Evening star., 1909-06-14
SUGAR FREE TO TRUST
Philippines Import Will Aid
OnIy Refiners. Says BristoW.
|INFERIORITY OF QUALITY
Cricicises Provision to Admit 100000
Tons Without Duty.
ALDRICH LAUGHS AT IDEA
Senator's Substitute for Committee
Amendment on Insular Provisions
Laid Before the Senate.
ALDRICH LAUGHS AT IDEA

II
morning.
lie charged that this provision OF the
| tariff bill will be of no real benefit 10
anybody except the American Sugar Re
fining Company of this country, com
monty called the sugar trust"
Mr. Bristow based his charge upon the
fact that the sugar that is produced in
the Philippines is of inferior quality and
must all be refined before it will he mar
ketable in this country The result will
/ be he held, that the sugar trust Will be
given splendid source of raw material
at reduced price and will be enabled
to make larger profits than ever on the
refined article sold Is the American con-
sumner.
Aldrich Laughs at Idea.
Senator Aldrich of Rhode Island. chair
man of the finance committee, laughed
at this idea, remarking that it was the
| first time he had heard anybody serious
/ ly contend that the admission of free
| Philippine sugar into the United States
would be beneficial TO the American sugar
| industry. The American Sugar Rehnihs
! Company he said has always opposed
| the admission of free sugar from the
| islands, and has contended that .Uooot
tons was too high a limitation.
I IHlS UlQn prevent MI Ioiislo" ciii
asserting his proposition and proceeding 10
| establish it as best he could by the eA-
| hibition of bottles of Philippine sugar TO
| show its quality. -
| .'-rhis proyiSion,'' he declared, VIII
merely give the Philippine sugar producer
/ but one buyer for his sugar, that IS the
| American Sugar Refining Company, anu
! will give that company the chance 70 liH
| the price. / can't see exactly how 1t Will
| help the Philippines.
Island Market for Trust.
| Furthermore, Mr.. Bristow contended.
! the provision, which the finance commit
tee purposes to include in the pending bill,
10 make the tariff rates on sugar and to-
bacco imported into the United States ap-
picable to the same articles when i'm
ported into the Philippines from foreign
countries, would give the American Sugar
Refining Company the Philippine market
for refined sugar exclusively.
Senator Aldrich said this provision was
absolutely necessary to prevent Java ana
other foreign sugars from being shipped
to the Philippines and from there to the
| United States without paying duty.
The whole question of the Philippine
| provisions of the Payne-Aldrich tariff bill
| came up in the Senate the first thing this
morning when Senator Smoots substitute
| for the committee amendment on this
| subject was laid before the body.
| BY this paragraph all articles wholly
| the growth product of or manu-
| factured in the islands from materials
| wholly the growth or product of the
| islands and of this country. upon which
| no drawback of customs duties has been
| allowed. shall come into this country
| free of duty with the exception of rice.
The amount of sugar that may come in
| free, however, is limited to 100000 gross
tons.
Provision Affecting Tobacco.
Wrapper tobacco and filled tobacco
| when mixed or packed with more than 15
per cent of wrapper tobacco. is limited
| to 100000 pounds. Filler tobacco alone is
limited to 1,5oo,oO0 pounds, and cigars
are limited to 15OO00,o0O These limita-
tions app 10 annual importations.
| The amendment was carefully drawn
| for the PURPOSE of allowing the eXporta- /
tion OF Connecticut : ..appers to the is
lands and their return to this country
on cigars filled with the island tobacco
without paying duty, within the linaita
| tion prescribed.
Senators Bulkley and Brandegee of
| Connecticut made this suggestion in de
bate. II was adopted by Senator Aid
! rich.
| Mr.. Bukley then proposed that the
| entire Smoot amendment be referred to
the Philippines committee, in order that
| it might be drafted in the light OF the
proposed action in the Philippine tariff
| bill. now pending there. which is for the
| purpose of assessing duties on articles
| imported into the islands.
! Senator Lodge, chairman of the Philip
pines committee. declared that this was
not at all necessary.
Philippine Sugar Inferior.
Declaring that the Philippine sugar was
So poor in quality that there was no mar
ket for il in the United States, Senator
| Bulkeley said the legislation al
| lowing 100000 tons annually to come into
the United States was a humbug" The
sugar industry in the Philippines he sa id.
/ mad gone down until now only l6,l,pJ tons
are raised annually.
| The cause Of this condition." he said,
| IS the IaZiness and stupidity Of the peo-
Pile
Resuming his remarks, Senator Brls-
| tow said
/ When you enact this law admitting
100000 tons of PHILIPPINE sugar into
( this country free of duty you do not
| benefit a single American except he be
/ interested in the American Sugar Re
tining Company. Primarily the sotr
purpose OF this bill is to benefit the
4 Philippine Islands and the FilipinoS
Every year they import from Ger
] many and China several millions of
| pounds of sugar. Now, the lncorpora-
ton OF this provision for duty on
/ sugar imported into the Philippines
I
To purchase their refined sugar from
!, the American Sugar Refining Company
/ In return for that they can sell all
their raw sugar TO the sugar trust free
| OF duty.
II II ask senators whether this is in fact
+ Legislation in the interest Of the people
, Of the Philippine Islands.
Lodge Suggests Proviso.
4 \ proviso. offered by Mr.. Lodge siv-
| ing 10 the Philippine commission power tc
allot and pay out the internal revenue
which IS provided for IN the tariff bill
was adopted
| SIR. Bristow offered an amendment Ia
the Philippine free trade provision which
would permit the Importation OF raw ana
refined sugar into The Philippines at rates
that may be lower than the sugar duties
Cf the United States.
He also proposed an amendment elimi-
mating the provision Of the bill which
gave the preference for the 3oo. 900 tor
free sugar proViso to producers OF less
Than 900 tons OF sugar.
MIR Bristow said the change he pro
posed would give opportunity for the
establishment OF centrifugal sugar fac.
tories in the Philippines.
l. Mr. Foster opposed Mr.. Bristow'
amendment, speaking in the interest OF
the American sugar grower. and declar.
ing that the finance committees amend.
ment did not prOpoSp to exclude from