The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1895-09-19
OUR AMERICAN SUGAR
It Should Be Used in Prefer
ence to China's Product.
ENCOURAGE HOME INDUSTRIES
Every American Should Demand the
Native Product and See That
He Gets 1t.

Every American should Demahu Tie
Native Product and See That
He Gets 1t.
1t is a singular thing that, while the
inhabitants of the United States are
most prosperous people and consume
more of both the necessities and lux
uries of life, generally speaking, they
are behind the English in the con-
sumption of sugar.
In 189O-91 the sugar used IN the
United Kingdom was an amount equal
to 781 1-2 pounds per capita, while the
figures show an average consumption
in the United States of only 591 1-2
pounds per capita.
What the reasons are for this great
difference have puzzled many per-
sons, and we must look carefully for
them if we are to find the causes.
American workmen receive more pay
than the laborers of any other country,
and as a rule have the money to obtain
for their table everything wanted. 1t
seems fair to assume that the older the
country and civilization the more care
fully are the questions of household
economy and hygiene studied, and If
this is true why can we not argue from
the premise stated that we have failed
to a great degree in discovering the
wholesomeness and the economy OF
using large amounts OF sugar?
Looking at this question from the
- 4 ~
we should be heavy consumers Of
sweets and again we see that we are
obliged to buy most of the sugar we
use from other countries, and we owe
it to ourselves to carefully consider
what we as individuals can do to stim-
ulate the sugar producing and sugar
manufacturing and sugar consuming
industries of our country.
The United States sent out of the
country in 1898 the enormous sum Of
$116, 900, 900 for sugar, and this amount
if it could only have been retained at
home would have done much to make
this country prosperous and would
have been a great help during the
awful panic of the last two years.
The policy of the United States has
been very clearly determined to be of
protection to home industry and home
manufactures, and whether we con-
slider the recent tariff laws as wise or
unwise the fact remains that they are
unpopular and do not fill the bill.
The question of protection is popular
and if the voice of the people is the
voice of wisdom we may all be pardon
ed for the maintenance of those opin
ions which will help to shape the do
nestle and foreign policies of the
United States for the ensuing genera
ton.
If it were necessary that we should
buy a staple like sugar abroad in order
that we might sell our surplus of other
products we might perhaps as well buy
sugar as anything else, but this is not
the case. We can sell our products at
the worlds price, and that is what we
do always when we export; if we can
take back coin instead of other prod
ucts that under the right conditions
we can raise at home we are so much
the better off and the imports Of
money will assist US in maintaining
our currency without having to pay
such prices for our credit as we have
recently paid.
Again we come to the question of
practical Importance: How can you
as citizen do anything to promote the
objects the country desires to obtain?
In the first place, what kind of sugar
do you consume yourself?
Charity and wisdom begin, or should
begin, at home.
If you buy sugar, do you ever in
quire as to whether you are getting
that of domestic production or manu-
facture? If you do not you have neg
lected your duty as an American citi-
zen and you should remove the beam
of carelessness from your own eye be-
fore you censure your representatives
and senators for overlooking some
things that might promote the welfare
of your country.
1t is true that we not only import
immense quantities of raw sugar but
ON the Pacific coast pernicious trade
has recently sprung up in the manu-
featured sugar of China, many retail
grocers handling it surreptitiously.
Think of it, in section of the
United States as sparsely capitalized
as the West coast, actually sending it's
money to a VIGOROUSLY cheap labor
country for an article of household con-
sumption which is refined and produced
at home.
OF what use are such legislative en-
actments as the Chinese exclusion act
if our people, the very ones who were
most clamorous for the prevention of
the competition of cheap labor, are 60
ing to suffer their hard earned coin to
be sent to China for sugar refined
there?
The idea that the price of sugar is
kept at its present low figures on the
Pacific coast by the importation of
Hong Kong sugar is an erroneous one,
for whenever the American refineries
advance the Chinese importers have
invariably followed. If American
granulated sugar was selling at say
nine cents today the price of foreign
would be about the same. The truth
is that supply and demand makes the
worlds market Oh sugar as it does on
wheat and other great staples, and
when the New York and London mar
kets advance or decline the price of all
A