The Forrest City times., 1899-06-16
ATTACK ON THE TARIFF.
President Havemeyer of the Sugar Trust Before the Indus.
 trial Commission.
AN ATTACK ON THE CUSTOMS TARIFF
He Declared It to be the "Mother of All Trusts"-sugnr h Discri mtnat- ed Against in the Interest of the Louisiana and other Cane Grow era.

Washington, June l4.--Mr. Henry O.
 Washington. June 15.-Mr. Henry 0. Havemeyer. president of the American Sugar Refining Co.,, was examined by the industrial commission in connec- tion with it's investigation of trIsts. His testimony related almost wholly tc the sugar industry, and he opened with vigorous attack upon she GUS toms tariff. which he declared was the mother of all trusts.' becoming su.h by providing 'an ordinate protection to manufactured articles" This at- tack was made in a written statement which he read.
 Sugar Discriminated Against.
 Mr. Iiavemeyer asserted that q tar if of ten per cent. was as high as any tariff should be. He contended that sugar is discriminated against in tie tariff in the interest of the Louisiana cane growers, the beet sugar makers, and the sugar growers of the Hawaiian islands. To these interests, he con tended, the United States contributed SPA, 100000, which wus taken out of
 
 Protection on Sugar.
 The protection on sugar amounted to only H of a cent a pound, or about 3 1-3 per cent. ad valorem. It ought to be twice as much. What the sn- gar refining business has paid. or is paying. represents nothing more than an adequate return on the capital in- vested" he said. What congress should have done was to have put an internal revenue tax on the American production of sugar.
 MisrepresentatiOns in Congress.
 The representations made in con gress concerning the trust, he de- clared, were untrue, and if it were a fact that the people suffered from trusts, they must blame the protective tariff system beyond the 1 of cent given. He admitted freely that the company did all possible to advance its own business interests. He did not think the corporations were under obligations to the different states, but that the reverse was true. M Capital and Labor. Capitol and labor," he stated, would all adjust themselves if let alone. The only way to prevent competition, Mir. Havemeyer testified, was to keep prices at a minimum-not necessarily in the interest of the consumer, but as a matter of business. He referred to | the trust laws of some of the states as premium dishonesty, and speci- | flying the Missouri law. There were always two classes of people in a com | munity-the industrious, and those | who wanted to live off them. Methods of the Trust. The witness spoke freely of the methods of the company in preserving and extending its business. Of the ear | Her history of the enterprise he said he did not fight the Harrison refinery | at Philadelphia. But he had to fight | Spreckels when he came into the field with his enormous plant. We had to do that CT suspend our dividends. We went into the fight and we kept it up until we got the refinery"
 | The Late Drop in Sugar.
 The late drop in the price of sugar has been caused by the starting of new refineries, which had threatened to take 50 per cent. of the business. Tt was part of our policy to put | prices down and let the opposition take the result, whatever it may be. Every sale made by the opposition dis places so much of the American con- pany's product" he said. We must protect our own business"
 No Motives of Philanthropy.
 MT. Havemeyer then went on to say that what the company did it did not do from motives of philanthropy that 1t had its own shareholders to protect. Anybody can buy our stock" he continued, and as consequepce the puohc owns the stock. But I doubt whether anyone would want any of the stock of the independent re- | Hnariac