6 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Thus the beet has gained twice as fast as the cane. The beet-root sugar grown in 

 the temperate regions of Europe, and even as far north as cold Sweden, has, with the 

 aid of the chemist and of the skilled manufacturer, overtaken and surpassed the cane 

 of the tropics. The development has not been even, but its enormous proportions are 

 manifest from this comparison : 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY IN EUROPE. 



1884 

 653,000 



Production (tons of 2240 pounds) 

 Austria-Hungary, 



Germany, 1,147,000 



France, 303,000 



Belgium, 116,000 



Holland, 48,000 



Russia, 406,000 



Other European countries, 18,000 



Total European sugar production (beet), 2,691,000 



WHAT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



1894 



1,050,000 

 1,800,000 

 814,000 

 230,000 

 90,000 

 600,000 

 108,000 



4,792^00 



Gain percent. 



61 



57 

 163 



99 



88 



48 

 600 



78 



Now, while these countries have been getting rich by growing sugar for the 

 American market, our domestic sugar industry has been languishing, except for a 

 brief spurt under the McKinley law, which was not in operation long enough for its 

 influence to be fully exerted in the development of the American sugar industry. 

 Here is a table which brings out the facts on these latter points : 



Table C. THE SUGAR TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The figures for domestic production are from Willett & Gray's Sugar Statistical, the acknowledged 

 authority, and were especially compiled by them for this work. The domestic crop each year is manu- 

 factured into sugar between August and February of the succeeding year. Hence, the figures are for 

 the crop grown in the first year named in the first column, while the imports are for the fiscal year 

 ended the June 30 following. Adding the domestic production and imports gives the total supply of 

 sugar, from which the consumption per capita is estimated. The wholesale value of imported sugar is 

 given as reported by the United States treasury department, whose official figures of quantities of 

 imports are also used. The average value per pound of " fair refining" sugar each year is given in the 

 last column. This, multiplied by the pounds of domestic sugar produced, gives the estimated whole- 

 sale value of the American product, though the figures are probably too high. This, added to the value 

 of imported sugar, gives the total wholesale value of the sugar consumed in. the United States each 

 year. 



[In long tons of 2240 pounds, as used in the sugar trade.] 



Totals, 2,816,072 140,299 2,956,481 21,409,520 25,182,649 



1447.7 284.9 1,692,600,000 



It appears from this table that in the sixteen years, 1880 to 1895 inclusive, the 

 United States produced 2,673,000 long tons of sugar, or just about one-tenth of the 



