The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-31
SUGARS TARIFF scHE.
ALL THE INTERESTS ASK Ftcu
IMPORT DUTIES.

Lnm-
fair and Congress Urged
pose Specific Duties in Eyetsa
The Sugar Refining Indusi,.
Only one Not Represented L.
Hearing.
Washington, Dec. 3O.-The sessioihe
committee on ways and means to-das
given to the question of sugar l.
The opening was given to the susln.
porters, whose views We're voiced bin
81 Farr of New York, who said that al.
cent meeting of the sugar imnortAo,
that city it was unanimously decided
an ad valorem rate of duty was ut,
unreliable and exceedingly dificull
practice; that l cent a pound should
imposed on all sugar below Is deg
polariscope; and that additional discr
mating duties should be levied on all
gars coming from bounty paying CO
Il tries.
The beet sugar interest was represen
by Henry t. oxford of Grand Island N
Herbert Myrich of Chicago, editor of
American Agriculturist, and R. M Al
of Ames, Neb.. president of the Beet
gar Association.
q The cane sugar interest of I,ouisi,
was represented by j. d. Hin of n
Orleans.
No representative of the sugar ref14
industry had applied for a hearing 4
there was a conspicuous absence &c
members of the sugar trust.
In the course of his statement Mar
gave the following figures as bejthe
nearest to an ad valorem basis. as
representing fairly all interests: N all
sugars testing by the polariscr when
landed, Is degrees or under, onent per
pound, on net landed weight-An9 W
per degree for each degree UNI lUO de-
grees, fraction of a degree to fass9sed
in proportion.
IAN additional duty oST~gar' above
No. 16. dutch standard in For, to orNent
the foreign redners frot enterirg their
soft refined sugars here the sag rate
OF duty as raw sugars oflne sam test.
1t was also recommend thatEn ad-
ditional discriminating tty on agsugars
coming from bounty laying chntries,
with authority to the aecutive reduce
or increase this additinal dutyn sucn
proportion as the bou9y payingountries
may from time to the raise@r lower
their bounties.
1t was estimated tat the s4rage po-
larlzatien of raw sukars limited into
this country is about 92 defes. Such
sugars would pay La centser pound
duty. which would produce ANNUAL rev.
enue on this article Of abo8 SoO,OOOOOO,
calculating on importationsf about l.
100000 tons of dutiable suga, which has
been the average for the pa few years.
The next speaker was Sol Humphreys
of New York, who said tn he had been
appointed chairman of clrnittee of the
sugar trade of New York; come before
the committee on ways arnneans and tell
them something about tldifficulties of
the existing tariff, and adalorem rate, as
applied to sugar; and to X that, in max
ing its new tariff mease, it should be
made on the line of sphc duties on SUI
gar. Mr.. Humphreys generated some of
the reasons why spelc duty on sugar
should be substituted N an ad valorem
system. The ad vaIorl system, he said,
was unfair to the mchant, because he
never knew what duts he had to pay I'M
I'll the cargo was liz Aated; unfair to the
government as a revue measure and en-
tirely unreliable he revenue from SUI
gar two years agoAad been about 49,
OOOuDO and he doubt whether this year it
would reach $21 5000. This decrease of
revenue was due 4 to any falling off in
the importation, bt to reduction IN the in
voice prices. He timated, however, that
under the specific ttes as advocated by the
sugar trade of ew York, the revenue
from sugar wod be from $49,000,OOO to
$5O,OO0OOO
Would not te cost of sugar." Mr.
Evans of Kentuky asked, ''be advanced to
the consumer?7
Yes" Mr. Eimphreys replied, "but the
additional osfwould be so inexpressibIy
small that it fould cut no figure in the
expense of q Emily"
Mr.. Evans hquired as to the total i'm
portation of agar from the Hawaiian Is
lands. Mr.. humphreys estimated the i'm
portation of his year s crop at $50, 900 tons.
Ten per oen. of the whole sugar i'm
portation of th} country" Mr.. Evans sug-
gested.
Yes sir: Upper cent" said Mr.. Hum
phreys.
I'VE want he continued, "all the raw
sugar that can be used in this country, and
we RECOGNIZES that, unless a difference is |
made on sugar above No. 16 in color, the
Importation of refined sugar from abroad
VIII go on increasing very largely, to the
detriment of fhe sugar trade of the United
states. We also recommend an additional
discriminating duty on all sugars coming
from bounty paying countries. 1t is mani
testify unjust 10 all the sugar producing
interests in the world for any one coun-
try to allow an export bounty on sugar
such export bounty is a disorganizing
FACTOR in the sugar trade all over the world.
We are therefore unanimously of the
opinion that the one-tenth cent a pound
now imposed on sugar from bounty pay
ing countries is not sufficient, as within
the last few years Germany has increased
the bounty to about one-fourth cent a
pound. We hope, therefore, that instead
Oh one-tenth cent a pound on such sugar,
.he additional discriminating duty shall
oe made at least equal to the actual boun-
I. j. Smith of New York wished to inn
press upon the committee the difficulties
Oh an ad valorem duty, under which, he
SAID, 1t was impossible to tell what the
rate would be until the sugar landed He
oited one case where the difference in
nuty on cargo amounted to $4,000, the
rise taking place while the sugar was be-
ing shipped. II was impossible TO land
This cargo, and itfhad TO be sent to Liv-
arpool. In this way many sales were
lost.
James d. Hill of New Orleans made an
argument in behalf Of a committee of the
American Cane Growing Association. He
asked that the rate on duty on sugar I'M
Der the act Of 1898 be reimposed. Moth
ing less than"that, ne said, would be satis-
factory.