Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-08-05


Due to appropriations.
Special Washington correspondence:
The Democrats In the House and
Senate shouted themselves hoarse
when sugar stock went up by leaps and
bounds Immediately following the nc
ton Of the conference committee on
the sugar schedule. They claimed that
the conferees' action gave to the sugar
trust all the advantage 1t asked and to
a casual observer and one unfamiliar
with the facts this might seem the case.
But little study Of the situation shows
the true cause of the advance, and not
to be in any way attributed to any ad-
vantage given to the trust by the ac-
ton Of the conference committee; on
the contrary, the trust had a genuine
setback from the advantages It has
been enjoying under the Wilson law.
That sugar trust stock advanced as
1t became apparent that the tariff bill
was approaching completion is unde-
niable. That it did advance with leaps
and bounds when the action Of the
conferees became known is equally
true.
Now what is the cause? hoes the
bill give the trust any secret and mys-
terious advantages Of which the public
does not know in detail? Are Chair
man Dingley, Representative Payne,
Senator Allison and others mistaken
when they say that 1t does not? The
people will not believe that these men,
In whose long public career there has
been no suspicion Of dishonesty, are
wilfully and knowingly misstatlng the
facts or making assertions that are not
based upon facts, or at least what they
believe to be facts.
These men assert that the tariff rates
of the bill give the refiners no more
protection than the actual cost Of rein
ing, viz, rs of cent per pound. No
body who knows the men making this
assertion will believe that they are
stating other than what they believe to
be the truth. The question then is as
to whether they are mistaken-wheth-
er, to use the term of the day-they
have been "buncoed" by the sugar
trust or by the experts upon whom
they have to rely for their information.
If not, is there any other cause which
would legitimately result in the ad-
vance In sugar trust stock as has been
the case?
1t was generally conceded when the
bill passed the House that 1t was not
in any way advantageous to the trust,
but that, on the contrary, 1t took away
from it the advantages which it had
under the Wilson law. AS the bill left
the House the rates on refined sugar
were 12R cents per hundred pounds
higher than the rates on raw sugar. OF
course the rates on different grades of
raw sugar are different. but taking
the number Of pounds of any grade
which were required to make IN
hundred pounds of refined sugar
1t was found that the rates were
on an average Of 1914 cents per hun
dred pounds less than those on refined
sugar. This means that the sugar re-
finers of the country, whether In the
trust or out of 1t, were allowed a differ
ence of 1215 cents per hundred pounds,
or k Of a cent per pound difference be-
tween raw sugar when imported and
refined sugar when imported, thus Civ
ing them an opportunity to import raw
sugar at Is Of cent a pound less than
the rates Mt which refined sugar can
be imported. Since it is generally con-
ceded that the cost of refining sugar is
not less than about n of n cent a
pound, IT is apparent that the rates real
ly given to the sugar refiners are sim
ply the bare difference between refined
and unrefined sugars, or the cost of re-
filming.
While the rates adopted by the Sen
ate were undoubtedly more advan-
to the sugar refiners, those
finally agreed upon by the conferees
made precisely the same difference be-
tween raw and refined sugars that the
House bill made when 1t was passed
by hat body. The conference repor.
did increase the rates on refined sugar
slightly, but 1t also increased the rates
on raw sugar, thus making the differ
ence in the rate Of duty between raw
and refined, or the 'differential," as 1t
is called. precisely what the House bill
made it originally.
If, however, the conference report
really gave the Sugar Trust no advan-
tage, why was 1t that Sugar Trust
stock advanced during the time that
the hill was in consideration by the
conferees and after 1t was made pub
lie? This is a pertinent and proper
question.
The answer to this is simple enough.
The Sugar Trust, knowing that the
new bill would certainly advance the
rate of duty on sugar as protection
to American producers, has been bring
ing into the country as rapidly as pos
sible sugar in enormous quantities, get
ting it in of course under the compar-
atively low rates of the Wilson law.
1t has secured the world for sugar and
had in stock by the time the conference
report was presented to the public over
zoe, 1000 tons of raw sugar, or, I'm round
1900, OOO, 900 pounds. Enough
sugar with which to load 10000 cars,
or $500 freight trains Of twenty cars
each.
1t was thus perfectly apparent that |
the trust would make whatever profit |
there was between the tariff rates of |
the Wilson law and the increased tar
ifr rates named by the Dingley law, or |