Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-08-23
A SACCHARINE RING.

Discovery of Immense Frauds IN the sugar.
Trade.
Washington Special (Aug. 49, to Chicago
Times.
Special agents of the government have for
some time been engaged investigating al
legged frauds on imported and exported
sugars, and have at last succeeded in secur
ing evidence that they exist to an enormous
extent. 1t had come to the knowledge of
the department over year ago that sugars
were purposely dlscolored at the place of
manufacture or shipment, by the use of
chemicals, the object being to introduce
sugar OF high grade under the lowest duty
cargo OF sugar was seized in Baltimore
some time ago, and the case is now pending
IN the United States court, and will come up
at the next term. The evidence which will be
adduced is said to be convincing. The
frauds which have been established by the
Investigations just made are the result of
passing sugars which should pay two and a
fourth cents per pound as sugars of the
lowest grade, and thus paying on them only
one and three fourth cents, difference of
half a cent per pound, which would leave
an advantage to a dishonest importer of $40
IS.
There are refneries in this country which
work up one thousand hogsheads of raw
sugar every working day. The charge is
made that there is a combination of firms
which manages to eyade the payment of the
full duty on raw sugars, and that thus they
are able to crush out all competition by
honest manufacturers. This is shown in the
tact that for over two years it has been im-
possible for sugar retners in this country to
buy raw sugars in our markets and convert
them into refined at a profit. 1t is shown
that at least one-half of the sugar refiners in
New York and vicinity have either failed or
abandoned the business. There is not a re-
fnery now running in Baltimore and Phila
delphia, all having been crushed out by
ring of reiners who import their own sugars
Besides these frauds practiced by dishonest
| importers on the importation of sugars, the
evidence has become convincing that enorm-
our frauds are perpetrated in the exporta-
| ton OF what purportS to be refined sugar
produced from imported raw sugar. All
| refined sugar, the produce Of imported raw
sugar, is entitled on expectation to the re-
payment by the treasury department of draw
backs which are supposed to be equivalent
to the import duty originally paid when the
| raw sugar from which the exported article
| was produced was imported
Molasses pays g. cents per gallon import
duty. From molasses is manufactured
! sugar of a low grade, not fit for consumption,
but which is made purposely for sale to those
| rehners who turned out good refined sugars
These domestic molasses sugars. known as
ssbastards," are worked up with imported
| sugar and converted into different classes of
refined sugars suitable for export. 1t is evil
dent that as the refining exporter receives
| from the government drawback, varying
from 2 $40 cents to 3 l8-100 cents per
! pound, he actually cheats the treasury of the
drawback allowed him on every particle of
converted domestic sugar, for, of course,
such sugar never was imported, and, conse-
quently, never paid any import duty. 1t is
well. known that thousands of hogsheads of
these bastard sugars are annually con-
verted into refined sugars and exported under
| the drawback. Another article of home
manufacture has, it is admitted, played of
late years no unimportant part in the de-
frauding of the treasury. This article.
known as glucose, is produced from corn
| and is said to be very extensively used in
the manufacture OF refined syrups and
sugars. 1t is impossible to obtain any re-
| liable data as to the increase of the produc-
| ton of the home article, but it is known to
| have been enormous.