The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-12-11
The Proposed Change I'm the Sugar
Duties.

Duties.
Sugar is just now a substance much con-
sdered in many quarters, and we give o
! good deal of space to-day TO what our mer-
chants have to say about it. 1t is our be-
lief that the Secretary of the Treasury was
IL advised when he was led to recommend
uniform rate of duty on all sugars i'm
ported into this country. 1t may be that
there are difficulties in thoroughly collect
ing the duties where they are on a
| graduated scale, as now, though this is
denied; and the fact that importers and
refners Luy and sell cargoes altogether by
the test OF the polariscope would seem to
prove that this instrument might safely be
used by the government instead of the
vague color test known as the Dutch
standard, which has been discarded by the
merchants and refnerS here and in Europe.
We suspect the suggestion of a uniform
rate of duty comes from Southern sugar
planters, who desire to secure for them
selves little higher bounty in the shape Of
protection for their low grade sugars for
it is easy to see that a uniform duty Of say
three cents per pound is equal TO one hum
dred per cent on raw sugar worth three
cents, but only Of fifty per cent on sugar
refined abroad by foreign labor until it is
worth six cents per pound. The Southern
planter would therefore secure Il protection
equal to one hundred per cent ad yalorem for
his raw sugars, but az the expense Of the
American refners, who would be crushed by
the discrimination such uniform rate
would work in favor Of the foreign refners,
by enhancing the price OF the raw material
which is here refined.
But the Southern sugar planters already
enjoy very handsome bounty or protec
ton under the present duties. present
rate is equal to sixty-three per cent ad
valorem on sugar, and what that means will
is but sixty per cent, on champagne but
sixty per cent, on fine cutlery but fifty per
cent, on laces only ffty-five per cent. That
is to say, sugar, an article Of universal con-
sumption, necessary of life to the poor,
now bears higher duty than such luxuries
as silk, champagne and laces. Of course
the revenue derived from sugar is impor-
tant ; but it is now sufficient in amount,
and there can be no merit in any plan which
would needlessly increase it.
To put uniform rate of duty on sugar
would be, in plain words, to increase the
price OF low grade sugars made in our
Southern States and to offer n handsome
bounty to the refners of Cuba and Europe
against our own. Suppose it were proposed
to lay uniform duty of fifteen dollars per
ton on iron of all kinds, including Bessemer
steel? The iron people would point out at
once that while this would be to give
monstruous protection of one hundred per
which sells now ct about fifteen dollars a
ton, it would be at the same time to dis
criminate severely aud unjustly against
American makers of Bessemer steel,
which sells at say forty dollars
ton, and which, under the uniform
duty, would have to be made from
very high priced iron. Or suppose
it were determined to lay uniform duty
of six cents on oil cotton goods, six cent
calicoes would have protection Of hun
dred per cent; the finer kinds, employing
more and better skilled labor, would have
but fifty per cent protection, and, in fact,
such a law would condemn our cotton spin
ners to make only the coarser and less
valuable goods and offer a bounty to the
foreign makers Of the finer goods.
We do not suppose for q moment that Mr..
Sherman meant to recommend that an un-
Just and ruinous discrimination should be
made against American sugar refners. He
has been badly advised, and we are only
DESTROYS to make this plain to members Of
Congress and to the Committee Of Ways
and Means, which will presently take up,
we hear, the question of the sugar duties.
More than six thousand people are en-
ployed in the business of sugar refining in
this port alone q change of laws which
should cripple this business and throw
these people out Of employment is serious
matter, against which it is our duty to pro-