The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-12-27
Inc the customs. poisoning the people, and

Ing the customs, poisoning the people, and
ruing the industries OF this State.
The operation Of the existing tariff has been
to discourage, according to the official returns,
the importation OF high grades OF sugar and
to greatly increase that Of low grades. Mr..
T. A. Havemeyer, large refiner, testified be-
fore the Wood congressional committee that
since 1870 the importations from Cuba have
only increased about or per cent while the
lmportations from Brazil. and other low-pro-
ducing countries, have increased since 1870
from DO, 900, 900 of pounds to 240000000 Of
pounds In 1877"-an increase of 600 per cent.
Again, Mr.. Havemeyer says: "This staG
referring to the low grades) contains rs per
cent Of sugar, and here is another containing
80 per cent. Would 1t be fair to charge the
importer % per cent on twenty-five pounds
of dirt and charge the other kind equally on
two pounds OF dlrtY'
Yet the retiners turn out this twenty-five
pounds or dirt, and twenty-five pounds added
To 1t In the way Of corn, glucose, lead and
copper "The facts are" says Mr.. Henry A.
Brown In his pamphlet, that while some
sugars OF the wretchedly poor grades called
stuff are imported under this blind vast
tanning only from to 10 per cent OF impuri-
ties are imported and evade the payment Of
proper duty through false sarnpliDg and
grading for duty "Onicial evidence exists
that from this same stuff reflners have, time
and again, been able to obtain high draw
back on 10 to 80 per cent OF refined sugar pro-
duct, exported as the product OF cargoes OF
low grade sugars entered for duty, sampled
and graded TO pay the lowest duty rate
allowed by law on sugars, and have sold 20 to
30 per cent OF the Same cargoes for home con-
sumption
How these frauds on the customs have been
perpetrated has been shown by the confess
sions Of custom-house appraisers In New
York, published In the New York papers Of
last week. Among the many tricks disclosed
was tho habit OF certain OF the largest REIN
ers OF keeping, standing for months, on the
wharves hogsheads Of the lowest grades,
from which all samples for customs inspec-
tion and valuation were supplied for all car
goes landed. These frauds have reached pro-
portions that cannot be calculated. They
can only be inferred from the statement
above made, OF the relative Increase OF
Cuban centrifugal sugars OF to 81
per cent In seven years and OF
the lower grade Brazilian sugars OF 600 per
cent during the same period. For the last
two years the loss, In palpable frauds, to the
government has been but fraction less than
$l3,000.0OO In customs revenue OF $G7,000,000.
Then, after these frauds, comes In the mani
pulation OF this "stuff' by the reflners. The
purest saccharine loses per cent by refine
want u,o find thiu ufun copta fniu1 hut IN
per cent pure sugar, turned out, pound for
pound, after refinement.
What protection does this sort Of tariff
afford to Louisiana sugar producers2 None
whatever. 1t rather serves to discourage
their industry and to place them at great
disadvantage facilities for defrauding
the revenue being so great as to place our
high grades In competition, In our own coun-
try, with the high grades of other countries
rated as half dirt. 1t would actually be an
advantage to US, under the present standard,
to abolish the tariff altogether.
This wrong can be rectified by q uniform
tariff. single line of demarcation be-
tween low and high grades can be substi
tuted for the infinitesmal gradations and I'M
reliable standards now In use, and the coilec
should be done at once. The system OF theft
and poisoning, which defrauds the govern
ment, robs the consumers and destroys the
productive industry Of the richest agricultu-
raj region of The world, will thus be destroyed.
Humanity as well as economy demands that
something be done, and done Immediately.
Congress will employ itself better in solving
this problem than in considering measures
that will forward Blaine's prospects for the
White House.