The Washington times., 1909-05-19

Declaring the alleged revision of the
tariff a sham and a humbug. Senator
Clay quoted from utterances of The
Washington Times and approved them
/ strongly.
He said:
1T is amazing 10 me with what in
difference the Ways and Means Com
mittee of the House and the Finance
| Committee OF the Senate have treated
this subject OF such vital Importance to
| the entire people OF the United States
| We were called in extra session to make
| substantial revision of the tariff, and
| here is one item. by reason of existing
duties, that costs the American people
nearly 500 10000 per year, and there
| has not been given 10 this item the
| slightest attention. such revision OF
the tariff is a sham and a humbug
L quote from The Washington Times
an article full of meat on this important
subject, and the fE-.-es and facts set
forth therein will be found to be abso-
/ lutcly correct.
The Times Question.
"The Washington Times asked the
question:
lection which the Dingley law places on
sugar? Practically the same protection
is retained by the Payne and Aldrich
bills Somehow or other it makes the
American people pay for sugar about
SllS,0OoO0O more per annum than they
would pay II they got the prices which
prevail abroad. The Government gets
S02,V00OO or that excess in revenue But
whence goes the rest?
Does il go to the beet sugar pro-
ducer?'
''The Times further adds:
The testimony adduced before the
Ways and Means Committee OF the
House seems to indicate that most of
| the benefits goes to the trust.
The trust controls a large proDor-
ton of the beet sugar producing ca
! pacity of the country. If the beet sugar
people get the benefits, then the sugar
| producer gets much of il. But does Che
| beet sugar producer need it? Does he
need all he gets undCE the present law?
| The answer in part is to be found
| IN the simple statement Of some trade
facts Denver is the point of origin OF a
great beet sugar traffic. The Colorado
granulated sells in Denver at $5.25 per
hundred. The same sugar is shipped
l,O0O miles east Of Chicago. pays the
highest freight rates on the continent,
! and sells for A.S5. The Colorado mar
ket is monopOlized by the Colorado pro-
| duCerS because of the long distance
from the Hawaiian sugar at the Pacific
| or the Cuban sugar at the Atlantic
/ coast; so Colorado. which ought to have
| sugar at S4S5. less The freight to Chi
cago' is held up for 0.40 cent more than
it ought TO pay
The article going further says:
Now let the Pacific coast situation
| be investigated. Beet granulated is pro-
duced in California at large profits The
4 lou F1rswn HuN
| is practically duty free. and the San
! francisco refineries are the nearest to
/ 1t. California should have the cheapest
sugar in the United States: yet San
Francisco quotes $780, 55 cents more
than chicago and Is cents more than
Margin Toe Big.
Sugar at Chicago ought TO cost more
| than at either Denver or San Francisco.
In fact, it costs considerably less.
This is possible simply because there
/ is such an immense margin for Iuanipu-
| lation within the limits of profitable
/ prices that the trust charges Just what
It pleases, wherever it pleases So the
/ trust has a general deal with the Ha-
waiian producers of raw sugar. by
which it takes practically their entire
output and hauls il TO New York by
way of the Pacific for refining Cali
/ fornia is left 10 the tender mercies Of
/ the California beet sugar producers, and
pays the highest price on the continent
or nearly that. when it ought 10 have
the lowest
whether the beet-sugar industry
/ could continue in business If the prOtec-
| tion were reduced is the subject Of a
! difference of opinion. It is noted, how
ever, that most Of the witnesses before
! the Ways and Means Committee who
were neither Sugar trust agents nor
| beet-sugar people believed that a re-
| ductiOn of One-haIf or thereabOuts in
the duty would be perfectly safe, so far
| as concerned the beet interests.
Tine substance OF all this testimony
! the only testimony from people not con
| cerned in the trust-was we'll stated by
| Claus Spreckels, Of the Federal Sugar
/ Refining Company. of New York This
| company refines about one-tenth Of the
| sugar refined in the country. Mr..
/ Spreckels declared that the tariff as
/ now adjusted gives all the advantage
TO the trust He said:
Advantage To Trust.
&" I would be perfectly satisfied If you
/ should agree upon free trade in both
raw and refined sugars. 1 would prefer
/ absolute free trade TO the present
| schedule. under which the Sugar trust
| is the principal beneficiary, and enabled
| TO exact special privileges and con-
! ditions on sugars produced in Louisiana
| and the Hawaiian Islands,
| Mr.. Spreckels said:
I claim that beet sugar factories