The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-09-23
LOUISIANA SUGAR INDUSTRY.

+" The States Main Standby w.
Every Section Concerned in Its
Prosperity-A Paying Season in
Prospect.
Under the caption, t"The States
Main Standby the following forci-
BILE and timely editorial appeared in
the New Orleans Picayune of Septem-
Der 13:
1T is a great mistake to suppose
that sugar is an interest which con-
Germs the lower southern tier Of par
ishes of Louisiana alone. Every sec
jicn of the state profits by the in
dlistry and Would be worse without
lit or If anything in the way of ad-
verse legislation or disaster should
oVertake it. Not only does sugar
provide the main source of liVeli-|
hood for the great mass Of the peo-
pie Of the most thickly populated
part of the state and creates many
the city of New Orleans and for
|
great increase in the assessments of
sugar property the industry provides
a very considerable proportion of the
alimony Of the state; in fact, the
| loss in that regard due to the raw
ages of the boil Weevil has been
more than made up by the increased
revenue derived from sugar proper
ties.
ut is great mistake to suppose
that sugar cane is produced only in
the most southerly of the parishes
of the state. Good cane is grown
well up the Red River valley, and
since the boil weevil made unprofit-
able cotton cultivation in that rich
q eentraI section OF the state the farm
4 ers have been fortunate enough to-
Z be able to turn to sugar cane pro-
) duction as a profitable substitute.
Good crops of sugar cane have been
produced on what was formerly cot-
ton land, devastated by the yoracious
Weevil, SO that sugar has proven a
Godsend and great help to the farm
ers of central Louisiana.
Every part of Louisiana being in
terested in the preservation and de-
velopment Of the sugar industry,
those who seek to damage it by ad-
vocating a revision downward OF the
sugar tariff are striking a blow at
the vital interests Of the great ma
jority OF people in the state and OF
e the state itself IT all the people
of Louisiana were to unite in hearty
support and encouragement of the
sugar industry the production of cane
sugar would develop enormously, but
) outside capitalists naturally are t1mId
, about embarking in sugar cultivation
in a state where there is more or
less opposition to the industry from
the very people benefited by it. 1t
t is, therefore, bad public policy for
any part Of the state to fight the
sugar tariff, particularly as that tar
iff can be fully justified on the
strictest Democratic ideas Of nation.
Z al policy. There is no schedule OF
;, the tariff which provides SO much
revenue for the government as su-
gar There is no tax which is so
cquitably distributed among the whole
people, and there is none which is
SO easily and economically collected.
Let us all pull together, then, to
3 help the sugar Industry and encour-
: age those engaged in it to expand
, and improve. y
The New Orleans Times-Demo-
! crat of September 7 also bears tes-
: timony of the vital interest which
the whole state, and particularly the
: southern metropolis, has in the main:
; tenance and welfare Of the domestic
sugar. induatRy, Whiting under the
, title, .sIt's An III Wind the editor
: of the Times Democrat says:
!. According to the proverb, It's
: an i'll wind that blows no man good.
e Certainly, the fierce heat which
!, shrank Europe,s sugar crop will meal
millions to Louisiana. The European
!. markets have been in turmoil for
6 some weeks and it would seem that
: the advance can be checked only
when the price shall have become
T high enough to curtail eensuiap
i 'lod 1t is h4aly necessary to say
= that the pSpsperity OF New Orleans
2 is closely Hbund up with the prosper
S ity Of theesugar interests. Takins
] the state'sSssarop at 100000 tons, eacf
!; rise Of a ceat per pound is equival
!. ent to s7,0dD, 900. These extra mil
Il lions Will mg41e themselves lett III
# hundred whyt1, The value of land:
: will be Increased and SO will be The
2 inducements we can offer to im1ni
r grants. The prosperity of the suga,
il industry is all the more fortunate
st because the boil Weevil continues Il
:, make the culture of cotton precari
Il Gus. Sugar, like cotton, is q casl
,. crop and the deposits Of our bank
will soon reflect the profitable pric
of this staple.
7r IN such circumstances, New Oh
D. leans ought to have one of the mos
al satisfactory winters ever known. Tai
: ing everything into the account, W
It have overcome the difficulties OF th
last four years wonderfully well. A