The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1890-03-31
OUR AMERICAN LETTER.
t,tiy Percent on the sugar Duty.-
The Americnn aehncry inden-
uitciy Closed.
Correspondence of the Bulletin.

vaes an off mail.
The sensation Of the day, so far
rs the Islands are concerned, is in
the fact that the Republican mem
bcrs of the Ways and Means Com
mittec have agreed to report Tariff
bill which would
REDUCE THE SUGAR nury EY rrliy 30
PrRCENr.
The committee estimates the re-
duction IN revenue by the new sche
dule at S27 ,00O,0 900 yearly. The
proposal is to impose an d'tGiot N
duty o. 81 percent on raw sugars
from No. IL Dutch standard down
ward, and refined sugar above III
Dutch standard is to pay duty OF
60 percent adrolorem. The bill
makes no provision for bounty on
American sugar, and of course does
not take into account moral obliga-
tions uEdcr the Hawaiian Treaty.
A strong protest has been made
against the sugar tariff on behalf of
the California beet sugar and the
Louisiana and Florida cane sugar
interests, but these will hardly pre-
vail in the House should Mckinley
insist upon reporting the bill, al
though it is probable the Senate
may be influenced by them. Pro-
badly the San Francisco Chamber
or Commerce and the Board of
Trade will jointly memorialize Con-
gress against reducing the duty on
sugar for the reason that it would
destroy the beet sugar industry,
which has such promising future
ahead of it if the tariff be left with
out change. Nebraska and Kansas,
which are developing beet and sor-
ghum sugar industries, will probably
be heard from, although Nebraska
representative on the Ways and
Means Committee states that he fa.
vors absolutely free sugar, in other
words, that he would prefer closing
all American refneries, and import
from countries where coolie labor
and low taxation enable refined SUI
gar to he made cheaper than in this
country.
1t is remarkable that whereas the
committee recommend an increased
duty on fruit, nuts, and wool, it
should strike at the most promising
domestic industry now that beet
sugar making has passed the stage
of experiment in California and
Florida lands are being planted with
sugar cane. The Democrats, by the
Mills Bill, only proposed cut of 20
percent OH the specific duty; the
Republicans propose a cut Of 80
percent and would change the speci-
fic into an ddcdlorem duty, thereby
opening the door to fraud, and rem
dering it extremely hazardous il
not impossible for honest reiiners to
compete with dishonest ones. Judg-
ing from experience, the proposal to
impose an udcaiorem duty would be
in the interest of the Sugar Trust,
whose dishonest methods were ex-
posed not many months ago at New
York, and whose attempt to beat the
revenue at San Francisco must be
fresh i'm the minds of Bulletin
readers. The vast money interests
back of the Trust prevented pro-
secution and conviction in either
case, the foreign shippers being held
to be culpable, and as they were out
side the jurisdiction of the Courts
of course nothing could be done in
the matter. But the exposure pre-
vented similar attempts for the time
being. However, if specific duties
are abolished plans for cheating the
revenue by coloring raws and fraud
ulent invoices at the point Of supply
will doubtless be perfected by the
agents of the Trust who are not
hindered by any moral scruples
when there is money in sight. ".he
Sugar Trust has been known to
favor free raw sugar, and the pro-
posed change in the tariff is deci-
dedly in their interests.
Just where the Hawaiian planters
are to come in on this tariff deal i,
is not easy to see; and they would
not be one particle better off if the
annexation scheme, or protectorate
had been engineered through. II
this tariff bill is passed it will stimu'
late sugar production in Mexico, ant
Central and South America, where
vast tracts of available land may bt
obtained. and where coolie labor may
be employed without limitation OF
control.
THE AMERICAN REFINERY STILL CLOSED
The legal battle over the Ameri
can refinery was resumed on thu
eth, and vigorously contested TO
several days. Judge Wallace made
Il strong argument on his own behal
in the contempt case, and denounced
the Sugar Trust and its methods
He likewise declared that the CLAIM
of the Havemeyers that they hat
purchased the refinery was not true
but on the contrary that the Trus
had been masquerading as Have
meyer 4 Elder to evade the law an,
defeat the Commonwealth in the ex
ercise of its lawful right to contro
corporations. Other arguments fol
lowed on the same side, while attor