The San Francisco call., 1898-02-12
RESOURCES OF
 SACRAMENTO The Great Natural w edith of the City and
 County. In the Heart Of a Section Where the Sugar Beet
 Thrives. President Steffens of the Cham Der of Comm cree Predicts Future
 Prosperity.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

SACRAMENTO, Feb. 1.-The Sac ramento Chamber of Commerce held its annual meeting tonight, and, in con junction with it, extended hospitaltties through the Sutter Club to the city and county officials and other citizens. The business portion of the meeting was first conducted and consisted of an ad- dress by President Steffens and a re- port by Secretary J.5O. Coleman. The address of President Steffens follows:
 Members of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce-Gentlemen: Immediately af- ter your last annual meeting and the formation of the necessary committees, the resolutions passed by the meeting were taken up by the Board of Directors and compiled with with all possible speed. While the matter of securing a site Tor Chamber Of Commerce building was strongly urged at the annual meeting, your directory has not seen it's way clear to take such action; deeming it more ad visable to wait until there were more funds in hand for that purpose and the time seemed more favorable for the sue cessful consummation of such an inn portant undertaking. A new building should promptly follow the securing of site, as 1t does not seem business-like to purchase a site and then let the invest ment lie idle. This association has re- gently had quite a sum Of money trans ferred to it, and the proposition of pro-
 
 much more possible now than when there was but little more in sight to build 1t than a resolution.
 AS outlined in my last years review, the committee having in charge the mat ter of planting several experimental patches of sugar beets had arrangements all made to do the planting in April. This was done at that time, the care for the same being put under the charge of an expert.
 In June. by report and advice of the committed, certain of the patches were abandoned. In August following the com- mittee recommended that an exhibit be made at the State Fair of beets to be selected from the test patches then in charge of the expert. The suggestion was adopted and the exhibit was made at the fair in September, during which the as says were made of the beets on exhibit under the State Fair management. These character and were published at the time. The assays were confirmed by those made by Professor Hilgard of the State University, whose report was that of the twelve patches of beets from different sections of our surrounding country the average per cent in cane sugar was 1887. with an average of S4.S purity coefficient. the required acreage opened immediately and was most faithfully prosecuted by the special committed, seconded by local citizens not members of the Chamber of Commerce. also by several farmers who volunteered to aid the undertaking all possible. After the canvass had pro. gressed and there seemed possibility of there being a shortage of signed acreage another committee of citizens outside of this organization got up and had numer- ously signed a guarantee fund to make good whatever shortage there might be when the canvass was finished.
 The experimental work done In sugar beet culture and the effort to establish a sugar factory here have brought out and that this Is the most central point in the State for supplying a factory With su- perior sugar beet and other needed arti- cles for manufacturing: also that It IS the ply the great interior having large local wholesale trade of its own, and also as favorable point as any from Which to snip the surplus to San Francisco or any Is local capital here ready to invest in the enterprise when man with. a proper amount of his own money and with ex- perience in the business and good char acter is ready to start the work and de- SlreS local assistance to join him; that while we have great variety or soils Tn our immediate surroundings, our sugar beet lands show, both by State Univer.. sity and State Fair assays, the best of any lands in the State, and also that we nave an ample supply of such hign-grade utes to intensifying farming, in that it cleans the ground from weeds and makes foul land more available for growing cereals; that the topping of the beets re- turns to the land those salts needed by the lands for its renewal for grain rais- Ing; that many of the farmers who have been taking an interest in the matter are now making short time contracts for sup plying sugar beets to the Crockett Starr Mills Sugar Factory: that when any legit- innate local undertaking comes up that commands the confidence of the people and that Is general in its character there IS no lack of willing hands to aid the en- terprise.
 The most important question that from year to year has been referred to in my annual reviews before the Sacramento Board of Trade and this chamber, which 1ow succeeds it, has been the matter of -iver improvement. No substantial river improvement work has as yet been ac-