The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-06
CAPT. PURSES COMPLAINT.

In a communication which we publish
this morning Capt p. G. Purse complains
that in an article in yesterdays Morning
News, entitled Let test be made his
position in the matter Of sugar cane cult
walton Is not fairly stated, and that the
broad, generous offer Of Prof. w. c.
Stubs, director of the sugar experiment
station of Louisiana. is minimized. We do
not think there is just ground for the com
plant. We certainly had no intention to
be unfair to Capt. Purse or to minimize the
offer of Professor Stubs. We appreciate
the fact that Capt Purse is taking a deep
interest in the movement to get a sugar
refinery established here and that the OF
fer of Professor Stubbs TO anaiyze the
juice Of cane of this section without
charge was a very generous one.
The point we aimed to bring out, and the
one we hope we succeeded in bringing out.
is that the movement in behalf of a sugar
refinery in this city started by Mr.. Till,
man of Quitman, has comparatively little
to do with the question of the percentage
of sugar in the cane OF this section of the
South. II has not been proposed by Mr.
Tllman that a sugar mill shall be estab-
lished in this city, and that sugar cane
shall be shipped here for the purpose OF
making raw sugar. Nor has it been sug-
gested that central sugar mills shall be
established in various parts of Georgia and
Florida for the purpose of handling sugar
cane and making raw sugar.
The sole question has BEEN and, as we
understand it, slill is, would a sugar refin-
cry in this city for making sugar out of
the syrup produced in Georgia and Florida
be a profitable investment? If we are not
mistaken Capt Purse is talking about
something altogether different. OF the sub
ject which he has in mind we know very
little. It is a much greater one than that
which Mr. TiHman has been presenting in
our columns, and it might be advisable to
take it up for general discussion if it
should appear that the movement started
by Mr.. Tillman isn't a feasible one. II
seems to us, however, that the thing to do
first is to dispose of the Tiflman movement
If we cucumber it with the one projected
by Capt Purse, the chances are that both
will be buried out of sight by the confu-
sion Of ideas and volume of talk.
What in brief is the Tillman movement?
It is that sugar refinery shall be estab-
lshed in this city. What inducements does
he offer to capitalists to invest in it? He
says that the farmers of Georgia and Flor
ida will supply any amount of syrup for
which there may be demand, and that
this syrup will yield from six to seven
pounds of sugar to the gallon. He further
says that the farmers viii deliver the syr-
up at the refinery twenty cents a gal
lon, and that they are very anxious that
refinery shall be established. The reason
they don't now produce more syrup is that
there isn't market for it.
If Mr.. Tillman's figures are correct, at
the present price of refined sugar there
would be a margin of profit on the syrup
for the refinery of from ten to fifteen cents
gallon. Mr.. Tillman, if we are not mis-
taken, is coming here at the invitation of
the Board of Trade to present facts in sup
port of the foregoing statements. If he is
coming here TO talk about establishing a
sugar mill in this city as wen as a sugar
refinery, or of establishing central sugar
mills in various parts of this state and
Florida, and transporting cane to them,
we are not aware of the fact.