The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-09
Philippine Lands and Sugar
From the Manila Times

From the Manila Times:
Colorado has a representative i'm Con.
| gress who takes n deep interest in the
affairs of the Philippines and evidences
wonderful jealousy Of the rights of The
Filipino people, Mr.. Martin is Dem
ocrat n lawyer, is 12 years Of age was
! born in Ohio and honors Pueblo with
his presence when at home. But none
of these facts explain the interest sud
denly awakened in the chvalrous breast
| of Mr.. Martin for the rights and wei
fare Of the far-awav Filipino, with
whom his acquaintance doubtless is
limited TO clerk or n student he may
around Washington. Possibly he bias
foregathered with our valued expert
press agent. Resident Commissioner, the
| honorable QueZon, who could stuff him
full of tales of tho downtrodden Fill
pino. But even this would not account
for the great solicitude exhibited by the
aforesaid Martin for the welfare and
| future of a people about whom he
| knows little. and we are willing TO wa
ger, cares less. In pursuing his self
appointed 90 task he has attacked the
administration. especially the attorney
| general whom he accuses of being a tool
or the sugar trust, for permitting the
sale of large tracts Of friar lands in
the Philippines to sugar svndicates The
l
may be measured by the following eX-
I tract from an interview recently given
out by him to the press in Washing
| ton,
| / shall continue my efforts to show up
| what | believe Is but the beginning OF
gigantic grab of the friar lands OF the
| Philippine Islands by the Sugar Trust.
| all made possible by an unwarranted de
cision OF the attorney general. l shall
decide upon further course within
There are 4osoOo acres Of these friar
lands in the Philippine Islands acquired
| by the government at cost Of $1,000.
600. which is SIS per acre, The sugar
| acre.
Anyone acquainted with the friar
land purchase knows thai the various
estates were appraised at differing val
ues which were determined by location
population and adaptability to cultiva-
tlon; and that they are, sold or leased
under certain rules Of classification
which may not be devated from. Tho
several elements forming the basis of
all values must be carefully considered
and taken INTO account in appraising
these lands, These limitations have
governed absolutely the work of the
bureau of lands operating in close touch
| with the Secretary of the Interior under
whose direction the system has been
| elaborated.
Now, getting back to the question
of Mr. Martin. and the high purpose
that prompts his attack in Congress on
the friar lands sales, we will recitc
little story for the information Of those
! interested in the subject. which we hope
also may reach the eyes of some mem.
bers of Congress who have paid atten-
tion 10 his fulmlnatlons, Out in the
West they have combinations among
the manufacturers Of beet sugar. The
situation in Colorado. which is now the
most important beet sugar state, is
dominated by two men, Morey and
Boettcher. In Utah and Idaho, which
are also prominent among the states
producing sugar from beets. the Nor
mon church, through its president, Jos.
f, Smith, In conjunction with a little
coterie of its leading members. controls
the various factories These two com
binations. that of Colorado on the one
hand and Of Utah and Idaho on the
other, are always found working to-
gether, and together they form wheel
within wheel. for a majority of the
capital stock Of their several different
companies is owned by the American
Sugar Refining Co, commonly known
as the trust. The beet sugar states
have always opposed legislation favor
has been based on entirely selfish mo-
tlves but IT has proven effective for
there are 81 factories scattered through
out the West and sixteen or seventeen
states have beet sugar interests Taken
as whole, their delegations in Con
gress. especially in the Senate, repre-
sent powerful factor in the consid.
Grafton. When the last tariff bill was
in the hands of the finance committee,
an effort was made by the beet sugar
crowd 10 nullifv the provision which
allows the admission of 100000 tons Of
sugar from the Philippines duty free.
R. w, Young, attorney for the Utah
and Idaho combination, Che will he re-
membered in Manila as a major of vol
unteers who commanded the Utah bat
tcrv and who afterwards was an nsso-
ciate Justice Of the Supreme Court here
under the military was sent to Wash
ington to do the work, Reed Smoot,
the senior Senator from Utah and Aid.
rich s right hand man on the finance
committee. is member of the quorum
of the twelve apostles of the Mormon
church, so whatever the beet sugar in.
terests demanded was pretty sure TO go.
1t developed that what they wanted
was to discourage and intimid"ie cani.
tai from investing in and developing
the sugar industry of the islands To
accomplish this, Young had Smoot in
Sert n proViSiOn in the bill which gave