Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-17
GROWING SUGAR CANE
Rise of Louisiana's Most
Important Industry.
NEED OF PROTECTION
WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
HAS DONE FOR THE STATE.
Immense Output Steadily Increasing
Planters Reasons for Their De-
mand for Federal Legislation.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.


ever any one has proposed to build up a
general trade with sugar growing countries
the planters of Louisiana have made the
liveliest demonstrations that have been seen
in Congress. They have fought the beet
sugar growers they opposed reciprocity
treaties; they tried to prevent the annexa-
ton of Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philip
pines; and just now they are fighting with
all their force to prevent the passage of the
bill reducing the duty upon Philippine prod
ucts that may be brought to the United
States. Congress has done everything that
could be done to assist in building up this
hot-house industry, which never would eX-
list but for artificial protection and encour-
agement.
From economic standpoint it would
have been cheaper for the government to
have bought up the plantations and burned
the mills long ago, except that the reve-
nue. from sugar was needed by the treas
ury. From political standpoint the policy
mas been even greater failure; for not
withstanding the solicitude shown by the
republican party for this Infant industry"
the republican vote has continued to fall
on every election, and has been reduced
from 77,194 in 1876 to 22,O37 in 1896; 1883
In 1900 and 5,205 in 1904. Thus the efforts
or Congress to build up a republican party
IN this state on the protection of the sugar
industry have not been very effective
sugar OuCpuC increased.
There has been remarkable increase in
the production of sugar in Louisiana. but
the importations of foreign sugar have in
creased much more rapidly During the
fiscal year of 1904 the imports amounted to
4,114,92452o pounds, valued at $50, 6S7, S44
upon which the people of the United States
were compelled to pay a tax of $57, $50 729
for the protection of the Louisiana planters
-ln n ,ot
come within 1000 100000 pounds of sup
plying the demands of our consumers. From
the most reliable sources of information,
the sugar crop of Louisiana for the same
year amounted to 330, coo tons, or 739, 200, 900
pounds, and was valued al 500, 346 24O. The
beet sugar product for the same year was
4IO,OOO,O0O pounds, valued at $1S,G59, 600
Therefore, the total amount of sugar, both
beet and cane, produced in this country
last year was 1,2O0,OO0,O0O pounds, valued at
$4S, OOo,24O, or only about one-fifth Of the
amount consumed; and it was worth $1O,-
100000 less than the tax paid by the public
for the production of the domestic indus
try. Yet the planters of Louisiana and the
beet sugar makers of the north and west
insist that our government shall not
courage the production of sugar in the Phil
ippines or allow the planters of those is
lands access to our markets They might
afford to be a little more generous and
sonable.
Mr.. D. D. olcock, secretary of the Lou
isiana Sugar Exchange, is regarded as the
highest authority on that industry, and.
therefore, l went to him for information re-
garding its condition and prospects. He
told me that there are about 600 planta-
tations in Louisiana devoted to sugar, with
an area of about 100000 acres under cult
walton, upon which about 100000 men are
employed, producing about 100000 tons of
sugar There are about 100 corporations
engaged in the business, which own the
largest part of the area cultivated. The
remainder is cultivated by individual farm
ers. There are about $50 mills to grind
the cane, with a capacity of more than a
million pounds day, and employing some
thing like a thousand men. OF these, 100
are first-class plants, equipped with mod
ern machinery. Mr.. Colcock, however, does
not give these figures as exact but only as
a rough estimate.
The census of 1900 credits Louisiana for
that year with 2S1 plantations a cultivated
sugar worth $14.6z. ,2S2. Bulletin No. 80 of
1904 of the Department of Agriculture
says:
THE total production in the United States
in 1S79-SO was 2150G0,C00 pounds; in 1885,
90 it was 3O1 100000 pounds; in 1S99-1900 it
was 1913 100000 pounds almost entirely
fl ON the state of Louisiana. Since that date
the annual product has been very much
larger and in 190i-o5 Louisiana alone pro-
duced 739 900 pounds.
The bureau of statistics of the Treasury
Department reports that the sugar product
or Louisiana for 1903-04 was 4S1,OO0,OOO
for 1904-O5 it is 739 O00,0OO which is the best
year on record. The average price of raw
sugar during the last year was 1897 per 100
pounds, which makes the value of the crop
of last year s29,346,240.
Claims of the Sugar Planters.
In fairness to the sugar planters l asked
Mr. Colcock to give me statement of the
grounds upon which they claimed the pro-
lection they asked.
while it is true that sugar was profit
ably produced from cane grown in Louisi-
ana in 1795," said Mr.. Colcock. yet the
col ditions under which the industry grew
into importance were so completely sub
verted by the war in 1SGO-63 that its his
tory previous to that time is not worth re-
counting. Indeed, not until 1876. which
witnessed the end of the reconstruction pc
riod and the return to honest government
in the state, does that history begin. That
event inaugurated the revival of all of her
industries and cane culture especially took
on new life. Sugar houses were rebuilt,
levees restored, labor became tractable,
money easier the tax gatherers ceased to
pillage. and in some instances even carpet
baggerS invested their SpoilS in sugar lands.
Under these conditions the twenty-odd par
ishes adapted to sugar production within
very few years surpassed the output OF
ante-bellum days, the crop 1850 being
122, 600 tons, as against goo in 1860. In
1890, 2l6OO0 tons were produced; in 1897
there were 100000 tons: while the crop
now being sent to market promises to eX-
coed 34O,0 tons. Such an increase may
appear to be nothing wonderful in the eyes
of those who are strangers to the industry,
but to those who know its vicissitudes it is
a little short of marvellous Let me recite
some of them and perhaps those who now
carp at may take shame to themselves.
Previous to 1883 the duty on foreign
sugar was based upon color standard, and
that gave opportunity for artificial coloring
which greatly lessened, the revenue on the
one hand and the protection of the domes-
tic product on the other. In that year Con-
gress made change in the tariff laws and
the duty was based upon the amount of
pure sugar-10O test-as established by the
polariscope which put an end to the evil
practice cited above and secured to the
government what the law required from
the importer, and to the domestic producer
more nearly what protection the law had
accorded him.
Effect of Export Bounties.
'.It might be supposed that now the sugar
producing business was on secure footing
but beet sugar produced on the continent of
Europe under the stimulus of bounty on
exports was largely overproduced and its
consumption checked In the country of its
origin by the tax laid to provide fund for