The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-08-04
KING Of KING COTTON
This the Ambition of Searles,
the Sugar Trust Maker.
HIS SCHEME is WORKING
To the Growers Interest and,
Incidentally, His Own.


Six months ago he was secretary of the
sugar trust and president Of bank.
Go to John e. searles office in Lords
Court and find a man who at sixty years
has begu life anew. He KNOWS sugar and
sugar trusts no more. The manipulation
of politics is no longer a profitable pas
time for him.
Servant first he was, and then master Of
sugar.
Cotton is now his sovereign king. His
aim Is to be. before his span is finished,
King Of King Cotton.
John E. Cearles's beginnings and rise
are told in the commonplace Of those
stories Written for boys who would be
successful. Son OF the Rev. John E. Scar
les, a Methodist minister, he has belied
the popular proverb by lifelong piety. He
was a good boy in the Sunday school and
Is now a deacon and benefactor OF the de-
nomination for which his father labored.
Piety paid. At ten years he was an Of
fee boy in 2. A CornelTs big hardware
store in New York.
Cornell made him q clrek. When he
grew whiskers he was a rising young man
He married Miss Petit, with atidy for
tune. The match was brought about
through his employer.
His own savings were considerable.
Joined with his wife's they enabled him
to obtain an interest with the Armstrong
shipping firm Of New Haven. The firm
was related TO him through the marriage
Of rs sister to c. F. Armstrong OF New
York. He managed the historic Long
Wharf at New Haven for the Armstrong;
and then came to their New York office.
Sugar was the staple Of the firms BUSH
ness. Raw sugar 1t bought in Jamaica,
Trinidad, Cuba. La Guayra. The firm sold
1t at New York and Philadelphia to re-
finers. Out OF his salary and profits
Searles's ortune began to grow. His bust
ness genius grew, and outgrew even the
affairs the Armstrong;.
The sugar refining industry attracted
Searles. 'SNot enough method in It," was
the fruit of his observations.
He approached the Havemeyers with
some of his ideas. A good talker "a man
OF irreproachable business fame, a man
who thought he made an impression on
them.
The time for organizing a sugar trust
was not ripe, but Searles had. the idea
full grown in his head. He bought re-
val refinery for himself, paying $S5o.Ooo for
1t. He caused that refinery to be more
competitive than It had been. He per-
suaded the Havemeyers that by buying 1t
and forcing all the other refineries to
sell out, they could be masters of the
sugar industry. They saw the point and
the sugar trust was born.
Searles sold his S350.OOO refinery to the
Haveweyers and himself for sT0o.o00. His
associates thought none the worse OF him
for that.
with at least so, 900 of his own money
John E. Searles retired last February
from the sugar trust and all its connec-
tions. He sold his stock, or a greater part
Of II. TO his partners. He had found a
new world to conquer.
Cotton is the most important thing that
comes out OF the ground in the United
States of America. In 1898 we exported 1t
to the value Of 1920, 2l5. The wheat
crop exported was sl5.0O0oo0 less than
that. The average yearly value OF the
cotton crop in five years was $2SG 4SI,014:
Of the wheat crop, $319.632. 791.
Now seventy-five per cent OF the valu-
able product Is exported to spinners in
Great Britain, France and Germany.
These spinners were profound disbelievers
in Yankee ingenuity. For one hundred
years American handlers of cotton had
made no progress. American consuls
walled in their reports about the COM
plants they heard about the slovenly
methods of bailing cotton.
They were, undoubtedly disgrace. The
planter took his crop to the gin to rid Il
OF the seeds. TO the compress where II
was rammed into huge ungainly bale,
Weighing 500 pounds. The hooks OF the
longshor smen tore great holes in It's loose
covering, the cotton leaked" 1t had to
be sampled every time 1t changed hands.
At New Orleans these samples gave the
brokers S7,OoO bales out Of one years crop
OF 100000 bales. -J
These bales were expensive. Tngainiy
railroad freight and dangerous cargo for
fuse to carry cotton ons account OF the
liability OF finding fire in the bales in mid
ocean. One steel hasp strikes another
a spark falls into the cotton, the air in
side the bale feeds the spark, and there
is an ocean horror 10 report
Ssarles was impressed by a new inven-
ton that meets all these objections and
many more II Is A DreSs that makes the
cotton into a round bale. II Is 50 COM
pressed that 1; cannot burn. One Of these
bales had barrel OF ker5sine poured over
il. The kerosine burned and the bale was
uuinjured The bale unrolls like bat"
OF cotton from the dry goods store. Il
Is of uniform quality throughout, so that
samplng Is unnecessary.
II saves in one way and another 6 IN
marketing every oale. This in a crop of
ten 10 twelve millions OF bales would BE-
100000 a year.
Ar Searles bought what he considered
to be the best OF three varieties % this
invention. and organized the American
Cotton company. lie is president OF Il.
The capital is ss.coo. 80 Il manufactures
presses fine new kind in Chicago. and
never sells them
Here IS the trust idea, through which
Seariss expects TO be master. He u
missionary now. He has 10 fight the con-
ssrvatism OF the planter. accustomed all
his lie to tske his cotton to the compress
he has the compress m5n to Egat Mr..
Se2Ties says that II he sold the machines
the tne1n!es OF the iuveusS00 EOssId buy