Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1901-04-05
| Model SugQ[ EQClQIy.
The United States Expert Special
Agent so Reports Our Sugar
Plant.
A Few Facts Regarding the Manufact
ure of Beet Sugar in the Uuited
States

ure of Beet Sugar in the united
States.
During the year 1900 G. l.. Spencer
expert special agent with reference TO
the manufacture of beet sugar, visited
every beet sugar factory in the United
States for the purpose of compiling re-
port of the industry for the twelfth CEN
sus of this country The advance sheets
of the census bulletin are out and copies
have been received by Mr. Hathaway,
the general manager and treasurer of
the Alma Sugar Go. and through this
gentlemau's courtesy we are permitted
TO make a review OF the report.
What is of special interest to those in
terested in the ALMA factory is the fact
that Mr.. Spencer, after his visit here last
year, stated TO some friends OF his III
Cincinnati that the Alma sugar factory
was the model factory of medium capac-
ity in the nited States This coming
from "a man so well qualified TO know
whereof he was speaking, cannot help
but be source of much satisfaction to
the gentlemen whose brains and money
combined to place this magnificent in
dustry in Our midst.
There are five half-tone cuts, repre-
senting three different factories in the
United States, printed in the Census
Bulletin and one of these is a splendid
cut of the Alma factory and its many
buildings in connection. Two of the re-
naming cuts represent the Alvarado
factory In Alvarado, Gal. as 1t looked
when built in lSt-5, the first beet sugar
factory built in the United States, and
as it is now, rebuilt aud modern
machinery installed The remaining
two cuts show the outside and interior
view of the American Beet Sugar 90 S
factory at Onxard Cal This is the
Largest factory in the Y nited States. and
when we consider that space is given TO
the AlvaraGo factory, because it repre-
sents the fret one built in this country
and the Onxard factory because it is the
largest, we can feel highly compliment
ed that out of the remaining 20 fact
oriee, space has been given for a full
page cut of the Alma factory
Michigan as a beet sugar state ranks
next to California according TO the CEN
sus, although there is one more factory
in Michigan than in the other. nine be-
ing reported for our state while eight
are reported for California. There are
4 factories in all the other states, max
ing total of 81 California has only
eight factories to cur nine, but the
amount of capital invested in California
is over double that of Michigan. This
is accounted for by the several large
plants that have been built in that state
while those in Mich gan are all medium
and few of the nine are quite small
In the same manner more is paid for
saIaried officers in California than in
Michigan, although not so many men
are employed. However, there are more
laborers employed in the eight factories
in California than in the nine in Michi
gan the necessity for which can readily
be understood when we realize the
much larger capacity of the factories in
that state. The same ratio holds good
in regard to cost of construction and out
put. In the tables illustrating the in
dustry California is given first, Michi-
gan second and the balance of the states
are given as "all Others" so it will read
lily be seen that Michigan and California
are considered the principal ones engag-
ed in the industry.
This census is taken from the report
of the industry OF the year of 1899 as it
was too early to get report for last
year and therefore at the present time it
is not complete for there have been ad-
ditional factories built since then in
other states as well as this, there being
now ID factories in operation and in
course of construction in Michigan, and
the industry has developed in proportion
in other states.
The outlook for the future Is very fiat
tering for the beet sugar industry and
we may look for q much more extensive
report when the thirteenth census is
taken.