New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-07
THE HOTTEST PLACES IN TOWN.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WEATHER OF THE
LAST FEW DAYS. TRY SUGAR
REFINERY

,,,c Eont-ovo from South Fifth-st. TO the
Grand Street Ferry rises long line OF buildings In
which are employed nearly 5000 men. There are
ten OF these refnerles. and they are known as '"e
American Sugar Refinery. Havemeyer Elder
The capacity OF the rehneres Is said to be ABOUT
1000 pounds of sugar I'm twenty-four hours, De-
sides holding in reserve 100000 pounds
The men employed In the refneres are mostly
Low Dutch and "Polacks" Polish Jews). Ihey
are nearly all new arrivals in America. few OF
Thorn having been here more than two years. The
wages of the men average from 1919 TO his cents
an hour and they work about ten hours DAY
There are about 125 boilers required to work al
the vast machinery and heat and evaporate the
sugar The temperature in the rooms III which
the men work is frequently from ITO to 10 degrees
and 1t is no unusual occurrence for dozen o'
fourteen men faint away from excessive neat
The corps consists OF a superintendent ana t"o
assistants. for both the day and night CASHIER
chief engineer and one assistant. ana ABOUT t"'"'s
other foremen and assistants. The saaries VI
these men range from SIS to $500 month
In connection with the refinery bar " rum
where twenty-five beer tickets can DE pousht io'
ST. These tickets entite the holder OF thefh u o"'
pound OF beer This beer is sold TO the men AT az
low rate to say the least, as 1t coud DO oous"'
in the saloons The bar is conducted Tor the con-
,o,,opca NJ the men and not specially for the
prodt Of the refinery. a restraint Is put upon the
laborers and no man have beer oftener IMAM
once in two hours When the empioye gets HIS
salary or wages-for there Is DISTINCTION u'a""
between the salaries of the office men ana the
wages of the laborers-he receives certain por-
ton OF his pay In cash and announcer anu VI
course much smaller portion. In beer checKs.
About this however there Is no compulson' Inc
man need not take beer checks If he does not
want to- But In his laborng hours lie may "o'
stop and run out to tho saloons nor IL there any
one employed to so out for him. but VIII" INC
CiX q
ployed whose sole duties consist in carrying Deer
from, the bar TO the employees. These beer-car-
r,ors have a long pole sometimes two OF thein'
with harness strap running down from '''o
shoulders to help sustain the weight OF tho pee''
These poles are from five TO seven rect long Ao"s
the edge Of them there are small brass hooks uPo"
which TO hang the pals Of beer
This beer carrier goes his rounds with the Same
monotonous regularity that marks any other ieat-
ure of this well-regulated business. when tic
reaches a floor where there are laborers that ne
has reason 10 suppose wish his services ne oio"S
a whistle, the men come forward WIN ther pe
cans which the carrier hooks on his pole, taxes
their tickets and continues on his rounds some
times he will have seven or eight, ana AT o'"ei
times as many az fifteen cans on each pole
The crude sugar that comes TO the American
Sugar Refinery from various places is of many dit-
ferent grades and shades. but 1t Is all miNed up
good bad and Indifferent. The first process Is 10
lreaIly animal CHARCOAL acid and lime water ms
makes a sort OF syrup of it. After it has had the
renuisite amount OF boiling, it Is pumped up 10
about The ffth floor OF the building, into what is
called the charhouse. This charhouse Is where
the black bonedust is kept. The syrup pcrcoIates
through this bonedust and from this moor runs
down TO the floor below into immense copper pans
of different sizes. Some OF them are about WE'VE
feet In diameter and others only about s.X leet
In these pans the syrup is kept polnng LOT thIee
hours and a half and sometimes little longer. UNI
iii the experienced sugarboiler knows NY It's APP
pearance that IL has reached the point where that
nart Of the refining is finished. In point or fact te
labor OF the in the refinery could be SAID 10 De
a combination of technical knowledge ana reeding
the vast machines. for the sugar in one FORM ana
another IS carried from place to place, ATTENDED,
from process TO process by experienced men, untll
at last II runs through the mills into barrels In the
shape Of granulated powdered confectloners' OF
lump sugar.
Visitors are never allowed in the refinery. For
this decision Of the proprietors there are several
good reasons first, perhaps from the fact that the
refining process is secret. Again, there Is DAN
ger OF no small magnitude in the swiftly revolving
machinery. II Will be panifest at but casual
glance that the empoyesare not in the proper cos
Havemeyer's daughter wanted to see the refinery
in running order she was not allowed to 90 so. 10
CRAFTY her earnest wish to some OF II, her
father had the machinery stopped for about half
hour, and sent of the gentlemen employed In
the office around with his Slaughter. IL was the
lucklest days work that young man ever did, for
he afterward became Mr.. Havcmeyers son-in law.
and Sundays, the same process IS going on. This
Sunday work is compulsory. for there would be a
vast loss II the sugar were allowed TO get cold
when once IL has been heated