The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-09
CRITICISM OF MR.. GAGE.
A Sugar Importer Discusses the
Tariff War with Russia.

NEW YORK, March S.-Exporters In
this city are not disposed to cease CRIT
cism Of what they call Secretary Gage
limping action in the Russian tariff trou-
BILE. w. l.. Saunders, of the lngersoll-
Sergeant Drill Company, who has taken
the lead in the fight said today;
THE Secretary of the Treasury is re-
ported as using the following language to
representatives of the Illinois Manufac-
turing Association. who called to protest
against the imposition of a countervallins
| duty on Russian sugar:
/ The facts appear to be clear. Any ex-
porter of sugar from Russia can get a
| certificate from the Government to the
| effect that he has exported this sugar, and
it is worth to him just three-quarters of
| cent pound. The man who ships sugar
from Russia gets two things. He gets the
price of the sugar in the market to which
he ships and he gets the premium from
his own country. from which he has
shipped 1t. This Is undeniable.
| Immediately after the Secretary of the
Treasury issued his order, in personal
| conversations and in writing he made the
statement. In the present case the facts
| are involved, and the conclusions to be
| drawn from them are correspondingly dif-
fcult'
His statement to the Illinois manu-
| facturers that the facts appear to be
| clear would Indicate that he has some
| fresh information; in other words, that
after deciding this point with facts in
voived, he has looked into the subject
further and cleared them up. Manufac-
turers who have been seriously affected
by this move justly complain that the Sec
rotary told them and wrote them that the
facts were involved, and that he would
not act until he received brief from
them as to whether or not Russia gave
an Indirect bounty, and yet he gave his
decision before giving them time to act.
AS to the facts, those who have been
to Russia and have looked into the mat
ter deny that the exporter gets pre-
MUM from his own country. The inter-
nal-revenue tax is returned on exporting
sugar, and we hold that this is not
premium or bounty. 1t does not aid In
reducing the cost OF the product. We also
allege that the barter and sale of export
certificates In Russia is not a bounty. a
refiner near seaport sells his home right
to one In the Interior and exports his
stock, the difference being made up of
exchange among those of official certifl-
Gates OF export This is an entirely pri-
waite business arrangement among mer-
chants. The Government has no more
to do with IT than has the United States
Government with the combination among
steel merchants to put up prices of steel
rails, and in doing this to buy out some
small producer who agrees not to sell in
the home market, but to ship all his pro-
duct abroad. In the speech of Mr.. Mann,
in the Congressional Record there is
published an elaborate report from an
American Consul In Russia, and this re-
port Is supposed to have influenced the
Secretary of the Treasury in deciding this
matter. / extract the following from the
report:
The manufacturer who coded his
" ~GfN hn 70 ut
who acquired the right the price per pood
agreed upon between them, which is
usually determined by the difference ex-
obtainahle for the sugar on the home
market and the price obtainable by sale
abroad. This is what is termed n trans-
fer. Dependent on the fluctuations in
price of sand sugar in Russia and abroad,
the price of these transfers also varies;
therefore the person who sells the trans
fer tthe right of issue into the home mar
ket) charges several kopecks more than
the difference mentioned above. This Is
done on account of the risk that Is taken
that sugar prices abroad may fall, and
also for the trouble involved In export
ing
rs not this an explanation why Rus
sian export certificates arc subject to
call this a Government bounty? The
whole arrangement is like trust or a
combination Of producers to put up prices
at home, and selling for export at reduced
prices. 1t is wide stretch to call this a
Government bounty, but If we are to SO
construe 1t the United States is the larg |
est bounty giver In the world