The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-08-23

was not completed till the sugar season
was drawing to a close, and there was
barely time to make one run of cane that
year. Bonds almost sufficient to build
the mill had been voted, to be delivered
when the mill was shown to be capable
of producing certain quality of sugar.
The cheapest machinery had been pur-
chased, and when it was tested for the
first time it was found that it was not
equal to the work demanded of it.
The mill promoters, however, did not
propose to permit that to prevent them
citing possession of the coveted bonds.
They sent to Dodge City, forty miles
away, and in the night brought over a
wagon load of sugar, which they pur-
chased at store there, struggled it into
mill and before morning had carried it
up to the vat and mixed it in with the
cane Juice. This stroke of enterprise
brought the sugar up to standard and
the bonds were delivered the following
day.
1t was the intention of the mill men
to have bonds voted in number of
other localities at the election that fall
and to buildNa large number of mills on
the same plan. The scheme would I'M
doubtedly have worked had it not been
that Il few days after the first run of
sugar was made at Minneola proud
residents and local stock holders were
showing some friends through tine mill,
when they noticed quantities of sugar
scattered over the stairs leading to the
sugar vat. In the process of manufac-
ture OF sugar from cane juice this sugar
ought not to have been found there.
An investigation followed, and some
time after the bonds had been disposed
OF the facts of the wagon load of sugar
were brought out, and further opera
lions of the sugar mill men in getting
bonds or more mills were stopped.
THE ENGLISH SUCCEEDED.
Most of the sugar mill enterprises,
however, were begun in good faith, and
their failure was due to bad manage
raent and ignorance of the business.
Most of those who engaged IN it lost
their own money, as we'll as that of
others. Few of them ran more than one
season. Others struggled along for
nuu Der of years, and finally all but two
dropped out. In 1891 the mill at Medi-
cine Lodge, which represents an invest
ment of over 1926, 600, fell into the hands
OF an English company. This company
has undertaken to operate it on pusi-
ness basis, and has met with SO much
encouragement that it is making prepa-
rations to do more this season than ever
before. The capacity of this mill is
over 200 tons of cane each day. AS the
cane runs about 100 pounds OF sugar to
the ton, the output Of the mill is about
twelve tons day. The diffusion pro-
cess is used exclusively, the old roller
process having been found wholly I'M
satisfactory. For number of years
there was great loss from stoppages, be-
cause of Imperfect machinery, bnt this
has now been remedied. The machinery
has been SO improved that last year
there was no accidental stop that ex-
ceeded fifteen minutes.
When the sugar mill craze was on in
Kansas the farmers set apart thousands
OF acres for sorghum cane, expecting of
vest. They were sadly disappointed and
were compelled to feed the crop to
stock. Topeka (Ks.) Correspondence of
tie Washington Star.