The morning call., 1891-11-29
ssTOO SWEET TO LAST"

The Santa Cruz Sentinel is borrowing
trouble anent the beet-Sugar business. The
Sentinel admits that the cooperative sugar
factories at present engaging so much atteu-
ton in this State should receive encourage
ment, but is curiously concerned lest, to fol-
low its own line of argument, the profits
attending such enterprises would cause so
much competition that the price of sugar
won Id be reduced, and before long the
business would cease to be more profitable
than the average of other staple enter
prises." The Sentinel is also afraid that
when the beet-sugar business is fully eStab-
lished in this county, and is shown to be
profitable, the Government will withdraw
the bounty, and the industry will be thrown
into competition with the factories of
Europe, in which event American producers
will be at n great disadvantage, as we can
not here command labor at starvation
prices. The Sentinel points ont that. if the
business is shown to be profitable it will be
impossible to restore the tariff.
If the BUSINESS proves so profitable that
it can thrive without the present bounty, it
will not be necessary to restore the tariff.
The object of the bounty is simply to foster
this industry in the United States until it
shall have become firmly established. When
the bounty will cease.
As 10 the amount of competition that will
spring up to reduce the profits of the bust
ness il would require SEQ factories with a
capacity of $50 tons each per day, consum-
ing the product of 1000, coo acres of beets,
to supply the quantity of sugar used in this
country last year. and this enormous con-
sumption will increase, rather than decrease
as the years pass.
IL is estimated that it costs. in Europe,
even with the advantage 10 manufacturers
of cheap labor, three cents a pound to pro-
duce beet sugar. 1t is claimed by the pro-
prietOrs of the Chino factory that it has cost
five cents pound 10 turn out their product
during this. their first campaign. Expert
enced men regard this statement with some
Incredibly. but il is probable that, owing to
the many unforeseen contingencies of a new
and untried industry, the expenses of pro-
duction were greater, this year, than they
are likely 10 be again. Other factories In
the State have succeeded in making sugar
at less cost, even while paying more for
bests than the Chino factory has done.
With increased facilities and experience.
and added knowledge regarding beet cni-
ture, there is every reasonable ground for
the presumption that we will in time be
able 10 produce beet sugar at a cost that will
preclude the idea of the product of Euro
pean factories being put into this country at
price enabling it TO drive out the home
made article.
No one expects, or has right to expect,
that the manufacture of sugar Will be
moro profitable than the average of other
staple enterprises" The object of the
bounty is merely 10 raise il to that average.
Already there are many crops in this State
that are far more profitable to the grower
than the sugar beet can ever be, even with
cooperative factories. or with the bounty
as permanent institution. Growers Of
apTicOts AID pfuneS, oranges and lemons,
Will not be likely to abandon their orchards
or vineyards to take up beet-cultuTe but to
establish orchards and vineyards requires
| larger capital than to grow beets. The
latter industry affords an opportunity for
the man who has little besides his land TO
realize an income from it at once. 1t Is
| claimed that the owner of ten acres OF sugar
| beets who has children to help in harvesting
| the crop land ten-year- old boy or girl may
| be almost as useful in the beet-field as a
| man can realize, by taking factory stock TO
| the extent Of his ten acres, an average profit
! of Sl7j an acre. Granting that this is an eX-
| travagIut estimate; that under other con-
| ditions, with the bounty removed, for in
stanee, this profit would be reduced one-half,
| it stll represents very respectable annual
| income from ten acres of land. Many city
| toiler works the year round. all his life, for
! no moro a year than the beet-grower thus
| obtains from his seasons work, and the
! latter has still six months of his year to turn
to other methods of earning money The
waste pulp from his beets, for instance,
will fatten number OF hogs or cattle for
| market.
That the cooperative system. as it has
been outlined in THE CALL more than once,
| is the most profitable plan for the grower
| for carrying on this business, cannot be dis
| puted There are in Germany. where the
| industry is Of long standing. 401 factories.
| of which $50 are conducted on the o-opera-
tive plan. 1t is claimed for one of these
| factories, in Hanover, that it recently on
its third years run, paid a dividend of 10
per cent on its capital stock. This policy
| has also been found to work fully In
France.
OF the advantage of cheap sugar to the
| people. and the benefits derived from keep
ing at home our enormous annual expendi-
ture for sugar. nothing need be said.
1t must be admitted there is no immediate
prospect of sugar-beet farmers becoming
millionaires, but there is every chance for
the poor man with few acres of land. who
must realize prompt returns from his toll, to
make fair wages and q comfortable profit on
each acre of his holding.
WHAT MONOPOLY COSTS.