The herald., 1894-03-09
succeed in re-enslaving her emancipated
sisterhOod. freedoms battle once
begun" etc., etc.
TIE SUGAR Q uRsrIoN.


It looks very much as ii the friends ol
the American sugar industry will gain
their point in the senate, and that a
tariff will be placed on foreign sugar.
The latest indications are that the low
est tariff will be one cent pound, with
an increase according to refined grade ol
the Importation. On this principle
super-refned sugar will pay duty ci
about 12z cents. This amount Of pro-
lection would be very satisfactory to the
beet sugar manufacturers. If we take
the factory at Chino Rs an example, the
output from that sugarie could be so re-
fined as to compete readily with the
highest grade OF sugar that could be
imported and pay the maximum duty.
OF course this would give this special
factory the advantage OF the highest
protection in the tariff schedule.
The sugar interest of the country is
making strong and We believe q win
ming fight in the upper house. The
senators from Louisiana and other
southern states are reinforced by those
from this coast and many Of the western
states. The Populist senators will go
with them as q unit. The two New
York senators and at least one of the
New Jersey senators can be depended
upon to help the sugar interest. The
New York senators are determinedly
Rverse to the income tax, and they real
ize that if the revenue required for the
carrying on of the government is not
eked out by duty on sugar, the income
tax will become an absolute ecessity to
meet public expenditures. They will
therefore do all they can to take sugar
out OF the free list.
There are some people who are
blinded with the most sophisticsl argu-
ments on this subject. A newspaper Of
wide influence was SO lost to common
sense as to seriously put forth the
puerile remark that as tea and coffee
are admitted free we should also place
sugar on an equal footing. The differ
ence between the claims of these arti-
cles to exemption from duty is obvious.
Neither tea nor coffee is produced in the
United States, nor is it likely that any
encouragement which the government
could offer would enable our people to
produce a pound of either article.
Sugar, however, stands on q very differ
ent footing. The sugar cane industry Of
Louisiana is an old one, and during the
past few years we have begun to pro-
duce sugar from the beet in large guam
titles. With proper encouragement we
shall in few years be able to meet the
home consumption with sugar OF our
own production. Germany and France
have long raised enough sugar from the
beet to supply their own wants, and it
forms an important article of exporta-
ton from Germany. There is no prin-
ciple either in party politics or in the
canons of international trade which
calls upon us to abdicAte the right to
encourage by tariff imposition an in
dustry which promises to make us inde-
pendent of the world for an article of
such universal use.
The better judgment of the country
favors q reasonable tax on sugar. 1t is
an article from which needed revenue
can be readily realized, and in placing q
fair impost upon it we encourage one of
the most important industries ever
started in this country.