New-York tribune., 1903-02-23
THE FRENCH SUGAR CRISIS.

II is not difficult to imagine NJ Yves Guyot
grimly repeating his favorite phrase to the
French sugar manufacturers. they in con-
sternation view the impending crisis in their
industry which is described in our Paris cor
respondence elsewhere in to-days Tribune.
''Tu ras voulu. Georges Dandin!" You would
have it sor' Nor would such comment be un-
truthful however unkind some might think it
TO be. The predicament in which the sugar
interests of France now find themselves is the
result of the bounty policy which has so long
been maintained at their demand. They have
insisted for years upon a system which has
discouraged the consumption Of sugar in France
and encouraged the production Of IL for exporta-
ton. Now that system is TO be abolished, and
the sugar manufacturers are confronted with
serious rivalry in the foreign trade and domes-
tic demand not nearly equal to the supply.
They viii no longer be able TO sell abroad at a
profit the home market cannot take more than
a small part of their product, and even for
that small part there will be sharp alien COM
petition. They would have it So Now they
must abide by the result.
1t is to be expected that they will weather
the storm, however. The French people are
uncommonly thrifty and resourceful, and they
viii probably find some way in which to make
profitable disposition of their sugar crop; per-
haps the way suggested in our correspondence
That is to say they will begin consuming sugar
instead of exporting it, and find a profitable
market at home instead Of abroad. There has
long been striking contrast between the
amount of sugar consumed in France and the
other export sugar bounty countries on the
one hand and that in Great Britain and Amer
ica the other. The per capita consump-
ton of sugar in Great Britain is more than
ninety pounds a year, and In the United States
it is more than sevd&y pounds, and is rapidly
increasing. while inY3ermany it was. in 1900
(the latest year for which we have returns),
less than thirty-four pounds. and In France
less than thirty-seven pounds Our CORE
spondent reports that last year France pro-
duced 100000 tons and consumed only 10000
tons. A simple calculation will show that If
her per capita consumption had been as great
as that of the United States she would have
consumed every pound Of ii at home. The
reason why, or one very strong reason why,
she does not consume more is that heavy
tax has been imposed upon sugar consumed, in
order to pay a bounty upon sugar exported.
The lesson which France and Germany and
other European countries have to learn is that
first regard should be paid TO the domestic
market. 1t is a grotesque anomaly for half
staFNeu peopie W export iood OF LOT 1alI-
clad people TO export clothing. The sound rule
is for the domestic need to be first supplied
and not only that, but for the domestic demand
TO be encouraged and developed. That has
been the successful policy in America where
consumption is greater than elsewhere, even
Of the products which most export Our
great export trade in breadstuffs and meat prod
ucts has not been built up by taxing home
consumption of those articles and thus COM
peIling Americans to go without bread and
meat. The European countries which have
been flooding the world outside of their borders
with Cheap, bounty aided sugar while their
own people have had TO go without sugar will
do well 10 learn this lesson and practically
apply ii to the solution of the grave problem