Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-24
THE SUGAR QUESTION.
SpecinI-Agent Saylor's InveSfign-
lions i'm Porto Rico.
L.. IL.
washington Star)

j
Treasury officials are much interested In
the report which c. f. Saylor, the special
| agent Of the Agricultural Department to
| investigate the sugar question, brings
| back from Porto Rico, where he was sent
! on a special investigation by Secretary
| Wilson TO determine the relation Of the
sugar industry there 10 the beet-sugar
| industry here.
| Mr.. SaylOr does not discuss the political
| or revenue side OF the affair; this is out
| side of his province. but the Treasury Off
! Gals. interested in the future Ieyenue sit
| uation, take from his findings of fact some
positive conclusions as 10 the revenue sit
uati0n i'm this particular. For example, Mr..
| Sayor finds that the Porto Rican can
| raise sugar for cents a pound Of the
| same standard that 1t will cost the beet
producers of this country IA cents a
pound to manufacture. This means. ac-
cording 10 Treasury officials that the tariff
| wall of the United States must be retained
against the products Of these tropical
islands, or the beet-sugar industry of this
country is doomed. Porto Rico i'm itsof
would not do this. since it supplies only
about per cent. of the sugar consump-
ton Of this country and under most IA
vorable circumstances could supply only
about SO per cent, but the situation Is es-
sentially the same i'm regard TO Cuba and
the Philippines islands whose products
are and could be made so large as to de-
termine the ruling price Of sugar IN the
United states.
DIET OF THE LABORERS.
Mr.. Saylor discusses the reasons for the
low price Of sugar production I'm Porto
Rico. He finds the wages OF labor dis
tresangly low, and what is back OF that,
IN Il a..
large price for the food OF "a Porto Rican
laborer The big sugar-factories, which
feed their own employees. charge them
selves, on their own account. but cents
a day per man for food. and they give
much more substantial and nourshing
diet than the ordinary laborer Of that
country gets in his own home. The ordi-
nary food Of the Porto Rican is this: In
the morning he eats a piece OF bread and
what is called coffee. AT y he takes
breakfast" which consists OF coffee a
piece Of bread. some tuba dixie our po-
tatO. which is mostly starch, and some
bean-soup. This SOUP is the only nutri-
tious part of the meal. Mr. SaylOr says
he has never seen them eat meat. except
as particles in their soup. The night
meal is the same as this breakfast TO
this insufficient diet he attributes much
of the inefiicienCy Of the Porto Rican Ia
bOrer. 1t is commonly computed that the
laborer in the beet-sugar region Of this
country is worth three Porto Ricans, but
Mr.. SaylOr believes that if the laborng
man Of the United States had no better
food TO eat and lived in that country he
would not be mucn better than the Porto
Rican.
DISPARITY IN COST OF PRODUCTION.
The disparity in cost Of sugar production
there and in this country will lessen, Mr..
Saylor thinks, as time goes on. AS the
island becomes AmericaniZed the tastes
and wants Of the labOring population will
increase, and with this will go a demand
for higher wages. While the price OF
sugar i'm consequence will go up there, IL
is likely 20 go down here, on account OF
the increasingly profitable use to WHICH
the bye-products OF the sugar-beet fac
tories will be put These two changes,
however, are in the nature Of long-dis-
lance effects, and what the Treasury is
now looking al IS the immediate revenue
problem involved. The officials see no
way Of maintaining our growing beet
sugar industries except by the retention