The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-04-08
COOPERATION IN SUGAR
INDUSTRY.


"uSt pC q Cpity " susCs 49,
The Michigan Investor, of Detroit.
contains the following pertinent article
on the sugar industry under thecaption,
The promise for Sugar"
'The year 1908 was not entirely sat-
isfactory one for the sugar beet and
sugar making industry of Michigan.
The weather conditions were such that,
with minimum of sunshine and with
great deal of rainy weather, the seed
ing was partially washed out Of the
ground in the early part of the season.
cultivation was rendered difficult and
the maturing Of the root-was retarded, :
although there was some compensation
in the fact that the percentage of sugar
gained from the portion of the crop that
did mature was higher than it.had been
in previous years. The results, how
ever, were such, so far as the farmers
were concerned that they are not wholly
willing to put great acreage into beets
this year in some Of the territory tribu-
tary to the sugar factories and the ex-
pedient has been resorted to in some of
the territory with which the Michigan
Investor is conversant, of asking the
stockholders of the companies to make
themselves personally busy in seeing
that the farmers put in the necessary
acreage. This is not an entirely reas-
surfing situation for the large body of
capital invested in our sugar enterprises,
but it is one that can be bettered, if it is
gone at rightly.
"The sugar beet industry is one which
requires great deal of labor, not only
at the thinning period, but during the
pulling and topping season as well.
Practically every acre of sugar beets has
to be gone over on hands and knees by
laborers three times during the growth
of the crop. The necessity of this labor
puts the raising of any considerable
acreage by the individual farmer quite
out of the question, unless he is able to
procure labor cheaply and regularly.
Such labor is usually found in the cities
and, as g consequence, the fields nearest
the cities, TO which the laborers can
come with little cost, are the most prof
liable for the producer and the factory
as we'll. The development Of the beet
sugar industry will, it.seems to'us, be
along the lines of extending the area
over which these conditions prevail.
The hauling of the beets to the factory,
whether. by vehicle or steam. railroad,
must be regular, TO prevent congestion,
il the case OF teamed raw material the
latter situation being one which ma
terially increases the cost OF delivery.
Another element remains to be de-
veloped and that is the education Of the
producer. The farmer who has been
used to putting in a crop Of hay or,
grains does not raise hue and cry and
stop cultivating hay and grains just be-
cause he had bad year. If his hay or
his oats are drowned out he regrets the
fact, but he doesn't quit raising hay aud
oats. He goes at it next year and hopes
for better luck at the present time
this is not the agriculturist's attitude to-
ward his beet crop. 1t is new venture
and when it fails to pan out well his
first impulse is to quit raising beets.
This is neither good sense nor good
| farming. The fact remains despite all
the alleged hardships of the farmer that
the beet crop will produce twice as
much money, net, as any crop that can
be put into Michigan ground. There
fore it behooves the farmer not to grow
impatient with the sugar beet If, by
chance, the season has been an abnormal
one, as last season was, He must learn
and he must be taught to have the same
ultimate faith as in his ordinary and
older established lines of production,
There is great necessity for co-opera-
tion in the making of the beet sugar in
dustry in Michigan. 1t requires the CO.
operation of the producer, the factory
manager, the laborer and the carrier,
whether he be the carrier to the factory
or the longer-haul man who takes the
finished product into the centers of dis
tribution. When that cooperation,
which is wholly amatter of education,
comes about, the beet sugar industry
will be firmly founded
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