Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-08-14
PREPARE FOR TAXED SUGAR.

of the Democratic tariff bill, with its
40 per cent. advalorem duty and differ
ential tax on refined. Banking on the
passage of the senate bill the sugar
trust bought $l12,OOO,OOO worth of raw
sugar, on which Wilson Of the Demo-
cratic house ways and meats ccm
nnittee says the trust will make 40, ,OOO,-
900 profit. The trust will, OF course,
not furnish the people cheap sugar out
of their supply of cheap raw sugar. The
trust did not buy it for that lurpose
1t will get the benefit of the added duty
when the law goes into effect. 1t il
not In evidence that absolute free trace
sugar would prevent the manipulaiioDs
of O sugar trust. By combining cap
itaI, the refiDers could control the out
put of refined sugar, but they could not
prevent importation of cheap refined
sugar. But they could control distri
button by railroad combinations, just
as Pullman keeps up prices on bis sleep
ing ears by giving the railroad man
ayers stock to keep monopoly on their
line. Under the senate bill az passed
the sugar trust is placed in position oI
peculiar advantage, owing TO the ad-
valorem duty. How many custom
house officials of any party but can be
bribed to make low valuations? The
income of the sugar trust from the con-
sumption Of sugar by sixty millions of
sweet-tOothed Americans will be so
o elormous that the trust can afford 10
pay collectors of customs more than the
government can. Does anyone doubt
they will do it? A specific duty of ]
cent per pound could not be evaded.
That is the correct theory of an impor-
tant duty as was said by Chairman
Wilson. We would not advise anyone
to refrain from buying sugar, expecting
the free sugar bill that has passed tie
house to ever get through the senate.
TIxed sugar under the influence Of the
trust Is all that the senate has been
fighting for. 1t will not, being under
those same influences still, allow free
sugar bill to ever see light Of day. The
summer is too far gone, the day of re-
form is too far spent for the house to
force upon the senate in a separate
measure what it could not secure after
is long and valiant battle now closed.
The house and the president deserve
great credit for their earnest struggle TO
give the people free sugar, even though
they have failed. If they had gone on
with the battle the senate must have
yielded. If the senate had not aban-
doned its sugar tax and If the house
and the president had gone to the
country upon free sugar platform,
they would have been sustained. III
the president now would veto the
whole iniquitous sugar trust senate
tariff bill, he would be the most popu.
lar man In America. All his other
shortcomings would be forgotten in
the applause Of millions of consumers.
III he allows the sugar trust bill to be-
come law and 1t results in dearer
sugar TO the masses, and it cannot re-
suit otherwise, he will reap the harvest
OF odium and oblivion that will over
whelm every member of congress that
voted for 1t. We cannot see how he
can consistently do anything else.
For the president, Chairman Wilson
and house two thirds Democratic, to
60 down In defeat at the bidding of a
few sugar trust corporation senators
like German, Brice and Smith, who
are at heart pseudo protectionlsts,
must be humiliation to every Amerl.
can citizen. Some will say popular
government is failure, the will OF the
people can be thwarted by capitalistic
Popular government is
lot failure. The Democratic party
y now represented In the government
/ Washington Is failure.