The Red Cloud chief., 1897-01-08
SUGAR INTERESTS HEARD
want Higher Quite, and Specific Rates
Will Yield Big Revenues.

Will Yield Big Revenues.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3i.-The House
ways and means committee this morn.
ing took up the sugar schedule, and
four inscrests were representative
importers, cane growers, beet raisers
and reHners. For the importers John
Farr Of New York opened. Their
recommendations were: On all sugar
testing rs degrees or less, o duty Of
1 ccnt n pound, adding 8 cents per de-
gree to 100 degrees; mn additional duty
Of about o~ne-fourth of a cent differ
entail on all sugars above sixteen
Dutch standard In color to prevent re-
flners from entering refined sugars ut
the same duty as raw sugars Of the
same test; an additional discriminating
duty on all sugars from bounty paying
countries, with authority TO the Presi-
dent TO raise or lower duties as the
bounties should be raised or lowered.
This scheme, the importers estimated,
would yield the government o revenue
Of $50, 600, 900 per year. the amount of
sugar paying duty being about l,5OO,-
900 tons, the average polariscope test
being % degrees.
In reply TO . question from Chair
man Dingley, Mr.. FAIR declared that
there was no liberalization Of sugars
imported now but, owing to the strict
Interpretation of the law by the GUS
ton officials, the tendency was to pay
more du'v than the law called for.
Appraisals were made on the basis Of
the estimated values in Trinidad and
other countries where there was no
market values.
what would you say" asked Mr..
Dingley. ito the statement furnished
the committee by Henry A. Brown of
Massachusetts, that the invoiced value
Of all sugar imported In 1893 was an
average Of $40 cents a pound under
the London valuation.
Mr.. Farr considered that statement
untruthful ami entirely theoretical.
London values were not represented,
as Germany had absorbed the business.
London prices on can were merely
nominal.
Mr.. Farr asserted that only in oc-
c~asional bargains could the American
Refining company buy its goods
cheaper than other firms. Its in
nuence had been to reduce the price of
sugar throughout the world. Under
the present d~iffcrential rate Of three
tenths of a cent the importations for
last year had been 1000, 900 tons
larger than ever before. A differen-
tial of o%ne-fourth of a cent a pound
would enable the soft white sugars to
compete with the centrifugal refined.
Scion Humphreys of New York,
chairman Of a committee appointed by
/ a., ....a A.nIa .i1 ALA l.n.-
culties of on nd valorem tariff on sugar
and made a plea for u specific system.
The change, he said, was unanimously
demanded by the trade. Ad valorem
valuations were unjust and impracti-
Bounties were n disorganizing factor.
| The German government recently had
raised the bounty to something over
%one-fourth of a cent n pound, which
enabled Germany to dispose of all her
surplus product. The system was
working ruin to all the British Islands,
SC that they must resort to the same
scheme or go Out of business. Instead
Of one-tenth of a cen bounty on sugar
imported into this country the addi-
tional duty should equal the bounties.
+. j. Smith, another importer, made
a brief argument against ad valorem
duties.
Colonel }. d. Hill of New Orleans,
representing the Cane Growers asso-
citation of Louisiana, argued for O
restoration Of the duty of the act of
1859. He spoke of the stimulation
produced by the bounty act Of 1890,
with the duty imposed therein on re.
fined sugar, and said II . similar pro-
vision could be made In the prospect
i've law and its permanence guaranteed
the sugar producers would prefer 1t,
but all things considered, they asked
for a re-enaotment Of the provisions in
the act of 1888. He produced figures
to show the reduction of price of re.
fined sugar under the operation of that
net at the time when the crops were
being marketed. to show the benefits
to the country ut large from home
competition.