The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1906-02-09
Uncle Sans "sweet Tooth"

Uncle Sam's ssSweet Tooth"
When the 80,OOO,OO0 mouths at Uncle
Sans table think it is time to sweeten
up all except the opulent and careless
contingent measure the portion solely
By the size Of their purse. Nobody
imagines that there can be a limit to
the size OF the lump of sugar coming
annually to each Individual, and in fact
there isn't, strictly speaking, although
1t is plain that somebody goes shy on
the ration which Uncle Sam annually
pays for every man, woman and child
around the national board. The Unit
ed States is the largest sugar consum-
ing country in the world, though the
per capita consumption in this country
is not as great as in the United King
dom. The total consumption in 1904
aggregated 2,767OOO tons, making an
average consumption for each individ-
ual for the year of about seventy five
pounds.
The value Of sugar brought into the
country during the year 1906 far ex-
ceeded that of any earlier year. Suite
ments just prepared by the department
of commerce and labor show that the
value of sugar brought into the coun-
try during the eleven months ending
with November was $14S,575,3 45. Of
which $51, 4s5, 1856, or more than one
third Of the total value, was from the
noncontiguous territory Of the United
States, and it is clear that the figures
Of the remaining month of the year
1906 will bring the grand total Of sugar
imports considerably above $150,OO0,-
600, while the highest figure in any
fiscal year prior to 1905 was $127, 0OO,-
600, In the year 1894, when an unusual
ly large quantity Of sugar was brought
into the country in anticipation of a
change in the tariff.
The United States is increasing
steadily and rapidly Its consumption
of sugar. The sugar producers ut
home are Increasing their output Of
both cane and beet sugar, but even
their rapid increase in production is
not keeping pace with the increasing
home demand, and as consequence
the quantity Of sugar brought into the
country increases from year to year.
1t has donbled in the last twenty years,
while population meantime increased
but so per cent. The annual average
importation during the five year period
ending with 1886 was 1901, 149 tons,
and during the five year period ending
with 1905 the annual average was
2,1OG,043 tons. despite the fact that the
sugar production at home had grown
from 176,035 tons in. 1885 to approx
mately 100000 tons in 1905, the exact
figures for the full year being not yet
available.
A comparison Of the figures Of our
own consumption with those Of the
worlds total production indicates that
hae United States consumes about one
fourth ~ the sugar production of the
world. Nearly all Of the sugar brought
into the United States, whether from
foreign countries or our own noneon-
tiguous territory. is produced from
cane, and it may be said that the Unit
ed States consumes fully one-half Of
the cane sugar produced in the world.
The accepted figures of the worlds
production of cane sugar in the year
1904 are 4.224,oOO tons, and as the
quantity Of cane sugar brought into the
United States in that calendar year
was 2,171,0O0 tons and the domestic
product s2S,049 tons it is quite APP
parent that the people Of the United
States consumed practically one-half Of
the cane sugar recorded In the official
figures Of the worlds production ~
that article.