The Ordway new era., 1917-05-04
Some Benefits
Of Sugar Beets


My Dear Mr.. Senator:-
In accordance with your suggestion
I enclose herewith some data which
have prepared on THE Increased
Yield of Other Crops Due to Rotation
With Sugar Beets." subject of vital
intrest not only to the people of your
state, but to the nation.
To handle this subject, it becomes
necessary to compare the crop yields
of Europe and the United States, and
the regretable feature about it is
that such comparison does not con-
tribute to ones national pride.
A recent magazine article which
dealt in glittering generalities was
put out under the caption. 1.-THE
United States Feeding the World"
One of the statements was made that
when we shipped our cotton to Eu-
rope we sent with it the food products
to feed the starving workmen who
made into fabrics and laces.
One phase of all our too prevalent
vulgar boastfullness would be cured
/ IL we Dul TedllLeu llldi LuIOpt' Will
out Russia (the granery of Europe),
occupying but 45 per cent of our sur
face area, tills double Che number of
acres of wheat, rye, barley. oats, and
potatoes that we till, and from that
double area devoted to these five
crops their farmers harvest four times
| the number of bushels that our farm
ers harvest; that of these five crops
Europe produces more bushels per
capita for their 100000 people
than we do for our 9O,OOO.OOO peo-
pie, and during the past 80 years
Europe has increased her acreage
yield of these five crops rs per cent,
while we have increased ours but s
per cent.
! In the accompanying data I have
attempted to make plain the fact, so
well understood in Europe. that the
remarkable economic position of that
country has been brought about by
the Introduction of the humble su-
gar beet, the leaf buds and roots of
which in the time of Augustus Caesar
were used as food for slaves. and
must have been considered very vul-
gar, since Caesar delighted to COM
pare slack persons with the boiled
mangel "betizare'' dicebat.
Although my study of the baet-s;.-
gar industry extends over a perio1
of Is years, during Q of which I have
been secretary of the American Beet
Sugar Association, it was not until I
began making study trips ir Europe
that the fu!l value of the industry
in it's inter-related connection with
general agriculture dawned upon me.
and since then I have devoted a large
portion of my time to a study of this
particular feature of the industry.
Anybody will admit that it would be
desirable to produce at home the
$1SO.OOO,O 900 worth of sugar we an
nually import from foreign coun-.
tries and our island possessions, and
turn this vast sum into the pockets
of our own instead of foreign farm
ers and laborers. That in itself would
| be a consideration of great economic
value to the Nation, out it would be
small indeed compared to, the indi-
rect benefits to, be derived il we pro-
duced this sugar from beets, the cul
tivation of which in Germany, in ro-
tation with wheat, rye, barley, and
potatoes. has resulted in their farm
ers securing form the land which
they devote to these five crops an ex-
cess annual yield worth $900,000,0O0
more than our farmers secure from
like area devoted to the same crops
and II from our total area devoted
to these five crops our farmers secur-
ed as great yield as do the German
farmers our farmers would be richer
by s1,4OO. 100000 year.
Fifty years ago Bassett, in his
work, Guide Practipue du Fabricant
Sucre said:
The manufacture of sugar beets
is one of the most important ele-
ments of public prosperity. Resting
on agricultural progress and the
wants of constantly increasing pop
ulation. allied by reason of the cat
tie which it supports with the pro-
duction of meat and bread, based
upon improving cultivation, 1t rem
ders to modern society the greatest
services, at the same time that it at
tains for itself the highest point Of
prosperity and glory to which any in
dustry ever had the ambition to as
pire.
ITO be continued next week)