The daily sentinel., 1909-05-19
SENSATIONAL ATTACK ON
SUGAR TRUST AND
MORMON LEADER
(oontinued from First Page. }


American consumer pays diherence
of $1S6. .0S0.000 for his refinel sugar.
OF this, he said. the government gets
53 million dollars in customs duties.
while. he said the sugar trust gets
the other SO million dollars.
.sThe American consumers OF sugar
have paid to the American Sugar Re
hning Company, commonly called the
sugar trust, at least 55 millions per
year in profit. said Mr.. Ciay,
Amounting in IL years to 66O mill
ion dollars. The American people
are not aware of the fact that. if the
sugar we import came into this coun-
try free of any duty, both raw and
refined. the cost of sugar to the
American consumer would be reduced
nearly one-half. | am not insisting
that both refined and raw, or either.
should come to this country free of
duty: but there ought to be a sub
stantial reduction over the rates
fixed in the Dingley law"
Replying to the argument that su-
gar is a great revenue producer, Mr.
Clay desired to know why one of the
necessities of life, used by the entire
American people. should be taken and
its cost increased to the consumer
one-half, when, he contended, the
amount of the revenue now produced
by sugar could easily be supplied by
an income tax.
LET us give the American people
cheap sugar" continued Mr.. Clay.
LET us grasp the sugar trust by the
throat and strangle 1t to death, and
keep in view the interest, the happi-
ness and welfare of the plain people
of America. We must remember that
sugar is an important article of food
daily consumed by every man, woman
and child in the country.
Saving that the American working
man, during the last few years, has
had hard time to earn living, Mr..
Clay deprecated the fact that the
duty on refined sugar remains in the
Payne bill substantially the same as
it is in the Dingley law.
Reiterating that the American Su-
gar Refining Company is commonly
called the sugar trust. Mr.. Clay de-
clared This trust has constantly
violated both the criminal and civil
laws of our country. 1t is uncon-
scionable and has continually robbed
the American people since its organ
ization."
Mr. Clay reviewed the establish
ment of the so-called sugar trust.
which was formed, he said, in 1887
by the consolidation of twenty of the
ltduluS ItHntTle5- Wnlle Ine actual
value of the property of the trust was
not greater than 10 million dollars,
according to Mr.. Clay, the sugar
trust stocked the company at so mill
ion dollars. He said that the con-
cessions in the duty on raw sugar
from the Hawaiian islands, Porto Ri
co, Cuba and the Philippine islands
during the last ten years amounted
to $212.220.773. of which, he said.
the treasury of the United States or
the American people had received no
benefit.
"The most grasping and uncon-
scionable trust to be found anywhere
is the American Sugar Refining Com
pany," added Mr.. Clay, commonly
called the sugar trust. The steel
trust and Standard Oil. in point of
dishonesty and unscrupulous con-
duct, are sucking babes in compari-
son with the sugar trust
Mr.. Clay reviewed the various cas-
es and claims of the government
pending against the sugar trust.
"Ofhcials representing the govern
ment, who have made an investiga-
tion into these fraudulent transac-
tions,' he continued, ''believe that
the American Sugar Refining Com
pany has robbed the treasury of more
than million dollars justly due to
the treasury. 1t deserves no mercy
at the hands of congress. and most
assuredly no favors at the hands of
congress The criminal and civil
laws ought to be vigorously enforced
against II. and the best way to de-
stroy It is to give it healthy foreign
competition.
IF the sugar trust can find a de-
fender on the floor of the senate, then
we have reached condition of af-
fairs most deplorable. If we are to
continue to legislate millions of prof
It's into the pockets of this class of
men at the expense of the American
people. then let us adopt the sugar
schedule provided by the finance
committee of the senate"
In concluding Mr.. Clay declared
that the Payne tariff bill will give no
substantial relief to the American
people.