The times., 1899-08-21
GERMANS PET PRODUCT
We Must Eat Their Sugar TO Sell
Them Our Neat
Farmers in the FatherIand, 1t Is
said. Are Hostile to American
Food Stufs Because 1t Is Charged
That This Government Discrimi-
mates Against Their Beet Sugar.

Food Stuffs Because Ii Is Charged |
That This Government Discrimi- |
mates Against Their Beet Sugar
Freiherr Beno Won Herman, the expert |
of the German Embassy on forestry and |
agriculture, has just returned from a trip |
to Germany. While there Baron Herman
devoted considerable time 10 discussing
with the German farmers the condition
of agriculture in that country and the re-
lations between Germany and the United
States, in so far as they concern agricul-
ture At the great annual agricultural
exhibition he met the foremost German
farmers, men who own great estates and
who make farming a special study.
Through conversations with isuch men he
obtained comprehensive aYiew OF the
attitude and feelings of thesGerman farmer
toward the United States and its tariff
policy In an interview with representa-
tive OF The Times Baron Herman made
number of observations on this subject
which, in view of the constant strain to
which the commercial relations between
this country and Germany are subjected,
are timely.
The greatest objection he said, which
| the German farmers have TO the CONNER
| cial policy of the United States, as far
as Germany is affected, is TO the additional
| duty imposed on German sugar Germany
! refunds to the producers Of beet sugar
| exported a portion of the tax levied on
its manufacture. The United States as
sesses a tariff on this sugar equal to the
regular tariff plus the amount refunded by
| the German Government. In other words,
what the German Government refunds to
/ exporters who send beet sugar to America
! the American Government takes from
! them. This rebate of portion of the
tax is regarded here as bounty. 1t is not
SO regarded in Germany. We have little
| complaint to make against the tariff itself
but the farmers do object to having to pay
the tariff with the additional duty i'm
/ posed The United States discriminates
against Germany in this matter. Sugars
| from Java, Cuba, Brazil, and other sugar
| producing countries are admitted under
one rate, while the sugar from Germany is
] made to pay higher rate. This not only
! operates against the German farmer, but
against the American manufacturer and
farmer as we'll
You spend a hundred million dollars
! every year for sugar, buying it from coun-
tries that take very little If anything OF
manufactures or food products in ex-
change. You pay for your sugar in gold
If you bought your sugar from Germany,
on the other hand. yon would pay for 1t in
your own products. The balance OF trade
is constantly growing against Germany.
Ten years ago it was about equal, while
last year the United States exported to
Germany about s220. 100000 worth of prod
ucts, while it imported from Germany only
about $4,000, ,000 only about third as
much as the exports. German farmers do
not wish to trade with a country where
they are. not afforded the same privileges
as the farmers in other countries. We think
the United States is unjustly discriminate
ing against the German sugar. and this at
titude is naturally resented. AS result Of
this resentment you see the agitation
against American meats. If the Ameri-
cans will not take our sugar say the far
mers. we won't take their meats To be
sure, there is objection TO American meat
particularly pork, on account of the al
legged presence of trichinae The custom
Il which prevails in all parts of Germany OF
eating uncooked ham. that is. ham which
has merely been smoked, renders the Ger
man peculiarly susceptible to trichinosis.
They must have hams free from trichinae,
and in Germany every domestic ham Is
carefully inspected. Many Of the Ameri-
can hams sent to Germany are not inspect
| ed, although the Government, tries to have
! this done before expectation. But the far
rners are not only prejudiced against the
American meat, but they prefer TO buy
somewhere else because of the discrimina-
| ton against their sugar.
, 1T is the same way with American
|, horses Last year you sent US 1000 horses,
but the farmers are asking why should
i they buy American horses when they cant
sell their sugar here? The same is true
of the trade in agricultural implements
and many food products. What makes the
sugar industry of 50 much importance TO the
) German farmers is that it ittsugar) is the only
, food product which they can export. Land
, is very high in Germany. and ii IS hard
. for the farmers to make a fair living. The
beet sugar industry has been built UP dur
ing a period of over fifty years until the
product can be exported in competition
! with Cuba, Hawaii, and other tropical
! countries. The factories where the sugar
, is produced are cooperative, most of the
stock being owned by the beet rasers
, There are about 500 of these factories, in
which thousands of the farmers are d.
rectly and indirectly interested. So you
see that as they raise the beets and manu-
facture the sugar themselves they are
:, greatly injured by any discriminating duty
. against their product"
In speaking of the forestry of Germany
e Baron Herman said: There is no country
O / in the world where the interests Of the
+ forest Is better protected than in Ger
!, many. There is scarcely a tree in the En-
: pire that is not known. About one-thire
of the forest land belongs to the Govern
5 ment. another third to the townships, anc
the remainder to private owners. Before
e clearing land for farming purposes the
: owner, in many States, must obtain tht
permission of the Government and wheI
, a tree is cut down for lumber or 1ue
s another is planted in its place. We I'M
l. port a great deal of lumber at heavy ex
e pense. Nearly all of the oak used to
e barrel-staves is imported, most OF 1t iron
e America. We are very much interested II
IS ascertaining the visible supply OF oak II
70 the United States for this purpose but 81
far, owing to the lack of information con
cerning your forests, | have been unaoi
I; to procure much data on this sub1ect
II We also import considerable ship timbe
a. from the United States and from Norway
:, The Government pays great zeal Oh at
u tention to this subject not only pecaus
81 of the timber interests, but because OF IN
effect the destruction of forests has upo
the rivers and the rainfall.
te Minister'S Son Missing.
re Hackensack, N j.. Aug 20.-Russell va