Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1894-07-06
Sugar from Beets.

which are being made with sugar beets
this year in different parts OF Oregon
and Washington, it is interesting to lind
SO complete and specific treatment OF
tie beet sugar industry as is contained
in tie speech of Senator Henderson, oil
Nebraska, on the tariff bill. This speech
is now being sent out in the usual con-
gressional pamphlet form and comprises
in its information almost everything
one would want to know about the sugar
beet industry, historically, commercially
practically. Leading up to Europe's
present annual output OF 3,S4l'ooO
metric tons of beet sugar, he traces the
history of the industry IN France, where
it was determinedly forced upon the
people by the great Nap leon, in the
face of ridcule and abuse; in Germany
which following suit has passed not only
France, but every other nation 10 It's
output, and in Russia, Holland, Belgium
and Sweden. where bounties have sue
cessfnllv been maintained. The story
Napoleon's efforts to establish the ln-
dustry is very interesting, so character
istic is it of the man. Beginning with
the celebrated Berlin and Milan DEGREES,
in which he forbade the importation OF
sugar from foreign countries, he built
four imperial sugar-beet factories out oil
the public treasury and gave liberal
bounties. He offered $4,000 in one
bounty for the production of beets that
would carry 10 per cent of saccharlne'
1t is said that France, IN those dreadful
DAYS of VIZ. and its sttendant trouble
and expense, put $200,000,00O into the
establishment and development of beet
sugar factories.
Senator Henderson follows out in de-
tail the processes Of growing, harvest
ing and manufacturing. He shows us
that the mechanical and chemical TIL
umphs of the industry are wonderful
almost beyone belief The chemical dis
advantages which SO long batlied the
world, unable to separate the sugar from
the salts, have been overcome and the
process perfected, so that the machine
which takes the beet at one end and IN
Is hours turns out pure white sugar at
the other, without the intervention any
where of human hand, is pronounced
a more marvellous continuance ethan even
the typesetting machines that cast their
own type. or the looms, aye, sven the
Jacquard looms that weave those Won
derful fabrics" And in American
America alone, for elsewhere the product
is laboriously gathered by hand-there
is a machine one drives through the
field which takes up the beet from the
ground, cuts off the top and puts it into
the box that travels by 1t.
or course the requirements of sugar
beet factory are very great, 1t must
have the product of 5000 to 5000 acres
Of land. There is no use trying to man
ufacture sugar in a factory costing less
than 100000. The growing and man
featuring require exact knowledge and
hard and faithful work. The beet is
peculiar crop, also, 1t cannot be raised
in a slovenly fashion, but will come to
nothing unless given pairstaking, intel
lgent labor With all these conditions
realized, Senator Henderson goes on to
show that a great industry can be built
up in this country if the government Is
disposed to lend helping hand. Ii we
can have the government on our side we
can raise beets and make our own sugar
in this country. 1t is pretty hard to
make out sometimes whether the gov
eminent is on the side of agricultural
communities like ours or not. Unfortu-
nately, just at the time the beet sugar
industry needs help the government Is
very hard up. Sugar is not in very
good repute now to ask for protection.
II the government had little surplus
earnings, bounty to the beet growers,
or the French or English plan would b.
just the thing, Perhaps the state of
Washington could do something in that
line for the Palouse experimenters. Ne
braska paid for time a bounty OF a
cent pound on the sugar, and the SEN
ntor th;nlrS tha mot ranealinr IL WAS q