The Washington times., 1894-08-01

-Aeb--
Tho Weather To-day.
For the District of Columbia partly cloudy;
probably showers in evening; slightly
warmer; winds mostly southeast.
TIE AD vALoREM SUGAR soPHIsTRY.
There is conflict of statement concerning
I'D valorem and specific duties on sugar.
This conflict vitality concerns that great
financial octopus, the sugar trust, and the
present Congress has to deal with this giant
foe to our industrial prosperity.
There Is yet time for Democratic Congress
men to stand Alright before the people and re-
turn to their constituents with the record Of
work well done.
Since the real fight between the Senate and
House conferees is whether or not the sugar
trust shall be protected, THE TIMES pub
fishes the following carefully prepared memo
randa, setting,fourth plainlythe special pro-
lection to the retlners in q 40 per cent. ad
valorem duty.
TEE TINES will follow this up tomorrow,
the day Of the Democratic caucus, with state
ment of some Of the essential considerations
involved.
The Sugar Trade Journal (sugar trust Or
gam, of May II, 1894, perpetrated tn e follow
ing:
FIRST Forty per cent duty on all sugar.
There is no protection in this, as it applies to
the value of foreign refined at the port OF expor
tation as well to the raw sugar value at the
same port, hence a centrifugal testing s6 de-
grees and costing e.7i5 cents per pound, free on
board at port of xportation pays at 40 per cent.
LII cents duty, while German granulated
sugar testing s91s degrees and costing cents
per pound free on board at port of expectation,
pays at 40 per cent 1.a0 cents duty, but the one
pound of &c centrifugal will produce but .ass1s
pound of granulated and the duty on this same
amount of foreign granulated at 40 cents per
pound, is IL cents for .92SlS pounds or exactly
the same duty on raw and refined at 10 per
cent"
This means if it means anything, that the
value in Germany of the raw sugars suffi-
eient to make a pound of German granu-
lated, and that pound of German granulated
when made, are of the same value and price,
hence that 40 per cent. duty, assessed alike
upon both, will force the American refiner to
pay as much extra for his raw sugars as he
will be able to charge for his refined sugars;
hence that the American refiner can make no
profit therefrom.
There are several co nsiderations which viii
ate the force OF this conclusion:
In the first place, assuming-not admit
ting-the possibility that quotations of raw
and refined have been such at some time or
place as thus to be compared, to cite this as
an example OF the general situation is
ductio ad absurdum-conclusive only against
itself, and authority only with those whose
minds are SO constituted as to believe any
thing, however absurd. If this conclusion be
correct, then, to take the trusts own figures,
quoted above, the German exporting refiner,
paying the same price for his raws that he re-
ceives' for the refined he can make from them,
must find his compensation and profit in re-
flning in the net export bounty given him by
the German government, which, as repeat
edly stated by the Sugar Trade Jour
nal itself, is at q maximum 6iS cents
per 100 pounds. The theory that the
whole expense of refining, including the
extra handling involved. is but lie OF
cent per pound in Germay in refineries, not
one OF which is as large as those petty ones
that the trust dismantled and left to rot be-
cause they were too small to be worked econ
omically, while it is, as Mr.. Havemeyer
claims, more than cent per pound here in
the largest and most economically working
refineries in the world, is untenable.
Again, if the facts are as suggested, how is
1t that Germany exports any considerable
quantity Of raw sugars? Does the trust ask
US to believe that there is any country in the
world that will buy German raw sugars when
it can get German refined sugars for prac-
tically the same price? Would it dare deny
that large portion of German raw sugar
exports are bought for refining in free trade
countries; or will it try to make any ons be-
lieve that reflners in these countries are such
fools as to buy German raw sugars and 60 to
great expense in refining them when they can
buy German refined sugars for practically
the same price?
Or, II the trusts contention Is true, does
not it prove too much and demonstrate the
American Sugar Refining Company to be
nuisance on the face OF the earth by which
We are compelled to pay more than dollar
per 100 pounds to hire it to undertake
process which German refners are glad to do
for 81 cents per 100 pounds, which amount
their government is glad to pay them, SO that
it would cost US nothing? If this be true,
then we could afford to pay our American
reflners s4O, ,0OO, 900 year to shut down their
works and stop their interference with our
affairs.
The real explanation, however. is not the
absurdity of the Sugar Trade Journals state
ment, but rather the venerable solution of
the old riddle ''the boy lied" In the first
place German granulated is not ''refned"
sugar at all, or sugar competing with our
standard granulated. It is an ''of'' grade |
sugar, - the sugar trust authorities have
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