Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-06-17
ABOUT RUSSIAN
SUGAR BOUNTIES.
N, De Witte Says His Country Does
Not Pay Them,
SEC. GAGE THINKS IT DOES.
Commercial situation Existing Be-
tween United States aud Russia
In Very Unsatisfactory,

New York, June I'M De Witte,
the Russian minister Of finance. is
quoted at length In a Herald special
from ST. Petersburg He is made to
say regarding the sugar question,
1T seems to me that the step taken
by the United states cannot be charac-
terIzed otherwise than as action taken
without knowledge Of Russian law
by he law here the produce of sugar
Is controlled and the amount produced
Tor home consumption Is limited. our
object is To prevent a sudden slump In
prices. But we must not keep up prices,
We insist on a reserve In order to pre-
vent prices rising unduly and to check
speculation. For export manuf cturers
may do as they like, although we do
not care that they export, because this
gives grumblcrs and the newspapers an
opportunity to say that Russian sugar
Is bought cheaper out Of Russia than
IN. Russia most certainly does not give
a bounty like Germany or France on
exported sugar. nor can Il be shown
that she does No semblance OF bounty
is given What we do Is usage I'm all
countries We tax sugar for home con-
sumption and not that exported. This
Is exactly the equivalent Of the treat
mcnt Of your American spirits and
your whiskey
II say that the American action was
tafen lightly because the expectation
Of Russian sugar 10 the United states Is
infnlteslmal Your legal authorities
decided that Russia did not pay
bounty. Moreover the secretary Of the
treasury stated that no action would
be taken until the differences had been
fully debated, regarding both sugar and
other classes Of Russian exports
TN spite Of this before there had been
q full hearing, action was taken, That
does not seem quite right
THE situation now existing CONNER
cially between the United States and
Russia Is anything but satisfactory, I
sincerely hope the nres9nt strained re-
latlons viii end, They ought not to
exist"
sECY. CAGES VIEW
New York, June 1.-THE interview
credited TO NJ. De Witte, the Russian
minister Of finance, dealing with the
sugar duties question IS commented up
on as follows by Secy Gage IN a Wash
ington special to the Herald, 1T is not
contended that the remission Of the In
ternal taxes by the Russian govern
ment constitutes the granting of n
bounty on Russian exports Of sugar.
The Russian home market for sugar IS
regulated by the government which
fixes the price by limiting the amount
Of sugar that can be sold In the empire,
When a cargo Of sugar Is exported the
exporter receives certificate setting
forth that he has exported a given
amount OF sugar. The amount that
producer is allowed 10 put upon the
Russian market Is dependent in large
measure upon the certificates Of export
which he holds
These certificates are transferable
They have a market value Of about
three-fonrths Of a cent pound. These
certificates OF the eynort NJ sugar have
recognized value in Russia.
"The treasury department, after a
careful investigation Of the whole sub
ject, concluded that the evidence that
a bounty was paid was at least strong
enough 10 warrant action which would
bring the question before the tribunal
constituted hv law 70 determine such
questions That trlbunal--the board OF
general appraisers-has decided by a
vote Of two to one, that the Russian
treatment Of sugar exports does con-
sttute q bounty within the meaning Of
our law
"I think that the effect Of the retalla-
tory action Of the Russian government
has been greatly exaggerated The
statistics Of exports for lsat year show
that we exported goods affected by the
Russian retaliation 90 the value Of only
about 5000 600. There Is no disposition
TO do anything that would be disnleas-
ing to the Russian government Every
member Of The present administration
prizes the friendship and the good will
of Russia very highly, and we hope for
the continuance Of the best relations
between the two governments"