of the present price of cotton, probably 

 not exceeding eight, and certainly not exceeding 

 ten cents per pound." 



No one of the speakers stated the process by 

 which the fibre is to be prepared, nor do we learn 

 whether it is new or one of the half dozen pa- 

 tents that have been for a year or more before 

 the public. The matter is one of considerable 

 moment to the people of this city, because what- 

 ever the method of manufacture, the raw material 

 must be drawn fr <m the West ; and this should 

 be the point in which it is prepared for the spin- 

 ners. As our readers know, we have great faith 

 in the ultimate success of flax as a cheap rival of 

 King Cotton. Hence, we are anxious that Chi- 

 cago should be among the first to avail itself of 

 the inducements to capital and enterprise which 

 the success of experiments already mide, clearly 

 hold out. The subject is worthy of an inquiry ; 

 and any gentleman of this city who has an intel- 

 ligent friend in Lockport, would do well to get 

 the information which the Journal fails to sup- 

 ply. — Chicago Tribune. 



With the present and prospective high price of 

 cotton, we see no reason why the culture and 

 manufacture of flax should not be stimulated to 

 a large extent. Even with due rotting and the 

 ordinary breaking machines, it should pay good 

 wages, and should the price of corn continue as 

 at present, our farmers will enter upon its cul- 

 ture extensively, if for nothing more than the 

 seed. Before the next feeding season, we hope 



the successful manufacture of flax will be pro- 

 mulgated in the West. Our prairies are well 

 adapted to its culture, and they could soon sup- 

 ply the eastern mills with an abundance of the 

 raw staple. Ed. 



Great Western Railroad. 



For somr months past, the connections of this 

 with the I. C R. R. have been so much out of 

 i^int that most of the travel East has gone by 

 the way of Chicago — the extra carriage hire to 

 Tolono, ten miles, has been too much for it. 

 Since the regular running of the morning train 

 to Mattoon, this difficulty has been in part over- 

 come, and passengers on that train can make 

 rather close connections either way on the G. W. 

 R. R. In coming from either east or west on the 

 day train, the connection north is quite satisfac- 

 tory. It is to be regretted that all trains on these 

 two roads could not make a closer co^ nection at 

 Tolono, as it is a very important point. A large 

 amount of travel from Chicago and poinds north, 

 that used to reach Springfield by this route, now 

 go over other roads. The good order in which 

 these two roads are always maintained, make 

 thetn favorites at all times when connections are 

 rpasonably close. Since the completion of the 

 bridge across the Illinois at Meredosia, this road 

 has become one of the great through Une, from 

 the Mississippi eastward, and of vast importance 

 to Central Illinois. Commencing at Quincy on 

 the Mississippi, where it connects with th Han- 

 nibal & St. Joseph Railroad, it traverses directly 

 through the heart of the great corn zone of the 

 State, and crnnects at Toledo with the lake and 

 railroad lines to the east, thus putting this part 

 of the State in direct communication with the 

 east and the west. The amount of corn, wheat, 

 hogs, cattle and horses that find an outlet over 

 this route is immense. Add to this that it has of 

 late become one of the favorite routes to Kansas. 



Our readers will consult the time card for late 

 changes of time. — Union, Champaign. 



-**- 



Trial of Scales. — We have seen a state- 

 ment of the "recent official trial in one of the 

 principal counties©n this State, of twenty-five 

 grain and stock seal* s. They were the ordin- 

 ary out door wagon scales, and were tested just 

 as they were found in common use, thus mak- 

 ing it one of the best possible practical tests. 

 Sixteen of them were of Fairbank's make, and 

 nine of various other kinds, including some 

 which have lately been claimed as superior to 

 Fairbanks'. The result showed a remarkable 

 degree of accuracy in those of Fairbanks' make, 

 while all others were condemned as not suffici- 

 ei tly accurate for use. The importance of this 

 fact will be appreciated without comment. We 

 publish it because it is one in which the public 

 are interested. — Chicago Tribune. 



— A little wrong done to another is a great 

 wrong done to ourselves. 



