The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-09-25
THE SUGAR CONFERENCE.

IhE SUGAR CUNFEREhGE.
Contrary to public expectation,
the Sugar Conference at London has
ended in an agreement. All the
Governments, with the exception
of that of France, have promised to
repeal their subsidies and France,
which was represented by M. Wad-
dington, merely asked for six months
delay in order to consult represen-
tatives of the interests involved.
There is little question of her con-
currence before the end of the year.
The history of the process by
which the beet sugar industry has
been galvanized into its present CO.
lossal proportions is one of the most
curious chapters of commercial
annals. Until the close of the last
century, though it was known that
sugar could be produced from the
oeet, the carrot, Indian corn, the
maple tree, and variety of other
products of agriculture, the sugar of
commerce was almost exclusively
made from the cane. When France
was cut off from the West Indies by
the English cruisers, Napoleon de-
termined to make France indepen-
dent of the world so far as sugar
was concerned, by offering large
prizes for successful experiments
with beet sugar. He succeeded so
far that for the first fifteen years of
this century France grew her own
sugar. The sugar beet was also
cultivated with success i'll Germany,
Belgium, Austria and Russia. But
when the Napoleonic wars came to
an end, Cuba and Manila poured
cane sugar into Europe, at price
which the beet sugar men could not
meet; in 1850, the total annual pro-
duct of beet sugar in France was
| only about 1875 900 tons. The pro-
duct of the other nation was less.
After the Franco-German War,
Bismarck was seized with the same
idea which Napoleon had. He de-
termind that Germany should not
only grow its own sugar, but that 1t
should supply its neighbors with
the commodity. Under his auspices,
a set of laws were pushed through
the German Congress encouraging
the industry at every stage. Subsi-
dies were granted to growers of
beets, to refiners of sugar, to expor-
tiers of sugar. So liberal were the
Government offers that the most
fertile fields of Germany were con-
verified into beet plantations and the
highest mechanical service in the
empire was engaged in improving
the processes of refining. The
operation proved, at least apparent
| ly, to be an astounding success.
Farmers who had boen starving were
made prosperous by growing beets.
Companies were started all over
Germany to refine sugar, and their
dividends were prodigious. Bremen
and Hamburg flooded the markets of
the world with German beet-root
sugar. Four years ago Germany
produced more tons of raw sugar
than Cuba.
| But it was not to be expected that
other countries would sit by idly
while Germany was enjoyable this
royal road to wealth. One after
another, Belgium, France, Austria,
Italy and Russia followed the ex-
ample and granted subsidies to beet
growers, bonuses to refiners,. draw
backs to exporters. Among them
all, they began to made more sugar
than could be easily marketed. The
result was that Cuba became bank.
rupt and the price of sugar fell in
the markets of the world to very
low price. Then came an effort by
the Governments interested and
dealers generally to increase the
price of sugar. Therefore, a con,
ference of representatives of the
Governments and of the sugar in
terest was called to meet in London
1t met last spring; views were
exchanged, and an adjournment
taken till August. 1t has now me
again, and, as the telegraph hal
informed us, an understanding ha
been reached by which sugar is to b.
advanced.-(S. f. "Calp' Sept. 2
| 1898