Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-01-26
THE KING OF SUGAR.
Claus Spreckles and Hawaii.

the estimation of the planters of Loulsl-
ana, the refiners of the Eastern States and
those members of Congress who represent
their views, the name 'Spreckles" and the
word monopoly are synonymous. In
the Judgment of Spreckles' friends he is a
stubborn, self-willed, active, intelligent
man, who has made just as much money
in the business of planting and refining
sugar as circumstances would permit.
The Hawaiian Commercial Company,
which Mr.. Spreckles controls, and IN
great part owns, has practical monopoly
Of the sugar business of the Hawaiian
Islands and of the Pacific coast. Mr..
SpreckIes enjoys this absolute domination,
because he has backed his ideas with
money and has outstripped his neighbors
in the race for wealth and power.
Claus Spreckles landed in this country
from Prussia many years ago with three
dollars in his pocket. He could not speak
the English language then, and his con-
versatiOn now is favored with German
accent and expression that at times makes
it difficult for a native American to I'M
derstand him. Spreckles went to san
Francisco from Charleston in 1856, virtu-
| ally penniless, and his wealth is now to
be counted by millions. He is an Ameri-
can citizen, proud of the fact, and unable
! to comprehend why, because he has made
a great deal of money, certain people
should object to his desire to add
to his store. Mr.. Spreckles has an
idea that every man in business wants
to make as much money as possible, and
he does not blame the sugar refners of the
| East for trying to get the better OF him.
! He does think, however, that 1t is nom
| sense for the Eastern retiners to represent
! that the consumer of sugar will be
/ benefited by the abrogatiOn of the
/ Hawaiian treaty, when their only object,
as he asserts, is to control markets which
! they cannot now reach. Mr.. SpreckleS
says that the object of his visit East is to
ascertain the ACCESSIBILITY of establishing
refinery in Baltimore, where he has been
| led to believe there is a good opportunity
for investment. The prevalence of small
pOX in that city has deferred him from
visiting it.
Mr.. Spreckles is apparently about fifty
| five years of age. He is of medium height,
heavily built, plain in his appearance and
conversation. His hair is white and thin,
his head being almost bald on the top; a
I steel-gray mOustache and whiskerS sur
round a large, we'll made mouth, and
heavy, square lower jaw. His complex
ion is flOrid, and his eyes are blue. In
conversation with your correspondent to-
day, Mr.. Spreckles said:
In my Judgment there is no doubt that
the duty on sugar will be reduced, if not
next Congress. There is popular de-
mand for reduction. You desire to know
| something about the Hawaiian trade, |
| suppose. OF course, | am opposed to the
abrOgation of the treaty, and l have seYe-
raj reasons therefor.
| will be entirely frank with you when |
say that l can make more money with the
treaty in force than if it should be abro-
gated. With equal candOr l say that, if
the treaty is abrOgated, l can continue my
sugar business at a large profit. l, as an
American, take pride i'll our possession
of the islands. If we should abandon
them, some other power would gladly step
In to enjoy the political advantages that
| this nation possesses. / am not in Wash
ington to work against the proposed abrO-
CATION of the treaty, If the United States
does not want the islands, it only need say
so and step out. Somebody else will step
in. The islands are now peOpled by a
mixed race. The natives are rapidly dy-
! ing out, and it is only a question of time
when they will become extinct. Some
! other nation must then take possession.
| The only question is, who shall have the
advantage? l maintain it is for the adj
vantage of the United States to own these
! islands. Their possession by this country
seems geographically and politically nat
ural,
| can say, without egotism, if 1t had not
! been for my interest on the islands, and
for my presence there, the Chinese Gov
eminent would to-day have controlled
| Hawaii. Last summer they sent Ambas-
sailors over TO make treaty with the King
that would have allowed the Chinese to
overrlm the country. l would not allow
the King to make a treaty with China. l
kicked that adventurer, Moreno, Minister
| of Foreign Affairs, out of the island and
put an end to the schemes of the Chinese
| Government. Kalakaua is a good fellow,
fairly educated, but perfect baby, He
can be easily Influenced, and needs a
guardian, | think it likely that at some
not far distant day there will be revolu-
ton of the islands, and Kalakaua will be
depOsed, China has her eyes on Hawaii,
and it would not surprise me if we had to
fight the Chinese before we are done with
them,
The Hawaiian Commercial Company
has about 800 stockholders, but | have
control of the company, and the retineries
that / own are distinct and separate.
| There are several corporations owning
different plantations on the island. l am
interested in about 10000 acres, and en-
| plOy about 5000 men. | pay the Chinese
| engaged in the cane fields from $24 to $2G
per month, and they board themselves,
which costs them about So per month, |
pay Portuguese from 81 to 81 % per day,
! pay American teamsters $40 per month
and board; carpenters, 81 per day and
board; machinists, from "a to S. per day
and board. | give each married man in my
employ ten pounds of sugar and one gal
lon of syrup a month, and | make it my
practice to help them in every possible
way. They naturally think a great deal
of me, and will stand by me to the last.
When / told you that l control 10000
acres of land on the islands, do not think
L. 4 I Il -
The soil is twenty feet deep, and very rich,
but it was like a desert for lack of water.
| brought water distance of forty miles,
in bitches fourteen feet wide and three
and a half feet deep, and in pipes, build
ing numerous reservoirs before | could
! rrigate what are now the best planta-
tiOns, | brought from Philadelphia to
San Francisco 700 tons of boiler iron, and
| paid 500, 900 in San Francisco to have it
made in pipes. Last year l spent in New
York $500, 900 for machinery. My son is
now in Philadelphia arranging with the
| Cramps for the steamers for the Honolulu
trade. | could buy these steamers in Eng
| land for sac, 900 APP zee cheaper than | can
! have them built in this country, and sail
them under the Hawaiian flag, but have
too much pride as an American to go
abroad for anything that can get in this
| country. Everything that have | owe to
! this country, and have made my money
! by hard work. Now people sayi "Spreck-
! les has made too much money; put him
| Outr' / have got enough to keep me and
my family from want if | should not work,
| but like business and propose to keep at
| it, whether the Hawaiian treaty is abro-
! gated or not.
| brought SO,O0O,OOO pounds of sugar
| from the islands last year, That was all
refined in this country, and the Pacific
| slope derived the benefit of the industry.
have not a monopoly of the refining bu-
| siness on the slope, as has been asserted.
! There is the refinery of c. L. Lowe q Co.,
and another in AlvaradO, that refines beet
sugar as well as cane,
The statement that ] bring in a higher
grade of sugar free under the treaty than
| the grade known as Sandwich Island
sugar, as provided for in the treaty, is not
| true. The merchants of San Francisco
know that the sugar brought from the
islands, two years before the treaty went
into operation, was of better quality
than the sugar we now import, POlari-
scopic tests showed that it contained more
saccharine strength. MuscOvadO sugars
were never made on the islands; nothing
but centrifugal sugars ever came from
them. Right here | want to say that /
believe Louisiana planters would make
more money with their sugars if they sold
them raw to the retiners in the Eastern
cities, rather than attempt TO refine them
for the market, If the tariff is ever
changed to admit free Of duty refined
sugars, the refining business in this cOun-
try goes down. In Hong Kong, Cinnamon
are paid 10 cents day to work in the re-
tineries, We pay 81 per day. The Amer
iuat1 rolf flfA i11a