Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1885-09-08
The sugar Question.

The most notable occurrence of the
week among leading grocery and i'm
porting merchants, is the incorpora-
ton Of the American Sugar Refining
Company, with capital of $1,000
ooo) million dollars. This estab-
lishment goes into the hands of some
of our leading wholesale grocers and
importing merchants, who are well
known in the community for their
sterling integrity and extensive knowl-
edge of the wants Of the business com
munity of whom have long
been closely connected with the Ha-
waiian Island traffic. The capacity OF
the present American Sugar Refinery
is to be greatly enlarged and will, it is
said be a sharp competitor for the
Sandwich Island sugar trade, and
which for few years past has been
largely under the control Of Claus
Spreckels & Sons, who are the chief
owners of the California Sugar Rein
ely as well as Of the Hawaiian Com
mercial Company. Taking all these
facts and circumstances into consider
alton, it is reasonable to suppose that
both the Island and local sugar markets
are to be sharply contested by these
conflicting companies. AT present the
Island carrying trade, both by steam
and sail, is largely under the control of
the Spreckes faction. Still there is
a wide and open field for honest com
petition. Nor is there any lack OF ton
mage available for the successful prose-
cution of the Island trade, if the sugar
crop is declared to be already con
tracted for and secured by the Amer
ican Refinery Company But this
circumstance will avail but little when
we consider that the Philippine Islands
and other sugar producing countries
are open to all buyers neither is the
Hawaiian sugar to be had under any
more favorable terms than others, al
though it is here admitted free of duty
under the Hawaiian Treaty: yet all
Island purchases are based upon a
Manila basis at the date of the sugar
arrival at this port
The American Sugar Refinery has
been Incorporated, with a capital of
| $1,000, 900. f. l.. G. Steele, Man
ager. The place of principal business
is San Francisco. The term for which
the corporation is to exist is fifty years.
The number of Directors or Trustees,
is five, their names being as follows
Samuel t. Alexander, Oakland; Her
mann Bendel, Oakland; Morris G.
Grinbaum, San Francisco; Edward
Polhemus, San Francisco Hermann
| ]. Sadler, San Francisco. Amount OF
capital stock, 81, 900, divided into
10, 900 shares Of the par value of $Ioc
each. The above named individuals
are all well-known business men. 1t is
very evident that in the near future
there is to be sharp competition be-
tween the California and American
rehneries Commercial Hetaid anu
Marsef Re0qesO, -Ang. 27.
Referring to the report that the
American Sugar Refinery Company hac
under its new formation secured con
troll of the bulk of the Hawaiian suga
crop, Claus Spreckels, President o
the California Sugar Refinery Company
in an interview which will be published
in the Call tomorrow, says "Tht
statement published leaves the public
to infer that there will only be left fo
me paltry quantity Of 10000 tons o
sugar to keep my refinery occupied
The product of Manila is ITO, 900 tons
+ and Of the Philippine Islands, 100000
tons whereas, the whole product o
the Hawaiian Islands does not exceeo
in the best of years 100, 900 tons. The
sugar from Manila and Philippine Is
lands costs San Francisco refnerie.
precisely the same as that from the Ha
waiian Islands. 1t is the genera
opinion that because Of the reciprocit,
treaty Hawaiian sugar is sold cheaper
in this market than that from Manila
but such is not the case. / pay just a.
. much to planters of the Hawaiian Is
lands as | do Manila planters. The
American Refinery could buy Manila
sugar just as cheap as Hawaiian, an6
might have got half million tons o
Manila as cheap as it has got the
fifty-fve thousand tons Of Hawaiian
over which SO much fuss is being made
The statement, therefore, that the
American Refinery has stepped in
ahead of me is ridiculous" Mr., Spreck
els added 1T is Morris S. Grinbaun
who made these contracts for the
American Refinery. He is acting fol
himself He came TO me and asked
me if wanted to take them. tolo
him | did not that ] had three and q
quarter million dollars worth of sugar
contracted, and did not want to buy
any more at present. Mr.. Grinbaun
then sold it to the American Refinery
which | was perfectly aware he woulo
do" He concluded by saying that he
formerly owned one-third interest ir
the American Refinery, but he estab
lished the fact that they lost II pei
cent in the process of rehning and he
sold out his interest, as did also C.
Adolph Low. Spreckels states that he
can refine fifty thousand tons of sugal
year, whereas the full capacity of the
American Refinery does not exceed ter