Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-06
SUGARY SCHEMES.
Ingenious Operation in the Line
of Combination.
RELIEF FOR WHOLESALE GR0OERs.

The Burden to Probably Go on the Pa
tient Public--A Project to Enable the
Wholesalers to Make Money. and Out
of Nobody" Equalize Is Good
Word That VIII Cost Somebody About
$1,000. 900 Year.
NEW YORK, March "a combination in
the sugar trade, greater and more wide
spread in its ramifications than the sugar
trust itself, has been practically consum-
mated and its plans will soon be officially
! announced The object sought is to equal
ize the price at which sugar is sold to retail
ers with the effect of making the price to
consumers uniform in each locality. Sugar
Is sold by the wholesale dealer to a retailer
on time at just the refinery price A dis
count below the refinery price is made for
cash The cost of handling to the whole
saler is about 81 80 barrel in New York to
81. 50 barrel delivered
Getting Tired of the Load.
The average wholesaler has carried this
burden as long as he cares to bear it, Per-
hsps one reason why he has borne it so long
is that several refineries sell directly to re-
| tailers at the same low figures Further
more sugar furnishes about IS per cent. of a
wholesale grocer's trade, and it would be inn
possible for him TO stop dealing in it and
| keep his customers There has been much
| cutting in the price of sugar among both
| wholesalers and retailers. One result has
been that the public is usually able to buy
sugar by the pound cheaper than the whole
| saler can get il by the o 0-barrel consign-
ment at the refinery.
Have Got u Little Plan.
The subject was considered for months by
| the Wholesale Grocers' National association,
| and finally referred to committee of the
strongest men in the trade. with powers to
devise and execute a plan for meeting the
| difficulty. This committee has perfected a
plan which they believe will accomplish
their object without working injustice or
hardship to the refner, the retailer or the
consumer. II is as follows: The lowest daily
| quotation from the retineries, shall be the
minimum price at which sugar shall be sold
| by wholesalers in the combination
to retail dealers. This minimum price
shall be telegraphed daily from New
| York to each of the 400 cities
| in the country known as distributing points,
where the rate will vary according to the
| ruling rates. and the rate telegraphed to
each city will b. figured on the basis Of cur
rent freight tariffs and must be the actual
minimum rate for that day in the place
| named. The refiners will at the end of each
month make a rebate of 4 of cant pound
on all sugar sold during the month to dealers
who have not undersold the official price.
MIR. Imbusch Explains Matters.
| F W. ImLusch, of Milwaukee,, who has
been the most active man in carrying out
| the plans of the committee, said yesterday:
| each refinery will telegraph to the head
| quarters of the association IN this city daily
the price at which it will sell sugar that day.
| The lowest quotation thus received will be
made the basis of computing the minimum
price for each of the distributing points, and
that quotation will be the ruling price for
twenty -four hours Such system will do
away with a big item of expense which each
refinery now assumes in distributing its own
| quotations, the refiners receiving a benefit
| in that way which will more than offset any
| annoyance in the way of additional book
| keeping which the new arrange N Mt NAV
| impose.
| Small Margin. but Enough.
"The marg n of of cent pound pro.
viled as rebate Will prove large enough,
| probably, for the loss Of it would make it
| Improbable for one dealer to shave anoth-
er's prices for the sake OF making trade
1 II amounts TO IS cents barrel, which means
/ a reduction OF that much of our present loss
| OF 81 80 to al 50 On every barrel handled.
In other words this arrangement provides
that wholesale dealers shall not sell for less
| than IS cents barrel above the refiner's net
price
| How Much sugar We Eat.
| "The consumption of sugar in this country
amounts to fiity-eight pounds per capita per
year which is an increase of about thirty
pounds for each individual within twelve
years. England usis proportionately about
as much Us we do, and sugar is cheaper there
than here, but in Germany, Italy, and France
the consumption is scarcely more than half
"a much per capita. l tried last year to get
information upon which to base an estimate
of the proportion of sugar consumed as
luxury in this country, but no reliable data
could he obtained. / believe, however, il
amounts TO fully one-half the entire supply"
Eject on Consumers.
The great question for the public, of
| course, IS, how the combination will effect
the retail price of sugar. Members of two
or three Of the largest wholesale grocery
| HOUSES in town when asked this question yes
| terlay said that undoubtedly il would have
| a tendency TO equalize the retail price, but
denied that what may be termed the stand
ard retail price of sugar would be raised
| They admitted that the arrangement would
| probably make it impossible for retail gro
GERS to offer bargains in sugar, as is now
often done The retail price will be af-
fectcd now, by any change in refners'
prices
The Public Pays the Freight.
The fact remains however, in spite of
these opinions, TINT by the terms of this
combination the price OF sugar to the retail
ers of the country is 10 be raised IS cents per
barrel, and there is no doubt this IS cents or
d cent pound VIII come from the pockets
of the consumer This means, at the pres
ent rate of consumptisn, that the people Of
| this country must pay 5000 900 more a
year than the sugar they consume now costs
them
Luna Is Putting style.
MONTICELLO Ills, March 6-For two