El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-05
> AsHINGToN. b. q. n. =

- ASHINGTON, D. c. Jan D
AI The sugar industry has gone
w under the control Of the gov
eminent, and the food administration
urges that each Of US cut down the
amount Of sugar he is using in his
tea and coffee snd IN candles and
cake. so that We may have a greater
supply TO s--S 70 our allies in Eu-
rope. There IS d sugar famine in
France, England and italy, asd the
ration now given to the French SOL
diers in the trenches IS not more than
a small lump per day. Many OF the
people Of France have no sugar at
all. and Mr.. Hoover has promised to
shop them 100000 tons as soon as
the stuff can be sent over the ocean
The amount the English are using
now averages only about one ounce
every q hours and the Italians have
a stiu shorter supply
It is strange 10 think OF sugar as
war asset, but II has been found TO
be a vital necessity to the men in the
trenches, and 10 the soldiers engaged
in all sorts Of labor. II is one Of the
most easily digested OF foods and the
rapidity with which IL goes into the
system enables IL TO ward off fatigue.
This IS one Of the reasons why sugar
is so much relished by children and
by men doing muscular work The
farmers eat a great deal Of sweets
and the same IS true OF All those
Who work hard IN the open air.
Not long ago studies in the winter
camps Of the Maine woods showed
that the lumbermeu eat enormous
quantities of cakes, molasses and su-
gar. and that 10 per cent Of their
energy comes from that diet. Sugar is
also valuable to keep out the cold of
the trenches It is a great heat pro-
ducer and is always taken as part
Of the outfit Of polar expeditions II
IS used also by mountain elm berS and
especially the guides OF the Swiss
Alps
Germans Realize Value Of Sweets.
The value Of sugar TO the soldier in
the field is well known to the Ger
mans. Long before this war began
they made experiments which showed
that the men could do more work and
stand more hardShips II they had
liberal allowance Of sugar On the
long marches II was found that II ap-
peased hunger and mitigated thirst,
and that while the men without su-
gar dropped on the way, none Of those
supplied with IL were overcome by
exhaustion The sugar users were
found to have a better pulse rate and
their breathing was less affected by
overeXertiOn.
It was on the basis OF these expert
nents that the German surgeons
recommended that the sugar ration
for the army be increased. and that il
be given the men IN their coffee and
in preserves or honey or in sweetened
food At the beginning OF this war
the Germans tried to reduce the size
Of their sugar crop in order To use
more OF the ground for potatoes and
cereals. The result was shortage
of sugar. which affected the army.
The second year they planted more
beets and they have now resumed the
old sugar raIions.
Discovery Of Rect Sugar.
Indeed the beet sugar industry was
started owing to the sugar needs OF
an army. It was when Napoleon Bona
uarte was at war with England and
the ports of France were 50 block
AIDED that there was no sugar for the
French soldiers Some years previous
TO that scientist named MarEraf had
discovered that beets contained sugar,
and later on a pupil Of his named Acn-
ard esta bliSEed the first beet sugar
factory. He announced the success
OF his experiments 10 the Scientific
Institute Of France in 1893 and a lit
tie later Napoleon tried TO swesten
his army with beets. At any rate he
offered a prize Of 100. 600 francs, or
100000 10 any one who would make
? success Of extracting sugar from
beets. and the result was q number OF
factories
During the next decade the Ger
mans began to experiment along the
same lines and their government Of
fered bouuties Of so much per pound
on all beet sugar made in their cOun-
try The movements formed the fOun-
dation Of the beet sugar industry Of
Europe. which when this war began
was yielding almost one half OF the
sugar supply Of the world. The
amount then made was enough to
give ten pounds TO every man, woman
and child upon earth.
Beets May Surpass Sugar Cane.
The sugar beet can be raised in a
large part OF the temperate zone. and
II is a question whether. after the war
Is ended, the beet sugar product will
not surpass the cane sugar product At
present the land in the two crops is
about equal The world over. there is
now sOmthing like 5000 900 acres de-
voted TO cane every year and about
5000 acres devoted to the sugar beet
The total area in sugar is thus about
100000 acres, so little that II all the
plantations could be Joined together
they would not cover q space more