The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-03-22
'MANkAT0 CAN OBTAIN
BEET SUGAR FACTORY
Head Of the Big Chaska Enter.
prise Visits This City.
From Tuesdays Daily.

from tuesdays lazy.
Manager C. f. Fenton of the Min
nesota Sugar company with fac
tory and headquarters at Chaska,
and General Agent C. A. Genet spent
several hours in the city yesterday
afternoon. The purpose of Mr.. Fen
toms visit was partly to consult with
Secretary E. F. Soaring of the Com
mercial club in regard to the mat
ter of locating beet sugar factory
in Mankato. Mr.. Soaring has taken
the matter up and made arrange
ments to have meeting of the adj
visory board, but was not informed
of the arrival of Mr.. Fenton until
it was too late to call a meeting of
the board yesterday, as Mr.. Soaring
was summoned to the district court.
Depends on the Tariff.
1t is very probable that if Mankato
can secure the factory provided the
tariff is not taken off the beet sugar.
The company is planning on putting
up two or three factories in the
near future and it is possible that
Mankato will get one Of them with
out any bonus OF stock subscriptions,
but the following requirements must
be complied with:
First. Eighty acres must be do
mated as site, close to the city
limits, north of the city, and accessi-
BILE to the railway tracks, so that a
side track can be built to the fac
tory. This need not be good farming
land. -
Second. The factory must have an
ample supply of water as six million
gallons a day will be used, but this
can be had from the Minnesota river.
Third. Eight thousand acres of
beet sugar must be contracted for,
within a radius of seventy-five miles
of Mankato, of which 1900 acres
must be within wagon hauling dis
lance.
Fourth. The taxes are to be as
light as possible.
Can Comply With Conditions.
These conditions seem to be such
| that Mankato should easily comply
with them; there are no require
ments for stock subscriptions which
many might think would be gold
brick schemes, and the requests are
entirely fair with a substantial re-
/ turn.
In return for this, the company
| would build factory that would re-
| uuire an investment of 100000 and
would expect to get the foundation
in by next winter. This factory would
employ 800 men for 100 days in the
year, starting as soon as it was posi-
BILE to harvest the beets in the fall
and lasting until it became too cold
to work in the factory.
Mr.. Fenton said that he would be
glad to meet with the advisory
| board, the entire Commercial CLUB,
or the business men of Mankato
! about the matter, as soon as meet
! ing was fixed, when he should be no.
titled. ..
| Mr.. Fenton remained in the city
until this morning when he returned
i to Chaska, and while here was the
guest at the Hotel Heinrich. Last
! evening some of the business men
! of the city called on him to spend
few hours informally. Mr.. Fenton
was very bright man to meet and
his talk was of q very encouraging
nature. In the matter of getting
acreage, the company would furnish
I solicitors as they have done hereto
| fore. .-..
Can Ship in Material.
Mr.. Fenton did not consider the
limestone here pure enough to use
in the factory but could have it Ship
ped in. He thought Mankato an ex-
cellent point on account OF the rail-
road facilities and general condition
of the soil and said that he had al
ready written to Washington to get
copy of the report of soil analysis
of Blue Earth county. He came from
Michigan to Chaska last fall and at
that time visited Mankato to look
over the lime quarries.
Mr.. Fenton has a very favorable
q
for a beet sugar factory and believes
the soil of this section TO be adapt
ed to the profitable growth of sugar
beets. 1t is now up to the business
men of this city and the farmers in
the surrounding country to do some
active work and land the sugar beet
factory. The capital will be supplied
by Michigan parties, owning factories
in that state.
Such an institution would mean
great deal to Mankato and Mr.. Fen
ton stated that the men who worked
in the brick yards and stone quar-
ries in the summer would be en-
ployed to work in the factory while
it was in operation in the late fall
and during good part of the winter
and get lucrative wages; also that
forty men would be trained to be-
come expert mechanics and get good
wages. Local men would be en-.
ployed.