The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1895-12-12
The CHINESE SUGARS
is BILLED AS MERCHANDISE
But Few People Are Aware Of the
Danger That is Threatened
From This Unclean
Article
is BILLED AS MERCHANDISE


the uliwary reader Is not aroused
when he sees among other items 0i
cargo reported by the agents Of the
Asiaiic steamers, 5000 pkgs. merchan.
disc" There is tea, silk, spices, and
$500 pkgs. merchandise. Aren't tea
aud silk "merchandise?" Yes; and
there is nothing to be concealed in
their importation. But with sugar il
is different. Secrecy is the watch
word. The public must not know that
Chinese sugar is being dumped upon
them. Why? Because the public
don't want it.
The steamer Strathnevis, which ar.
rived at Tacoma on October s, brought
In her cargo 5000 package. ''merchan.
disc" or 100000 pounds of Chinese
sugars, and importations Of this same
secret merchandise" since July |,
into Oregon and Washington, have
amounted to 4s,34O bags, or nearly s.
100000 pounds, valued at nearly a
quarter of a million dollars.
Where has it all gone? How many
people know they are baying sugar
from the plague-ridden Orient, with
its poorly paid and poorly fed labor?
The same secrecy exercised by the
importer IS exercised by the grocer and
by every one who handles it, and
the public becomes large consumer
of un article that it knows nothing Of,
and would not buy ifit knew what it
was getting And yet there has been
imported in the last three months six
pounds of this sugar for every man,
woman and child ID Washington and
Oregon.
Why does the grocer handle ii? Not
single wholesale grocer of any stand
ing in the Northwest does, but some
Of the retail grocers, in their anxity to
buy cheaper than their neighbors,
have allowed their ayarice to get the
best of their patriotism and good sense.
They buy II BECAUSE it is cheaper, and
they can make two OF three cents on a
dollars worth. Do these grocers sell
this sugar any cheaper? Did you
ever see in your grocer's store two
bags, one marked American SUGAR.
and the other "Chinese Sugar." No!
They buy ii at an insignificant differ
ence in cost and sell this "merchan.
disc" as sugar al the same price as
American sugar. Fer a little extra
profit they sell the public an article
that they do not dare to call by name.
Secrecy is the watchword. The pub.
lie will not have this merchandise
If they know what it is. Therefore
they must know not what 1t Is.
There are few people who will buy
sugar from plague and vermin-ridden
China when they get better article
al practically the same price maze at
home, and 1t iS because the public
don't want this product Of coolie labor
that il is handled In the dark, sold in
the dark, concealed by the importer,
and concealed by the tradesman.
There is probably not one reader OF
this article WAp has not purchased
Chinese sugar, thinking he was get
ting clean American product made
by clean American labor. Who reaps
the benefit of the deceptionP
A few honest Grpcers here aud there
display cards: "We handle American
sugar only.n Many grocers sell Chi
nese sugar thinking that they are
dong nothing wrong. That is oil
right, SO long as the customer does not
ask what he is getting or specify
American sugar. lfthe customer asks,
they tell him it is Chinese sugar, with
very few exceptions.
Nevertheless, II remains a fact that
this imlnense quantity of sugar Is
dumped in here, and sold, and no one
even sees or hears of it.
The American people are projections
lists in theory and in fact, and are moi
so inconsistent as 10 frame laws to shut
opt the products of pauper labor, and
then turn round and buy, ut praeti
cally no difference in price, an every
day staple food product from the mos
poorly paid, the most degraded, The
most filthy labor on the face Of thu
earth,
Hardly fre6trader would be so un
American as 10 patronlSe such pro
ducts, although lie dose not believe II
keeping them out by law, and HI
CAN well point his anger Of scorn u
my p,le protesting to believe 10 pre-