Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-12-18
More About Beet Sugar and Reciprocity.

More About Beet Sugar and Reciprocity.
veroeek Kan, Dee. 18th. 1890
EDITOR DEMOCRAT:
1 will finish what l have to say on
the subject of the coffee trade of this
country, by saying ti.i;t W. Impaired
S74, 724, 1882 wortli the past year. nearly
all of which came from South -aIasrici
We paid them on account of The coffee.
trade about s42, OO0, 600 in duties for the
privilege of buying our coffee and pay
ing for about SAC. OOO. 600 worth o. it III
produce and merchandise. We import
ed tropical fruits and nuts 10 the extent
of SIS, 746, AT full half of which came
from South America and about AL the
rest from the West Indies. Either
place, however, has an import duty,
ranging from As to Is per cent. ad Va
loren on our produce and merchan-
disc, also an export duty ranging from
25 to As per cent. ad valorem On sugar,
coffee and fruits. On these articles we
paid in export and import duties to each
of the following governments sum
sufficient to pay the ordinary expenses
of their governments, viz: Columbia,
Eucador, Venezuela and Brazil includ-
ing Cuba and Hayti. The past year we
imported 1913 ,3O1 1874 worth of sugar
and mOlasses and about all of this came
from the West Indies, Mexico and
South America. I think all mast agree
that it is not desirable to continue this
enormous trade under such unjust Tar
Tiff laws as these countries have.
The giving of bounty on beet
sugar, as unjust us it is to other indus
tries, is big improvement on our pres.
ent trade relations with the countries
south of us.
My friend, of Ellinwood, says in his
communication that sugar beet grow
ing in Saxony, France, Prussia, and
Austria is good business. In that he
is right or else all authorities are badly
off. But the conditions in those coun.
tries are quite different from ours.
There land is high priced, here cheap.
There labor is cheap, here high priced.
There they have no competition with
cane sugar near by, here we have, for
the port of Havana is as near to Great
Bend as New York City is, and Mexico,
VIA Galveston, is much nearer. My
friends says that the cows will eat the
beet tops; he must have had in mind
those pauper Europea? COWS and not
the highly protected and aristocyatic
American COW. I think anyone can see
by the figures given, and they are taken
from the customs report of the past
year, that inasmuch as we pay an aver
age import duty of 66.2 per cent. on all
goods and produce that we send to
South America and the West Indies 70
pay for our sugar coffee and tropical
fruits and also pay an average export
duty OF 32.1 per cent on all the sugar.
coffee and tropical fruits we buy there.
Thus we pay them 9s.3 per cent. of the
values Of these three articles in duties.
Were these duties abolished and free
and friendly exchange established the
price of sugar and coffee would be &c.
duced nearly half. and the retailer here
could sell eight pounds of coffee for
one dollar and about twenty two
pounds of granulated sugar and
twenty-five to twenty-eight pounds of
brown for one dollar. Sugar from
beets without bounty cannot be made
at that price in this or any other
country Some may say this reciproc-
ity IS a new tangled idea of Biaine's,
perhaps it will work and perhaps it
WON'T" in this they are mistaken. The
idea is as old as the government. JEFF.
ferson first introduced reciprocity and
while he was secretary Of state under
Washington, he introduced this princi-
pie very largely in all our commercial
treaties, and gave it out to all our diplo-
matte agents, as the fixed policy of the
state department to impose duty against
duty, giving preference at all times 50
free trade in non-competing articles,
thus receiving the produce of other
countries, not produced in this, as
cheaply as possible and at the same
time secure market for our own pro-
duce on favorable conditions.
Thus it will be seen that reciprocity
is not new idea or the exclusive prop
erty of any political party OF person.
w. w. SOWARDs.
The next week will be perplexing
time for many Barton county people
whose hearts are large but whose bank
accounts are small. The Christmas
time will cause many a one to wish for
little more of the 'useful" in order
that each loved one might be fttingly
remembered. Slice your "present
fund into small bits, and let no one be
neglected; even a small gift will be
appreciated by those who possess a
true heart and honest love.
If will do VOur ewes ueOd tO see the