The San Francisco call., 1899-06-20
HAVEMEYER ON TRUSTS.

= the habit OF those who oppose tariffs and other
devices TO bring artihce to the aid OF man is to
accuse OF selhshness all who differ with them
they cannot complain at a retort in kind The tree
trade press OF the country has been much refreshed
and reassured by Mr. Havemeyers testimony before
the Senate commission in relation trusts and the ef
feet OF protective tariff upon their formation and
perpetuaton.
Mr. Havemeyer is a Democrat OF the most straitest
sect Long before he organized the sugar trust IN
deed before he was born his family were merchants
and importers in New York, and for generations os-
tered the importers aversion to tariff Their feel
ing OF self-interes made them Democrats and free
traders The present head OF the house is like his for
bears ree-trader and believer in the employment
OF foreign labor to produce for the home market.
In view of the high tariff on sugar one would expect
him to see his interests and to support proec-
ton But he is influenced by his interests HI owns
great sugar estates in Cuba and smarts under the de-
NAL OF free entry to sugar The Democratic doc
trine OF free material and protection to the
factured article fits his exactly. He produce
sugar by cheap labor on his Cuban plantations
and il it have free access to American ports he can
realize more profit than out OF the present sugar diff
ferentia rate of the Dingley tariff.
Desiring to secure these benefits he denounced the
tariff the father of trusts II his position shall help
the freetraders back to power the cry OF free raw
material will be heard in the land again and the Cuban
plantations will be worked for all they produce.
Mr. Havemeyer will hardly deny this description OF
his interest in the tariff issue He is also perfectly
we'll that the tariff has been mpotent factor,
factor ALL in the maintenance OF the sugar trust
He knows that the trust 1ourished under the Wilson
tariff, which admitted sugar free and abolished
the bounty upon domestic sugar. He knows. too,
9th ind Of he tariff
The Standard Oil trust has iourished under all ad-
minstrations This country is the greatest petroleum
producer in the world We have oil to export and its
quality is so high and its price so low that one
cares to enter the field with 1t is a fact in
economics that a tariff on an article which is pro-
duced in surplus and is compelled to hunt market
abroad is absolutely without effect. Petroleum might
as we'll be left out OF the tariff schedules for its
siderable Importation is impossible. The whisky
trust OF the seniors OF the family older than
Standard Oil sugar, is another illustration. 1t
controls not only beverage whiskes, but the high
wine and alcohol product. The United States is the
greatest producer OF grain alcohol in the world Our
corn rye and wheat alcohol can flood the world. We
export it to Europe, Asia and Africa. The fruit and
potato acohos produced abroad rivals scarcely
felt in the worlds markets. The invention OF smoke
less powder has given great impulse to the alcohol
trade and Japan China and Russia are drawing on
for high wines to be used in that manufacture
Within the last year feet OF ships has taken alcohol
cargoes from San Francisco to Yokohama and Vladi-
vostok and to Chinese ports. The export OF alcohol
from Atlantic ports, to be used for the same pur
pose has been still larger As the articles covered by
the whisky trust produced in great surplus for
port it is certain that that combination is entirely
affected by the tariff
A close examination OF Mr.. Havemeyer's remarks
dscloses singular inconsistency for he first declared
that the sugar trust was born OF the tariff and closed
by complaining that the refined sugar had practically
no protection at all.
1t IS quite evident that Mr. Havemeyer knows more
about the refinement OF sugar than the refnements OF
discussion