The Lamar register., 1912-01-10
SHOULD MAKE MORE SUGAR
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson
Says Crop Is Profitable and
United States Can Sup
ply the World

ever l0ellVer ltSeu ITOm the peiii
OF high sugar prices is the opinion
of Secretary Wilson of the de-
partment of agriculture who says
the great remedy lies in the pro-
duction of more sugar. He adds
that the production of beet sugar
in America is increasing at a re-
markable rate, owing to the profit
to the farmer and the increasing
demand for the finished product.
The secretary said while here
to attend the dairy show that the
Wisconsin sugar beet factories
could operate to advantage in con-
nection with the dairy industry. in
that the refuse from the beet sug-
ar plants makes excellent feed for
dairy cattle
I'VE ought to make our own
sugar in this country. and this has
been my theory ever since l went
into the department. Drought in
Germany or revolution in Cuba
could bring no panic to the Amer
lean housewife IL the American
farmer seized his opportunity. Re-
lief is even now in sight. When |
went into the department the pro-
duction Of the entire country was
1000 tons. and now 1t is over 500,-
900 tons. There is no trouble in
the raiSing of sugar in this north
ern tier of states. also look for
the reclamation service to bring
up the total production. as the
beet crop in these new lands Is
an Immediate money crop.
Beet sugar is as satisfactory as
cane sugar. from the housewives
standpoint. and the crop is one OF
the most profitable. Where they
farm properly the farmers get from
$40 to 500 an acre for the crop.
''The development of the sugar
beet industry waits upon better
farming. Twenty tons an acre can
be grown by good farming. The
present average in America Is ten
tons. l have repeatedly said that
II we could get the average up to
eighteen tons we could take the
duty off and defy the foreign
crop. But we must wait until the
farmer knows how
The honorable head of the 1gri-
cultural department fails to state
the real reason why the beet sug-
ar industry has not more rapidly
expanded. although 1t is so appar-
ent to the average intelligence 1t
The only thing that has handi-
capped the expansion of the domes-
tic sugar industry is the American
Congress. which has yielded to the
Establishments and pull" of a
handful of refiners of foreign raw
sugar. There is a bitten struggle
between the dom estic sugar indus
try anc the cane sugar refiners
1t logan as soon as the beet in
dustry gained sufficient headway
to cause the refiners apprehension
and they have fought it tooth and
nail They are now spending
hundreds of thousands of dollare
in the effort to induce Congress
to remove the tariff from raw sug-
ar. Alarmed at the growth of
the home industry the refiners are
seeking to kill the industry and
remove their only competitor. Then
with a clear field the history of
the coffee trade in this country
would be repeated in the item of
sugar
The magnitude of the beet sug-
ar industry and its capacity for
development in the United States
is not generally understood. To the
entire worlds consumption of sug
ar the beet co ntributes one-half.
The production in the United States
has increased from $1,000 tons in
1897 to 100000 tons in 1911. To
produce this tonnage 100000 acres
were planted to beets and the