The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-21

The wires carried the intermittlng
currents that licked off the message
from Washington on Saturday that the
sugar schedule to that of the house,
n patriotic claquers Immediately
shouted that lit is a famous victory"
Had the house conferees yielded they
would have as readily proclaimed the
same. For some days enthusiastic ad-
mirers of the latest Man from Maine"
have pictured him, his towering form
and masterful presence behind the
members of the conference from the
house, bidding them stand firm and
stick for the house rate on sugar., even
if congress had to sit and be broiled
by the summers scorching heat
through all the dog days yet to come.
And the same wires that brought the
news of the great victory also in
formed US of the shower of kilograms
congratulatory that poured in upon the
Man from Maine upon his triumph over
the evil spirit of the sugar trust tina
possesses the senate as its own habita-
ton.
And what is this famous victory ?'
Over whom is it won and who are the
conquered that tramp behind the
chariot in which the conquering hero
rides? When the Dingley bill went
over to the enate it contained a provi-
sion that raw sugar, testing rs degrees,
should pay a tax of one cent a pound.
Sugar that tested 100 degrees is our
common refined, or granulated sugar,
the only sugar now universally used on
the table. Tor each degree or fraction
of a degree between these two points
an additional 3-10O of a cent was to
be added to each pound, so that the
tax, when the 100-degree, or refined
limit was reached, would be 1875 cents
a pound. The trust, we were old.
made no stiff fight in the house, but
reserved it's efforts ror the senate.
There The committee on finance report
ed back a mysterious tumble of ad
ONC@NA AAo GPCOllIS ldlCS, WIllCH HIS
agent, Senator Allison, undertook to
explain, with the further mystifcation
Of everybody as it's only effect. The
senate, under the modifying influence
OF Senator Spooner, compromised the
matter by making the tax on 1OO-de-
gree sugar 1876 cents a pound. The
difference for which the house con-
ferees contended, for which Speaker
Reed backed them, for winning which
he is showered with congratulations
and sees the presidency rising to well
come him in 1900, is precisely seventy
fve-One-thousandths of a cent a pound
1t was indeed a famous victory. All
the question was how much shall the
trust have? How much shall it be ner-
mitted to take from sugar consumers
above the amount Of tax that went
into the treasury? How much shall be
taken and given it to keep it's stock at
1877 and permit it to divide annuaI divi-
dends of II per cent with an accumu
lating surplus? The house said a differ
VI OHS-elSHlH was 6nOugh the
senate said one of one-fifth was essen
tial to preserve this infant industry
from starvation. And over this cues
ton, whether the public should be held
up for o%ne-eighth or one-ffth of a
cent for the trust, the house and SEN
ate stood while all the trembling in
dustries of the country shook as if af-
fiicted with a shaking palsy. And the
house triumphed, and the trust must
endeavor to wriggle along with .O75 of
q cent less DOT than the senate prom
ised it. 1t was surely a famous vic
tory over this concentration of mas
terful greed, worthy of being embalmed
in sons along with S~heridan's ride and
Jackson's cotton bags, and Old Glory.
And what does it mean to the great
public who use annually an average of
some siXty-five pounds of sugar for
each person composing it? 1t means
that for each pound they must pay a
tax of 1875 cents, part of which goes
into the treasury and part into the