THE EDITOR, Sir:

On reading The Gleaner of Saturday, March 15, I came upon an interesting article by a Mr McGregor about the sugar industry. As a former worker in that industry, I would like to appeal to the Government to speed up the process of bringing back the industry to what it was in the 1960s and probable go beyond as technology has improved since then.

Here are some of the facts. Frome and Monymusk were the two largest sugar factories producing over 200,000 tons of sugar each crop. Monymusk also produced of refined sugar, and also made alcohol. If you should ask what is today's production, I am sure you would be dismayed.

In the 1960s, sugar used to employ over 45 per cent of workers in this country. What is it today? Well, if something is not done quickly to remedy this situation, the thousands of school leavers will have nothing to do but become criminals.

We were blessed with an industry which can produce six products: raw sugar, refined sugar, alcohol, ethanol, molasses and bagasse board.

Can you imagine how many people could be employed in the manufacturing of these products.

I could go on and on but just to say those two factories are only two of about nine factories that used to operate then, but they were taken over by the then government and that was the beginning of disaster.

I am therefore appealing to the present Government to do something quickly, so our young people leaving school will have a future.

I am, etc.,

H.A. McLEOD

28 Paddington Terrace

Kingston 6