Evening journal., 1897-02-10
TIE BIG SUGAR TRUST.
How the Huge Combination De-
stroyed Competition.
HAS nADE ENORMOUS PROFITS.

lIA40 L. n IL hANOLAA0Oh NV a - ~
List OF Eshaerles Which Entered Into the
Trust Agreement or Have Since Been
Acquired Many Plants Abandoned aud
workmen Thrown Out OF Employment
NEW YORK. Feb l0.-The Herald this
morning publishes the following in regard
/ to the Sugar trust. which Is being investi
/ gated by the Lexow committee;
The reluctant testimony given by the
/ pilots of the Sugar trust before the legisla-
uyeinvcstigating committee has afforded
glmpses OF the purpose behind the huge
combination OF capital which controls the
erice of refined sugar in the United States
The story of how the trust cnme to be
formed and OF its operation In regard TO
prices, will indicate WHAT the committee
Is trying to compel the trust to confess
The profit in the business Of refining
sugar began TO decline in 1884, when the
difference between the price paid for raw
sugar aud the price received for the refined
fell to .913 of a cent pound, owing TO the
rivalry between the refiners The decrease
IN the margin out OF which the reilneries
made their profit continued to decline, un-
til 10 reached 76S of % cent a pound in
1887. In that year the trust was formed
and the decline was stopped. The margin
under the operation of the trust and of
the American Sugar Refneries company
IF New Jersey, which succeeded 1t, has
ney@ fallen so low as it was during the
last years of free competition.
The trust managers point with pride 70
the fact that the average margin between
the cost of raw and refined sugar for eight
years before the trust was formed was
!. 1.O65 cents pound and that for the nine
years since it kas been only 1856 of a cent
a decline of .O79 Of a cent "A pound The
average for the four years Immediately
preceding the trust however, was only
7a3 of "A cent, on 1913 OF "a cent less than
it has been since
1t also appears from the table that the
decreased cost of refined sugar to the con-
sumner is due. not to lessened profits in re-
nninc. but to the decrease in the cost Of
refined sugar.
The Reaneries Closed.
The rehnerios which were incorporated
and which signed the original trust agree
inent were Havemeyers Il Elder Of Brook
lyn De Castro & Donner Of Brooklyn,
owning three refineries; Brooklyn Sugar
Refinery company, f o. Matthiesen *
Wiechcrs of Jersey City, Havemeyer sugar
Refining company of Long Island City
Oxnard Bros. of Brooklyn Dick & Meyer
, of Brooklyn, Moller, SierclS x Co. Of
Brooklyn, North River of Corlears Hook,
the standard, the Bay State, Continental
Boston and Revere of Boston. In addition
+ the trust now controls the st. Louis Re
fning company, the Planters and bouisi-
ana of New Orleans the Franklin. Knight,
n Delaware and Spreckels Of Philadelphia
, and an interest Of $500, 600 in the Western
of san Francisco.
After the formation Of the trust the re-
hneries closed were Oxnard Brothers f,
, Decastro < Donnor's three. the st. Louis
\ and the Bay State The Havemeyer Re
c fining company and Dick * Myers were
t destroyed by fire. The Havemeycr has
n been rebuilt and equipped, but is not used.
20 The North river was condemned for Cor
D. lears Hook park and passed out of exist
6 enoe
!, Capacity Of Rehneries.
tits on record that the capacity Of Oh,
ID rehneries joining the trust was 32, OOl
barrels "a day, and that the capacity Of tn,
trust companies now operating is %, O0G
barrels day. The managers Of the trus
declare that the output of the rehnerie'
Il which they still operate has been increased
80 that the men thrown ont Of employ
ment by the closing of some of the ne
] MntlltH nave Dttl fiHIfOltn III lit UAltIo.
, This statement is conuadicted by the
81 workingmen themselves. John Bergen,
I, who has been in the employ of the Have
II meyers for years, says that between 5,00C
le and Is, 900 workmen in Brooklyn were de
n priyed of employment when the trust wa.
formed. and have since scattered over the
X country
3 What prevents the trust from still fur
Z. ther increasing its margin of profit, which
d now yields 90 per cent on captaliza
4. ton of $50 OO0 OOO is the existence OF
T. competing rchneries which, though theii
D. product is relatively small, undersell th'
At trust whenever conditions enable them tC
b do so. They are the Mollhenhaucr refinery
II of Brooklyn, the National of Yonkers
Nash, Spaulding & Co. of Boston, the Nc
d Cohen of Philadelphia the Henderson anC
= the Coggswell Of New Orleans, and the
li Cunningham refinery Of Texas
b These and other small local refnere.
produce about 20 per cent of the 1000, OOl
lo tons of sugar consumed each year IN tn,
q United States. They are the only checl
As on the power of the trust to exact tribute
D. from consumers TO any amount that Il
/ sees ht TO require for dividends upon its S,
q called watered stock. If the policy Of ab
i. sorption should be pursued they vii
re eventually be taken into the fold and tn,
L. trust will then have fun sway. Its presen
N profit Of about one-eighth Of a cent pounC
e nets it more than So 900, 600 annually
AIurderer's Deathbed Confession.
y PARKERsBURG, w. Va, Feb 1O.-Abou
as eight years ago Alexander Campbell,
lt farmer Of this county, wealthy and old
was killed, supposedly by dynamite ex
plosion in the home of Dr. John B. Cor
rill on Fishing creek, i'm Tyler county. DIR
= fc,,-flf Tiod loet ,vnol and g. Ina iu.