Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-04-10
[. OF C. SECURES BIG NEW PLANT
 FOR PINE BLUFF
Sweet Potato Curing Plant Will Benefit County as
 Well as City.

i
 Will Benefit County as
 Well as City.
 l The chamber of commerce announ- ces this morning the landing of an other industry for Pine Bluff, the fourth since the first of the year, and, like the other three this one will ca ter to and promote the agricultural interests of the city. The new con cern will be known as the Pine Bluff Sweet Potato Curing and Storage plant. the purchase of which has just been completed by G. A. Bahlau, and T. F. Gadberry, heads of the Bahlau Produce company and the Harrison Produce and Commission company, of ! this city. These gentlemen have pur- chased what is known as the wells system of curing and storing sweet potatoes, q process worked out by J. B. Wells, of Longview, Texas, who or ganized the Southland Sweet Potato Curing and Storage association, cap italized at a million dollars with head quarters at Dallas, Texas.
 This process has been demonstrate | made by the state inspection depart ment, of Texas, as we'll as the gov ernment inspectors, show a loss from rot and in weight of less than four percent compared to former records kept by the U. s. Agricultural De- partment in the ordinary storage plants recommended heretofore by the U. S. Agriculture Department, of from 25 to 60 per cent. The owners iof the Wells system sell this system to one party in each county and under it's contract supervises and erects the building and the process by which the potatoes are cured and made immune from rot.
 To Erect Plant.
 The building to be erected will be of inter-locking tile capable of stor- ing 10000 bushels of potatoes, and vii lcost in the neighborhood of $2O,- 900, erected so as to permit additions and anneXes.
 Secretary Bloom has been working for more than year to secure one of these plants, having for the past four years devoted a great deal of time and study to sweet potatoe pro- duction. because of the adaptability of local hill lands to their culture. On March 26 he invited Messrs. Bah lau and Gadberry to accompany him to Longview Texas, and other points in Texas where these plants had been in operation for from three to five years. Knowing that Mr. Bahlau and MT. Gadberry were so familiar with the potato and general produce busi- ness that their personal investiga- i tion would decide it's worth. Within 1 24 hours after their return to Pine Bluff negotiations were started to ob- tain one of these plants for Pine Bluff. The representative of the com rany. Hal Medlin, was invited by the chamber of commerce to come here, arriving just day or two later, and, since that time the negotiations have continued every day.
 Contracts Signed.
 Contracts were signed today, at noon, and the site for the erection of the building, two acres, was trans ferred to Mr. Bahlau and MT. Cad berry The site is located on the Pine Bluff and Hot Spring Western R. R., West of the Morgan Veneer plant just two blocks from the dollarway. the sixth avenue, Princeton and Grant county pike. and accessible, by pike, practically all the way from the Sulphur Springs and Hearndale sec- tion. Railroad switches capable of taking care of several cars at time will be installed.
 Longview, Texas is located some- what similar to Pine Bluff. Up to four years ago, like this city, cotton was it's greatest cash crop. Today there is hardly farmer or planter, or for that matter, man owning as much as block of ground but what is devoting from a 10th to 10 acres to sweet potatoes.
 An idea of the growth of this 'busi- ness might be had from the fact that the Wells System has booked more than fifty million potato slips since the first of January, this year, and secured the country to fill orders for sweet potatoes. The people of the north and west are just beginning to learn the food value of the sweet po- tato, which is about four times as great as the Irish. potato.
 Means Big Saving.
 Asst. Secretary VrOoman, of the | agricultural department in a circu- lar, last year, made the statement that by the proper housing and stor- ing facilities thirty million bushels of sweet potatoes could be saved each /! year. More than this amount per | ish for the want of suitable storage. all of which waste will be eliminated by the Wells System. Eighteen of | these warehouses were in existence | Continued on page three)