The Republican journal., 1897-10-14
The Beet Sugar Industry.
Correspondence of The journal.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 1897. Secretary
Wilson, of the Department of Agriculture,
is confident that the result of this years
experiments with sugar beets will add
800 per cent. to the beet-sugar factories
of the country.
81 know of people who stand ready )"
said he, in speaking on this subject, ''to
establish twenty beet sugar factories in
this country next year."
THAT will be pretty big increase, will
it not, Mr.. Secretary"
at will. We have, perhaps, half doz-
en- beet sugar factories in the United
increase of about 800 per cent, which l
think will be very good for the first year
of the experiment.
"Your experiments of this year have ap
parently been successful, then?'
''Yes. Beyond question. OF course
our analyses have not progressed sufficient
ly yet to show very definitely what each
section has done or is doing, but there is
no doubt in my mind of the entire FEAST
bility and practcablity of the production
OF all our sugar in this country The in
terest which the farmers of the country
have developed in et-raising, the rest lts
of such analyses as have already been
made of the beets produced this year, and
what we know as to the results in former
years and as to this year crop in the sec
lions where beet growing has already been
developed, show beyond question that it is
entirely practicable for the people of this
country to produce their own sugar"
"That means the retention in the Unit
ed States of great deal of money which
ROW goes abroad?"
YES A hundred millions is a good
deal of money, and especially when it goes
out of the country. If we can distribute
among our farmers the hundred million
dollars which we now send abroad for our
sugar it will be a very important thing to
them and to the country in general. 1t
will be especially SO to labor. People talk
about labor and about doing things for
labor and for the cause Of the nottingham
What can be done more to the advantage
of the workingman than to put into his
pockets hundred million dollars which
we send out of the country every year for
a single article? Then add to that the
amount which we send to other parts of
fine world for n hqI a1oSSaS ~ fa,,
ducts which might be kept at home and
the total is something enormous. The
value of the products of agriculture which
are brought into the United States. and
which we might produce at home if we
were to make the proper effort, is in round
numbers, $3.50, 900, cooper year. Why not
give them to our farmers?"
''What is being done, Mr.. Secretary, in
the way OF learning the result of this years
experiments with the sugar beet seed
which you sent out last SPRING."
"We are gathering the beets produced
from the seeds by sections and States into
our experiment stations, and testing and
analysing them. These analyses are going
on constantly, and will continue for some
weeks or perhaps months. 1t is a COM
paratively slow process, but one which
will give us thorough practical and scien-
tific knowledge of the capabilities of the
various sections of the country for this
kind of work, and while the analyses have
not yet progressed very far, enough has
been done to satisfy me that the results of
this year $ experiments with sugar beets
are going to be very satisfactory and en-
couraging. | am confident that before the
end of another year we shall have twenty
live great beet sugar establishments in op-
Grafton in the United States, scattered all
the way from New York to the Pacific
Coast, and producing large quantities of
beet sugar and opening the way to the
production by our farmers Of at least a
large proportion of the sugar for which we
now send our motley abroad"