The Portland daily press., 1897-06-17
ESPECIAL TO THE pREss.1

of Names Sad Experience With the
Weather.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.1
Washington, June 16-The fight over
the sugar schedule, which has been SO i'm
portant part of the tariff war, has been
as complicated as it was protracted
From things that have cropped out in
| the debate there seems to be reason to
believe that all the honorable senators
have not fully understood the question.
| Moreover, the changes that have been
made in the policy and plans of the
managers of the bill in the Senate have
been confusing.
Sugar may be roughly classed as raw
and refined. The American refineries.
which are generally controlled by the
trust, import the raw sugar and refine
it. The Wilson bill, by making an ad
valorem schedule according to which duty
twas paid on imported sugars accordin g
to its valuation, enabled the trust to i'm
port sugar at an undervaluation and thus
add to its profits greatly. With specific
duty, which lays the tariff by the pound,
which is always constant, instead of by
the value, which may be misstated, the
chance to undervalue is taken away, and
the profits to the trust can be Only what
the tariff law shows on its face. Under
the Wilson law there have been vast
profits OF at least there has been the
opportunity for vast profits by undervalu-
alton.
The House schedule of the Dingley bill
provided entirely for specific duties on
sugar, in this respect differing radically
from the Wilson bill. In general terms
it may be said that the Wilson bill gave
an open protection to sugar of a quarter
of cent pound, while in addition
there was the advantage that might be
obtained by differentiation. The Ding
ley bill as it left the House gave one
to increase this underyaluation. The
original Senate amendment was con-
sidered very much more favorably to the
| Trust; but the compromise adopted by
the Senate caucus, gives about one-fifth
of a cent a pound, with no chance for
und er valuation.
| 1t is probable that the House schedule,
which gives to the Trust the advantage
of protection of one-eighth of cent a
pound, or even the Senate revised sched-
ule which gives about one-ffth of cent,
do not give to the Trust more protection
| than the bill gives to many other bran
ches of manufacture in the country. 1t
| ;s tbo ~ ,-
has made itself SO officious about the
halls of Congress that there is a disposi.
tion in the House. to adhere to the original
House schedule, and not to agree even
to the modified Senate schedule
| The sugar schedule of tariff bill is
necessarily complicated and mystifying
to one not closely acquainted with the
business of making sugar or tariffs.
| The qualities of sugar are determined
by two tests: the Dutch test by color,
and the test by the instrument known
as the polariscope for determining
saccharine. strength. In the custom
houses may be found rows of bottles,
each containing sugar of different color.
Each color has number, SO sugar of
No. 16 Dutch standard is sugar of the
color of the sample contained in bottle
16 of the standard. The polariscope is a
more complicated machine, which de-
termines saccharine strength by noting
the phenomena of light acting on the
sugar under certain conditions.
Now the tariff bill establishes line
which divides sugars into two classes.
All sugars that are below rs degrees in
saccharine strength, and at the same time
are not above 16 by the Dutch standard
of color, are together in one class, which
by the House schedule would be required
to pay duty of..one cent pound. Sugars
of this class are not such as are used on
the table, although it is claimed that q
few of the cheaper brown sugars, may
be included. But mostly in this class are
the cans syrups, the sugar such as col
| lects in the bottoms of molasses tanks
etc. The product is nearly all such as is
| imported for refining, and not for use
in households.
In the second class there are two kinds
of sugar. First, that kind which is not
above the 16 Dutch standard, but ranges
higher than 70 degrees in saccharint
strength This is charged the one cen1
a pound, with an addition of three one
hundredths of a cent for every degree o1
test above rs. The second kind is sugar
above 16 Dutch standard, and all sugar
that has been refined. Upon such the
duty by the House schedule is placed al
one cent and $4,000 of cent pound.
The Senate schedule differs considerably
from the House in details, but is probably
much better than the old Wilson bill
schedule. 1t is probable that the House
will make determined fight for it's owl
schedule, and in this will be aided great
ly by the public sentiment which exists
against the Trust.
One feature of the House bill is tn,
countervailing provision. Germany il
a great producer of beet sugar, and il
order to capture foreign markets ant
drive cOmpetitiOn out she payS a bOllnt,