Omaha daily bee., 1897-05-16

MUST GRAPPLE WITH SUGAR Trust.
II Is an open secret at the national
capital that the sugar schedule in the
revised Diugley tariff bill was dictated
by the Sugar trust. Congressman GroS-
vcnor, who rs n member of the ways and
means committee helped to formulate
the tariff bill. has boldly asserted that
the sugar schedule recommended by the
senate committee is word for word
identical with the schedule submitted
to the house committee on behalf OF the
refiners that constitute the Sugar trust.
The marked rise in the quotations of
Sugar trust stocks Immediately follow
ing the formal recommendation Of the
revised Dingley bill TO the senate goes
far TO confirm the prevailing impression
that the changes made Ivy the scnatc
committee in the sugar duties were ex-
tremciy partial to the trust Whether
the senate can afford to ignore the grave
charges affecting the integrity of its
members which have been mad by GER
tain wspapc and reiterated on the
floor of the senate chamber we shall not
at this time venture to discuss. What
concerns the people of the United States,
and especially the people of the states
engaged in sugar cane and beet culture,
is whether they will permit the sugar
refincrs' combine to thwart the main OBJ
ject Of tariff revision--the protection Of
American industry.
The people of the United States are
paying 500, 100000 to S120.OOO, 900 Il
year to foreign sugar growers. With
reasonable protection every pound of
sugar consumed in this country can he
and American sugar bectS. With n
tariff framed with a view to stimulating
the American sugar industry southern
sugar planters will be able to quadIuple
their product and sugar beet culture
will receive an impetus that will do as
much as any other agency toward the
restoration of prosperity. The sugar
schedule in the Dingley tariff bill was
framed with this end in view with in
cidental protection to American sugar
rcfiners to enable them to compete sue
cessfully with the refiners of Germany,
France and Great Britain.
But the Sugar trust managers do not
seem to be satisfied with specific duties
adjusted for reasonable protection of
American producers and manufacturers.
They derive greater profit from juggling
the stock market and hammering down
foreign exporters of raw sugar. There
is undoubtedly a greater margin of
profit for the trust in purchasing from
foreign sugar raiserS and dealers than
there would be in buying from American
cane and beet growers and American
sugar factories. The trust has therefore
eXerted its influence upon the senate to
force an ad valorem duty, which gives
free scope for speculation and under
valuation. Having tlourished and GROVE
stronger under the sugar schedule of
the Wilson bill, the trust now persists
in pe~rpetuating its monopoly through
the tariff bill which the republicans are
framing,
1t is to be hoped that congress will
not stultify itself by captivating to the
trust. The sugar schedule as drawn by
Mr.. Dingley and passed by the house
should be restored. The American peo-
pie will cheerfully submit to increased
taxation for the building up of the beet
sugar industry and the encouragement
OF anc growing. They will cheerfully
submit to being taxed for the protection
OF the American sugar manufacturers.
But they will not submit patiently to
burdens imposed upon them for the ben
eft of the sugar refining monopoly
which seeks to throttle American pro
| ducers by entrenching itself behind in
geniously devised barriers erected
through tariff legislation. In other
words, the people of the United States
are willing to tax themselves for n few
years in order that America may supply
its own market with its own sugar, but
they will not and should not submit to
being taxed upon imported sugar merely
to put millions into the Golfers of the
Sugar trust.