Hutchinson gazette., 1902-01-02
THE REE1 suoAR INnusrRY.

tho article will be OF universal Interest
Tho Evening Post bids the hearNest
Welcome to every American Industry
that can stand on Its own bottom and
make its way without leaning on the
poor rates Among these sclf-support-
Ing industries, we are glad to know, ia
the production OF beet sugar, At all
events, II was such two years ago We
publish eleewhere 0 letter written In
1893, and signed by Mr. oSnnrd and
Mr., Cutting, the chiefs Of this Indus
try on the eastern side OF the Rocky
Mountains, showing that this was the
happy condition of the trade at that
time, II parties masqucradng rs beet
sugar producers are besieglng the Pros
ident and Congress at this moment,
and pretending that they VIII be ruined
II Cuban sugar is admitted for six
months Nt half the present rates OF
duty, their false pretonces ought to be
exposed.
"The letter of Mossrs, oxnurd and
Cutting was probably written for the
purpose of Inducing the farmers of the
Mississippi valley to 80 more largely
into the cultivation OF beets for the
sugar factories This was laudablc
motive for telling the truth and show
I Ing the large profits which awaited
both the beet-grower and the manufac-
Vurar lf tha ln1uptry vtopo popoovopi N ~
yy and intelllgently prosecuted, TO this
= end II was pointed out that farmers
could clear S65 per acre by cultly0tIns
boets, and might even make 500, But
In order TO assure the cultiyator that
ho would not bo exposed to reyorses
by possible changes In tho tariff, they
proceeded to show that the Industry
stood In no need Of protection
"rhe, beet sugar industry, these gem
tlemen say, Stands on as firm basis
as any business in the country" They
point out the fact-a very important
one--that their product comes out 40 n
finished article, refined and granulot-
ed. 1t is not, like cane-sugar grown
In the West India Islands black and
offensive paste, which must be carried
In wagons to tho seaboard and thence
by ships to the United States, where,
after another handling, 1t Ia put,
through n costly refinery, and then
shipped by rail TO the consumer, who
may possibly be in Nebraska alongside
beet sugar factory which turns out
the refined and granulated article at
one fell sWoop. Indeed, the advan-
tages Of the producer Of beet sugar for
supplying the domestic consumption
are very great We have no doubt that
Messrs, oxnNrd and Cutting are within
bounds when they say that sugar can
be produced here cheaper than II can
,be in Europe The reasons for this
Dare that
n 1.-The sugar industry Is, after all,
merely an agricultural one, We can
4 cNpdersell Europe In all other crops,
X, id sugar is no exception
ut follows as naturally as the maxi
ing of flour from wheat, II we can
produce wheat cheaper than Europe,
then naturally we can produce flour
cheaper as we do.
But the writer's Of the letter do not
depend upon a-prori reasoning to prove
that they can make sugar at profit
without tariff protection They point to
the fact that under the Mckinley tariff
OF 1890, when sugar was free OF duty,
the price Of the article was cents per
pound Yet a net profit Of SO per ton
was made by the beet-sugar factories
under those conditions, not counting
any bounty on the home production of
sugar. They boast that they made this
proht while working under absolute
free trade and they have right to be
proud Of this result Of their skill and
industry, Many beet-sugar factories
had been started In bygone years back
in the sixties and seventies Of the nine
teenth century, and had failed because
the projectors did not understand the
business, Since then great progress has
been made, both here and abroad, in
the cultivation and manipulation Of the
beet. What was impossible thirty years
ago Is now entirely feasible The in
dustry is already on solid and endur-
ing basis. There are factories In the
United States, these gentlemen tell us
in their letter, capable Of using 100000
tons of beets per annum at a profit Of
SO per ton, and this would make
profit of $1,O50,00O as the income to
be earned under absolute free trade.
ut must be plain to readers Of this
letter, signed by the captains Of the
beet-sugar industry, that the people ir
Washington who are declalmlng
against the temporary measure which
the President of the United States
urges for the relief Of the Cuban peo-
ple, arc either grossly ignorant of the
subject, or are practising gross decep-
ton. The tenable ground for them Is
to say. Other people are having pro-
lection that they do not need and
therefore we ought to have more than
we need This would be consistent
with the letter OF Messrs, 0xnard and
Cutting, but nothing else is So"
A loy never tells his troubles TO
man who wears whiskers,