Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-12-29
HOW THE GREEDY SUGAR TRUST
PROTECTS THE PUBLIC.

1t Maintains a High Price For Refined
Sugar While the Raw Material Declines.
Consumers Fleeced, Labor Tyrannized
and Legislators Bribed.
We have often heard Of the blessings
OF trusts-how they can cheaper the SELL
ing price of articles by practicing the
Economics of production" which can
only come from the concentration Of
capital; how they can make better and
purer articles by gaining control of pat
ents, etc.; how they can regulate supply
so as to prevent the terrible evils Ito the
constituents of the trust) of 'soverpro-
duction," and how they can accomplish
many other marvellous and benefcent
things. But upon close investigation all
of these theoretical blessings vanish, and
the trust is seen to be a selfish, greedy
aggregation Of capital bent on running
competitors by fair or foul means and
on fleeing producers Of raw materials
at one end of the line and consumers of
finished products at the other end.
1t checks Or prevents the natural de-
cline in prices if it does not advance
them, often considerably; it becomes
the chief buyer Of raw materials and
can dictate prices for them; it can, by
means of rebates and other forms of
brides and penalties. compel its GUS
toners to purchase only of it; it is the
only employer of labor in its line and
can arbitrarily fix the rates of wages
and the hours of labor; it can close up
half of its mills and throw labor out of
employment in order to regulate" pro-
duction and Sustain" prices; it can ap-
propriate percentage of it's millions of
capital to Influence" municipal, state
and national legislation; it can evade
state corporation taxes and at the same
time secure federal (tarif or excise) tax
alton worth millions to it; it can water
its stock to many times it's actual value
to make it more attractive to Wall
street spectators; it can sell cheaper to
unprotected and untaxed foreigners than
to protected and taxed citizens.
All of these things and many others
just as crooked can the trust do, and it
usually does them to the full extent of
its power. The old fashioned corpora
ton was heartless. The modern trust
is both heartless and constituencies.
When it cannot make its own laws,
it breaks the laws Of the people. 1t is at
once tyrant, robber, traitor and an
anarchist of the most dangerous type.
But now we hear Of a really good trust
one that is performing most useful
function during these hard times. We
quote from Willett & Gray's Sugar Trade
Journal of Aug. II:
"From what we have said about raws
it will be noted that the production is
being adjusted to demand. Europe goes
up and down in prices as spectators
make the moves; but as refined was not
advanced on the last European up move
ment from los. Cd. to los. Cd, so there is
no occasion for reducing prices on Eu-
ropes decline again to Is shillings. I'm
der the present nervous strain in all
commercial business it is indeed a bless
ing to find one article that does not make
violent fluctuations. Grocers can order
with confidence such an amount Of re-
fined as they can readily dispose of with
out fear of suffering loss while in proc
ess of distribution"
What blessing to be under the pro-
tecting wings of a powerful trust which
is able to overcome uncertain fuctua-
tons, and which, assisted by duty of
half cent per pound on refined sugar,
can guarantee not to reduce prices of re-
fined. no matter what may happen to
raw sugars at home or to prices of re-
fined sugars abroad. Observe the beau
ties Of steady prices!
The price of granulated sugar on this
date-Aug. 30-is 800 cents. 1t has not
changed since July 81. For raw sugar
(96 degrees centrifugaD $50 is asked,
but ''the offering seems Indifferent"
says The Journal of Commerce and Com
mercial Bulletin, 1.-The buyer making a
standoff with apparent intention of
weakening the value line if possible"
The same journal says:
Refined, it is believed, would find
very full and even an interesting de-
mand if worked down to somewhere
near parity of raws. Even as it is,
and while paying an immense tribute
into the Golfers of the combine, buyers
are taking hold with some freedom in
meeting their absolute wants."
On June % the price of raw was $50;
of granulated, 5.27. Willett & Gray's
Journal, a semioficial organ Of the trust,
then said warningly: "Production of re-
fined will continue on smallep scale
than heretofore, independent Of the ques-
ton of supplies. Any further difficulty
with workmen might even induce
temporary closing of some refneries,
although this is probably not contem-
plated now"
At the time of this threat a strike was
on in the Havemeyer refinery, in Brook
Ign, where the men refused to work IL
hours day during summer in rooms
heated to $50 degrees. The previous
summer 500 men had been carried from
these rooms, several dozen of whom
died. This year, when the same stewing
process began, the men objected to being
offered up as a sacrifice to the greed of
the trust and petitioned the great Have
meyer to grant them shorter hours. I'll
be damned if we will do itr said the
sugar king. Since then the trust has
had closed for a part Of the time nearly
all of its refineries.
On Aug. 90 the New York Press said:
Several thousand hands in the sugar
refneries in Williamsburg have been
laid off since Tuesday. Excitement pre-
walls among them, and they say starva
ton stares them in the face. 1t is said
that before the coming week has passed
III ~ - Tho