The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-04-30
WILL THE UNITED STATES PRODUCE
IT'S OWN SUGAR?
To the Editor Of the Eagle.

est TO the farmers OF Kansas, i beHu yOU
herewith few facts about the nlanufac
ture of sorghum and beet sugar. The
success of the sugar factory at Medicine
Lodge, Kan, and the partial success me-
with In other places. has demonstrated
the fact that an excellent quality OF
sugar can be made out of sorghum and
also out of beets,a that the soil of Kan
sas Is admirably adapted to the produc'
ton of both cane and sugar-beets. A
'bill has recently been introduced IN con
gress by Senator Paddock that proposes
to pay bounty of 81 per ton on every
ton of beets raised by farmers, that is
converted into sugar, and also bounty
Of / cent per pound to the sugar manu-
facturer for all the sugar produced out
Of beets. The United States imported
in the year 1889 2, 700, 547 ,668 pounds OF
sugar, at cost of about $50, 000, 900.
There was produced in this country
about 500, 900, 600 pounds of cane, .9sOr-
ghum, beet and maple sugar. Over
100000 pounds Of beet sugar was I'M
ported into this country from Europe.
France, Germany, Austria, Hungary
4SdSoASR, Atnl1f LII anu Otl'CI L<u1O-
! pean countries have, during the last ff-
teen years been successfully manufac-
! turing sugar out of beets.
| The sugar-beet industry IN those
! countries have been encouraged both
by high tariffs on foreign sugar and by
| large bOunties offered to farmers and
/ sugar producers. During the year
| 1887, France produced 465 900 tons of
crTc
! Hungary, 100000 tons: Russia and
Poland, 315, 900 tons. In 1887 Germany
! had 800, 600 acres under cultivation in
sugar-beets. The average duty on foreign
sugar in the countries mentioned is Il
| cents per pound In addition to this
| they all have paid very high bounties on
the home product of beet sugar. France,
in four years, from 1884 to 1888, paid
| over S43, 000,0 900 bounty on sugar.
| Germany paid nearly as much. The
! high tariff on sugar in theses countries
and the liberal bounties offered by their
| governments has resulted in the produc-
| ton of more sugar than is consumed and
they are now large exporters.
Mr.. Claus Spreckels, in the year 1888,
established sugar factory at Watson
vile, California, at cost of about $780,
! 500 tons of beets into sugar per day. In
! a report on the success Of this enterprise,
| given in a statement read by Mr..
| Spreckels before the senate tariff COM
| mittee in 1889, he makes the following
| statement:
Operations We're commenced on Oc-
tOber 20, 1888, and continued I'M
| til December 90. During this
I'll i II -
| factory from 1000 acres of land
under cultivation $4,000 tons of
| beets, an average of fifteen tons to the
acre, for which the farmers are paid an
| average of S5.25 per ton. The highest
yield was forty tons to the acre; the av-
erage crop in Germany being twenty to
twenty-five tons. The average of sach-
arine in the California beets was IL per
| cent, as against 10 to IA per cent in Ger
many. Some of the California beets
yielded 20 per cent and over. The result
of the seasons operations was l $40 tons
OF raw sugar, which melted a profit of
S29, $50 or nearly $50 per ton. This does
not allow for wear and tear of machin-
cry, and represents return of per cent
on the outlay for machinery and the con-
struCtion of the factory.
lnlS result was COISlu6Teu very sat
isfactOry to the formers, who had no ex
perience in cultivating beets, and was
better showing than the European farm
ers made, although they have the expe-
rience of years to guide them and have
reduced the cost of production to min
imum. 1t is estimated that the cost of
production and delivery of the beets at
the Watsonyille factory was about 81
per acre. The average yield being fif
teen tons per acre, which brought 1926
per ton at the factory, it follows that the
farmers of the Pajaro valley Melted S67. %
per acre from their beet crop in 1888.
German farmers spend SIS per
acre on fertilizers every third year.
The expenditure of $4,000 on
the erection and the equipment
of the jacksonville factory sent a great
deal of money into circulation in that
town, where $4,000 per month were
disbursed. 1t also gave employment to
those in the iron trade in San Francisco,
while the farmers employed a. small
army of boys thinning out the beets dur
ing cultivation. The extra labor en-
ployed by the farmers in hauling beets
to the factory was also considerable.
The factory employed 135 men.
The following recapitulation of the
working expense of the jacksonville beet
sugar factory during the campaign year
of sixty-One days, ending December 10,
1888, viii show how other industries
were benefited: Freight of sugar to
San Francisco, 50, S36.15 coal, SI1,216:
coke. S1.15S; fuel, crude oil, 81 ,3j6:
wood, $3.50; lime rock, 81 ,7S9; sugar
bags, S1.740; soda, tallow, 500; labor
etc, sci ,092; beetS, 81, 631.70. The
limestone was burned in kilns at the fac
tory. Suppose there was ten or dozen
such factories in operation in California,
there would be prosperous times IN every
line of industry
These facts go to show that the people
Ct this country can, IN the course Of a
few years, by a sufficient tariff on sugar
and offering q liberal bounty for encour-
aging the production of homemade SUI
gar, produce all the sugar we consume
and of a quality as good as any imported
and that we can put into the pockets of
the farmers and sugar producers Of this
country an average Of nearly one humid
red millions Of dollars that viii other
wise be paid to foreigners for the manu-
faCture Of our sugar.
The Arkansas. kaw, Republican. Wal
nut, Medicine. NeoshO Valleys are adj
mirably adapted. 50 far as soil and eli
mate is concerned. to produce the rich
est kinds of sorg1m or beets and the
farmers and business men of Kansas
should use their influence to have con-
gress retain the duties Of two ceuts
pound on sugar and have the money OBJ
tanned paid out as bounties In farmers
and manufacturers Of sugar II this Coun-
try. The increased production of sugar
thus secured viii do more TO lower the