St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1891-02-21
Speech of Mr.. Henry Mccall.
The DvANTAGEs OF THE SUGAR CANE
CROP FOR A FARM TENANTRY

sjsely proven by the results obtained or
reveral of our largest estates that the SUI
| ject no longer needs demonstration Now
however, that the sugar industry OF oul
State is about to enter new era OF free
trade with a bounty based on the test Of
sugar, it will probably become more ne
cessarv to separate the agricultural from
the industrial part of the business.
Small plantations (even large ones rur
on the gang system), provided with indif
ferent sugar houses, whose mills extract
but from so to 60 per cent of the cane
Juice where the bagasse is not utilized as
fuel and enormous quantities of wood and
coal are burned to evaporate in kettles OF
open trains, where the skimmings are
washed into the bitches, and finally, W here
poor manufacture, inversion, and floods OF
worthless molasses are made must sooner
or later 60 under.
There can be but one solution to the
difficulties. and that, in my judgment, will
save the sugar industry, viz: the estab-
lishment of central factories and the Guilt
vation of lands on the tenant system, OF
by small farmers of any kind.
There were more than 700 sugar houses
| in operation this past season to make the
largest crop produced since the war, say
200, 900 TONS or less than 300 average to
each house. Ten of the largest establish
ments made say about 10000 tons, one
tenth of the whole crop consequently one
hundred houses could easily have taken
off the whole crop, and even such plants
are too small to do the best work in the
most economical manner.
The establishment of entirely separate
and independent lants, such as the
Gallery, with unlimited capital behind it,
will be of very slow growth. The plant
ers of neighborhood must come together,
abandon their ante bellum, not to say
antediluvian, sugar houses, unite on cen
trail location, and either erect factory on
the joint stock plan or increase the plant
of some existing house
The change just spoken of has been go
ing on in the past twenty years and more,
specially within the last decade. Before
the war 1900 sugar houses were in opera
ton, and the year 1891 will see but half
that number in operation with nearly as
| much sugar to be made, and that of far
better quality.
l have depressed somewhat from the
subject, but the central factory must be-
established to make the tenant system or
small cane farms practical success.
cert ain we'll known plantation can be cited
as an example to show the progress made
in this direction since 1881. The phenom-
enally good crop of 1882 sold at big prices
compared to those of this day, and revived
our somewhat languishing industry. In
this year large tracts of land were given
out to tenants to be worked in cane, and
the system has been in successful and
growing operation to the present time.
ground on this plantation in 1882, as
against over 1900 in 1890, an increase of
100 per cent in eight years. In 1885 the
crop of this place was about 2,25O,OOO
this year it reaches 4 500 900, an increase
of 100 per cent production in five years.
Going back to twenty years ago, the in
crease has been over three fold These
figures are given to show what the small
farming system and large we'll equipped
sugar house have Teen able to accomplish
in few years.
Twenty six separate white tenant estab-
lishments brought into the Evan Hall
sugar house this past season sbou: "a 900
tons of cane varying in amounts from 70
tons to 1928 tons.
OF the $4,000 tons of cane ground on
this place, nearly two-thirds were fur
nished by tenants, and the balance by
plantation gang. Numerous instances of
tenants can be found who undertook the
cultivation of cane on this system from
five to ten years ago with little or no cap
ital, end who to-day are worth several
beloved State is said to be poor and in
need of aid from the lottery company.
On well established place, and fairly
oil pronar1u 1roirc1 ipHnStri.
GUS working man can take hold of our
sugar lands and average from twenty to
twenty five tons of cane to the acre. or in
a year like the past, from twenty eight to
thirty tons per acre.
The cost of planting, cultivating and
harvesting should not, with fairly good
lands and under proper management, cost
more than 50 per ton delivered at the mill.
This, of course, means that lands and
buildings are furnished free of rent. and
the tenant pays for his own labor, teams
implem. nts, does the ordinary ditching,
etc.
At 50 per ton, which is the price gener-
ally paid this year to tenants, lands will
net from twenty to twenty-f five dollars,
and in extraordinary seasons twenty eight
TO thirty dollars. in what part of this
country, or in the world, is there such an
opening for thrifty, industrious farmers2
The twenty six Even Hall tenants es.
adjustments did not employ less than one
hundred white men as laborers, besides
the colored men. Such white men would
not work for planters at.any price, and
would thus, under the old colored gang
system, be comparatively lost to the COM
munity. Viewed in the aspect of social
and political economy, they are potent
force, and contribute in no small degree
to settle and readjust the vexstious labor
problem.
Our experience of the tenant system
goes to show that men working small
tracts of land will, If the conditions are
for want Of means or impeded by defective
drainage, produce better results at smaller
costs than can be obtained ON larger
scale under the gang system. tenant
cultivating from seventy-iv to one hun
way between plant cane, rattoons, corn
and peas, needs from eight to ten A No l
mules, two carts and all the other agricu1-
Some implements, such IS fertilizer dis
IrlDutOrs, may D0 OWueu LII partnership
with one or two other tenants and thus
save expense.
Where the plowmen, say three or four
white men, are used, some colored help
will be needed to plant cane occasionally
during cultivating season and also to help
cut and load cane.
The efforts of number of men to secure
labor to pitch and save their crops will be
and is much more effective than can be
that of one planter under the gang system.
The problem of saving large crops un-
der the tenant system NAV be said to be