The Ordway new era., 1914-10-30

The following facts about The
manufacture OF West Indian rum are
somewhat startling. They ought to be
particularly 10 to rum-drinkers. in this
country. for large percentage Of the
West Indian product Il consumed here.
l was an overSeor On two plantations
in Demerara, British Guiana. on the
west coast. and 3 year on another
plantation on the east coast. In each
place had charge Of the buildings and
superintendent the manufacture and
shipment Of the rum and sugar. When
I was there the great bulk OF our rum
VHas shipped to New York.
In sugar manufacture the green
Juice Of the sugar-cane is gradually
heated in a tier Of huge open boilers
or pans. and II ladled from one to the
other Of these. until from the last and
hottest Of them the liquid is sucked
into vacuum-pan, where It bodls at
low temperature and soon separates
into sugar and molasses. From the
vacuum-pan this mixture goes into
centrifugal sleeves. which, revolving at
great speed, swing the molasses out
OF the sugar. The latter il then
scooped out OF the machines into
wooden trays. generally by Chinese
coolies. and borne on their heads to
the packing-room, where negroes pack
It into bags or hogsheads for ship
ment.
While the. cane-juice SINNERS in
those big pans great deal of black.
slimy scum rises to the surface, which
Is deftly skinned off by negroes and
emptied into cutters, along which Y
flows into mighty tank sunk into
the ground, 80 that 1t drains every
! floor of the buildings. This receptacle
ought to interest rum-drinkers. for the
filling of 1t with what is aptly termed
wash" is the first act in the making
Iof rum. It II the mother srum-tank.
Any water spilled on any Of tho
floors Is bound to find its way into
This great underground receptacle.
That is SO arranged for the careful
gathering OF all waste "sweets"-mors
or less sugar. molasses, skimmings.
ETC.. that are dropped on the floors.
This waste, with the continuous. dense
steam from the pans, makes every
inch Of the brick-paved floors most
disaEreeably moist. Particularly is
this felt at night. when one treads
on living carpet Of reaches. etc.
Whist May D In Rum.
The crunch II these underfoot and
the ineessant Night between the
lamps. and often into ones face. Of
large insects, toge&her with tho leis-
ursly moving o. tndamesable lisarda
and large, fat rats makes . night
round Of the buildings anything but
pleasant. Night and day these crawl
ing things are foraging all over the
lIloors; and all the time. but especially
at night. reaches are crushed by thou
sands under the feet ALWAYS bare
eeet except the overseers) Of men
who are all the time patterins back
and forth about their work.
AT $3.50 every morning hose-pipes
play on the floors and big brooms
swish the water along. helping It
carry its load OF f1lth-out Of doors
into the canal. you may think? Not
20. BY any means; but forward and
down.grade, until It falls like small
Niagara into the mother rum-tank.
1t was indispensable that the floors
| b cleaned Of their coating ot that
Kind of saccharine mucilage once in
syery twelve hours. The night gangs
Washed off before they left at 6 in the
morning; the day gangs did the same
before in the evening. The cane
mill never stops grinding out the
Juice, night or day. nor on Sundays,
while cane-cutting is on. No stop in
any Of the sequence. the mill. boiling
pans. whirling centrifugals, and carry.
ing out the sugar.
Az to that general cleanup. one part
deserves special notice. 1t can easily
be imagined that those Cinnamon who
carry the sugar as mcntioned-all
naked, of course, save for the scantiest
oin-cloth-working hard as they do In
that hot. moist NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
more or less coated all over their vel
low skins with adhering sugar. This
they are carefully prevented from car
ryins home with them. There il big
faucet supplying plenty Of warm wa,
ter, as condensed from the steam OF
the engines. Under this faucet each
sugary Celestial has to stand while
the headman. or driver. lets 90 on
each copious sousins. Then he Is
allowed to leave the buildings.
To rum-drinkers the real and cruel
interest Of these baths must lie In fol
lowing the waste rinsings; for these
can be traced with deadly certainty
until they fall into the rum-tank.
There is another sight not easily
forgotten. There are pumping days
when the big "wash" reservoir has to
be relieved Of some Of It's contents. A
steam-pump is used to lift the stuff