Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-03-22
FORMED.
Meeting Held Yesterday Afternoon
at City Hall.
IOWA a GOOD SUGAR BEET COUNTRY
J. s. Emery, Of Dos Moines, Addressed
the Meeting and Went ThoroIy
Over Ground with Them
~Some Statistics.

>Some Statistics.
From Wednesdays Daily.
A business mems meeting was held
at the city hall yesterday afternoon
and a committee was appointed to con-
fer with the farmers in this vicinity
with a view OF starting the bees sugar
industry proposed to be established
in Ottumwa if it is demonstrated
to the promoters that conditions are
right.
j. S. Emery, president of the Iowa
Beet Sugar Developing company. cor
poration composed mostly of monied
German-Americans with a capitaliza-
ton of $lO,000OO0, arrived in the city
on the Rock Island yesterday fore
noon. He was met at the train by
Capt. Harper and they Immediately
proceeded to business. A limited num-
Der of business men were interviewed
and expressed their willingness IL to lis,
ten to Mr.. Emery and if it is a good
thing they will help the matter
along. Accordingly petition was
circulated among other business men
and all to whom it was presented sign
ed it agreeing to attend the meeting.
In the afternoon at 3 o'clock goodly
company numbering about thirty bus
mess men gathered in the council
chamber. Capt. S. I'll. Harper called
the meeting to order and nominated
Capt. j. G. Hutchinson for chairman.
The members of the meeting concur
red in the selection as they did when
w. H. Heating was selected as secre-
tary. After few preliminary re-
marks Mr.. Emery was introduced and
gave comprehensive view of the situ-
alton and wound up by declaring that
Iowa was bound to be the SaXony Of
the United States. This latter state
ment may seem a little obscure to
some people unacquainted with the
extent of the sugar beet raising i'll that
small German province. The climatic
conditions are nearly the same as OBJ
tain in Iowa, the elevation above sea
level is about the same and beet sugar
raising is one of the chief industries
which supports 118 factories.
The speaker said that it would cost
about $450,o0O to build an s0O+ton beet
sugar factory and 100000 to build a
factory of 81 900 tons capacity. "And,
said the speaker, when you get beet
sugar factory in operation you can't
move it TO Chicago or some other
place; it is fixture" "Good
corn land" said Mr.. Emery, will grow
good beets. That is a full answer. TO
the question as to what kind of land
is best adapted for the cultivation Of
been after it gets six leaves on it, I'M
less you chop it up.'' Mr.. Emery said
that $50 acres should be secured
around Ottumwa and a beet growers
association formed, the association toll
select three men to act as an arbitra-
ton board to settle all disputes that
might arise. Mr.. Emery said that he
was willing to trust the farmer to car
ry out his part of the contract. The
matter was thoroly explained by Mr..
Emery, several of those present asking
questions concerning the industry
which were anwsered in a way that
showed that the speaker was familiar
with the sugar beet question.
Capt. Hutchinson arose when Mr.. En-
cry had closed and said that it might
prove a very valuable thing for Ottum
wa and called for the views of those
present. Emil Fecht said that he did
not know much about beet culture ex-
cept that it was boon to Europe and
thought that we ought to cultivate
them because it was the only way to
get at the trust and leave the question
in the hands of the people. He moved
that a committee be appointed to start
the matter along the lines laid down
by Mr.. Emery, and thought that a
man of wide acquaintance should be
selected chairman. Capt. Harper
moved that a committee OF two per-
SOUS be appointed to nominate an ex-
ecutive committee which was accepted
by Mr.. Fecht as an amendment to his |
motion, and which was carried Ac-
cordingly the chair appointed Capt. S.
II. Harper and Emil Fecht on that
committee who reported that w. S.
Christie, ]. B. Sax, A. Odenwalder, A. |
d. Moss and w. j. Donelan had been
selected. Capt. S. 81. Harper and Emil
Fecht were subsequently added to the
Cured in. W. S. Christie was made
chairman of the committee and was
instructed to get to work as soon as
possible. After the meeting adjourned
the committee held caucus to deter
mine the line of action they would
pursue.
The meeting while not wildly enthu-
| siastic evidenced a determination to
follow the matter up and secure if pos
sible this institution which with lit
! tie effort can be done with our soil.
railroad facilities and cheap coal.
Beet Culture.
Something pertinent to the culture
of the plant in Iowa as carried on at
the experimental station at Ames and
other points might not be out of place.
The bulletin issued by the station
says:
Experiments in the growing of SUI
4 gar beets have been carried on at the
station for period of ten years. The
results of all the work up to date in
j dictate that Iowa conditions are favor
able to the production of beets of SUI
perior quulisy for sugar making pur-
poses. The work done the past two
years but substaniated previous reports