The Hawaiian gazette., 1904-01-05
MILLIONS IN
4 REFINERY

Edgar Lewis of the firm Of Lewis d
Co.. who a few months ago agitated n
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:
II thought it would interest you to
get certain figures from our competitors
in the West Indies. Just now l re-
ceived q report from a large central in
Porto Rico, and l find that marketing
their sugar which includes the freight
p. r. to New York costs them SAB per
ton of sugar.
II also learn, what you may have
heard before this, that Cuban sugar
January delivery has been sold at New
York for 1852. 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"
Mr.. Lewis, referring to his former
published opinions on the matter, took
occasion to correct wrong impression
that went abroad, being that he adVo-
Gated having the proposed sugar renn-
cry at Honolulu. His idea was to To-
cate it on the mainland.
II still feel" Mr.. Lewis said, that
the planters of these Islands should
come together as a unit and form one
large corporation. If all could not De
brought i'll, say two-thirds Of them.
"They should build 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
100000 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 our 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 staple article to
market, almost as staple as flour. You
are not selling label Of fake medi-
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 a 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 CT Philadelphia was what
I principally had in mind. I claimed
you should be able to sell your output
in the large markets of the East. At
the same time I maintain that a re-
finery at Honolulu is not an irnprac-
ticable proposition. If you should
build large refinery here, it would
employ hundreds of men and women,
and create a large amount of business
activity in Honolulu.
LAS to an objection mooted that re-
fined sugar is liable to caking on sea
voyages, I have handled a great deal
of the article and seen lots of Hong
kong graduated that had made long
ocean voyages. l have never seen any |
that had caked. To me it seems that |
If some sugar had been shipped at
one time around the Horn to New |
York from California and on arrival |
found to have caked, this must have |
been damaged in some way-possibly |
got wet. l have asked persons thor |
oughly posted on graduated sugar
shipped on long voyages and they, too,
say that if properly handled it will
not cake.
so far as concerns the refinery built
lately at Crockett, California, being
closed down after operating but
short time, the fact can easily be ex-
planned. 1t appears that, when that
refinery was started, there were only
two or three Hawaiian sugar agents
that went into the corporation. Had
all or most all of them gone In. 1t
would have resulted differently. The
planters would have won their fight to
a certainty.
ITO me it seems that, II all the
planters here would unite and handle
their output through one channel, the
net earnings to the plantation share
holders would be materially in
creased"