The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-11-29
From Saturdays Daily.

From Saturdays Daily.
S%ubjoined is the report of the com
mittee that visited the sugar beet
sections OF Colorado, made to the
Commercial committee of the Billings
club, at whose instance the investiga-
ton was undertaken:
To P. B. Moss, Paul Mccormick, /.
D. O'Donnell, Christian Yegen, H. W.
Rowley, w. T. Clark and F. M. Shaw,
the committee having in charge the
establishment of a beet sugar factory
at Billings, Montana:
We, the committee appointed to
visit the beet sugar factories in north
ern Colorado, and to ascertain the
conditions there for the growing OF
sugar beets, as compared with the
conditions in the Yellowstone valley
tributary to Billings, beg leave to say
that we have visited the district men
toned and have carefully Investigated
conditions there and beg leave to sub
NIT the following report:
1t is difficult to speak or write with
conservatism of the subject upon
which all who are familiar speak with
so much confidence and with so much
enthusiasm.
Offices of the sugar company, with
men who solicited contracts of the
farmers for beets, with men who have
worked by the month on farms, with
men who have farms for sale, with
men who have farms for rent, with
men who live on farms and grow
beets, with professional men, business
men and retired men, and they all,
without exception, speak OF the beet
industry in the most glowing terms
and with the most %unbounded conf
dence as being profitable for the far
mer, whether he be an owner or a
renter, as adding greatly to the pros
perity of any community and as al
ways increasing the values OF land
from fifty (5O) to one hundred and
fifty (150) per cent.
We were told before the factories
were started, the best of farms could
be bought for seventy-five ($75) dol
lars per acre, while now those same
farms are worth from one hundred
($100) to one hundred and fifty ($150)
dollars or more. One farmer told us
that he had paid forty ($40) dollars
per acre for his farm and that he had
been offered two hundred ($200) DOL
lars for it and refused to take it, but
he said if we were to have a sugar
beet factory at Billings that he would
likely sell his two hundred $4,000 dol
lars land and buy here, for he knew
what the result of establishing a sugar
factory would be on land values. We
saw some land and heard of 0 that
is for sale for seventy-ive $3.50 dol
lars per acre, but it is either rough
or poor land, or has a poor water
right. We talked with n party who
was there trying to buy land. He said
it was all too high for him and that
he could not reach it and he talked
strongly of coming to Billings to see
what we have here. We were told
Of a piece of land that was sold for
six thousand ($6,OOO) dollars before
%h4 oh1;ch ~ onk ~ q Fonf0~vs ~ hos
recently been sold for twenty-four
thousand ($24, OOO) dollars. We have
also talked with two men who for
medly lived in Billings, Mr.. H. H.
Mund, a banker here, and Mr.. Edward
Barney, who trailed, herded, fed,
raised, bought and sold sheep in the
Yellowstone valley, and they both
know the conditions of the soil, eli
mate and water that we have here,
and being familiar with the conditions
there in Colorado do not hesitate to
say that the Yellowstone valley here
is perfectly adapted to the successful
growing of beets and they unhesitat-
ingly assert that the establishment of
a beet sugar factory would be a fine
thing for the farmers, land owner
and business men in and around Bill
ings.
Mr.. Barney has a brother growing
beets in Colorado for the sugar fac
tory.
Some of the reasons why the grow
ing of beets and the establishment of
a sugar factory is so desirable may
be given as follows:
Unlimited acreage may be grown