Evening star., 1898-12-24
CUT PRICE OF SUGAR
Rivals of the American Company
Out for Fight.
CHICAGO THE SCENE OF CONFLICT
Immense Financial Interests In
volved in the Trade War.
BEET SUGAR INVOLVED

CHICAGO, December 24-ChicaFo has be-
come the chief battle ground in the contest
between the American Sugar Refining Com
and the Doerschers.
Yesterday the price of outside sugar
was cut one-eighth of a cent below trust
price. reaching almost the lowest quotation
on record. The cut was accompanied by de-
Velopments that showed the existence OF q
little trust among the wholesale grocers to
support the American company, and also
that new Richmond was in the field i'm the
shape of a beet sugar supply, The Ameri-
can company was not ready to meet its
rivals prices, but is expected to do so to-
day.
The circumstances leading up to the cut
are these: Arbuckle Brothers and the Doer.
schers own sugar refneries on the Atlantic
seaboard that have daily capacity Of 5000
and $500 barrels. respectively. Both plants
were started less than six months ago and
both invaded Chicago with their goods early
in the fall.
Met the Competition.
The American was ready for them. In
September, seeing that rival goods were to
be offered, its representatives visited the
jobbing trade and suggested that a contract
be signed by which any amount of sugar
by the Jobber at a given price and that o
low one. This was to cut the ground from
under the American company's rivals, but 1t
was made only to its factors.
The latter are all the wholesale grocers
except two or three, whose arrangement
with the American provides for a rebate Of
from one-eighth TO one-sixteenth from tho
list price, to be made periodically.
The Arbuckles and Doerschers, when they
entered the Chicago market. made cut in
prices. 1t did not bring the expected in
faIA in las sa1al. nl.lo
under their contracts to draw on the trust
for sugar at the same prices. The con-
tracts began expiring a short time ago.
Before the date was reached the Ameri-
cans representatives met the factors and
extended the agreement. When the Ar
buckles and Doerschers found this out
they, on Wednesday last, announced a cut
to $50 cents and coupled with it the notice
they would do business with the retail
trade. Yesterday they followed it up with
further cut to 514 cents-a full 1 cent
below the American company's price.
The Cut Brought Business.
The local houses of Arbuckles and Doer-
schers were bombarded with business.
Statesmen for the lobbers and wholesalers
came in to report the market was taken
away from the American; that all the re-
tailers in Chicago were dealing with the
opposition. No attempt was made to meet
the price, but there was possibly q reason
for this. A meeting of the sugar committee
was called IN the commercial exchange, but
adjourned until today, when it is expected
the American companys prices will be an
nounced. One year ago the difference be-
tween prices of and refined sugars
was about Sl25. Yesterday IL IS
cents, a shrinkage of 30 cents a hundred
pounds, or nearly s. per barrel
If the American Sugar Refining COM
pany's output is 10000 barrels a day 1T
tie figuring will give fair approximate
idea of the vast sum the fight has cost.
Within the last week or two fifteen car
loads of beet sugar have arrived in Chi
cago, the first to reach this market. This
sugar was sold below the trust price and
it is said arrangements are making to ham
die the output of a half dozen factories
built and building in the nearby states.
All these factories create a situation which
wel-informed men in the trade said point-
ed to the conclusion that the war would
be fought out in this market.