The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1905-12-15

Sugar Factories and the Philippines.
1t is capable of proof and is admitted
that sugar can be manufactured in the
Philippine Islands and landed in the
port of New York at cost OF / cent
per pound.
1t is proposed by the pending Philip
pine tariff bill to reduce the tariff on
Philippine sugar to AZ cents per hundred.
If this bill becomes a law, sugar from
the Philippines can be landed in New
York harbor at cost Of S0l42 pei
pound. -
The Michigan beet sugar manufact-
urers pay the farmers for the sugar in
the beet 2f cents per pound, delivered
in the beet sheds.
1t needs no argument to,prove that
if the tariff on Philippine sugar is re-
duced as proposed, the result will In
evitably be the absolute ruin Of the
business of manufacturing sugar in the
United States.
The only point made by Presid ent
Roosevelt and Secretary Taft in sup
port of the Philippine tariff bill is that
the production of sugar in the Philip
pines will not increase to such an extent
as to affect the market price of sugar in
the United states.
This is only an opinion and is contrary
to all reason and probability.
Tho avfanf Of ornoI o,nor JonI -, ~
Philippines is almost unlimited.
The sugar industry in the Philippines
can be developed so that the Philippine
Islands can supply all the sugar con-
sumed in the United States.
With such an attractive outlet and
such favorable tariff regulation, no one
can doubt that the sugar industry in
the Philippines will be promptly and rap
idly developed and that it will be only
short time before the manufacture of
sugar in the United States will be a
thing of the past.
The beet sugar industry has been a
scource of great profit to the farmers
and the business communities of the
State of Michigan and every voter in
Michigan should enter his protest
against legislation which attacks this
industry.
This government is pledged to the
principle of protection to home industry
and there is no industry more complete
ly entitled to the full benefit of this pro-
lection than the sugar industry.
If the tariff upon sugar is allowed to
remain at the present figure and the
beet sugar industry is permitted to de-
velop without hostile legislation it will
not be many years before all the sugar
consumed in the United States will be
manufactured here.
The benefit of this to the farming
community will be untold.
In the Saginaw Valley during this
campaign over 81, 10000 has been paid
to the farmers for beets, and none of
the factories had full supply.
The Cuban reciprocity treaty reduced
the tariff on sugar from Cuba "a cents
per 100 lb.
1t was stated by the friends of the do.
nestle sugar manufacturers that the
benefit of this reduction would not go
to the Cuban planters nor to the con-
sumers of sugar in the United States,
but would land.in the treasury of the
sugar trust.
A comparison of the prices of Cuban
raw sugar with the prices of European
sugar during the past year proves this
statement to have been correct, and Mr.
Havemeyer, himself, admits that the
sugar trust reaped profit of 90 cents
per 100 ID out of the "a cents reduction
on last years Cuban crop. which would
amount to over Sc, 600, 100000.
There can be little doubt that the
effect of the proposed reduction in the
tariff on Philippine sugar would be sub
stantially the same.
Some of the Michigan newspapers are
claiming that the Philippine tariff bill
should be passed because the sugar
trust interests own considerable pro-
portion of the stock in many beet sugar
factories in Michigan and elsewhere.
1t should be perfectly clear to the peo-
pie of Michigan that their. interest lies
in having the beet sugar factories con-
tinue in operation.
1t makes no difference to the farmers
of Michigan whether the money invest
ed in these factories belongs to the sugar
trust or, to someone else.
If the factories are operating and the
beets bought and paid for, the benefit to
the community is exactly the same, no
matter who owns the stock of the differ
ent sugar companies.
The Michigan sugar companies in
which Mr.. Havemeyer is said to be in
terested are managed by local boards of
directors, who are opposing the passage
of the Philippine tariff bill because they
believe it would ruin the beet sugar fac