Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-08-08
WHY Sugar ia Cheap.

Something has knocked the price of sugar
to lower peg than it has ever been known
to 60 in this country except once, and that
was long before the war The best sugar
can be bought at retail at a little over cents.
and granulated. sugars, which are the stand.
ards are quoted at 60 cents wholesale. The
brown sugars and the lower grades of white
sugar are cheap in proportion. Spectators
nre at their wits ends to know whether TO
take the bear or bull end of the market, but
many operators do not hesitate to say that
prices have not reached bottom yet, and one
broker declared that he expected to buy
graduated sugar at less than cents before
the end of the year. This fall in price has
certainly not been caused by any falling off in
demand. The market never was so active,
and the consumption is enormous. In less
than year it has increased one-fourth, and
the United States are using over 20 per cent.
more sugar than they did last summer. At
the same time the stock of raw sugar is
greater than it was year ago. In New
York, Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia
the stock on hand on July 90 of this year was
1879, 1913 tons, as against 1873, 1913 tons on the
same day last year. Cuba sugar is not com
ing in very fast, because of the enormous
export duties and the tonnage taxes there.
Raw sugar from the island is only worth
cents pound before the duty is paid. As
the export duty amounts to about cent
a pound, sugar gowing in Cuba is not now a
profitable business. The planters there are
expecting some relief from the Spanish gov
ernment in reduction of export duty, and
because of this expectation little sugar is be-
ing shipped from there. This fact has al
most put an end to the Cuba shipping bust
ness, and American sailing vessels are suffer
ing in consequence. So cheap has sugar be-
come that it no longer pays to adulterate it
with glucose, which cannot be manufactured
as cheaply as the sugar itself is sold This
has closed many of the glucose mills
1t is stated upon tirst-class authority that
in view of the condition of affairs in connec-
ton with the sugar trade with Cuba promi-
nent merchants of this city and New York
are quietly engineering a scheme for treaty
of reciprocity with San Domingo by which
sugar may be exported from that island to
the United States free of duty. A leading
refner says, in explanation of the low price
of sugar, that it is due TO a combination of
causes one of which is the recent modifca-
ton of the sugar tariff, which admits free OF
duty grade of sugar upon which previously
an import tax had to be paid. This tariff
modification has brought to the United States
from South America, the East Indies and
other points supplies which did not before
roach us in very large quantities The enor-
nous amount OF beet sugar which has been
recently made in Germany has had great in
iluence upon the markets and now practi-
ly rules the sugar market of the world Some
of the sugar is imported here, but nearly all
of our supply is cane sugar, which comes to
us cheaper now because it cannot be sent to
Europe in competition with the beet sugar
made there, and thus while we use little of
the European article, it is a great source of
benefit to American sugar consumers. -FAtG-
ddelphia Record.