The Washington times., 1894-08-08
THE AID yALoREM GREEN GOODS GAME.

For the District Of Columbia, lair; slight
changes in temperature; southwest winds.
THE AD vAL0REM GREEN GOODS GAME.
The Senate conferees have all the time in
sisted there was nothing for the trust in the
ad vaiorem on all sugars. The House con-
ferees questioned this. and one or more OF
them intimated that if the schedule could be
SO drawn as to make the Senate contention
plain-that is, clearly TO exclude any special
advantage to the trust-there would prob
ably be little trouble in compromising upon
an additianal definite differential in favor OF
refined sugar. Without any such 40 per
cent. scheme having been put into definite
shape. but upon the assumption that 1t was
to be done, the Senate began to dicker with
the sugar trust representatives as to the dif-
ferential, until they, ''the Senate conferees,
had practically agreed TO work for 15-100 of
cent differential, and the sugar trust people
had agreed so to draw the schedule that they
would not themselves get any benefit from
the 40 per cent. schedule, but insisting upon
2-10 cent differential. On the assumption that
there was only 1-20 cent differential in dis
pute, the trust people were asked to prepare
their schedule. The moment it was pre-
sented the fat was all in the fire, as it but
thinly covered special differentials in more
directions than one, and involved the most
utterly impracticable plan for the honest ad-
mlnistration of the customs-house and the
most ideal one for the exploitation OF fraud
and corruption that could possibly be i'm
agined.
The last consideration needs no explana-
tion except study of the workings of the
trust schedule. The hidden differentials pro-
vided for by the wording of the schedule
which Brice and Smith gave out as having
been practically agreed upon and specially
approved by the President and Secretary of
the Treasury are in brief
First. That arising from the basis OF esti-
mate. The sugar trust proposition provided
for a 40 per cent duty on raw sugars and
also for 40 per cent. duty on refined sugar
valued at the amount of rdl1 sugar required
TO make the refined in question. 1t will be
seen that saccharine strength has nothing to
do with this. No two reflneries manufacture
the same amount of refined sugar from the
same quantity of raw-the problem being to
so manage the refinery as to get the greatest
rol,Ie OF product in proportion of the cost OF
raw materials and the expense of handling
them involved-the tendency, however, being
for the large refineries to turn out large
proportion of refined sugar and a less proper
tion of by-products, the special process or
special handling required to do this being
possible from an economical point Of view
Il,
are handled that machinery is utilized in
every way and the expense of any special
treatment reduced to minimum by the COM
paratively large quantity Of sugar involved. As
result, while our great refneries can, and
frequently do, turn out "a pounds of refined
sugar from a 100 pounds Of 96 degrees GEN.
trifugals used. leaving them sufficient by
products, additional, to increase the value Of
the total product OF refining to the equiva-
lent of, say, 81 pounds of standard granu-
lated, others with almost equal advantage do
not attempt this, but they get more profit
perhaps by using greater proportion Of low
grade raw, or perhaps by being more sum-
mary in their refining process, with the result
that they will get 90 or 90 pounds only of re-
fined sugar from 100 pounds of SO degree GEN.
trifugals or their equivalent in raws. leaving
their by-products so much richer, however,
as still to net them the value of 96Jz or 81
pounds of standard granulated while smaller
refneries find it more profitable in the long
run to get out only s5 or 90 pounds of stand
ard granulated, leaving the by-products,
however, so much more rich that their total
product from the equivalent of a 100 pounds
Of e6 degrees centrifugals is equal in worth,
say, to 96 or 9eI5 pounds of standard
granulated. Now, it is simply fact
that outside of the United States
there is not in existence single
large rennery-the largest continental ones
being smaller than those which the trust dis
mantled as worthless. and while the total
product of Dutch or English refinery is not
much less in value in proportion to cost of
raws than that OF an American refinery (their
chief disadvantage being in tine greater cost
Of their processes), the amount of standard
granulated which they find it profitable to
make from q 100pounds of 96degrees centrifu-
gals or their equivalent, is much less than it
is here with our great reflneries-probably
not to exceed s. or 80 pounds. By the opera
ton OF the trusts proposal, therefore, the
American refner, paying duty on, say lO3 or
104 pounds of raw sugar for the equivalent of
each 100 pounds of refined granulated which
he turns out, would be protected by a duty
upon from l12 to 115 pounds of raw sugars,
on the plea that such amount had been re-
quired to make 100 pounds of granulated at
the foreign refinery-a differential thus being
secured of from 1-12 to lilo of a cent on each
pound of refined sugar.
Second. That arising from the place of val
uation. The proposed schedule, as given out
by the trust representatives, expressly pro-
vides that the valuation of tine raw sugars es-
timated to have been required for the manu-
fscture OF the imported refined shall be as
sessed upon the basis of their value at the
Alaal sEQm Ehleh speh Seaped is imported,