Salt Lake Tribune | 1910-12-03 | Page 11 | Beet Growers Want More for Product

BEEIGROKIBI IWQRE FDR PROOUGT Are Organizing to Iake Eccles I and Associates Live Up to Promises. Special to Tho Tribune. OGDEN". Dec, Bcctgrowers of Weber county, having in mind the promises prom-ises of David Eccles and his associates of the Amalgamated Sugar company last year, that tho price uf bcelw would be increased to 55 a. ton tills year, are organizing or-ganizing into an association for tho purpose pur-pose of presenting their demands for an entirely different, contract for next vear's crop. It will be recalled that the boetgrowera of the county held a. mass meeting at Ogden Og-den before the planting aeason last s.pr,"S an! l' 51 committee demanded iimt tho price of beets bo Increased from 5!.o0 to o a ton. At lirst nil the beet-growers beet-growers wore a unit In this demand, tiradually the hand of the Mormon church was shown and, after listening to public addresses from President James Wotherspoon and other leaders of tho Mormon church, most of the bcotgrowers aubni Isslvely decidod to sell their crops Tor the same old price. Certain Improvements Im-provements In the method of handling and shipping the beetgrowers' crops were made by tho sugar company, which consisted con-sisted mainly of tho erecting of platforms at varloiiH railroad stations for the Ioad- s of.J,no' suKar beets Into the freight cars. The officers of tho sugar companv. by a written agreement, promised the beetgroweiR that if they would agree to noil their crop for the old price an increase in-crease of $5 would be allowed for th next season's crop. This finally was agreed to by a majority of the boetgrow-'rs. boetgrow-'rs. but there arc many farmers of Weber county, who had never planted anything but sugar beets, who refused to sell at that price for another year and harvested other crops this fall. V itli the high prices of sugar and tho low cost of manufacturing taken into consideration. I ho beetgrowers of Weber county have decidod thai some of the profits must come to them from the business, which is entirely dependent upon thorn for Its succesa. This year there Is to be a more united demand for an increase to 55 a ton for the beet crop, if the signs arc to be relied re-lied upon. At a. recent meeting, at which a few delegates from all parts of Weber and Box Elder counties wore present, It was quietly agreed to demand a ton for the beet crop next year, and if the Fiigar company does not agree to this demand, the farmers aro to pledge themselves to raise no beets. The meeting, which was of a secret nature, Is said to be the forerunner of a big mass meeting, to be called soon, at which every beetgrowor of the two counties will be present, iu person or by 'representative. A committee commit-tee Is at work canvassing among tho farmers, and perfecting a moro united action among thein.