Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1889-10-12
Ness City Sugar Mill

Nsss City Sugar Mill
knowing that our readers are all great
ly interested in the solution of the sugar
problem il western Kansas We make the
following extract from the Ness City
Ne7us of date, Oct 9Th. We sincerely
hope that a tair test may prove satisfac-
tory and that it may be fully demoustrat-
ed at Ness City that the enterprise is not
failure:
We are sorry that We are not able to
give our readers glowing account OF the
in this city, but the fates seem to have
been against us in this enterprise during
the past thirty days, and instead of being
glittering success the undertaking is
thus far dismal failure so far as sugar
making is concerned There have been
q great many misunderstanding between
the sugar company and the people thus
far; and few words in explanation of the
situation at this time may not be out of
place.
Briefly stated, the contract required the
erection of said machinery by the first
day of September, and putting in in sue
cessful operation to demonstrate that the
mill had capacity of working and con-
verting into sugar three hundred tons of
field cane each twenty-four hours. It is
now the 9Th day OF October and yet the
contractors have failed to demonstrate
either OF the important points involved in
the contract. The machinery has so far
failed to work satisfactorily, and the runs
made without the breaking down of some
part of the same have been but of a few
hours each, necessitating frequent stop
pages for the making of necessary repairs
and adjustments. One effect of these de-
laws was to sour the juice of the cane al
ready in the diffusion batteries and rem
der it unfit for conversion, even had the
cane been in prime condition for sugar
making. The principle trouble appears
to have been in the cane carriers, cutters
and elevators, which are apparently unfit
ted for the purpose for which they were
designed. The result of the failure is
that the contractors have been unable to
demonstrate that the plant is capable of
making an ounce OF sugar, and the sugar
company declines to receive the works.
Now, there is still another side to this
question, and that is the part taken In
the matter by our citizens who have
grown cane for the mill. It is claimed,
and with good show of reason, that had
the machinery operated satisfactorily
from the start, it would have been almost
impossible to have manufactured sugar
from the cane supplied, as many of the
gard to the conditions of the material to
I, Ill, -. III oko - loro1
opment was broght to the mill-ripe, half
ripe and greenland dumped upon the
platform over the protest of the officers of
the company that it was totally unfit for
use. Others cut their cane, threw it upon
the ground and allowed it to remain two
or three days before delivery to tho mill
although the conditions of the contracts
were that it should be furnished fresh
from the fields, and at such times and in
such quantities as might be directed by
the company. These shortcoming on the
part of the producers, coupled with the
failure of the machinery to operate pro-
perly, have cast a cloud over the entire
enterprise, and it is now somewhat doubt
full whether confidence can be restored
this season.
This failure of the plant is most unfor-
tunate and discouraging to the people
here who had great hope that the prob
lem of profitable production from our soil
was about to be solved. Without doubt
another year will have to roll by before
the matter can be fully tested, at least
in this particular locality, although the
glowing reports received from other Sec
tons of the state would lead us to believe
that sugar can be proftably manufactured
from Kansas sorghum,