Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-02-05

Of foreign cane sugar, including that
from our island possessions. we con
rumed no less than .97i 1886 tons, or
more than the total consumption OF
sugar In this country in the year 1896.
OF this, Hawaii sent us 81 .t39 tons.
Porto Rico S4.S27 tons and the Philip |
pine islands only 1850 tons. Our in |
sular possessions furnished us. there |
fore. with 39S,5l6 tons. leaving l.572.- |
100 tons to be sent here from other
cane sugar producing countries. As
the island of Cuba has only been able |
In two years to get a production in ex-
cess Of a million tons during her whole |
sugar history, even II sugar were ad-
mitted free from that island there
would still be a very large amount OF
sugar that we would have TO import
from other parts of the world to make
up our deficiency. Even II Cuba got up
her production to 100000 tons, there
still would not be enough to- meet our
demands. without importing beet sugar
from Europe or cane sugar from the
tropics. This is the great cane sugar
consuming country Of the world. With
our total consumption running up to
2.566.1OS tons, we only consumed 269,-
s47 tons of foreign and domestic raw
and refined beet sugar, not very much
over 10 per cent. of our total consump.
don. All the rest. with the exception
OF the trivial amount Of maple and mo.
lasses sugar, was cane sugar.
or the total amount of sugar con-
sumed in the country last year, less
than $4,000 tons were free Of duty.
that being the amount OF domestic
sugar plus the sugar brought here from
Hawaii and Porto Rico. on which no
duty was collected. The paltry little
$3.50 tons that were consumed in this
country that came from the Philip
pines did not pay full duties, but as
only % per cent reduction was made
in the Dingley rates, this is hardly
worth considering. Last year we con-
sumed only about half as much Philip
pine sugar as we did in the previous
year, so that the trifling reduction
made by Congress in the duty had not
the slightest effect in encouraging the
sending of sugar from the Philippines
to the United States. Now that II Is
proposed to make a cut of three-quar.
tiers of the Dingley rate Of duty on i'm
ports from the Philippines, the bee;
sugar men are protesting that this will
injure their prospects. yet the Philip
pine islands only produce for export q
trife over 100, 900 tons of sugar, figures
which are trivial in comparison with
: the consumption in the United States,
The American sugar consumer pays al
most two cents a pound more for his
sugar than Is necessary for the sake OF
protecting the sugar industry, WHICH
furnished us with only about third
OF the sugar consumed last year, and
; this includes the amount produced In
Hawaii as well as In Porto Rico. What
this means to the people is best shown
y 10y the statement that our per capita
consumption of sugar last year Is fig
? lured as high as 1913 pounds. the first
: time in the history OF this country that
the figures have gone over seventy
. pounds. gain which can be traced IL
part, at least. to the low price of sugar
If all duties were removed and sugar
thus made still cheaper, as II certainl,
would be, our figures for consumption
would advance even beyond their pres
ent high level which Is, we believe, on
fair basis of comparison, about the
same now as the showing that Is made
for the United Kingdom