The Ordway new era., 1914-12-25
An nOpen Letter
toBeet Growers
President Carey Of the Nat
ional Sugar Manufacturing
Co. Discusses Next Seasons =
Beet Contract

DEcExBER II. 1914.
C. F. Tecklenburg, Esq,
President Farmers' Improvement As
sociation,
Sugar City, Colorado.
DEAR SIR: ~
arrived last week 1t Sugar City af-
ter two months absence in Europe,
and have been very courteously told BY
you that some OF our beet growers have
inquired whether It 10 the purpose OF
our company to waive our contract with
them and to pay for 1914 beets on the
scale Of prices announced at the begin
ming Of the campaign by the Great
Western Sugar Company. ! have de-
layed making any answer to this in
quiry until our factory completed it,
slicing on Saturday night. The factory
report shows that the avarage sugar In
our beets was . small fraction over fif-
teen per cent, and that the sverage. pu-
rity was under eighty-two per cent In
1913 the average sugar content Of our
beets was over sixteen and one-hak per
cent, and the average purity was nearly
eighty-fo and one-hslf per cent. This
means, from an extraction standpoint,
that each ton Of beets received by u
this year was worth to US more than q
dollar and half less per ton than the
beets we received last year. This diff
ference in value is due entirely to the
low sugar content and low purity OF
the beets this year.
We have still unsold more than eigh-
ty per cent Of the suger We have manu-
featured, and We have no means Of
making any safe guess - to when We
can sell it and a. to what price we will
receive for It. Our last sale in the
Missouri Valley Of FIVE thousand bags
nets W slightly over four and seven
tsnths cents per pound. and the market
has declined since this sale was made,
and indications are for still further de-
clines. Under these conditions it doss
not seem 70 10 that there u any real
justification for payment by our com
pany Of any increase In the prices for
beets fixed by our 1914 contract between
this company and its growers.
We hsvs never been willing TO follow
othsr bset sugar companies In 9xing
bsst psiess; I'D will nct dS 70 In this o.
any other case. Our local conditions
arc different. our opportunities for
making money are different and this
year our bests are not to be compared
with tn high-grade bests producsd In
the Northern territory. Our beet con-
tracts have always differed In material
points with contracts prevailing In 9TH
or parts Of the state: for example: We
give our growers free twenty per cent
Of the weight Of thsir delivered bsets in
pulp. I am informed that In the thickly
settled and fully developed tefritory Of
Colorado the farmer must pay seventy
ave cents per ton for his pulp.
Il u the determined purpose Of our
Independent plant % make it, own con-
tracts, deal with its own business con
ditions, and, generally speaking. TO
"sail III own ship" without dictstion
from out side influence, and We follow
neither up nor down the prices and
terms fixed BY other companies. The
position taken by some Of the other
Colorado companies was taken att time
when high prices and misjudgsd future
prospects gave promise Of an extraor-
dinarily prosperous campaign for al
beet sugar companies.
10 the spirit, however. Of good will
and frieodliness, and 10 order not en-
tirely to dissppoint the expectations
Of some Of our growers. We will upon
February lst, 1915. send 70 each one
of our growers, with our very best
wishes. checks for amounts equivalent {
70 bonus OF twenty cents ton On
each ton Of beets delivered TO Us re-
wardless Of sugar conten or purity. .
Our agricultural department will
L. g. As-. on