The times., 1898-03-03
THE BEET SUGAR INDU STRY.
IL Would Not Be Injured by the
Annexation of Hawaii

In answer to the assertion that annex
alton of Hawaii would be detrimental to
the beet sugar industry of the United
States, Mr. Henry Studnitzka presents
the following interesting facts and fig
ures:
For -tWenty-three years Hawaii has had
a free and protected market in the United
States for its raw sugar Under this
stimula ting influence, practically all of
its lands available for cane culture have
been brought into cultivation The total
area so in cultivation is less than 100-
900 acres. A few thousand acres more
can possibly be brought under cultivation
by pumping water to an elevation of
from $50 to 600 feet. Even the area which
this very expensive cultivation can bring
into use is limited, not to exceed from
1900 to 10000 acres. The largest amount
of sugar ever produced in Hawaii in one
year was about 100000 tons The largest
amount that ii ever can produce will
probably not exceed about 300, 600 tons
The area available for cane culture in
Hawaii is SO small that ii requires al
most continuous cultivation, which is ex-
tremeiy eXhaustipg TO the soil. The pres
ent production of Hawaii is possible only
by reason of the use of enormous
amounts of high-grade and expensive
fertilizers. For example: Hawaii i'm
pDtlcu uuillS 1880 -JertlllZeTS 10 the
amount of nearly $3.50 900 besides which
there were used of domestic fertilizers
about the same amount. As they have
no crop which they can rotate with cane
the exhaustion of the soil steadily con-
tinues, and can only be kept up by in
creasingly high fertilization. We can
therefore, be certain that the Hawaiian
limit of production will be about 300 900
tons of sugar per annum.
nj flna h.lf -
supply the market of the United States
the sugar Of Hawaii cannot injure the
beet sugar producers of the United States
because there will be ar unsupplied mar
ket, with the price fixed by the price of
sugar throughout the world. g'hc only
way in which the domestic beet sugar
producer can be injured by Hawaiian su-
gar is that the Hawaiian producer should
underSeli him. But the Hawaiian planter
will not sell his sugar below the market
price unless there is some reason for so
doing, ard there can be no reason so lOng
as there Is market in which both he and
the American planter will he protected by
the Amrican tariff. Therefore, neither
Hawaiian nor domestic United States pro
ducers Will be obliged to lowe; their price
in order to obtain a market
1t is argued that the Hawaiian planter
can produce sugar cheaper than ii can be
produced in the United States. | have
made careful study of this subject, and
am convinced that the average cost of
production of sugar in Hawaii is little if
| any, cheaper than in this country: and
when 1t is produced the planter must pay
| freight, insurance and commissions to
| get his sugar to market from 200 TO 00g
miles away. while the American planter
| has his own market at hand.
| The beet sugar producers of this coun-
| try do not consider the cane sugar plant
| ers Of Louisiana menace to their in
| dustry. Why should they consider the
| sugar raised in Hawaii 20 be Il menace to
| them? If Hawaii becomes American ter
| ritory, the cane sugar of Louisiana and
! the cane sugar of Hawaii will both stand
| in the same relation to the beet sugar
! producers. Both will continue to produce
a limited amount while the great field
! for expansion will be occupied by the
| beet sugar industry, with opportunity to
expand for many years 20 come FAR more
rapidly than capital seems likely to be
available.