SUGAR PRODUCTION IN U. S. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 55 



production. The outlook for the home industry was promising and 

 capital was invested in new factories, which increased from 26 in 

 1898 to 48 in 1901, 79 in 1903, and 88 in 1904. The increase in num- 

 ber of factories resulted in such a large overproduction of sugar that 

 in 1903 a company was formed known as the " Sociedad Azucarera 

 Espanola." This company operated 60 per cent of the sugar fac- 

 tories and was organized for the purpose of limiting the output of 

 sugar and maintaining prices above cost of production. This com- 

 pany included 11 of the cane and 42 of the beet factories in 1904, a 

 total of 53. The independent factories were cane 10, trapiches 12, 

 and beet 13, a total of 35, or 40 per cent of the total number of fac- 

 tories. The associated factories gradually decreased to 37 in 1913, 

 while the independent factories increased to 42, or 53 per cent of all 

 factories. The organization of this sugar association did not entirely 

 relieve the situation. The rivalry that sprang up between the two 

 classes of factories resulted in an annual overproduction, with a 

 consequent lowering of prices, and the stock of 89,580 tons of sugar 

 on hand on December 31, 1904, was increased to 158,310 tons on 

 December 31, 1914. The independent factories had a higher per- 

 centage of sugar extraction than the associated factories during the 

 decade ending with 1912-13. For this period the average extraction 

 per weight of cane or beets for the independent factories was 9.23 

 per cent for cane, and 12 per cent for beet, as against 9.11 for cane 

 and 11.57 for beets for the associated factories. 



SUGAR SUPPLY. 



Prior to 1900 the principal source of the Spanish sugar supply was 

 Spain's colonial possessions of Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine 

 Islands. Approximately two-thirds came from Cuba, very little, 

 amounting to less than 2,000 tons, coming from foreign countries. 

 The annual imports from all sources for the decade 1883-1892 were 

 62,660 tons, of which 39,505 tons came from Cuba. During the next 

 decade, 1893-1902, the annual imports of sugar decreased to 21,977 

 tons, of which 9,991 tons came from Cuba. During the decade 

 1903-12 the annual imports decreased to 49 tons. The imports began 

 to decrease in 1893, when the sugar-beet industry began to develop, 

 and as this industry expanded the imports decreased. Prior to 1893 

 the colonies were the principal source of the sugar supply; for the 

 next 10 years the domestic production slightly exceeded the imports, 

 and from 1903 to 1912 practically no sugar was imported. The ex- 

 ports have been in negligible quantities, amounting to an average of 

 only 59 tons for the decade 1893-1902, as against 711 tons for the 

 decade 1903-1912. The exports in 1913 exceeded all previous years, 

 amounting to 5,736 tons. The consumption of sugar in Spain in- 



