The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-06-16
SUGAR TRUST
Under Investigation by tho Industrial
Observation-Disclosures Represcn.
tatiyG OIL tho Stand. 55f;5i it b.

Under Investigation by tho Industrial
Commission-Arbucls!cs Hepresen-
tatiyc on tho Stand. dS
ii WASHINGTON, D. c., June 1.-THE
Industrial commission hold only m
afternoon session and heard but one
witness to-dny,J. N. Jnrvle. Of the firm
of Arbuckle & Bro, and manager Of
the firms sugar refining business. Mr..
Iarvle's testimony was brief. He was
easy and courteous In his attitude to-
ward his inquis!tors, refusing to an
sWcr only question, viz: How much 1t
cost his company to refine sugar. He
did not wish to give Information Of
that sort to his business competitors
Mr.. Jnrvie put the necessary margin
between raw and refined sugar at be-
tween nifty and sixty points to allow n
profit on the business. He said when
his firm started business in 1898, this
margin was about ninety. It had drop.
ped as low as thlrty-two and was now
about fifty. His firm. he said, had
never, cut the price OF sugar. except to
meet the rates Of the American Sugar
Refining Company. commonly known
as the sugar trust. When asked IL the
Arbuckies would continue to meet their
rivals figures, he replied decislvely that
his firm was In the sugar refining busI-
ness to stay. Beyond that he did not
wish TO so.
He explained the entrance OF the
Arbuckles into the sugar field by say
ing that in 1898 they secured ma
chine for weighing and packing sugar
and undertook to sell package sugar 10
the wholesale trade. They bought
from the American Refining Company.
but found they could make no profit In
that way and SO started their own re-
tincry. He said the tariff differentinl
Of one-eighth Of q cent Il pound on re-
fined sugar did not figure In the busi-
ness Just now. Domestic competition
was so sharp rs to keep out att foreign
sugar. Asked II the removal of the
one-eiGhth OF q cent would affect the
business now, he said he did not know
enough about the foreign trnde to say.
Mr.. Jarvie said there had been many
orerturcs from the sugar trust to settle
the differences with the Arbuckles. but
they had all been made for stock Job
bing purposes and consequently there
had been nothing in them.
Witness, IN speaking Of the coffee
business, In which the American Sugar
refinery had invaded the Arbuckles
field. said that while there had been q
decline In price that It would not be
fair to lay it all to competition. as there
had been q great increase IN coffee
production all over the world. last yenr's
crop going from 100000 to 15,003.oOo
bugs.
Asked If he could suggest any plan
that would lessen the present destruc-
tive competition in the sugar business.
witness sGid that the fight could stop
only when the one big concern decided
to be content with less than 1O5 per
cent of nll the business in the country.
When asked how long the riva, com
pnnics could keep on selling sugar ut n
loss. Mr. Jnrvie replied cheerfuily tina:
lie thought concern supplying 30 per
cent of the sugar sold In this country
would lose more under those conditions
than the ilrm supplying the Other 10
per cent, and that he ho1 the 10 per
cent end Of the bargain now.