Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-11-10
KANSAS SUGAR.
A Brief Interview With Judge Parkinson ON
the State OF the Industry and
Its Prospects.

Judge w. L. Parkinson. of Ottawa, ar
rived in the city late last evening and
registered at the Carey. He intended leav-
ing this evening for Kansas City to join
his family who are spending the winter at
that point. Being general manager of the
Fort Scott and Topeka sugar plants much
of his time is necessarily spent between the
two places but general interest in the
sugar industry at large in Kansas keeps
him in constant contact with ali
of the enterprise connected with the
gro with and development of cane. He
just returned from trip to the Fort Scott,
Attica and Medicine Lodge plants and has
most encouraging and satisfactory &C.
counts to give Of their progress. In speak
ing Of sugar in general way, he said that
1t must be admitted that there had been
some failures, but they were in the mi
nority, and there had been a sufficient
number of successes to demonstrate the
fact that the making of sugar could be
made sure success, provided the
necessary conditions were complied
with. Although. the government
had offered some substantial
encouragement to the industry it was only
sufficient to help those who had taken
good care to help themselves. A sugar
plant is an assured failure unless backed
by sufficient capital.
In answer to the question he said he
thought that the works in Medicine
Lodge had the best prospects for a sue
cessful years work.
There has been some talk of increased
interest in sugar manifesting itself in the
near future IN the way of larger and i'm
proved refneries, but when questioned on
this point the Judge did not seem inclined
to say much. When pressed for
his reasons for his reticence
he said that he did not
want to seem to be inviting any locality to
SO bid for the location of a sugar house
when as matter of fact the location of
any new plants would be determined up
on about the same as a merchant might
select point to open up business. The
prospects of success would be the only con-
slderation and no aid was expected except
perhaps very small appropriation from
the government In answer to the ques-
ton he said he could not say where the next
plant would be located but be thought
that soon large central plant would be
established in the central part of southern
Kansas. The proposed plant would likely
cost In neighborhood OF $4,000 consist
of large central refinery fed by five or six
diffusion plants. This scheme would take
In strip of country about twenty miles
IN length and bring the points for the de-
livery of the cane in the center of five or
six cane raising districts The diffusing
plants would simply extract the juice of
the cane which would be pumped through
pipe lines the same as water to the rein
cry. BY this means only the high priced
or skilled labor need be employed at the
central refinery. and the same number of
hands could conduct a plant of thousand
tons capacity daily that would be required
to operate much smaller plant. Then by
means Of the pipe lines much hauling of
cane. the main expense. would be obviated
and general economy could be observed
impracticable in plants of less magnitude