The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-01-02
MILLIONS IN
4 REFINERY
Edgar Lewis Again
Presents Ills
Views.
Matter Suggested Anew
by a Correspondent
of Lewis s. Co.
With Refined Sugar 10 Sell the
Planters Would Be Adler TO
Face the Trust.

/
Co., who few months ago agitated a
sugar refinery to be owned by Hawai-
ian planters, has not lost faith in the
merits of the proposition. Yesterday he
called an Advertiser reporter into that
firms office in the Levers & Cooke
! building and showed him letter re-
ceived by member of the firm this
| week, from which the following extract
is taken by permission:
4 thought it would interest you to
get certain figures from our competitors
in the West Indies. Just now I re-
ceived a report from a large central n
Porto Rico, and / find that marketing
their sugar which includes the freight
p. r. to New York costs them Sab per
ton of sugar
Il also learn, what you may have
heard before tins, that Cuban sugar
January delivery has been sold at New
York for S352 How about reciprocity
and tariff reduction for Cuba? The
quicker the Hawaiian planters wake up
and make their own refined sugar the
better for them
published opinions on the matter, took
occasion to correct wrong impression
that went abroad. being that he advo-
Gated having the proposed sugar refirl-
cry at Honolulu. His idea was to To-
cate it on the mainland.
4 still feel" Mr.. Lewis said, that
the planters of these Islands should
come together as unit and form one
large corporation. II all could not be
brought in, say two-thirds of them.
They should build a refinery at New
York or Philadelphia, manufacture
their own sugar into refined shape and
sell it through the proper channels of
trade. There is no question in my
mind as to selling our sugar in refined
shape. We could not only dispose of
400, 900 tons of refined sugar annually,
but, 1 am satisfied, twice as much.
IF our sugar interests could be
brought together-that is, our differ
ent planters and refine ouf own sug
ar for the open markets, it would bring
millions of dollars annually to these
Islands which We are not now getting.
The Trust has made millions of
dollars out of our sugar. Why should
not we take that wealth to ourselves?
Just think, you have a staple article to
market, almost as staple as -four. You
are not selling a label of fake nedi-
cine, but a necessary of life. While
dependent on the Trust for the mar
keting Of our law sugar, our planters
are liable to be cinched in prices from
time to time. With refined sugar for
our whip hand, the Trust would be
limited in power to hurt US. If it met
US with price-cutting war, our loss
in the game would be only the refinery
profit that we do not get now anyway. |
Although 1 did mention Homo !
lulu formerly as a possible location, |
New York or Philadelphia was what |
principally had in mind. I claimed |
YOU should De able to sell your output |
in the large markets of the East At |
the same time I maintain that rel
nnery at Honolulu IS not an irnprac- /
ticable proposition. If you should /
build large refinery here, it would .
employ hundreds of men ana women,
and create large amount of business
activity in Honolulu.
AS to an objection mooted that re-
lined sugar is liable to caking on sea |
voyages, I have handled a great deal
If the article and seen lots of Hong
zocg granulated that had made long
'cean voyages. l have never seen any
hat had caked. To me it seems that
( some sugar had been shipped at
me time around the Horn to New
FORK from California and on arrival
ound to have caked. this must have
'een damaged in some way-possibiy
cot wet. 1 have asked persons thor
'ushly posted On graduated sugar
hipped on long voyages and they, too,
ay that if properly handled it win
lot cake.
So far as concerns the refinery built
ately at Crockett, California, being
iosed down after operating but
hort time, the fact can easily be ex-
1ained- It appears that, when that
efinery was started, there were only
wo or three Hawaiian sugar agents
hat went into the corporation. Had
Ii or most all Of them gone in, it
-oula have resulted differently. The
lanters would have won their fight to
certainty.
TIC me It seems that, if all the
lanteTs here would unite and handle
leir output through ore channel. the
ct earnings to the plantation share
elders would be materially in
rea sed''