St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-27
Statement Feb. Z, 1888.
sPRECKLEs' SUGAR WORKS.
1t is Thought the Big Trust Will
be Too Powerful for COMPETE

1t is Thought the Big Trust Will
be Too Powerful for COMPETE
ton.
The telegraphed report from Fran
cisco that Claus Spreckles, the big
sugar retiner of the Pacific coast, con-
templated starting refineries i'll Balti-
more and other Eastern cities, was read
with considerable interest yesterday by
gentlemen who were anxious to see a
revival of the sugar industry in Balti-
more says the Baltimore Sun. One gen.
tieman, who is in position to know,
when asked concerning the report, re-
piled that he doubted whether Mr.
Spreckles would start any refnerieS in
the East. 1t would cost an immense
amount of money. Speaking on the
subject of refinery in this city, he said
that the project was almost complete
when, about year ago, the sugar trust
was formed. 1t was useless TO think Of
it after that. THE trust" he contin-
ued, ''haS since grown to enormous pro-
portions and become a great power.
The trouble is you can not tell who is in
it and who is not The trust controls
the market and nobody IS going to put
money into a refinery i'll Baltimore or
elsewhere in view of its power, and tn e
trust has all it can attend to and is not
likely to start any new reiineries itself.
That is the situation in a nutshell.
''ThiS trust is gigantic thing. There
was time when the refnerS were salts
fed with an eighth of cent profit Oh a
pound of sugar. A quaTter-cent profit
was considered big. The trust viii get
half-cent if not a full cent profit on
the sugar used by the people of the
United States. AT half cent pound
profit the trust would make S15.000,0 900 a
year. AT cent profit it would make
$4,000, 900. No wonder the people in it
say they only want five years of it.
The profits of the trust and the dnty
paid the government represent nearly
S100,000,000. The people pay annually
about g apiece for every man, woman
and child in the country. There is only
one way to break this up, and that is
for the government to take off the duty
Oh sugar.
1.-The trust is the biggest thing of the
kind in the world, and really controls
the sugar market of this and all other
countries. 1t says what the producer
must take for his sugar, as we'll as what
the consumer must pay. Some of the
refineries are not in the trust, and the
trust cannot hurt them. The trust may
force the price of sugar down in an
effort to cripple the independent refin-
ers, but the latter have only to buy
when the price is down and sell when
it goes up, as it is bound to do, to make
money. But it is useless for any private
concern to talk of fighting the trust"
In reference to Mr.. Spreckles' inter-
ests. it is claimed that the Pacific coast
refinerieS have had an advantage all
along on account of the Hawaiin treaty
admitting sugar from that country free
of duty, while that from other sugar
countries pays duty. The coast people
have not only been able to supply that
section, but have also been enabled to
send their sugar to places before sup
piled by Eastern markets. 1t is thought
possible that MIR. Spreckles thinks the
trust is hurting his interests, and that
he may be willing to strike back by
starting refneries in the East in oppo-
sitiOn. The cost of starting a sugar re-
1inery in Baltimore, it is stated, would
be well on to million and half dollars,
and would require as we'll some one in
charge who is thoroughly posted in re-
filming. While those merchants and cap
italists who thought of starting one here
do not entirely despair of some day do
ing so, they see no prospects at present,
with the big trust in existence. With
the duty off sugar, however, and the
trust broken up, they think there would
be rapid move in that direction.