Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-14
Mr.. RIONDA RESUMES
BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE ON
CUBAN RELATIONS.
His View of Effect Of Reciprocity
President A. q. Leavitt, Represent
ing Beet Sugar, Heard.

Manuel RiOnda OF the sugar brokerage
house of Czarnikow. MeDougall & Co. of
New York, London and other cities re-
sumed his testimony before the Senate
committee on Cuban relations today, be-
ing under cross-examinations by Mr. Tel
Ter. He said that his house, through its
agents. now has stored in Cuba about IA,
600 tons of sugar, which is owned by va
rious refineries of the United States. He
also said that his firm had made financial
advances to the owners Of the Cuban plan
tations. 1t had contracts With these plan
tations by which they agree to sell their
entire product through the house repre-
sented by Mr.. Rionda, and If sales are
made through any other channel the firm
gets a commission.
Mr. Rionda said that if the reciprocity
bill should pass as it now stands it would
have the effect of repeating the counter
vailing duties on sugars from European
countries provided by the Dingley law, and
that in that event not many years would
elapse before the sugar refining business
of the United States would become a thing
of the past This remark also was made
applicable to the beet sugar-production of
the United States and the sugar prpdu ction
of Cuba, Porto Rico and Hawaii. We would
then get all our sugar from Germany. Not
being a refiner, he declined to say what
ferential duty on refined sugar.
The witness said that with the counter
vailing duties in effect the United States
is the principal market for the cane sugar
of the world, 80 per cent Of 1t coming to
this country. The cane sugar, he said. gets
the benefit of the countehvailfng rates. but
there times when the market conditions
reverse this situation.
President Leavitt Heard.
Hayward G. Leavitt president and man.
ager of the Standard Beet Sugar Company
of Leavitt Neb., was the next witness. He
had, he said, been identified with the beet
interests for the past thirteen years. but
never had been in any way associated with
Mr.. Oxnard. His factory had been in exist
ence about two years and its capacity is
now sixty tons of sugar per day. He took
issue with Mr.. RiOnda on the point that the
Cuban planter gets the benefit of the coun-
tervailing duty on European sugars, con-
tending that the treasury statistics show
that for the past year the refineres had
absorbed that entire benefit. He therefore
argued that the refneries also would secure
the full benefit of the proposed further re-
duction on Cuban duties.
Mr.. Leavftt called attention to the fact
that in his statement before the Industrial
commission Mr.. Havemeyer had said that
the American company refines 80 per cent
of the refined sugar in the United States.
He argued that there is. virtually only one
purchaser for raw sugar. in the United
States, leaving no competition worth speak
Ing of. History had shown. at the Cuban
does not store his sugar -,
Hence" he added, "ths> conclusion is
logical that if We seek to give to the Cuban
planter a further advantage OF 80 cents per
hundredweight. as 1t is sought by the pend
Ing legislation to do, he will be very little
he is to realize the existing advantage"
Speaking of the Brussels agreement Mr..