The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-12-12
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population In the agricultural counties
IL certainly will seem no longer strang
that Great Britain 10 crowded with fh
produce Of manufactures and Is obIiget
to import bread stuffs TO such consid
cradle extent. rta .feft
IL may be thought that our WesterI
states are coming 70 the opposite ex
treme. II they were at any time, they
are rapidly correcting their mistake
The Same political economist slread,
referred to, gives the rate Of increase o
persona engaged In manufacturing II
the Western States for q considerable
number of years. Between 1860 ant
1870, the lowest rate of increase was il
Michigan, one hundred aud seventy.
Eve per cent. The highest was In Ne
braska, six hundred and Dinety-thret
per cent. The furniture dealers oi
Chicago come no farther east for theil
furniture than Grand Rapids, Michigan
Take these facts as indicating what the
West is doing. It Is said that Z" the
leading hotel at Dundee, Scotland, II
furnished from top to bottom with fur
nittire made st Grand Rapids, Mich.
and that this furniture can be delivered
In Scotland twenty-five per cent cheaper
than 1t can be produced there" and
that ga small town In Indiana is now
completing largo order for wagons
for an English Arm, who re-ship them
from Liverpool to South Africa" and
that now, "as far west Is Omaha, nails
are being made TO compete with the
East.n =, ai ftff
While the Eastern states are losing
groupd In comparison with the Western
states,- still they are not In reality
losing ground In the amount of manu-
fActures. The textile fabrics" of the
East are selling in all parts of the world
In competition with those manufactured
In Great Britain, and yet the wages in
Massachusetts have not been diminished.
Allowing for the increase In the cost of
living, the average increase In wages
among manufacturing and mechanical
wOrkmen In that stale from 1860 to
1873, Is I" ten per cent"
The reason for my calling your at
tention to these things 10 not far to
seek. The most serious hindrunce to
the rapid development and growth Of
this section Of country, ia my judg-
mont, is the Hnengre manufacturing in
dustry. Thriving factories ct the GEN.
tres would ftfrnisifa homo market for
the products of the land and would
stimulate TO an increase Of the products.
Both branches Of labor would give
profitable employment to laborers. ALI
this would stimulate trade and increase
wealth, and furnish the means Of de-
velopmcnt In every other direction.
Our original heritage is not at fault
In this. The frequent water falls fur
nish abundant power for the needed
development. Pardon mo, IL seem to
be violating the adage, "The cobbler to
his last" / do not have frequent op-
portunity or inclination to leave mine.
Perhaps I am not leaving II now. For
I am thinking Of the grand possibilities
Of this section In the future. Public
spirit can al this Champlain valley
with an industrious, intelligent, chris
tian people, that need fear comparison
with no community ON earth There
needs to be foresight about It, and pub
lie spirit in It. This must bc accom-
plished by definite enterprises: permit
me to suggest Quo Item OF manufactur.
ing that would be easily practicable, l
am confident.
Suppose, for example, that factory
for the manufacture Of beet sugar were
established at . central point. Let US
see how It would develop the agricul-
tural interest Of this section. The
countries of Europe are, most Of them,
protecting In every possible way the
Of sugar from the beet.
And within few years "the aggregate
annual production" 1t is stated, "has
grown from nothing to over one mill
lon tons, or one-third Of the worlds
consumption"
The Reporter, of Somerset, Me-, says,
"that the sugar beet crop has been very
satisfactory, the average yield being
eighteen to twenty tons an acre. At
the prices paid, the cultivators realize
from seventy-fve to one hundred dol
lars per acre."
The chemist OF the agricultural de-
partment at Washington, DIR. Collyer,
whose name is very favorably known
to US, claims that he can raise two tons
of real sorghum sugar per acre, equal
to the best cane sugar; yield of two
hundred and forty dollars per acre.
He says that the Illinois farmers, rails
ing half this amount per acre, on one
tenth the land they now plant to corn,
can produce the whole amount we now
import, one hundred and nine millions
Of dollars worth. That would be about
thirty -four million dollars moro than
they obtain for their entire corn crop.
But the cultivation Of beets for sugar
would be nearly ss profitable, according
to the experience In Maine, ~ the culti-
walton of sorghum, which Prof. Collyer
proposes for the Illinois farmers. II
would be from fifty to seventy five
dollars moro per acre than the aver.
age corn crop 0f the East. Any effort
which should bring In Q skilled manu-
facturer to purchase these products on
Q large scale, and convert them into
sugar here, would, In my opinion, look
towards the development Of those 70
sources OF soil which God has placed
/ In California the sugar beet has be-
gun to be introduced. l.i'H
In our hands. A successful movement
IN any one line Of manufacture, woulC
be likely TO open the way 10 other lines
The sugar beet has been introduced into
California, and is considered tho bes
product for . rotation of crops, to saw,
the soil from exhaustion.
Then, public spirit does very lmpor
tant work in what We call "Home I'm
Iproyements." For example, one thou
sand dollars was probably never bettel
expended, In Q secular way, at least
for tire prosperity aud future wei
fare Of this town, than upon the high
ways during the current year
Carry ont this work to its com
pletion throughout the town, and on,
of the greatest blots upon oar goodl!
heritage will be removed. The none!
will be saved over and over again, Ii
tho permaneney of tho work, In dimin
ished highway taxes, In wear and tea
of wagons, In time saved In passing
from point to point. II would no
bs strange IL 1t should enhance til
price Of real estate. II will render th
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