The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1894-01-05

protection might be removed entirely
without compelling them. or perhaps
without allowing them. 10 reduce
wages. VII Their the condition Of tho
Ia Dor market will enable the rcfiners
10 reduce wages remains 10 be seen; il
depends upon many things besides the
duties on raw and refined sugars
when the Wilson bin was promal-
gated il was promptly announced that
a reduction OF the present duty would
be disastrous 10 the refining industry.
because that was now paying only :
per cent. on it, preferred and Il per
cent. on it, common stock. Most OF
the productive interests of this country
would regard themselves a. in a thor
oughly vigorous condition If they could
pay : per cent on the preferred stock
and have enough profit left To divide IL
per cent on the common stock. even
supposing that the preferred and com
mon stock represented the actual in
ve>tment of capital in the business.
But we apprehend that no one will
seriously deny that the sugar ~reiineries
are capitalized ~ three times the value
of their plants. They may reckon their
cool will and various other intangible
assets as worth millions of dollars. and
there may be some dispute about the
propriety of capitalizing these so-callcd
properties: but probably no one will
pretend that the visible investments of
the sugar trust are worth more thar
one-third the sum at which the trust
il ca pitalizcd. On the actual invest
mont fban fla frfSf NAV IN daant.1
to be earning q per cent. on its pre-
ferred and 30 per cent. on its common
stock. and these profits might be very
much reduced without tempting any Of
the sugar refiners to withdraw their
capital and put it into any other in
dustry.
"As the government needs additional
revenue, we should have been glad to
see a duty of say p per cent al valor-
en-. or. as now proposed by Mr.. Hartcr,
one cent per pound. levied on all sugars,
raw and refined. The reiners would
then have had an amount OF protection
measured by the extent To which reiin-
ing abroad adds 70 the value of the
sugar. But the dividends paid on an
extremely inflated stock prove that on
the score of profits the trust has no
claim upon the consideration of
congress. Certainly from no other
point of view has il any claim upon the
sympathies If congress or the people
even. if sympathies were a proper foun-
dation for a tax law. Neither capital
nor labor mas ever received the slight
est consideration from the trust. and
we see no reason why the trust should
he treated with a mercy il has known
nothing Of when dealing with others.
1t is willing now to shield itself behind
its employees. - to whose con-
slant employment at remunerative
wages il seems solicitors. i;ut
no humane considerations have de-
tered the trust from shutting down re-
tineries in the interest Of its absolute
control Of the market 1t has always
been perfectly willing TO render capital
profitless and labor unemployed If nee
cssary to tighten its grip Upon the mar
ket. and enable il To earn such profits
as only lottery managers are familiar
with. 1t has crushed the capitalists
whom it could not force into alliance
with itself. and its solicitude for the
welfare Of the American w~orkingman
has been Limited strictly to political
emergencies.
~ significant response to the com
plant that the reduction of the duty on
refined sugar would ruin the refining
industry, is the fact that within a short
period a new refining company with a
capital of a million dollars and a refin-
cry in Yonkers will put a thousand
barrels of sugar a day on the market
1t is seldom that capitalists put a mil
lion dollars into an enterprise just as
il is about to be ruined by adverse
legislation"