STATE BOUNTIES AND BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY 915 



1892. But the farmers of the district, in view of the election 

 results, which pointed to the repeal of the McKinley bounty, 

 were not very enthusiastic about the enterprise ; and this, com- 

 bined with the dry year of 1894, almost killed the industry in 

 that state. 



In March, 1895, the state came to the rescue of the languish- 

 ing industry, and the legislature passed a new bounty law, offer- 

 ing I cent a pound on all sugar manufactured, provided the beets 

 brought the farmers at least ;^5 a ton. Since the amount of bounty 

 on the finished sugar just about covered the extra cost of the beets, 

 it amounted virtually to a bonus of ^ i a ton for the beet growers. 

 Under the stimulus of this law some 9000 acres were put under 

 beets for the two Nebraska factories for the crop of 1895. The 

 legislature of 1896 did not favor the principle and repealed the 

 bounty law. The Grand Island and the Norfolk factories never- 

 theless paid the farmers the extra price for beets and filed with 

 the state a claim for the bounties, due under the old law. This 

 claim, which amounted to $40,000, Was in the courts for a 

 number of years, and it was not until 1904 that the law finally 

 was declared unconstitutional. The two subsidized factories, and 

 two others established later, have all gone out of business, except 

 that at Grand Island. 



The state of Michigan had an experience with bounties which 

 in many respects was even more striking than that of Nebraska ; 

 though the industry established under the impulse given by the 

 bounty law has survived in Michigan much better than it did 

 in Nebraska, a result due, no doubt, to natural conditions more 

 favorable to the industry in Michigan than in the latter state. 

 The legislature of 1897, in Michigan, passed a law providing for 

 a bounty of i cent per pound to be paid for sugar made from 

 beets for which at least $4 per ton had been paid to the farmers. 

 An appropriation of $10,000 was made to cover the payment of 

 the bounty, and it was provided by the law that any excess over 

 this amount should come from the general fund not otherwise 

 appropriated. It was further provided that any factory with a 

 capacity of at least 2000 pounds of sugar per day, erected while 

 this act was in force, should be entitled to receive the bounty for 



