The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1909-07-09
SUGAR
PRODUCTION
Facts Concerning the Famous St.
Cloud Venture in Everglades
FOUNDED BY R. f. ROSE
Was Successful, Alphabetically and finaa-
CiaIly for a Number Of Years; but Mis-
management Caused Failure.

Reference is made time and again to
the St. Cloud sugar plantation which
was located on part of the Everglades
land reclaimed through the drainage
operations of Hamilton DisstOn, more
than twenty years ago.
Through ignorance or impelled by
less innocent condition of mind those
persons who have opposed the reclaim
alton of the territory have held up the
st. Cloud plantation as All example OF
failure, that might be expected to fol-
low any effort to farm the reclaimed
lands.
As a matter of fact, the st. Cloud
venture was successful, agriculturally
and financially for number Of years,
and the fact that it eventually proveda
failure was due to the same causes
which have wrecked railroads, banks,
insurance companies and other institu-
tiOns that promised success but found
failure through mismanagement, high
salaried employees, Over-capitalization
and dishonesty.
The st. Cloud plantation was founded
by Capt. r. E. Rose, the present state
chemist. Capt. Rose was one of Diss-
toms drainage engineers. He knows
more about the Everglades than any
other man in the state, not excepting
Gov. Broward, or James E. Ingraham,
vice-president of the Florida East Coast
railway, who made trip through the
'glades and who wrote such glowing
accounts of the agricultural possibili'
ties of the area.
The lards of the st. Cloud plantation
were reclaimed lands. The visible evil
dences of the entire success of the OPP
erations on the st. Cloud property may
be had to day by referring to a publ.
cation issued from Jacksonville and
known as A Guide to Florida. This
publication contains two photographs
of scenes on the St. Cloud farm. One
of them shows magnificent avenue of
cypress trees on high and dry land with
a farm house in the back ground, and
the other is view of sugar cane in
harvest. Capt Rose can point out the
water marks on these trees even in the
photograph. He was on the spot when
the drainage began, was one OF the
directing forces in the reclamation OF
the land and afterward became one OF
the benefciares of the good work he
accomplished under the Disston con-
tract.
st. Cloud was an infinite and distinct
success under the supervision OF Capt.
Rose. Col. Disston had no idea of en-
gagpg in the sugar industry until after
he had seen the profits of the industry
as conducted by Capt. Rose. When he
did he sought and obtained half in
terest in the farm. For several years
Capt. Rose. as superintendent and
part owner, saw it produce an average
of thirty-fve tons of cane to the acre,
which gave a yield of l65 pounds of
sugar to the ton of cane. While this
continued in effect the
farm paid a dividend of 40 per cent
above the expense of production and
sugar was selling then at only three
cents pound.
This was making money fast enough
for a poor man, but Col. Disston was
not accustomed to doing things on a
small scale He proposed to Capt
Rose that they organize company, in
crease the capital and the expenses and
90 in for greater things. This pro-
posal was rejected by Capt. Rose, but
COL Disston was insistent. The result
was that Capt. Rose sold his share in
the plantation and Col. Disston formed
the company. 49,,
Here began the failure. 1t should be
borne in mind that the only man who
had any practical knowledge OF the
land and the business to which it was
devoted was eliminated from the en-
terprse when Capt. Rose stepped down
and out. Then followed demonstra'
ton of the difference between practi-
cal management, the assertion of posi-
tive knowledge and the dictation of
visionary ideas.
The St. Cloud plantation became the
basis for a million dollar organization,
and the first act of the stockholders
was to increase the salary list from
81, 500 a year to 1928, 900 year. Other
extravagances followed, chief among
which was the purchase of sugar mill
costing $780, The farm consisted
of 600 acres. Although the price of
sugar advanced and the government
paid bounty of 2 cents pound these
advantages failed to compensate for
the needless waste which poor judg-
ment and carelessness brought about.
1t didn't take long for the capitalists
to discover that they knew nothing
about making sugar and the venture.
which had been a pronounced and glow
ing success such as to attract heavy
investment, was actually given up in
failure. The sugar mill was sold as
;rrL Cor coz mn RI q lack snnville firm
which doubled money on it in a short