Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-12-24
The spanish Treaty.

IL 10 conceded tba, 10 admit sugar Tree
nom Cuba and Porto Rico Will reduce
the revenues Of the United States Gov
erpmcnt by twenty 10 thirty millions oil
dollars, and perhaps by larger amount,
and Il Is affirmed by the opponents oil the
Spanish treaty that the people Of the Uni
fed States will eet sugar none the cheaper
because the duty will have been taken OIL
this commodity.
This. Of first blush, may not appear to be
q reasonable ststemeat But reflection
win be apt TO enable any one 10 reach the
SANE conclusion. For illustration, let us
refer 10 the case OF the Louisiana sugar.
planters. They produce annually about
10000 hogsheads OF sugar, each bogshead
weighing sbor. i,l3' pounds net. or about
2s0.00o, 900 pounds. These are large
figures, but we obtained them from the
census Of 1850, which also tells us that the
total consumption Of sugar in the United
States Is about million OF tons OF 2,24O
pounds each, or over two thousand millions
OF pounds. The point Is that although con.
sumers get $50, 100000 Of pounds OF sugar
from Louisiaus, they have to pay exactly
the same price for the Louisiana sugar.
upon which OF course no duties are levied,
a. they have TO pay for sugar imported
from Cuba. or Porto Rico, or elsewhere,
and which pays to the Government OF the
United States tax OF 2 or "a cents per
mound. In other words, the Louisiana
planter Is protected TO the extent Of the
tariff upon sugar..
Now. under the new Spanish treaty
sugsr Is TO come In free from Cuba and
Porto Rico. II Is clear, Of course, that no
revenue will be derived from IL. Theie-
fore, the United States Government will
lose annually from twenty TO thirty mil
lions OF dollars OF ITS revenue from sugar.
And with What result? We reply with
the result Of placing the sugar-planters OF
Cuba and Porto Rico IN exactly the SINE
condition as our own sugarplanters In
Louisiana. They will get the benefit OF
our protective tariff. The United States
Government will make an annual gil. OF
twenty to thirty millions Of dollars to Cuba
and Porto Rico.
II Cuba and Porto Rico could fur.
nish TO this country all the sugar we
need, the result would be entirely diff
ferent. The price OF sugar would be low
cred somewhat. But as there cannot be
fwo prices for sugar OF the same quail
ity IN New York, or New Orleans. or
wherever else imported sugar may be land
cd, and as the planters paying p cents per
pound Of duties upon their sugar cannot
pay that tax and yet sell their sugar any
lower than they now sell 1t. 1t would seem
10 be impossible that the new Spanish
treaty can be rightiully regarded as any
thing else than protective tariff made by
the President OF the United States In the
interest Ct the sugar. planters OF Cuba and
Porto Rico.
Now. will the House OF Representatives
ever lsgIslaie such treaty into opera'ions
We ,ay. never. The objection 70 1t herein
before stated Is enough to condemn It; but
when. IN addition, we learn that the Span
ish treaty would, II ratified, deprive our
American. tobacco-growers OF protection
they sadly need, we take 1t for granted that
the treaty will be killed In the Senate, and
never make demand for recognition upon
tie House q Representatives.