The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-02-03
DRIVEN FROM BAY COMPANY He
ORGANIZED CALIFORNIA
COMPANY.
Tells a Magazine Writer That He
Became Factor in the Hawaiian
Islands For seIf-Protection-He
Fought the Sugar Trust.

I since made MIN the undlspGIeQ mas
J ter OF the business in America. He
even becameAa workman again, serv
ing as an ordinary employee at Magde-
burg. By 1867 he was again in the
refinery business in California. oper-
ating. in connection with his brother,
the institution which still exists 10
his honor. the California Sugar Re
nnery. For this institution. he per
sonally directed in New York the
building OF the machinery, and after
ward participated in the training OF
every employee, as well as in the erect
ing of the bui.-lng and the manage
ment Of the finances. He began with
wooden structure. rather small,
adapted strictly TO the extent OF the
current operations; but within three
years the building was enlarged four
times. ana at the end of four years
an immense brick building Vas put
up. which with capacity TO turn out
500 tons of sugar per day. still stands
on the south bay shore of San Fran
cisco-one of the most conspicuous
manufactures of the PACING coast.
The men VINO mad driven Mr.. Spree
kels from the Bay Sugar Company
soon found they nad created a Tar
tar. The doughty German applied his
great foresight and his close judgment
to every phase of the sugar business.
He not only operated upon more scien-
tific manufacturing principles, but he
reached out into the general field CT
competition and brought that with
in control At one time he shrewdly
cornered all the sugar af1oat and al
most shut up the doors of his rivals
by cutting off the raw supplies, all
of which had always to be imported.
He invented new processes which re-
duced the time of making hard sugar
from three weeks to twentyfour
hours, and introduced into the Amer
lean market for the first time the cube
and crushed sugars of today. His COM
petitors were helpless against his
ability and his cunning, and they even
tually had no alternative but to sur
render.
The fight, however, went on for
long time-in fact, until by another of
the master strokes which mad given
him such ascendancy as he had gained
up to that time, Mr.. Sprekels went to
the Hawaiian Islands and made him
self the virtually owner of the sugar
cane growing of the Pacific ocean.
This was in 1876. Just after the com
pletion of the first reciprocity treaty
between Kalakaua and the United
States. admitting Hawaiian sugar free
of duty.
"'I went to the islands for self pro-
lection says Mr. Spreckels, and soon
became the largest sugar raiser there
He went over the local situation scien-
tifcallv with an engineer, before en-
tering into operations. But when he
began work it was upon large scale,
forming the Hawaiian Commercial
Company, with a paid up capital of
100000
The report of the committee on
foreign relations of the United States
in speaking of the advent of Spreckels
to the Hawaiian Islands. says:
After refusal on the part of the
Hawaiian cabinet TO grant request
of Mr.. Spreckels for water privileges.
ne held a conference in the evening
with King Kalakaua and another gen.
tleman. with the result that the next
morning the king requested the re-
signation of each member of the cab
met. and the following day a new
cabinet was appointed. which granted
Mr. Spreckels his desires
Gradually the competitors in the
local field gave way. and by 1883 Mr..
Spreckels was the unquestioned sugar
king of the Pacific Coast But his
triumphs in his own field served only
TO bring against his single hand the
colossal power of the American Sugar
Refineries Company. which has since
become known as the sugar trust.
This company viewed his lucrative
business jealousy anu sought to abb
sorb it They offered Mr. Spreckels
a million dollars for mis- interests.
But Mr. Sprekels did not prove TO be
the man to be bought out of
his independence for the sake of am
aIgamation with an institution even of
such enormous wealth as the sugar
trust. nor TO be neglectful of the local
welfare that was more or less Deepen
dent upon his personality He said
that so long as he had dollar in the
word he would keep his refinery run
ming. and would never consent TO turn
into the street men who had faithfully
served him. many of them for twenty
and twenty-five years
This was sentiment. and 1t prob
ably did not seem 10 be good business
to the managers of the trust But II
turned out 10 be better business for
California than the trust or its as
sociates could have intended Com
petition was at once inaugurated- The
trust attempted 20 coerce Mr.. Spree
kels. But it did not know him 50
well then as II does now.
For a while Mr. Spreckels was at
decided disadvantage. because OF the
enormous profits made by the trust
on its business in the East and the
consequent possibility OF selling in
r>.rsx~-r,o - sc~e Rs7s the 4sSad-