The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-12-24
A. B. SPRECKELS.
j. D. SPRECIiEI.S.
Especial Correspondence

A. B. srRECKELs. J. d. spREcKEIs.
ing back cargoes of general merchandise.
AT one time they were compelled to char
ter steamer to conduct this business,
and subsequently, i'll 1885, had two
steamers-the Mariposa and the Alamo
da-built ut Cramps yards in Philadcl-
phia.
These steamers all belong to the Oceanic
Steamship company, the controlling in
terest of which is held in the Spreckels
family. They are large importers of
coal from New South Wales, of which
they use about 10000 tons annually in
their own business. They have branch
Office in San Diego, Cal. and agencies in
Liverpool, London and throughout Aus
tralia; do marine insurance business
and own half dozen tugboats, the
quickest and most powerful tugs on the
Pacific coast. John D. Spreckels is at
the head of the steamship company.
The largest portion of the business of
the Spreckels family is in sugar, how
ever, which is managed directly by Claus
Spreckels. He is the owner of the Cali
fornia sugar refinery, which was operated
independently until two years ago, when
it was leased to the Sugar trust at the
time that he sold out his large refinery
at Philadelphia. The second son. Adolph
B., now assists his father. This refinery
handles the entire Hawaiian sugar crop
of 100000 tons, besides also the beet
sugar crops that are grown at Spreckes
factory at jacksonville, Cal, and at the
Chino factory. y market is found for
this refined sugar ut all points west of
the Missouri river and along the Pacific
coast. Claus Spreckels has been in the
sugar business in California for nearly
80 years and is believed TO have made
an enormous fortune, estimated by his
friends to amount to fully $50, ZOO. 900.
Each of his sons is also a millionaire III
his own right.
Mammoth Sugar Estate.
The Hawaiian Sugar and Commercial
company, concerning which the suit is
brought by young SprecScls, is the arg-
est sugar estate in the world. 1t covers
an area of 10000 acres on the island of
Maui, which was formerly nothing but
an arid desert. Now there are - 900
acres of growing sugar cane cultivated
every year, with mill capable of manu-
featuring over 100 tons of sugar per day
This change has been brought about by
irrigation, the water being conveyed a
distance of 40 miles from the mountains
There were innumerablc difficulties to be
surmounted in completing this vast work
of engineering. Thirty gulchcs were
crossed, some of which were over 1000
feet wide and 400 feet deep, there being
over 81 900 feet of 42 inch pipe used in
this work alone There are also 20 tun.
nels, 8 by feet, that are cut through solid
rock, some of them being 500 feet long
There are FIVE reservoirs. the largest of
which will hold 100000 cubic feet of
water. The two main bitches that sup
ply the water deliver 5000. 900 cubic fee.
daily.
For crushing the cane there are six sets
of mills, crushing $50 tons of cane in 10
hours. The trash, or cane after it has
been ground, is automatically carried to
the premises where it is used as fuel.
There are five houses for boiling the
sugar, the largest of which contains
vacuum pan that will make $4,000
pounds of sugar at strike and make
three strikes n day. The mills are fitted
with 16 of Hepworth's centrifugal ma
CIliIco lOi vi lllS luc sugar. L mere are
also a number of pumphouses, shops,
stOrehouses. offices, n spacious machine
shop and dwelling houses. The heads of
the departments have a clubhouse, with
q billiard room and hall for dancing.
The whole plantation constitutes quite IL
town in itself, which is known as Spreck
elsville.
Such an enormous property as this has