The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-28
THE CHICORY INDUSTRY.
Ell Perkins Tells a Simple Story OF It's
Birth and Growth.
Eli Perkins in NJ. York Sun.

want 10 tell our little children story
about chicory. / suppose you don't know
what chicory is. Well, it is vegetable
like parsnip, which the French and Ger
mans have been raising, drying, browning,
grinding and using instead of coffee. We
. have been sending out about IS, 10000 to
Germany every year for this little article.
1t tastes like coffee, is good, wholesome
food, but it has no nerve stimulant like
coffee. Children can drink chicory as
they can milk.
To get to the story: When they were
putting the tariff on different things last
year and got down to &c" they came right
on to chicory.
What's chicory2" asked Major McKin-
ley
No one was able to tell anything about
1t except that we paid Europe s., 000, coo
every year to get what was used.
We'll, what shall We do with it ?" asked
several congressman.
"Why, if we can't raise it," said McKin-
ley, "and the people want it. We will let
raw chicory come in free, but we will put
a protective tariff on manufactured chic
DRY. We will try and bring the manufac-
tories TO America if we can't raise the
stuff" So the tariff went on to manu-
featured chicory.
Suddenly | noticed a great stir among
the chlcory importers.
"Why, this Mckinley bill has raised the
dickens" they said. eve can't import
ground chicory any more from France and
Germany. We must make it here"
So they wrote and telegraphed the for
eign chicory manufacturers that they must
hurry Up and bring their chicory factories
over here. And sure enough there was a
stampede from Europe, and chicory fac
tories began 10 go up in Jersey
City, Hoboken, Williamsburgh, Newark
and Brooklyn. Then Philadelphia and
Detroit started chickory factories, till we
had fourteen factories and go chickory
makers at work in America. They got
their raw chickory from France and Ger
many. where it is grown with very cheap
labor. This worked well in New York,
but out IN Detroit they said:
Nv are too far away. We must raise
our own chickory."
SO they got chicory seeds from Germany
and put in a small crop in Michigan last
spring. The farmers made more money
tnan they made out OF wheat. 1t set them
crazy. Every one wanted 10 raise more of
it. Well. this fail the Detroit factory is
doubling its capacity, and all the farmers
are getting seed through the factory and
Jerry Rusk anu preparing 10 plant chlcory
next year.
Now, Judge my surprise when l saw FIVE
acres of chlcory away out in O'Neill, Neb.,
the other day. a Belgian by the name of
Bozzleman had it. He was drying it and
browning it for the Omaha and st. Louis
markets.
When l asked him how he came to raise
chic0ry, he SAID:
why, my brother raises it In Belgium.
and when the Mckinley bill passed he
rushed seed over TO me and told me to put
in i've acres, which | did. He is on his
way here now TO see aboutit T."
What will be the result of al this chic
DRY excitement? Why, after paying out 10
France and Germany over S70,OC0.0Q0 for
chicory We are finally going - make il
here at home and save our money-keep it
IN this country.
The history of this industry and how
we got ii is ike that OF a dozen other in
dustrles which have come through this
wise tariff measure.
One very funny thing came out Of this
tariff on chicory. When Baron Ba-
bant, an extensive chicory raiser
in France, heard of it, he thought
the tariff on was raw chicory, as it
ought 10 be, and probably will be, if the
next congress Is as wise as the last one,
and he came over here to raise it. But
when he found there was no tariff on the
raw roots in the states he went TO Canada,
saw Sir Jahn Macdonald and said:
If Canada viii put a tariff on raw
chlcory will plant four miles square in
Manitoba"
Then wen do it," said Sir John; and
he did.
Last spring l visited Baron Babant's
4,pb-acre chicory farm in Whitewood.
Manitoba. on the Canadian Pacific. He
proposes TO supply all Canada with chic
DRY, and send his surplus raw chicorv
over 10 be manufactured in the United
states without paying any duty. His
iali crop IS now coming to Detroit 10 be
manufactured
Ii Is funny about the price of chicorv.
too. II used TO sell for l. cents per pound
Who e>aIe. Competition brought it down
- 10 cents, then 10 cents. then 10 6cents.
then 1 cents and now 1t is offered whole
sale al 81 cents. Our retail grocers are
keeping the news from the people and
stu. selling chicory At Il cents per pound,
when they could sell II ct cents
by and by, II We get a tariff on raw
sugar, every farmer can use a substitute
wLlch viii improve his coffee. Qae-
nan chleoEy gives delightful
flavor 10 coffee. Good coffee costs
81 cents . pound. II is one Of the burdens
Of our farmers and mechanics 10 bnv it.
Tor We all drink coffee. But soon ch!cory
VIII De one of our own croDs and s. Go0'-
UtJ %iIi be saved TO our country every wear.
Putting in chicory, lax, beet sugar, and
raising more sheep tor wool will reduce
the acreage for wheat, and with the pres
eAt taFln OF - cents against Canadian
wheat, rye. oats and barley, we viii next
year consume our surplus wheat. and then
wheat will 20 70 81 "a bushel in Dakota.
farm lands will 90 up, the farmer will
again, after fifteen years Of low prices De
on top-and ali through the wise protec-
ton put around Us by the Mckinley bill.