Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1912-04-19
BEET SUGAR NOW ONE-HALF
or NATIONS CONSUMPTION

Chicago, April 1s.-Within another
two decades, If the gains in beet sugar
production in the United States are
maintained, Uncle Sam will supply
the entire amount Of sugar required
in this country. Already the beet
sugar output constitutes about one
half the entire sugar production Of
the country and moreover this branch
Of the sugar industry promises to
have the greatest development pro-
vided the government continues to
encourage II as It has in the past
These startling statements were the
conclusions Of an investigation Of the
importance Of beet sugar growing in
the Central states and throughout the
United States, which disclosed the
fact not previously known that Chi
cago not only is the country's great
corn and livestock market. but the
center Of beet sugar distribution.
Perhaps In no other industry has
there been snch marked acceleratlon
as in the production of domestic sugar
beginning with the year 1898, and the
large stake Of the central states in
the present movement to eliminate
beet sugar by removal Of the tariff
on imported sugar is shown by the
fact that sugar made from beets in
this country has far outstripped all
competitors in per cent Of increase.
This 10 true in spite of the fact that
the territorial expansion Of the United
States has annexed important sub
tropical sugar areas within the period
named. Since the annexation Of Ha-
wall In 1893 when the island pro-
duced 2O4,sSS tons Of sugar the Inn
portation in 1911 of 1929 tons shows
an increase Of slightly less than 225
per cent Porto Rico, acquired as a
result Of the war with Spain, has in
creased It's production from $4,000
tons In 1902 to 2SO,622 in 1911, or
slightly over 800 per cent. The Phil
ipplnes, despite a concession of 25
per cent from the duty on foreign
sugar, the right TO send to the United
States 100000 tons duty free, and the
return to the Philippines treasury Of
all duty collected by our custom
house, sent us only 1GS.4OS tons in
1911. On the other hand domestic
beet sugar since 1898 has advanced
from a production OF 1882 tons to
5O6,S25 tons for 1911, or over 1900
per cent.
The growth Of this industry may be
shown even more strlkingly by going
back a few years further, to 1899,
when six factories utilized beets from
7155 acres, and produced 5S5S tons of
sugar as against the production OF
1911 Of 506,S25 tons turned out in Ga
factories from beets grown on 429,O14
acres, in sixteen states, representing
a territory bounded by a line drawn
from the Straits Of Mackinaw through
Minneapolis and Billings, Mont, to
the Pacific The eastern border Of
Michigan and central Ohio form the
eastern boundary, and to the south
the Ohio river, Kansas, Arizona and
Southern California. This is merely
the territory in which the sugar beet
industry is already established, Ex-
perlmental work indicates that some
OF the most advantageous territory is
to be found In the Shenandoah valley
Of Virginia and In New England
though 1t has not yet been tried out,
The capital investment has grown
from few hundred thousand dollars
IN 1891 to over a hundred million at
present, and the scientists Of the de-
partment of agriculture express the
opinion that the development OF the
industry is scarcely more than begun
A recently published report OF the
great German statistiolan f, o. Llcht,
shows that the average acreage plant.