The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-11
THE SUGAR REFINERY QUESTION
savannnh's Greatest Opportunity T..
Presented in 1t,

Quitman, Ca, Sept 1O-Editor Mornin,.
News: l was in hopes that enough b,I
been said on the susar-refnery question p,
convince the most incredulous person -,
all the land. But it seems that that cI,s.
of humanity who have never grown a st3us
of sugar-cane have been seeking to ventt-
late before the public-through the rlb,i,
prints-their superior wisdom on the sinh
Ject, thereby tangling, twisting and mix
ing matters in order-at is appears-to con
fuse those with much more sens. and Voc
less pretentions, that there is some ere7t
hidden mystery in the growing Of sugar.
cane; which every farmer gnoWs 10 groz-
is the simplest of all the farm products
And, indeed, the greatest fool negro in The
country can grow sugar-cane successfully
The farmers ask only for market Tia
capital required TO build a refinervSwM
run no risk whatever. Then why delay The
providing of such an institution? The can
ital which will enable the farmers 10
market their syrup a / % cents per gallon
will confer a boon on the nation as Well
as on the farmers of Southern Georgia and
Florida. Give the farmers the opportunl-
ties and they will do the rest DESTROY
them not as some would have the world
think, for lack of knowledge; for il is NOT
true. The farmers are rightly styled the
backbone" of the country. Capital, and
labor ION the farms) are twins sisters and
all that the farmers ask is for capital 10
multiply and increase their opportunities
in order that in return capital will expand
by its judicious investment and large IN
come to render further assistance in devel-
oping the vast resources of cur Southern
section. The only way TO serve destitutiou
Is to remove its cause. No intelligent peo-
pie have shown more Christian fortituds
and endurance than the Southern farmers.
All that they ask of the capitalist Gin this
section) is to give them market for their
surplus syrup.
Capitalist, remember the noble gener-
Gus, grand example set by the immortal
Henry B. Plant. which has proven of
lasting and unbounding benefits TO hun
dreds of thousands of people; and at the
same time returned to his Golfers many
millions of dollars as legitimate profits As
it were with the public benefacor, Mr.
Plant, so it will be with you, except that
your profits will be much greater proper
tionately.
Some Additional Information to
What Has Been Given.
Get the refinery first and a central mill
at Savannah will follow as consequence.
But TO discuss the mill question in adj
vance is ike placing the cart before the
horse. If the establishing of a sugar re-
finery at Savannah will in the least degree
have to depend upon shipping the cans
to that point to be ground and the juice
manufactured into granulated sugar, then
Savannah's opportunities will have been
brought to a speedy termination and an
other city will get the refinery. All the
symposiums drinking parties), all the
speeches, all the personal observations not
based upon chemical analysis by parties
familiar with chemical science, will only
tend TO confuse the investigator and he
or they Will know very much less when
he gets through than when he begun his
research into what seems TO him or
them, a most profound mystery, and yet
the simplest farmer in all the land IS
perfectly familiar with the process Of
preparation of the land. planting the cane,
grinding the same and converting the
juice to a high grade of standard syrup,
which they stand ready to contract with
a refinery established at Savannah for the
next five or more years at 20 cents per
gallon delivered at their nearest depots.
In a former communication I suggested
that the most satisfactory and speedy way
to determine the sugar content Of the
Southern Georgia and Florida syrup Is TO
send samples, of say, two ounces eacn,
from the different sections to reliable la
bOratories and get their several analysis
and then act upon them Go to work.
The farmers are growing impatient at the
seeming hardness of Savannahs people.
Should they continue as they have started
to allow every popingjay to place a Stun
bling block in the way of Savannahs
progress, they viii find themselves in the
next ten years, out of sight-in the back
ground-of the general prosperity and pro-
gress of the times.
Prof. stOckbridge's Report.
Prof. H. E. Stockbrdge of the Florida
Agricultural College, at Lake City, Fla,
ffr~r, f-1,1 rorfr1 10
past nine years of the average sugar con-
tent from cane grown in Southern Georgla
and North Florida, which shows up 2S1a
per cent. Now then, is there country that
any one knows of, that can beat or equal
those sections as a sugar producing couh-
try-except South Florida-which stands
at the head of the list of all the sugar
cane growing countries of which eiviliza>
ton have any knowledge Of
The question is: VIII the capitalist-the
leading citizens of Savannah-give cre-
dence to Prof. Stockbridges report? IN
til they prove that his report is incorrect
there it stands precedent to all others as
an actual home test
Some Figures on the Subject of SUI
gar Refinery May Not Prove Unin-
teresting Reading to the SaVan-
nah People.
produce 100000 pounds per day. which,
at six pounds of sugar per gallon OF sy-
rup (Which is too low an estimate III
pounds per GALLON will equal 10000 gall
Ions, or Al, 500 barrels of syrup (of 40 GAL
Ions EACH, for 100 days, 4,150,0O0 barrels,
and in like proportion as to time. TINS
looks a little fabulous, and yet, in two
to three years time, the increase in prod
uct will be far in advance of the ca
pacity upon which these calculations are
based, if Savannah will put herself in POI
stion to handle them.
This one industry, alone, would regain
for Savannah her former prestige-WhlcH
she would hold and build on for all time
to come as a nucleus of a solid and last
ing foundation of greatness. There is re-
fined in the United States, in round num-
bers, $4,000 pounds of sugar per day. Anu
yet the United States do not produce eX-
ceeding 1919 per cent. from all sources
of the amount of sugar consumed wltnlu
her bounds. Start up a refinery at ga
vannah, and you will open up a vast coun-
try that has heretofore been in periec'