The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-01-04
The sugar Traffic.

evasion of its provisions comparatively
easy. It has been repeatedly charged
that systematic plan existed to rob the
government OF the revenue by lowering
the grade Of sugars, and several inettect-
ual efforts have been made to
change the law. The advocates Of tarri'
reform are now pressing bill for change
on the sugar tariff. and not without hops
of success. A Washington correspondent
of the Chicago Times says that every
body comedies that the present law is
wrong-wrong in the sense that under II
the greatest imrositions and iuequall-
ties of taxation can DO assessed upon the
merchants of the country without their
having any redress. An appeal from the
secretary of the treasury to the courts
cost so much money and time that few
merchantscan afford to make such ap-
peals. Besides this, the merchant who
ineurs the displeasure of the treasury
powers is placed in position where he Is
SUBJECT TO PERSECUTION AND ANNOY
ANCE,
Stated in general way. the case OF the
merchant is something like this: Inc
regulations themselves of the sugar tariff
are intricate and subject to variable con-
structions. The people interested with
the construction of these laws and the as
sessing of rhe tax upon the merchants are
the lowest paid officers under the govern
ment. They are paid $50 month. A
slight variation in judgement of these
poorly-paid men will cost a merchant
thousands of dollars on a single cargo.
Dishonest dealers will always have an ad-
vantage. The average low-paid official
charged with such responsible duties il
fair subject for bribery. That such
bribery does take place 10 certain from the
fact that one class OF importers make
money while others are ina constant strug-
gle to keep them selves from actual loss.
The question of the revision of the sugar
tariff will be pressed vigorously upon the
ways and means committee when congress
meets again. Tho. Importance of the
legislation sought can be fully estimated
by a''statsment of. the amount of money
involved in it. The people of this country
pay $150,O00,00O year for sugar, or
little over $500 O00,a day. Forty millions
of this is collected in the way of revenue.
Three quarters of this revenue is collected
in New York. the other, Gone-fourth in
Philadelphia and Boston.
UNDER THE PRESENT LAW
sugar is taxed according to the Dutch
standard of color, There; are twenty
numbers. The numbers are used to desig
nate from the darkest and eirtiest grade,
indicated by one, to the highest and
ightest, indicated by twenty. In the
imposition of the duties sugar Is divided
into seven classes. There is a different
tariff for each class. The variations Of
color are so slight that nobody but an ex
pert could tell them. So difficult has it
been to determine the proper tariff for
these different grades of sugars that the
treasury department has called to his aid
an instrument known as the polariscope'
This instrument is supposed TO give the
exact strength of sugar. Its use, how
ever, is not authorized by law,
and it is supposed to be only used when
the color test fails. It however. has been
shown very :eonclusively that there is a
wide latitude for discretion that makes
corruption possible, under the laws confn-
ing collection of tariff to the basis Of the
color test. Molasses and the Impurities in |
sugar naturally sink to the7bottom of the
hogshead. The polaricope applied then
would give lower grade OF sugar than
the hogshead really contained. This
would be the governments loss. Placed
On top whore the dryest and purest sugar
would lie, the result would be to give a
higher grade of sugar. The importer in
that case would be the loser. The trea
sury department dare not insist upon the
present regulations. and would be willing |
to have some change, so great have been |
the complaints against existing laws. Now. |
n the proposed changes the question Of
he best means to be employed is at once
raised. David &. Wells, the we'll known
poiItIca. economist, has prepared a pamph-
'et upou tue buUiocL III WHICH No duVO-
Gates.
AN ADVALOREM COLLECTION OF DUTY.
Those who object to Mr.. Wells propo-
sition say that they concede in advance
that an ad valorem tariff is just and near
est to perfect assessment. but that it is
IN impractical system. and leaves as wide
, margin for the discretion of officials as
luder the present system. There is
10 way of preventing some of
he importers from having false
bills of lading come with the sugar
Tor custom house inspection with real bills
Of iading sent privately by mail. Besides
his the market value of sugar is constant
y huctuating. They say no importer
would be able to tell how much he had to
Jay until after the asse ssment was made
Those who oppose the ad valorem tariff
advocate a uniform rate of two cents q
pound upon all sugars below No. l3 Dutch
standard. They claim that this is natur-
II line. Last year $40, 900. 900 pounds Il