The Grit-advocate., 1902-03-28
CUrllNG SUGAR WAR
NOW SEEMS TO BE PROBABLE
American Sugar Refining Company
May Enter Colorado Fieid-Rumors
That It Will Try to Break Down
and Absorb the Oxnard Plants Of
the State.

the State.
Denver, March 25.--The Republican
this morning says:
The Independent beet sugar manu-
facturers in Colorado regard with
alarm the incursioh of the American
Sugar Refining Company into the most
productive fields in the West. Warn
ing received some time ago has become
a reality, which, they fear. will result
in the decentralization of local mar
kets in a competition aimed to drive
the Independent producers from the
field
The announcement in the ReDubli-
can yesterday Of the operations in Col
orado of Henry Ernst Niese superin-
tendent of construction and retineries
of the American Sugar Refining Com
pany, was taken by beet sugar men as
confirmation of their worst fears.
They do not hesitate in saying that the
sugar syndicate has begun vigorous
compaign not only in this state, but
throughout the West. A short time ago
the American company secured a half
interest in the Utah factories for ST.
3O,OOO. Colorado is now on the list,
but as $6,OOO,OOO is a conservative es.
innate of the value of the plants the
trust is preparing to fight it stands to
reason that the Havemeyer interests
will not buy here. 1t will be cheaper
to build two factories costing $1,000
600 and then lose S2OO,OOO or $5OOOOo
in demoralizing the morket.
The six factories which the synd-
cate will aim to close, or absorb
whichever way is cheapest to remove
competition are:
The Oxnard plant at Rocky Ford.
The Loveland factory.
The Grand Junction plant.
The Sugar City factory.
The Greeley factory, nearing compile
tion.
The Eaton factory, nearing compile
tiOn.
There has been no proffer of any kind
made for the Loveland plant, and so
far as is known. no proffers have been
made for the others. One of the heav-
lest Investors in the Colorado field said
The manner in which Mr. Niese act
ed while here is in line with the policy
that will mark the course of the sugar
syndicate in the fight He shrewdly
went ahead and laid all plans for
successful campaign. Had we had bu,
might have caused trouble, or, in some
way, delayed the game; but he was
anxious that no warming should be
given"
six million dollars would not be
exorbitant. in any SENSE for the five
plants. exclusive of the OXnard Arkan-
sas valley interests. but the syndicate
will not buy. We feared that this
would come. even before the Cuban
tariff question came up in Washington.
but we had no idea it. would come
from such source. The syndicate un-
doubtedly will build the two factories
for which companies have been incor-
porated-the Longmont Beet Sugar
Company. capitalized at $5OO,OOO, and
the Fort Collins Sugar Company, cap
italized for the same amount Both
pants could afford to lose 100000 or
$2OO,0OO for three or four years and
not feel ito the syndicate it would
be but drop in the bucket.
There is no doubt that the syndi-
cate will sell beet sugar so cheap that
1t will break up the market and it will
be only n question of time before the
other factories are ruined. None of us
could afford to lose 100000 year;
we cannot face the prospect of steady
loss.
THE syndicate may run the facto-
ries only long enough for the success.
full elimination of their purpose, OF
they may continue the manufacture of
beet sugar enjoying an unuuestioned
monopoly Its plan is to abolish all
competition by underselling.
AT Longmont the announcement