The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-03-10
SUGAR BEErs.
Interesting Letter from Secy. Wilson.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.
Washington, d. c., Jan. 81, 1899.
s. G. Higgins, Esq, 300 Eddy Building,
Saginaw. f. s.. Mich.
| Dear Sir: Your very interesting let
ter of the 10th is received. With regard
to the sugar beet work of the depart.
ment, the report for 1898 is being pre-.
pared. l have sent Mr.. Saylor, the
sugar beet agent of the department. to
Cuba and Porto Rico to get facts re-
garding the production of sugar in
| those islands, for insertion in the forth
coming report so that our people may
know the cost of production over there,
the price of labor, the price of land, the
yield, and everything connected with
the industry.
With regard to the building of fac
tories. you are precisely in the condi-
ton of numerous other northwestern
states which the experimentation con-
Quoted by this department has shown
to be within the sugar beet belt. As
far as the future policy of the country
is concerned, can only judge from
conditions, as you can yourself / can
state what the actual facts are, how
ever, as regards the islands at present.
A tariff schedule has been prepared
by the President and put in force in
both Cuba and Porto Rico, for the pur-
pose ofgettipg money enough to pay the
expenses of cleaning and governing
these islands while they are under mill
tary rule. Anybody shipping to these
islands from the United States or any
where else, must pay those tariff duties
on the goods he sends; and anybody in
Porto Rico or Cuba coming to the Unit
ed States with sugar, tobacco, or any
thing else must pay the tariff duties of
the United States as found in the tariff
act of 1897, known as the Dingley BILL
When the United States gets full pos
session and begins the government of
the Philippines, similar tariff will be
arranged for those islands. Anybody
shipping there will pay the tariff; any
body there sending anything to the
United States, will pay our tariff duties
1t il different with the Hawaiian
islands. For over twenty years we
have had free trade with those islands.
Sugar from them has come in free.
But their production has been develop
ed almost to the utmost profitable ex-
tent. They produce something like
100000 tons annually, or about one
tenth of what is consumed in the
United States. l have given some at
tention to the conditions under which
that sugar is produced, and I do not
think the produ ction can be greatly ex-
tended for the reason that the lands
there needed fertilizing, and the own
ers of the plantations there who ferti-
lie must send to Chill for saltpeter to
furnish nitrogen to the plants; to Flori-
da or Tennessee for phosphates and to
the Strassforth mine in Germany for
potash, Through process Of pump
ing water they will be enabled to some
what extend their area for sugar pro-
duction toward the higher levels that
cannot be irrigated except by pumping;
but to keep their pumps running they
must bring coal from San Francisco or
Australia. The bill now pending regu-
lating the government of the Hawaiian
islands, abolishes the contract system
of labor entirely, whereby they have
been enabled to get cheap japanese
labor. In year or two the contracts
will run out and contract labor will
cease, If ind eed it does not cease upon
passage of the act-a point have not
looked into. The production of sugar
then, in the future, must be carried on
in the Hawaiian islands with free labor,
the same as we produce everything in the
United States; and you know precisely
what that means. We can compete
with them very comfortably if they do
that ~ s1Fg G sN
think these facts will convince you
that we are not in great danger of a
very large increase Of sugar from the
Hawaiian islands. r..t.
There is another proposition / desire
to call your attention to. / am well
aware of the admirable facilities your
state possesses for the production of
sugar beets, and the making of sugar
from them. You have all the requisite
conditions. But there is one thing that
would make you entirely independent
of even free trade with Cuba and Porto
Rico and the Philippines, or anywhere
else. IT, as you arrange for the build
ing of your factories, you arrange to
have the pulp after the sugar is extract
ed. sent back to the farmer and fed to
the dairy cows, the money you receive
for the sugar of the beets will be clear
profit. While 1 was director of the
Iowa station, l grew sugar beets for the
purpose, incidentally, of ascertaining
4 Al