The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-28
CHURCH AND SUGAR TRUST.

terdlN morning from w iSHih > 'NA 49,
regard to the partnership of the Nor
mon church with the sugar trust in the
making OF beet sugar, contained notn-
ing not heretofore known and publicly |
printed right here at homo. There was
however, tho usual confusion in East
ern minds between the Mormon church
as church and the leaders of that
church in their personalities. Joseph f.
Smith is president Of the Mormon
church. He is also president of the local
beet sugar combine which is affiliated
closely with the great sugar trust oi
the East. He does not, however, give
any return TO the church of his beet
sugar profits. If the stock of his beet
sugar factories were Improbable, and
were assessed, then, of course, 1t would
belong to the church; but as it is prof
table yielding good dividends all the
time. why. it naturally belongs to him,
and the same is true of the other lead
ing churchmen who own that stock.
That the local beet sugar combine is
in direct partnership with the great
sugar trust in the East has been fully
explained heretofore many times, III
came to tho front very prominently IN
connection with the promised construc-
ton of a beet sugar factory at Gunnl-
son in San Pete county. The local
end Of the combine made a direct, posi-
tive promise that the factory should be
built Then the eastern end Of the
| trust. and the controlling end, as 1t owns
81 per cent. of the local company s
stock vetoed the proposition. 1t didn t
want any more sugar factories, and espe-
cially it didn't want any beet sugar
factory at Gunnison.
1t was explained further by Mr.. Cut
! Ter, the manager of the local sugar
trust, some time ago, that the local use,
embracing the demand in this immediate
region, from the population here, does
not use all the sugar made. And he
showed the states in the combine OF
which lie is the manager The surplus
is sent 10 Chicago and is sold there al
n lower rate than the local consumers
arc obliged to pay, and this after the
local trust pays the freight on thai
sugar from here to Chicago
The combine operates locally as
double skin First, it keeps down the
price of sugar bects to the farmers
Some years ago the price of hundred
weight of sugar ranged about $3.50, anC
the price per ton Of beets wa
proportionately the same. Now tn
price of sugar is $500 hun
drcd but the farmers get no more thai
the $3.50 per ton for their beets. Tha
is. whereas at the first the farmer
would get a hundred weight of suga
, for a ton Of beets, they now get onl
10 pounds And for the second Skin
the community at large used TO pa
, $3.50 q hundred for sugar, but the
now pay $500, whereas the surplus o
this same sugar is sent TO Chicago an
:, is sold there at the old price of abou
J $3.50 a hundred, the transportatio
charge being paid by the local suga
, combine.
All these matters arc well known
6 and have been well known here for
good many years. Ii is surprising ths
, there should be Just now an outbrea
Of indignation about IT. But perhaI
the Standard Oil decision which di
:, solved the connection of the mai
=. Standard Oil corporation with the loct
=, concerns. arouses the new interest. TT
= same principle which applies in the
S circuit court decision severing Il
Standard Oil corporation from contr
T., of or connection with the local affiliate
. concerns, would ,segregate the ma
sugar trust from connection with
= control over the local beet sugar col
bine. This severance, however, won
= not necessarily mean a dissolution of q
- connection, for that connection could
maintained in either of two ways: Fir:
:, the main sugar trust could take IN ;
of the local stock, and operate g
local sugar fields from the main hea
quarters, doing away with the loc
=, corporation; or. the local corporate
~ could be entirely free so far as sto
! ownership is concerned, and he bou
- TIGHT by contract which would conn
: il 10 obey the behests Of headquarte
/, - in the East. As the Standard OIL ;
- torncy stated in his explanation of I
decision and the ways 70 get around
=, court ruling of this kind, ways of eN
! sion are found, and he cited tho
- stance of the Pennsylvania coal roa
~. which had passed through the same (
~ perience and were operating precisely
aS the old way only under different forr
'-t And that is precisely what will ocC
- IN the case of the Standard Oil corp
- alton: the same thing Will no dot
~ occur with regard to the connection
- the local sugar combine with the e
i' eral sugar trust of the East. The c.
~. nectiou will be maintained Just
' same as before, only in another W
The probability is that this other
~ NAV be found and adopted even bef
~ there is an opportunity TO bring
~ suit.
the NATURAL QUERIES.