The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-08-19
SUGAR WILL RISE
A DEMOCRATIC VIEW OF THE
DlNGLEY LAW.

II Will Greatly Augment the Sugar Pro-
duction in Both the North and South
Confidence Being Restored i'm Bus
mess Circles Everywhere.
Z. F. PARSONS, Special Correspondent.
Washington, d. C.-There are few
men in the Unietd States better posted
on sugar production and it's possibilities
than Congressman Meyer of Louisiana,
a Democrat, who has spent lifetime
in the heart of the sugar producing dis
trict of the United States. He says
frankly that he believes sugar produc-
ton, both as to cain and beets, will re-
ceive a greater stimulus from the en-
actment of the new tariff law than any
thing that has been done for 1t. 1t
NAV be added in this connection that
the rate of protection given to sugar by
the new law is greater than ever given
to this interest under any preceding
law. Possibly the actual amount OF
protection per pound may have been
greater under other laws. but the fact
that the cost of producing sugar and
that prices the world over are now so
low. makes the ad valorem rate OF
protection which is given by this law
greater than any in the past.
cit seems to me-" said Congressm an
Meyer, talking to correspondent upon
this subject, "that sugar production
in the United States ought to be great
" stimulated by this law. I believe
that we can and should, and l hope
certainly that we will produce in this
country all the sugar that our people
require"
"Do you refer to beet sugar, Mr..
Meyer, or to cane sugar When talking
about producing enough for the people
of this country?"
"Both. We shall, 1 feel sure, in
crease our production of cane sugar
very greatly. This increased produc-
ton will undoubtedly stimulate our
producers and increase the number OF
producers. We ought to increase largely
the qauntity of cane sugar produce in
this country"
"Is there additional area not occu-
pied suitable for that purpose. Mr..
Meyer
eyes, plenty of it. In Louisiana
there is good deal; in Texas and
Florida also much land is suitable for
this purpose"
"Do you expect to see the produc-
ton of beet sugar develop throughout
the North?'
Undoubtedly. Conditions have
been so thoroughly tested by those
studying this subject that there can
be, think, no doubt of the entire
practicability of producing beet sugar
in broad strip of country stretching
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and l
look to see that interest develop very
rapidly under this new law"
"Will the additional protection
which this law gives prove any more
advantageous to the beet sugar enter
prise than to cane?"
"In one sense, it may. The cane
sugar industry is already pretty we'll
developed, while that of the beet, SUI
gar is not. 1t takes less capital togo
into the production of sugar beets than
it does to produce cane sugar because
beets can be transported more readily
to the factories even at considerable
distance Cane is SO heavy that the
cost of transporting it any distance
would be too great This makes it i'm
practicable to produce cane sugar in
the way that beet sugar is produced.
In the production of beet sugar, the
beets are grown on farms and trans
ported to factory which handles the
beets of quite large number of farms
and does SO successfully. In the pro-
duction of cane sugar, it is not practi-
cable to do this to any considerable ex-
tent as the cost of transporting the
cane any distance would make it i'm
practicable. So l look for more rapid
development of beet sugar production
by reason of this fact, I believe that
we are going to see a very great in
crease in the sugar production of this
country and that the farmers of a great
belt of country. who can produce beet
suagr readily, will be participators in
the benefits which will come from it. "