The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-17
A sngar wiz Advocated.

this kind 90 wit. sugar cane in stalks
I from brownsville. for instance. the rate
is 81 a car of thirty tons TO the car
/ Speaking with the last annual report of
the Railroad Commission Of Georgia in
my hand, and reading from the text I
said the rate established for similar heavy
bulk articles. moving IN large quantities.
should ent.ue stalk cane 10 the rate of
Glass F." s. per carload of $1,000 pounds
for distance of ten miles around Savan
nah, and so per carload for 200 miles on
continuous lines, as, for example Thorn
asviNe.
with % per cent. discount from Cas-
P" the rate, carload, from Thomasvllle.
would be Sl6 net or practically SIG per
ton, and for go miles would be $l.l0 per
ton
In previous communications l have nam
Cd Sl.l0 per ton as maximum ana 10
cents as a minimum for radius the sup
ply Of cane would at first have to be
drawn from, presuming that cars would
soon be constructed to carry twenty TO
twenty-five tons. or 5000 to 50000 pounds
base my conclus on as t. what the rail
roads would do, and the state commiss on
would confirm, as a rate for siaik cane or
raw material for manufacturing pur-
poses, upon Two important factors that en-
ter into ali rate max ng; FIRST that stalk
cane is a weigh y commodity. such as snip
pers load and unload, and permits of the
toughest treatment IN transportation. ana
second that IL would afford large volume
of new business replac ng uava. stores
aud lumber, as these commodities are be
ing diverted to other markets more each
year from physical conditions.
Experts maintain that no mil erected Il
Savannah, for prof able operation. should
l.. al 90
cane per day, equal 10 40 car loads Of 10
tons per car, or LOO car loads per month
each for three months
As the present average yield fer this sec
ton cannot be estimated TO exceed y tons
per acre, the produc ion Of lod acres daily,
or of 800 acres fer season of three months
would be required 10 keep a LOO tons mill
steadily employed.
II the syrup pro luction of this section
is to be depended upon to supply material
for a 200 ton cane mil refinery, you must
double the cane. TO be sure of a safe SUP
ply from 5000 TO 5000 acres, because the
average expression of juice with ordinary
country mills does not exceed 50 pr ceDt.
of weight of cane, while the mill coniem-
plated for Savannah would be guaranteed
10 express 10 per cent. as a minimum, and
a liberal allowance, also. must be made
for portion of the 80 per cent spoiled in
boiling. improperly boiled or spoiled af er
boiling
assume an average yie.d of y tons
per acre. Strangely enough data upon
this point has been inaccessible TO any of
the writer's upon this subject
louisiana averages about 16 tons per
acre to the state, with many exceptional
averages Of 20 tons and upwards Taking
the cost of production as about he same
here as i'm louisiana our planters when
they grow cane or boil syrup for the
open market are confronted by three Sc
rious draw backs to profitable produc-
ton; to Wit, supposed yield per acre. more
perfect expression of the juice and mini
mum cost in converting this juice into
syrup which are all in favor of the Louis
lana producer, because both sections
must compete in same markets in the sale
of products
In planting. last years acre or half-acre
cow-penned lot in results. win not do for
estimating cost of production. Not less
than acres, 90 acres would be safer
heavily fertlized and highly cultivated
would afford a reliable basis for estimating
cost of producing cane in this section.
Not believing. as / do, that syrup. as
now prepared for market in this section.
either in quality or quantity, would ae
a safe reliance upon which to erect a sugar
mill at Savannah, with or without a re-
hnery 1 am asked if I think such a mill
could be made a profitable Investment,
what conditions precedent should exist
or be assured to justify such an invest
ment? l cheerfully reply 20 this inquiry
that first, there should be a census taken
of present total production Of sugar cane
In radii of 100 $50 and 200 miles around
Savannah, and the cane in the fall should
be carefully weighed TO ascertain the ton
per acre yield on various soils; and,
Second, Samp.es, representing average
yield 81 various soils, should be subject
ed to analysis to determine sucrose ricn-
ness, because results vary with soils as
shown by experiments made by Prof
Stubs in Louisiana. where to his sur
prise the prairie soil cane tests 80 per
cent sweeter than alluvial cane"
Until the foregoing results are obtained
no safe conclusions can be reached as to
the ACCESSIBILITY of erecting a sugar mill
or refinery at Savannah
From the agitation of this question, I
am satisfied that Judge Tillman has pro-
vided market for all the syrups Of his
section at fair prices, on the basis of their
commercial value, determined by analytic
tests, thus destroying the speculative value
IN a refinery manipulating nrst-class sy-
rups al 10 TO 20 cents per gallon. This APP
probation viii inspire producers with
greater confidence in enlarging their cane
production, to induce the erection. at Sa-
vannah ana elsewhere, of modern cane
mills with or without rehneries
IT the results of the tests to be made
this fall satisfy producers that they can
proftably raise cane and deliver ii IN
stalk, stripped in cars at depots at s.
to 50 per ton, according to analysis. on
basis of Louisiana prices. and then these
producers will obligate themselves 10 plant
and deliver so many acres of cane. each.
Tor three TO five years under foregoing
conditions, to a sugar mill company the
time viii have arrived for raising sub
scripuons for stock for such a mill. ana
1t Will not be necessary to depend en-
trely upon Savannah for the necessary
capital 1t is immaterial where the capt.
tai comes from for the erection Of this
or any other mill; the benefit will be the
same in either case to the section in
which located
In discarding domestic syrup as a basic
source of supply / do not mean to give
Il up as a source of additional supply. when
1t can be bought at fair prices. In addi-
ton to reasons already advanced for plac-
ing this syrup in second place, there is a
further one for doing this that as a COM