Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1889-01-26
Sugar Factories !aEted.
Kansas Farmer.

Kansas Farmer.
A friend, writing from Aliceville,
Cofey county, this state, says: 1--WE
want to say through your paper that
Aliceville wants a sugar plant. We
have the best of soil and the purest
sandstone water in abundance, and
our farmers will give very liberal
bonus to any capitalist that will To-
cate sugar machinery here. We are
we'll located on the Missouri Pacific
railroad system, and coal can be had
very cheap"
This is sample letter. It is sub
stantiaily the same as we have re-
ceived from each Of probably dozen
other counties. The farmers want
sugar factories, and the want is rea-
sonable. There is probably no better
opening for the profitable invest
ment of capital in this state than
this. We would caution the people,
however, against undue haste in the
matter. The failure at Douglass
last year is a lesson worth studying.
1t shows that there must be system
in the business management, that
the machinery and sugar-making
processes must conform to approved
models and methods, and that great
care generally must be exercised.
Experienced sugar-makers are very
scarce-not five in the state. Still,
there has been enough learned to
justify the erection Of five good fac
tories in Kansas this year; there are
men enough to handle that many
new factories by importing some
help from Louisiana. Letters have
been written to Germany for the
purpose of learning whether few
experts could not be obtained from
the sugar schools of that country.
Sugar factories are expensive estab-
lishments. they require careful man
agement, just as any other business
does. If a man or a company en-
cages In trade, investing $4,000 or
100000 in business, the best talent
is employed to take care of it. A
good sugar factory. built after mod
els now in use. costs in the neigh
borhood of 100000. Such an in
vestment cannot afford to keep in
competent managers. And that re-
fers to the business affairs only.
Sugar-making is chemical opera
ton; it requires expert knowledge
and skillful manipulation; the aver
age man cannot do the work.
Every factory must have at least
one person who has had some ex-
perience, and such persons, in this
country, are very few indeed. In
Germany there is one POSSIBLY
more) school specially devoted to.
the training Of sugar-makers. Most
of our most useful knowledge on
this subject was derived from Ger
man sources. The diffusion process
was practiced in that country some
years before it was adopted here.
There are at least four essentials
in sugar-making: First, good cane;
second, a good factory-one in
which all the parts are not only of
approved patterns, but are 40 con-
structed as to work easily together,
SO that every part does its full share
of the work and does it well; third,
good business management. fourth,
skillful supervision Of the work in
the factory. Let farmers who are
anxious about sugar factories con-
slider all these matters before en-
gaging in the work to the extent of
investing money or incumbering
themselves with debt. The Kansas
Farmer believes the time is coming
when Kansas will produce immense
quantities of sugar, and will do all
it can to forward the work, but it
does not want its readers to invest
money in sugar-making until they
have looked the ground over and
made the beginnings secure. Our
greatest need now Is sugar-makers;
all other related matters can be
handled easier than this.