The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-09-05
THE SUGAR SHED COMPANY.

dentlemen-The undersigned, having di-
rect interest in the welfare Of this city, indi-
reGtly interested i'll the production and econoniA
ical handling Of the sugar produced in this
State and marketed here. and seeing efforts
being made to secure an adjustment OF the
relations OF the Sugar Shed Company towards
the city, greatly TO the disadvantage Of the
latter, begs leave to say;
|. That there probably exists no doubt In
the mind OF any citizen who has given any
thought to the subject, nor in the mind Of
any one Oh your honorable body that the
whole sugar shed scheme was conceived in
iniquity.
g. That all the probabilities are that not
one OF you believes that any such sum
| 0,000 as is claimed to hove been expended
by the company was spent for erecting sheds,
and that each and every one of you believes,
with that portion Of the general community
who have inquired into the subject. that the
sums OF preferred stock for services rem
dered IN securing charter and special privi-
leges,
8. That your honorable body knows that
the said company has ever been is and will
be (if permitted to EXIST direct bn1then on
the producers OF sugar and molasses. and,
consequently, an incubus on the city and
State at large.
| 4. That you are surely aware that there
| exists no shadow Of right on the part Of CITY
! or State to grant to any private corporation,
| Or to any private citizen the right to levy
tax on any produce landed at our wharves.
even though it be claimed that said corpora
| ton or citizen tenders q guild pro quo. The
charter of this company comprehends the
power to tax all sugar and moasses landed
| on the levee.
| 5. Your honorable body are also aware that
| the landings i'm front of this city are open.
| like the public highway, to the commerce or
| the world. subject only to such restrictions at
| your hands as are necessary to their proper
police and conduct. Therefore you have no
power to appropriate any portion Of said land
Cf Tlfiy To prrDn
| tions on individuals.
| 6. You have, through your committees.
| clearly ascertainsd that the company has
largely failed even in it's peeunary obiea-
| tions to the city itself, while a1nassing money
| it had no right to-, and declaring large divi-
| dends to stockholders exhibiting, by
shocking greed and illegal avoidance total
want OF that sense of duty to society without
which no corporation should exist.
| 7. Your honorable body must be aware that
! the sheds of this company have ever been
most serious obstacle to the movement of
| both incoming and outgoing freights. There
| is q necessary demand for large space in front
| Of the boats that land nearly all the sugar
| and molasses brought here, as well as for the
| reception by the boats of the large return
| freights, and ever since the absorption Of the
| levee by the warehouses called sugar sheds
| the movement OF both classes Of freight has
been greatly hampered, and to the detriment
| of all concerned.
| The intelligence Of your honorable body
| advantages offered the producer in shell
tering his sugar, as you are fully aware that
neither corporations nor individuals offer
| advantages gTatis "A profit must be made
| off the producer or the company could not
exist; and for you to appropriate your public
landings to exclusive private aggraadise.
| ment is utterly violatiye of law and general
right.
But, the, company is Of no general adyan-
| tage to the producer, even If you had the
| right to give it the landing. Fair inquiry will
show you that the great mass Of the crops OF
| sugar and molasses reaching this market is
sold within few hours after leaving the
boats or railroads, and while it yet lies on the
open levee. There is but one small class of
the people to whom the sheds are generally
useful, viz: the middle men who purchase at
first hands and sell gradually to dealers, and
all that they pay for use Of the sheds Is 10
much dead expense attached to sugar and
| Inolasses, for the producer and consumer pay
| it at last.
9. Your honorable body cannot be unaware
| OF the facts as to the mode Of flow Of sugar
from the producers into this market, and that
being produced in great measure ON the
banks Of the Mississippi and it's tributaries,
with planters possessing at home more or
less ample facilities for storage. this flow in
greatly regulated thereby. There is only one
| short term of anything approaching gIut in
| the narket-that being regulated by the
| pecuntary demand OF the merchant on the
| prOdqcer-and when we had no sheds the pro-
| ducer suffered no more in this respect than he
| does now
10. In permitting the existence OF this mo-
| nopoly your honorable body not only do
| wrong, as set forth but you do n double
wrong In permitting, or indeed fostering, O.
distinctive burthen on % single article Of com
| merce, and combining the field to one set Of
men. II it is legitimate, wise and profitable
| thus to invade general rights and to hamper
| industry, open wide the field and invite pro-
posals for all men who are unwilling to work.
| but who would fatten ON the work Of others
to bid for the privilege Of all your landings
that they may shed cotton, tobacco, corn,
| Ineat-everything that comes to the market
H.. But more than all, you have been re-
Gently memorialized by a committee Of eiti-
zens OF the highest responsibility, and with
large interests at stake, and this committee
has distinctly charged. the Sugar Shed Com
pany with systematically exacting from
them illegal and e&tortionate charges on su-
gar and moasses.
IL. Your honorable body has, through a
duly appointed COMMITTEES, carefully nvesti-
gated these charges, and you have found that
| they are positively true; that the company
has not been satisfied with exaeting what its
| Illegal charter permitted, but that it has ex-
torted from unwilling industry far more than
this.
10. More, you have, in the course Of your
investigation, found that in their greed for
unholy pelf the company has even forfeited it's
charter-that it in reality no longer exists.
u. To sum up the matter, your honorable
body is called on to deal with q set of men
calling themselves q corporate body, who
granting them this appellation for the sake
OF arguIaent originated In sin, who neyerhad
d right to exist, who publicly claim to have
expended money on the landings which yors
don't believe they eyer have spent, who y0ts
believe issued preferred stock" (nore pro-
perly fraudulent stock to insure q charter.
who have extorted from people rnonevs thew
are not entitled to, and whom you believe to
have now forfeited their charter through their
own acts.
come before your honorable body, then, a.
single and humble citizen, but with as much
right to be heard and to be needed as have
ten thousand men, to protest against your
holding any communication with this Sugar
Shed Company with a view to adjusting it's
relations to society and continuing its exist
ence
II the company had primarily no right tn
exist, as have shown, so far from holding
any official communication with it, It seems
to me that, in doing your full duty
to the people who have chosen you TO manage
L. III.