The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-14
MT. Atkins Gives House Committee His Idea of
 Sugar Tariff
IS QUESTIONED ON
 NON-COMPETITION
Witness Says American Sugar Com pany Owns Half Stock in Several
 Western Plants-Pacific
 Coast Has Advantage

Washington. June 1s.-Reduction of the sugar bill of the American people was predicted today by Edwin F. Atkins head of the American Sugar Refining company, as a probable result of tariff reduction on raw sugar, in testimony he
 gave to the House sugar Investigating
 committee.
 Putting raw sugar on the free list, he said, would result in driving many sugar beet producers in the United States out of business and crippling Louisiana cane producers Representative Madison of Kansas tried to get the witness to fix a point to which the duty might safely be reduced. He declined.
 The tariff discussion was heard in con nection with testimony regarding the prices of sugar about which MT. Atkins testified practically all day At the con | clusion of the session Chairman Hard wick announced the committee was through with MT. Atkins for the present, and tomorrow would hear Charles R. Heike. formerly secretary Of the Amer ican Sugar Refining company. MT. Madison led MT. Atkins to admit that in dollars and cents Cuba profited practically nothing from the favored nation" treaty with this country on su- gar importation When Cuba had sugar to sell, he said, the price went down so
 low that the dlfferential was wiped out, but when that country had no sugar to sell the differential was available.
 The committee ssught to ascertain If the refners sold refined sugar any cheap CT as a result of the low prices attending the marketing of the Cuban sugar crop. Mir Atkins was not sure and will file a statement covering the point. Chairman Hardwick took the witness through review of sugar prices. MT. 1 Atkins said the differences between the | cost of the raw sugar and the selling price | of refined sugar left the refiners at pres ent ss cents a hundred pounds to cover the cost of refining and profits. The differ ence was only T cents in 1885, and 7t cents in 1ss7 In 1888, after the organiza- tion of the American Sugar comoahy' 1hs difference rose 10 SIPS.
 Not so many sellers?" suggested MT 1 Hardwick.
 Gone Out of Business
 "ProbabIy some had gone out Of bus | mess"
 "some.' replied Mir. Atkins laconically' in 1seo the difference dropped to 72 cents.
 ..That drop was due to competition with the Pennsylvania reineries, wasn't II! asked MT. Hardwick.
 "Probably," was the response Tn 1892 the amount claimed by the re- liners as profit, it was shown, had risen to Al O3. MT. Hardwicl asked if the Penn svlyania refneries were no longer com peting
 "No," responded MT. Atkins. l The reduction of the differential to 50 cents in 1899 was explained as probably due to trade war between the American Sugar Refining company and the Ar buckle refneries.
 When in 1900 the differential rose to D cents. the witness added, it might have been that President Havemeyer of the American and the Arbuckles had reached an agreement.
 An effort to discover whether non-com- l netitive zones had been established by l the American Sugar Refining company l in an effort to control prices marked the | inouiry today. MT. Atkins declared the Anerican Sugar Refining company prac- tioally owned a majority of the sugar 1 stock in the refineries in California, and that it did not attempt to compete with them. He gave as the reason for this | abandonment of the coast business the freight rate difference of half cent a pound on sugar transported irohl tne eastern refneries.
 The witness said that 50 per cent of the Western Sugar Refining company Tn California was owned by the American Sugar Refining company while the Snreckles family owned the other 50 per cent.
 The American also owned AZ per cent lin the Almedia Sugar Refining company What the purpose of the purchase of this stock was MT. Atkihs was uhaoie 'o 'o'' the committee.
 "Did you have any understanding that tbere shall be no competition?" asked Representative Maltby of New York.
 "So far as my knowledge goes, there is h not the slightest
 The sugar tariff. according to MT. At kins. enables the Pacific coast sugar re- fneries to make larger margin of profit than the eastern reflneries. The price of sugar is the same on the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts, but the Pacific manufac- turers are able to sell as far east as Chi cago. while the eastern ref1neries cannot shin further west than Kansas City and | Omaha, he said.
 "The reason Is that the Pacific coast has free raw sugar. said MT Atkins. .The refineries there get the Hawaiian and Philippine sugars without duty, while we have to pay $1,34 duty on each hum dred pounds of Cuban sugar"
 .Then sugar ought to be lower on the Pacific coast asked Representative Baker.
 | "Yes." said MT. Atkins, who added that he knew nothing of the conduct of the far western companies. He did not know Mir Spreckles, he said, nor what interest the latter had in various beet sugar com panies in the west
 Wilson, According To Dalzell
 Washington, June 13.-Gov. Woodrow wilson of New Jersey was characterized