Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-07-31
A New Industry.

The successful manufacture OF beet spgaI
In Europe Is one OF the most surprising in.
| dustrial achievements OF the nineteenth
century. II may be said 10 have grown 30
within the memory OF men now living. For
| although In 1875 the Prussan chemist
| Achard presented several loaves Of refined
teet sugar 10 the King OF Prussia, the en-
terprise was st once discouraged and aban-
/ doned. II was renewed, in France. Ia 1910
| In 1914 1t began to flourish, and In 1925
| France produced 5000 tons OF beet sugar.
In 1887 the production had grown to 90 0OO
| tons. By that time Il began to attract at
| tention In the United States. In that year
! Mr.. Samuel Blackwell, a sugar rchner ot
4 Bristol. England. who had moved TO New
| York 10 1882, and. in connection with Eng
| iish capitalists, had put up in 1885 the first
| steam sugar refinery with vacuum pans
e'er erected iu nuv'iva, made -,ue -
| celleut loaf sugar from bcets raised hy him
! from imported seed in his garden AZ Jersey
! City.
Convinced by this experiment that beet
sugar could be proiitabiy made by free
! labor in the United States. Ia competition
With the West Indies and Louisiana. Mr.
| Blackwell moved to Ohio ia ls3S tor tue
purpose Of engaging in is manufacture,
| but died a few weeks afterwards. Mr.
David Lee Child, little later. attempted
It's production 10 Northampton, Mass, and
reported fayOrably. but failed to maze Il
profitable. In lS6l Mr. +. +. Gamert At
tempted Il on a larger scale IN Chaisworth.
ILL.,, Uui WAS unsuccessful. Small factories
have worked with moderate success In
Frecport, III, and 10 Fond du Lac, Wis,
but have ceased 70 exist
Ia California several factories base At
taiBed a certain measure OF success. Bot
h l. 4. 1
insufficient capital, and on a scale too
small for prodt. The great difficulty has
been the want OF sufficient bcctS at reason
able prices, their cultivation bciug almost
uuAnoDu to American farmers But dur
ing the last half century Europe has stead
iiy developed the beet sugar Industry
From 300 tons OF sugar 10 lS1J. the annual
product has become 800 0Oo tons, worth.
a. our present low scale OF prices, about
two hundred million dollars year, More
than one-thrd OF A., the sugar used tn the
world ia now made from brcts Indeed.
the progress o! the industry j. such
throughout Continental Europe thar it j.
prrd cirh cane sugar will n no distant date
ait"-,tH'r cease 10 be- used there.
IL view Of these facts and OF the vat
suns annually paid by the Uufed States
for sugar and mnia.scs, amounting To-
num- the question arises WhY Should ruJ
America make her own sugar from hry,s
Every body knows that the beet grow- lux
uTianlly IN our soil aut climate. The root
contains a. much sugar here A. there.
Against the cheap labor ni Europe wc h4y~
the advauia2rs OF cheaper land ana chrBl-
er fuel oar farmers sell yearly To Europe
other agricultural pfoducts-whrat. corn,
cotton, cattle. cheese. etc, amounting go
millions OF dollars. oar sugaT-rvhnrrs ar.
uurQuaIlcd 10 sktil ani ability. sugar 3,
refined to-day more chcap}y I'm America
than in Europe. Why. then, DO ~ r,'
mas" oar sugar? The answer 5 simply
thI, Everything uu.t have .-.u.Iug.
Thi, il = new Industry. uukupwu % 'hr
farmers who settled America. TUcrr t-
grca, practical d iiiculty IN changing auc--.
tabIi-hed system Sugar T. proilcci .o
chraply BY Save labor, and i Imported pu
:" lar scale. that 10 can only be prud'-
ably made on great seal. aut Win costly
machinery. No capitalist Will invest a hun
drri aud hry thousand dollars DBL mIcaIr-
cry to work bcct- that do not exist. 40
farmer Viii raise beet. uutii 4 susa5 factory
I. ready 10 buy them
Ihi- almost impossible gap bc,Hcrn tlr
capitalist who cannot raise the brels aud
TIE farmer who cAuUo; MAKE The sugar Ia,
AZ last been bridget BY the Mltur Bre:
sugar Company, which last year made
lsJ, 600 pound, Of beet sugar. J, now crr,;-
ng the best European machinery. and hlS
contracted with l5po farmers Tor 1880 acre,
OF sugar bccts. Ulder The stimulus Of .
state bounty of one cent peJ polri PA the
sugar produced, this company has leased
the Forest tUy sugar refinery in PoTt.4sd.
Me, Tor the tal and w!ntrr months. aui
h4s expended 4 large sum III Additional
N achinery Next fall there 3, reason To
believe that the experiment OF making bee.
sugar In America Will be fully and flirly
tried in Maine. Indeed, the question VIII
be reduced 70 this: "Can American tarm-
ers raise bects in quantities and at pr,cy,
which viii Justify their conversion iu,p
sugar The result Of the cNperlmeu, Viii
be awaited with general Interest We
msAe this statement az one nt the most lt,-
tcresting ndu strial fact, OF the times ard
Il may be proper to add here that The CON
pauy has no sIoch ia the market.