Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-12-17
In A SUGAR REFINERY.
PROCESSES BIZ WHICH TIE RAW
SUGAR IS REFINED.


Eooms-Frishtful p'oil.
7 7 is doubtful if there is any other
| group of buildings i'll or near
New York where the fearful diff
6 culties under which men labor
for the bare privilege OF living, are 50
plainly shown as they are in tho
towering, forbldding, fortress-like
structures on the East River front OF
Brooklyn, owned by tho American
Sugar Refining Company, better
known rs the Sugar Trust.
The big buildings cover space OF
four blocks on both sides of Kent
avenue, from South First to South
| Fifth streets, and on the west side OF
| the avenue extend to the river front,
their grimy, dull-red wallis eXtcnding
seventeen stories above the street
level. A close inspection of the
Havemeyer reineries is necessary 10
II thorough realization OF the i'm
mensity of the establishment, and
this group is one OF the refining places
owned by the trust 1t has 10 equal
in size or i'll the amount of its busl-
ness in the limits OF the Greater New
York The employees OF the great
concern are disciplined with rules n;
strict as those which govern nB
army. II one attempts to set INTO
the refneries he meets the discipline
in the shape of gruI watchmau anl
n club, and call ut the Offices reVenis
it i'll the shape of more or less polite
negative from the clerks, who will say
| that tbav ponunt o,1suar It1actippl
There are about 1000 men employed
in the big rcGneries, and these ara
divided into day and night shifts.
About 5 o'clock in the morning hall
of the force can be seen Thing down
into the basement of one of the grent
buildings. Work is begun i'm,
mediately, and continued until in
the evening, when the men are sup
piled with checks, showing that they
were on hand when work begun.
The majority of the wor6men are
Poles and Hungariaus, and the severity
OF their lGbors is shown by the fact
that they are nearly all thin AMI
stopped, and rarely above middle asc,
it being II well-known fact that mon
employed i'll the ratneries rarely live
to old age. They are nearly new im-
migrants when first employed, and be-
lore Work Is given taem they m'i"V be
found perfectly doclle ana oEeoneht.
The rules of the reiinerles are laid
down to the applicant for employmanty
aud he is told that he viii receive
Sill, $l.2o or .2o us the case may
be, Tor the hrst year, ana 'heh' II ms
work is satisfactory, he may receive
an additional flY9 or ten Genus II Gay,
Inc man Is assigned TO WORK IN oiie OF
the many departments, ana II ne M"
received 'he UP from iflGh''" OF h'7
own nationality before gong 10 "oE"'
ne trempleS lest inc csHcV may con,
aomh MN TO Vhe urY room ~ II
hF' 'hat' however ne receives IL Nlyn y
cn"r"c'etlSIic S'o'loi'J' anu - o"'nA'
iul lor an opportunity 10 e"'n MS i,i'n'
cradle l'l'tahce' even uhaef S"ch 'ef'
ride circumstances.
"heH the raw sugar Is o"'h pcu lio4n
'he SNIP III Which IL IS Drought 20 VHo
rehheries IL ls plhcet III Steno ti'UoIn
near the river ea8e' an" /" "ls9o''o"
III not water. FROM 6hlS NaG sweet,
s'icky steam constantly "flSeS' "H9
every little while workman, areSseo
III overalls aud an nndershirt, pops
out from 1t, and IN minute or so pops
back again, and is lost to sight III tine
moist cloud. The liquid Is pumped
up to the top story OF the pile, pass
ing through wire strainer, whicA re-
moves any PARTICLES OF SIZE which may
be III 1t, and Is emptlod INTO great cop
per receptacies heated to 2Nd or 2lo
degrees Fahrenheit, known rs boilers
The process OF boiling requires con
siderable skill, ana the men who heYe
charge OF 1t are pald $loD or Sloo
month, the number receiving the las'
ter figure being extremely limited
onl y one man IN /" hundred who re-
ceives employment in the rehnerles
becoming boiler, which Is the highest
ambition of the workmen.
The boiling and bubbilnG sugar IS
yI,a -,,rt, ftrta nnl -