Omaha daily bee., 1884-12-09
. THE SPANISH TREATY.
ITS DISCUSSION BY NEW YORK MERCHANTS, P
AND CON,

ITS DISCUSSION BY NEW YORK MERCHANTS, PRO
y con.
New YORK, DecemberS.-News of the COM
merciai treaty between the United States and
Spain is regarded with great interest by all
business men here whose trade is affected. A
prominent sugar importer said to a Post re.
porter: 'With the exception of the Pacific
coast, which was dominated in the sugar trade
by Claus ~Spreckles, the Hawaiian sugar king,
the people Of this country, some 55. coo, coo,
were wholly dependent for their sugar upon
some twenty refining concerns in this city,
Boston aud Philadelphia. No raw sugar was
consumed except q little in tobacco man.
ufacture, which was not worth mentioning.
About loo, 600 tons of sugar were imported In
this country annually, none OF which reached
consumers except through the little circle Of
~reiners, which had the sugar trade by the
throat. 1t was only natural, Therefore, that
the retiners should be satisfied with things as
they were and Oppose any change which would
give the sugar producing country some de-
gree of Independence. They obtained sugar
from all parts of the world, and they wished
to balance the interests in the different coun-
tries against each other. About one-half Ut
our annual imports of sugar come from Cuba
and Porto Rico, and if this import was made
nee OF uuIy id DIOuu-Gr5 COulu Always
find q market here as other people
would buy it at a reasonable price and mold 1t,
If the retiners were not ready Co purchase.
This state of affairs would partly cniancipate
the planters and merchants from the control
of retiners and therefore the latter with the
importers from other countries and Louisiana
planters would Join in q bitter opposition TO
the treaty. The treaty would amount to q
commercial annexation with Cuba and Porto
Rico to the United States, giving us all the
benefits of political annexation without any
OF the disadvantages. In regard to the claim
that the treaty will be injurious to the inter
ests of American woTkmen in retineries the
same importers declared the statement was o
prepOsGerous argument as the refining interefG
employed fewer skilled wOrkmen than any
other branch of manufacture in proportion to
the value of the product. Nearly all work was
done by machinery and most OF the workmen
connected with the business were simply la
bOrers. A Cuban planter who has q large es-
tate said the sugar crop in the Island could be
doubled in two years. The ratification of the
treaty was the only hope for the Island to
live" IL. o. H~a,emayer, of Hayemeyer x
Elder, extensive sugar %retinels, expressed the
strongest opposition TO the treaty. All retners
were opposed to iG, he sad, not merely
IN Their y capacity as business
men but as American citizens. lie objected 60
treaty discrimination in favor OF trade OF any
particular country which wAB an injustice
and lac objected further to the measures winch
would foster slave labor in another country
when we had abolished it in our own and
would encourage tbs importation there of
Coolies labor, which we nave shut OFF from
our shores. We had already stipu.
lated the employment of Chinese
labor in the Hawaiian Islands by
our commercial treaty with their government.
All benefit OF the Spanish treaty would accrue
TO the planters Of Cuba, who, IT it should be
ratified would, Immediately put rp the price
OF their sugar 70 ~ to include the amount of
the old duty. For the year 1888 the total
value of all our exports to Cuba was only SILL
100000, while the duties We rad collected on
Cuban sugar were about $50, 000 90. The
so, 100000 il was now proposed to transfer
from the United States treasury 10 tho peck
cts OF the Cuban planters without q cent of
benefit To our own people. If our govern.
ment was going to give bOunties for growing
sugar 1t would be better to pay two cents per
pound to louisiana planters. If II was To make
a discriminating treaty with any country it
would be better TO make IL with England and
her colonies. with whom we could have ex-
teIsiye commerce, instead of granting scch a
privilege to a miserable impoverished island
like Cuba, 200 years behind the age. He
waR In favor Of importing raw sugars free
from all parts of the world. Rehners in
general favored this policy, so as to do away
with all this tariff agitstisn. They had long
been in favor Of it, but had fool