The Springfield herald., 1902-01-03
TUE ste1 SUGAR INDUSTRY.

most important article. giving
uassre Oxuard's and Cuttings views
on the Beet Sugar industry In tnis
oorntrv aupeared on the editorial page
-, tho Now York Evening Post OF De-
oarher 10Th 1901. and as every house
hold in the land is Interested IN sugar
the article will be OF UNIVERSAL interest,".
1.-The Evening Post bids the hear'ies'
welcome to every American ihuustiy
that can stand on its own bottom ana
make its way without leaning on the
moor rates. Among these self-support-
Ing Industries, we are glad to know f
the production of beet sugar. AL ak
events it was such two years ago. We
n,b,isb elsewhere a letter written II
1899 and signed by Mr.. Oxnard and
Mr.. Cutting, the chiefs OF this lnous-
try on the eastern side OF the ROCKY
Mountains, showing that this was the
happy condition of the trade at that
time, If parties masquerading as pest
sugar producers are besieging the Pres
ident and Congress at this moment,
and pretending that they will be ruined
IL Cuban sugar is admitted for six
, months at half the present rates OF
duty, their false pretences ought to be
exposed.
THE letter of Messrs. Oxnard and
Cutting was probably written for the
purpose of inducing the farmers OF the
Mississippi valley to go more largely
into the cultivation Of beets for the
| sugar factories This was a !audable
motive for telling the truth and show
| ing the large profits which awaited
both the beet-grower and the manufac-
| turer II the industry were persevering-
ly and intelligently prosecuted. To this
end it was pointed out that farmers
could clear $65 per acre by eultivating
/ beets. and might even make 800. But
| in order to assure the cultivator that
! he would not be exposed to reverseS
[ by possible changes in the tariff, they
proceeded to show that the industry
stood in no need Of protection.
THE beet sugar industry. these gen.
tlemen say, stands on as firm basis
as any business in the country" They
point out the fact-a very important
| one-that their product comes out as
| finished article. refined and granulat-
/ ed. 1t is not, like cane-sugar grown
| in the West India Islands. a black and
offensive paste, which must be carried
| in wagons to the seaboard and thence
by ships to the United States, where.
after another handling, it is put
through a costly refinery, and then
shipped by rail to the consumer, who
may possibly be in Nebraska alongside
beet sugar factory which turns out
the refined and granulated article at
| Fo1l ha Iy-ov
tages of the producer OF beet sugar for
supplying the domestic consumption
are very great We have no doubt that
Messrs. Oxnard and Cutting are within
bounds when they say that sugar can
be produced here cheaper than it can
be in Europe The reasons for this
are that
THE sugar industry is, after all,
merely an agricultural one. We can.
undersell Europe in all other crops /.
| and sugar is no exception. -.
| at follows as naturally as the max
ing Of -four from wheat. II we can
produce wheat cheaper than Europe.
then naturally we can produce -four
| cheaper, as we do. e.sl
But the writer's Of the letter do not
depend upon a-priori reasoning to prove
that they can make sugar at a profit
without tariff protection. They point to
the fact that under the Mckinley tarift
| of 1899, when sugar was free of duty
| the price of the article was cents per
pound. Yet net profit of SO per ton
was made by the bt'et-Sugar factories
under those conditions, not counting
| any bounty on the home production of
sugar. They boast that they made this
profit while working under absolute
| free trade. and they have a right to be
proud of this result Of their skill and
Industry. Many beet-sugar factories
had been started in bygune years, back
, in the sixties and seventies of the nine
teenth century. and had failed because
the projectors did not understand the
business. Since then great progress has
been made. both here and abroad. in
the cultivation and manipulation OF the
beet What was impossible thirty years
| ago is now entirely feasible. Phe in
| dustry is already on solid and endur-
| ing basis. There are factories in the
! United States: these gentlemen tell US
in their letter. capable of using $50 000
! tons of beets per annum at profit OF
| SO per ton, and this would make q
profit of 81 ,050.000 as the income. to
be earned under absolute free trade:
1T must be plain to readers of this
letter. signed by the captains OF the
beet-sugar industry that the people in
Washington who are. declaiming
against the temporary measure which
! the President of the United States
/