Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1910-12-29
ST. LOUIS SUGAR CO.
A Thriving GratlOt Co. Industry
Organized In 1903.
CUTTING 500 TONS DAILY
Short History Of the Organization and Subse.
quent Growth.

The St. Louis Sugar factory was
built in 1908 with capital secured by
popular subscription The most of
the stock was taken by local residents,
farmers and residents of Holland. c.
NJ Mclean and ]. II. Post, who had
attained great success with the Hol-
land plant, were quite instrumental in
naugurating the enterprise and Mr..
! Mclean is now the president Of the
company. He has done more TO shape
the policies of the company and guide
| it TO its successful condition than any
other individual. At the present time
there are about two hundred and fifty
stock holders, no one Of whom owns
/ large block Of stock, and this COM
pany is not controlled by any parti-
cular individual or interest, but the
majority OF stockholders actually gov
ern through their representative di-
rectors.
The present board OF directors are:
{. NJ Mclean Of Holland, manager
OF the Holland Sugar company; J. H.
] Whitney Of Merrill, state senator and
hardware merchant; Geo. w. Brown
ing Of Holland, president and manager
! Ottawa Furniture company; ]. ]. Cap
pom Of Holland, manager Cappon &
Rurtsch Tannery company; Cass T.
Wright of Greenville, proprietor
Greenville Implement company; John
w. Pfeiher Of Edmore, Of Pfeifler &
Burch, lumbermen; John J. Bale Of
Lakeview, lumber and general mer-
chant; VIM. l. Yost OF ST. Louis,
hardware merchant; B. A. Church of
Ann Arbor, recently cashier Gratiot
county State Bank
The officers are: c. NJ. Mclean,
president; ]. II. Whitney, vice presi-
dent; B. {. Hubbard, secretary and
treasurer; F II. Hubbard, manager;
Agriculturists: Geo. E. Smith, r. f.
Kline, c. J. Shepard Frank Baker,
f. NJ Wagner, w B. Hutchinson,
Freeman Johnson
This factory has always been one
Of the most successful in the state, and
has never had any set back as most
new factories experience. The COM
pany has always paid its owners fair
dividends and has expanded from a
comparatively small capacity of $50
tons per day to about 600 tons.
1t has paid out to the farmers OF
this vicinity during its eight cam
paigns approximately one and three
fourths million dollars and to the la
boring men about two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. Has paid in
taxes about fifty thousand dollars and
expended gratuitously on roads in this
county nearly seven thousand dollars.
1t has installed twenty receiving sta
tions to make the delivery of beets
convenient to the farmers and has
brought into the county at its own
expense hundreds of special beet
workers to assist the farmers not only
in taking care of the best crop but in
all other kinds of work. This one
item which has been of so much help
TO the farmers costs the company
from $l,500 to $4,000 per year. The
company also loans the farmers from
$4,000 to $45000 per year to assist
them in paying for their farm labor.
During this seven years the entire
list Of farmers, good, bad and indif-
, ferent have realized an average net
profit Of about $l500per acre, while
the better class of farmers have made
net profit of about $1,000 per acre
per year Beside this the sugar in
dustry has inspired better methods OF
farming until a much larger yield OF
other crops such as oats, clover, corn
beans, etc, is being produced. Farm
lands in the vicinity of St Louis were
offered for sale in 1908 at from $500
to $65.00 per acre, while at the present
time many farmers are changing hands
. at from $500 to $125.00 per acre. Can
any one doubt that the sugar business
has had much influence in bringing
about this increase in value, also can
any one doubt that a part of the two
million dollars paid out by the sugar
company has helped TO make the 1907
increase in bank deposits during the
past eight years?
There seems TO be- a prevailing inn
preston that while the market price
of other farm crops has advanced the
) prices paid for beets by the sugar
l companies have not changed. The
= following statistics taken from the
books Of the St. Louis Sugar company
shows that it is mistake, and price:
per ton have advanced very materially
The following is the average net
! price per ton paid to the farmers fol
' their beets:
, 1904, average price per ton, S54l
{ 1905, average price per ton, 5.38
lQ0h average nrice ner ton "a