The Greeley tribune., 1906-12-27
Big MEETING
BEET GROWERS HELD CON-
VENTION THURSDAY
Met in Fort Collins Thursday to
Discuss Sugar Industry and
the Next Years
Contract

A meeting of the Beet Growers
association. which includes the
growers for all the factories north of
Denver, met in Fort Collins Thurs
dav, Dec. 20. to consider the 1907
The train from the south was met |
by large delegation from Fort Col
lins, Greeley and Eaton, and, headed
by the Agricultural college band,
marched to the Odd Fellows hall.
There were $50 farmers in line and
these were Joined by $50 more at the
hall.
President Bumstead gave an ad
dress, the history of what had been
attempted by the association and
showed that from three to five more
sugar factories we're needed In this
part of the state.
W. B. Ebbert of Rocky Ford was
called upon to tell what had been
done in the Arkansas valley. He
made the point that the difficulties
would not be settled until there was
real competition in the sugar making
business in this part Of the state.
He further assured the growers that
in his Judgment, based upon expert
ence, the sugar factories would not
be closed if the farmers demands
were reasonable. When asked If he
could silo beets.i for fifty cents pei
ton he said~thak bwing to the favor
able condition of the land (the sol
being loose and moist), he woulo
make q little this year by siloing,
but that this was the first time he
had ever done so, and that in 1905 it
cost at least one dollar per ton. He
did not think 1t at all practicable to
silo when the earth covering of the
beets had to be removed with pick,
and further said that they did not
have as much frost around Rocky
Ford as in northern Colorado.
Three letters from @. S. Morey
we're then read These were In reply
to letters written by the secretary.
In the first he said that he would
probably be able to get the 1907 con-
tracts ready in time for the conven-
tion but found later that he could
not do so. He said that without
doubt the farmers would be asked tu
silo.
Committees on order of business
and contracts were then appointed
and lunch was served to all present.
After lunch the committee re-
ported contract which was unan1-
mously adopted and all agreed that
it should be satisfactory. The old
1906 contract was changed in the fol-
lowing particulars:
1-Clauses referring to frozen beets
was stricken out.
"a flat rate OF So per ton was to
be given.
3-Time of unrestricted delivery
to be Oct. Is, instead OF Oct. 20.
4-Seed to be provided at l219
cents per pound.
The election Of officers resulted as
follows: President, E S. Bumstsad,
Fort Collins; vice president, Ben
Preston, Fort Collins; secretary and
treasurer, P. Richetts, Fort Collins.
Executive committee: Fl. A.
March, Windsor; e. G knight,
Greeley; r. NJ. Haythorn, Eaton;
w. II. Dickens, Longmont; B. F.
Early, Loveland; P. Anderson, Fort
Collins.
Other matters of interest were
then taken up. All beet growers
will be asked to join the association
and help obtain contract that all
desire.
The farmers near Greeley are
pretty we'll organized, but as the
district is so large, extending as it
does, from Fort Lupton to Weldon
valley, it is hard to get them all to-
gether. Greeley is only eight below
Fort Collins in membership in the
One feature of the convention was
the fact that nearly all were land
owners, among them many who con-
troll from 100 to l,500 acres of beets.
John West, who attends the
School of Mines, came home Satur-
day for Christmas vacation.