Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-23
PLENTY OF SUGARN0W
Quarantine Regulations Will Cause
No Further Trouble.
THE TRUST AND THE TARIFF.
Competition Kept Up by the Workings of the
Mckinley Bill
AMENDING THE LIMITED PRICE PLAN

s'The threatened scarcity of sugar, caused
by the quarantine regulations has passed
by now and orders are being shipped as
fast as they could be sent into the
refners," said H. G. Beggs yesterday
''The sensational articles which have re.
Gently appeared" Mr. Beggs continued,
regarding the movement among wholesale
grocers to obtain an adequate profit on re-
fined sugars, contain many misstatements
and contradictory conclusions In the first
place, there is no Sugar Trust The Amer
lean Sugar Refining Company is not oper-
ated BY trustees, but is legally incorpo-
rated company, and cannot do business ex-
cept in legal manner. Refined sugars
have not been advanced 7lc during the past
ten days, as has been stated The advance
amounts to only $40 of a cent per pound,
and this is more than warranted by the
sharp advance in raw sugars, consequent on
the detention of large quantities of beet
root sugar in quarantine.
"The refining company cannot advance
refined sugar or 10 cents per pound at its
own sweet will, as has been stated. An ad-
vance of another a cent would let in for
eign refined sugars and effectually prohibit
any further upward movement The con-
troll of the sugar market by the reiners is q
mistaken idea. The Mckinley bill offers
protection to the manufacturer so far, but
if an effort were made to raise the price of
sugar beyond a certain point, foreign re-
fined sugars could come in and take the
market"
Competition Aided by the Tariff.
''Would the removal of the duty on re-
fined sugars cause a reduction In the price
of the commodity" was asked.
1.-THE removal of the small duty on re-
fined sugar." said Mr.. Beggs, (which is
so hotly advocated, might bring fractional
reduction in price, but it is not certain that
1t would be q blow at the so-called trust.
1t is shrewdly suspected that the American
Company now owning all the refneries
would not be averse TO the removal of the
duty, as such action would seriously dis
courage the building of competing refin-
cries If competition in refining is de-
sired, let the duty remain aud it will come
in due time. If therefore anv of these
persons have been filled with discomfort
and indignation by these misleading state
ments and have, as is usual, blamed it all
on the Mckinley bill and the party in
power, let them hesitate before wildly vot-
ing for change. They are not being swim
died on sugar and are in no danger of such
misfortune"
"What caused this arrangement between
the jobbers and refners to be made?"
The movement is the outgrowth of de-
sire to do their business in a fair, honest
and reasonable manner; to free it from the
scheming and deception consequent on sell
ing some articles at a loss that others might
pay profit; to make every article pay at
least enough profit to cover the cost OF
handling it, if no more. A Just regard for
sound business rules requires as much as
this.
Working on a Small Margin.
''The margin established by the CO.
operation OF the refners and jobbers is not
unreasonable or extortionate, as has been
stated. but is only 1s to 3-16 of cent per
pound, which is less than per |
and this, as every jobber knows, is
hardly sufficient to cover the expenses of |
doing business, leaving no net profit what |
ever. Refined sugar has been used as a |
leader for so many years by both jobbers !
and retailers that margins have gradually |
grown smaller and smaller and finally dis |
appeared, and this article las become the |
despair of every dealer. If the American |
Company would announce tomorrow that |
hereafter it would sell its product exclu- |
sively to retailers, the jobbers of the United |
States would shout for joy. If it would go |
still further and announce again that 1t |
would sell only directly to consumers, the |
retailers would dance with delight. For |
several years retailers everywhere have |
been organizing for mutual good, one of |
their objects being to dispense with this
senseless competition on sugar, and their
organs have increasingly advocated fair
profit on sugar for retailers, but very unrea-
sonably object to the jobbers' movement to-
ward the same end.
'How many jobbers are interested in this
movement"
Amending the Limited Price Plan.
'Tt is estimated that over 80 per cent of
the jobbers of the United States are inter-
ested in this movement" continued Mr..
Beggs, ''and the American Sugar Refining
Company consents to cooperate because it
desires to please such a large majority of its
customers and further movement which
is reasonable and just The plan is nothing
new, and the warehouses of the few iobbers |
who protest against this movement and
claim they do not and will not do business
which they sell only IN the limited
price plan, and could not handle
otherwise. But the jobbers have amended
the limited price plan with respect to sugar,
and thus eliminated the one valid objection
to it, which is that it practically puts
geographical boundary around each jobbing
point. Within short time a delivered
price will be established for refined sugar
TO every railway station in the United
States, and the retailer will pay exactly the
same price for sugar no matter where he
buys it. This price will be the refners'
price in New York or Philadelphia, plus
the freight to his station. By this arrange
ment Pittsburg jobbers will not be fenced
in, as has been alleged, but may cover as
much territory as they please. This is
known as the equality plan.
''In sections where this plan has been
tried it is said that it works admirably and
none are more pleased with it than the re-
tailers. The usual haggling over sugar
prices between jobber and retailer is dis
pensed with, and the fair minded retailer is
satisfied with the knowledge that he is
buying as cheaply as his competitors.
There is no quantity price, and the small
retailer is therefore subject to no discrimi-
nationp