The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-01
BEET SUGAR PROSPECTS
THE DINGLEY TARIFF WILL HELP
AMERICAN PRODUCERS.
A Man Who Thinks the Raw Sugar
Used by American Refineries May I'm
Time BE Raised by Our Farmers.


New York Times.
The men interested in the beet sugar in
dustry believe that the new tariff. If the
bill is passed as reported by the conference
committee of Congress, will boom that in
dustry, and that ultimately all the raw SUI
gar refined in this country will be produced
here. This means great profits for the
farmers and the upbuildng of great in
dustry. J. j. Hagerman. of Colorado
Springs, president of the Pecos Valley
Railroad Company and the Pecos Valley
Company, the owner of large part of the
Pecos valley in New Mexico. is stopping
at the Manhattan Hotel Beet sugar is the
chief industry of the valley. and Mr. Ha-
german is largely Interested in it. He is
thoroughly familiar with the industry in
the United States. A Sun reporter called
on him yesterday afternoon He said:
Under any of the laws we had up to
time the Mckinley law. offering a bounty.
was enacted the protection was altogether
too small to induce capital to invest in the
business The bounties. paid by Germany
and some other countries were great dis
couragements to those who thought of go
ing into the business here. The bounty I'M
der the Mckinley bill did not last long
standing all the uncertainties and dis
couragements during the past ten twelve
years, two beet sugar factories are a pres
ent established in Nebraska, and have been
fairly successful One has been estab-
lished by the Mormons in Utah. This has
been running six years, and has been very
successful There are two in California
not very far from San Francisco, which
done well. The largest of these is owned
by Mr.. Spreckles and his friends and it has
been very profitable. 1t produces raw or
unrefned sugar, which it sells to the Amer
lean Sugar Refining Company in San Fran
CISCO At elmo. Cal. there is very large
plant capable of working l. 900 tons of beets
daily | think it has been running about
six years and has been extremely success
IQl. There is a factory in Pecos valley,
New Mexico, which was completed in No
yember, 1886, and has been very successful
Tor a first year.
Experience has shown that by far the
most favorable localities in the United
States for the industry are in the arid re-
where the land is suitable, where there is
a long period of sunshine each year, and
where there Is water for irriga ton. There
IS no doubt that the ideal place for carry
ing on this industry successfully is in the
irrigated valleys of the arid region. TIE
reasons for this are that the conditions /
have stated exist there and the soil is new
and rich. There is always water to give
the plants when they need 1T, and the rlpen-
dry and the winter is mild SO that tie
beetS can be worked up in the factories
without the great expense of protecting
them in pits. For these reasons the tac-
tories in New Mexico, for instance. can
run from $40 to $50 days in the year with
more safety than the factories in France
and Germany and in other parts of Europe
or the northern parts of the United States
can run ninety days. The average le~ 9Th
of the campaign, as it is called IN Europe
and Nebraska, is about eighty-five to rine-
ty days. In California. owing to climatic
conditions. the length of the campaign is
about 120 days.
AN AGRICULTURAL QUESTION.
THE successful prosecution of the beet
sugar industry is now almost wholly an
agricultural question. There are no longer
any chances to be taken about the proper
kind of factory to erect, and there is no
difficulty in running factories under proper
supervision. 1t Is no longer an experimental
business so far as extracting the sugar
from the beets is concerned. The only diff
ficulty is the production of beets Of the re-
quired richness and purity.
The average percentage Of sugar in the
beets in all Germany for the year 1896 was
according to the official reports IF the gov
eminent, 1911 per cent. Those raised in
Nebraska last year averaged 1880 per cent;
about 145O per cent The whole product
worked up in the factory at Eddy, ~ M
averaged 1888 per cent, of sugar in the
beetS, result never before attained on
commercial scale.
Sugar beets cannot be raised by careless
farming. The proper seed must be pro-
vided. The land must be of the proper
quality and the working must be done with
the greatest care. 1t usually requires two
or three years for the intelligent cutivator
to produce maximum crop, but after the
farmer gets used to it there is no trouble
in producing the right kind of beets under
n4T "a fnraC Il will
a short time before our farmers well
able to do it properly as they are in France
and Germany.
so far as the profits of the business are
concerned the fundamental thing is to get
oeets rich in sugar and not contaminated
with deleteriOuS salts, which ruinOusly in
terfere with the manufacture of raw sugar
For instance, a factory capable of working
100000 tons Of beets in a season, or cam
palgn and using beetS running 16 per cent
in sugar could make a profit of 20 per cent
on the investment, where the same factory
working on 14-per-cent. beets would make
nothing. The factory working on Upper
cent. beets would get two thousand tons
more sugar than 1t would working H.
percent. beets, and at practically the same
cost. The two thousand extra tons of su-
gar would be worth $3.50, 900.
The cultivation of sugar beets in the
proper localities Is extremely profitable to
the farmer in the Pecos valley and | sup
pose in other places. They receive
81 a ton for beets running IA per cent. in
sugar, and Is cents more for each extra
l per cent, so that a farmer raising Upper
cent. beetS would get $3.50 a ton. with no
extra expense to himself. After two or
three years experience a farmer can safe
ly count on growing twelve tons an acre
which, at $3.50 d ton, would be $54 an acre
The total expense including fair wages for
himself, would not exceed $50 an acre for
the beetS delivered at the place of payment
The crop is always contracted for by the
factories before it is raised. the farmer
knows exactly what he will get and he
knows he will get it in money without
any discounts or commission. | know of
nothing which will help our farmers In the
proper localities so much as the develop
ment of the beet-sugar industry in this
country.
Now. as to the tariff I consider the
favorable to the beet-sugar industry 1t diff
ferS from the Senate schedule in the impOr-
tant point that there is a specific duty of
ninety -five-o hundredths Of cent a
pound on sugar testing IS degrees and less
and an additional duty the sugar rises
in purity. The Senate bill proposed an ad
ValOrem duty on low-grade sugar and n
would be impossible for any domestic pro-
Queer OF sugar to tell just what protection
ne could depend on haYing. Many friends
% me beet-sugar INDUSTRY preferred a
bounty to any more duty. l think this
would have been great mistake. Bounties
are obnoxious to the people, whose money
goes to pay them and a bounty would be
short lived What we want to develop the
industry is q tariff which will last a long
ist and the farmer can DEPEND on and /
believe the proposed bill provides protection
Of that character
EFFECT OF THE NEW TARIFF
MANY people take it for granted that
what is good for the Sugar Trust cannot
be good for the domestic producers. l do
NOT hfTlr l. = I'LL