The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-03-15

pound. The minister also prescribes
the quantity which may be exported.
ON the expectations no duty is placed,
but any sugar sold in the home market
in excess of the amount prescribed is
subject to double excise tax, and any
sugar already sold at home but after
ward exported is entitled to a rebate.
The tariff law of the United States pro-
vides that when any foreign country
grants bounty on sugar exported to
this country countervailing duty
shall be placed upon the importation
equal to the bounty received.
Upon representations that Russian
sugar received a bounty, a counter
vailing duty of 30 cents per hundred
pounds was imposed in December
1898, by the Treasury Department of
the United States under the tariff act
of 1897. Doubts as to the exact status
of Russian sugar caused the temporary
removal of the duty last April, pending
investigation Since then the officials
of the Treasury have conducted an in
curry the result of which has been the
recent order re-imposing the counter
vailing duty"
The sugar men in the United States
hold that there is a bounty paid for
export of Russian beet sugar, and Sec
rotary Gage thinks the same. The
manufacturers who have interests
amounting to three and half millions
a year in Russia trade take an entirely
opposite view, because Russia is re-
talating by putting duties upon United
States manufactures.
This small rift within the CONNER
cial lutte is going to grow larger and
larger as time goes on. The policy
which guards the producer of raw ma
terial, and the policy which guards the
manufacturer are not identical, and
the United States is beginning to feel
the difference.
1t is true that as far as figures go
this matter of Russian sugar is not a
very important one. OF the 500, 600
worth of sugar imported by the United
States in 1900 only $4,000 odd came
from Russia. Among the beet sugar
producing countries Russia stands
fourth. The crop of Germany is 100000
tons greater than that of Russia for the
season 19OO-19O1. But this is not the
argument by any means. 1t is not a
question of how much sugar is import
ed into the United States. If only
ton of Russian sugar were imported,
the position would be exactly the
same. The question is whether Russia
pays a bounty. To any one who gives
the matter thought it is evident that
she does. 1t is insidiously and cleverly
done, but the bounty is paid all the
same.
The argument of many papers on the
mainland upon this matter, is that the
question at issue is so small, while the
exports to Russia are so large, that
it is not worth while to brine on
tariff war. But this argument is only
on a par with that of the servant girl,
who on being accused of having
baby said please ma'am it was only
a very little one" The policy of the
United States in the matter of tarif
does not depend upon the amount of
goods imported, but upon distinct prin-
ciple Whether it is pound or
whether it is a billion pounds matters
not a jot. If tariff policy has been
adopted, it must be followed out by the
executive, no matter whether 1t hurts
particular manufacturers or not. me
remedy of the latter lies with Congress.
If the policy is wrong Congress can
right it. AS far as Secretary Gage is
concerned he can do nothing but sup
port and carry out the law as he finds
it. Expediency is what many people
aim after, but expediency is a very
weak battle horse.