128 THE MINORITY REPORT 



76. Our views on the possibilities of beet sugar are 

 well expressed in the following paragraph from the 

 pen of a well-known agricultural authority, whose 

 anonymity we respect but regret : 



'' The sugar-beet industry has assumed gigantic 

 proportions in Germany, and its introduction into 

 this country has been urged with gathering force for 

 the last ten years. The advantages of a home-grown 

 supply of sugar and of a valuable cattle food are too 

 well known to need repetition. The indirect benefit 

 which the industry confers on agriculture by affording 

 an object-lesson in highly intensive farming has also 

 been noticed. In one direction the industry has in 

 this country already passed beyond the experimental 

 stage. It has been demonstrated that sugar beet 

 can be grown in England as well and as profitably as 

 on the Continent. The one unknown factor is whether 

 the manufacture can be made to pay. That is a point 

 which experience alone can decide. It is believed 

 that, without the imposition of any additional duties, 

 beet sugar can now be manufactured with commercial 

 success. But the initial cost of the venture can 

 scarcely be put at less than £250,000. If the capital 

 were found, and if the experiment were tried and 

 succeeded, an excise duty would be, in all probability, 

 imposed which would crush the nascent industry. 

 The enterprise is, therefore, too hazardous for private 

 capital alone. 



" The case would seem to be one for the Develop- 

 ment Commissioners. Here is an experiment which 

 might prove of immense advantage to the Nation, and 

 Parliament has placed pubHc funds at the disposal 

 of the Commission for the purpose of assisting useful 

 experiments. Unfortunately, the Act, as interpreted 

 by lawyers, excludes from its benefit any company 



