Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-10-14
Sugar Beet Outlook.
WASHINGTON. Oct. Il.

WASHINGTON, Oct. IL 1897
Secretary Wilson, Of the Department
! of Agriculture, is confident that the re-
suit of this years experiments with
sugar beets will add 800 per cent. TO the
| beet-sugar factories of the country.
Il know of people who stand ready"
said he, ia speaking on this subject, ''to
establish twenty beet-sugar factories in
this country next year"
THAT Will be pretty big increase,
Will 1t not, Mr.. Secretary"
''It will. We have, perhaps, a half
dozen beet-sugar factories in the United
States now, all told, so that it will be an
increase of about 800 per cent, which
think will be very good for the first
year of the experiment."
'4our experiments of this year have
apparently been successful, them"
Eyes. Beyond question. Of course
our analyses have not progressed suffi-
GENTLY yet to show very definitely what
each section has done or is doing, but
there is no doubt in my mind of the
entire feasibility and practicability of
the production of all our sugar in this
country. The interest which the farm
ers of the country have developed in
beet-raising, the results Of such anal
Uses 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 years crop in the sections
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
United States of a great deal of money
which now goes abroad?'
Eyes. A hundred millions is good
deal of money, and especially when it
goes out Of the country. If we can dis
tribute 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 espec-
tally SO to labor. People talk about labor
and about doing things for labor and for
the cause of the Workingman. What
can be done more to the advantage of
the workingman than to put into his
pockets a hundred million dollars which
we send out Of the country every year
for single article? Then add to that
the amount which we send to other
parts Of the world for other classes of
farm products which might be kept at
home and the total is something enor-
nous. The value of the products of
agriculture which are brought into the
United States and which we might pro-
duce at home if we were to make the
proper effort is, in round numbers,
1886, 100000 per year. Why not give
that 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."
owe are gathering the beets pro-
duced from the seeds by sections and
States into our experiment stations, and
testing and Analysing them. These an
alysas are going on constantly, and will
continue for some weeks or perhaps
months. 1t is comparatively slow pro-
cess, but one which will give us thor
ough practical and scientific 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 years experiments with sugar beets
are going to be very satisfactory and
encouraging. | am confident that be-
fore the end of another year we shall
have twenty-five great beet sugar
establishments in operation in the
United States, scattered all the way
from New York State to the Pacific
Coast, and producing large quantities of
beet sugar and opening the wayto the
production by our farmers Of at least a
large proportion of the sugar for which
we now send our money abroad, u