The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-10-17
THE WICKED TAX
That Is What Arbuckle Calls lhe Righ
Tariff Duty On Sugars.
BE TURNS THE LIGHT ON

Robbing the Public, So That the
Sugar Men May Pile Up Millions
of Dollars.
Just before sailing for Europe
from New York the other day John
Arbuckle, the sugar refiner and cof-
fee manufacturer, issued a state
ment strongly attacking the tariff
on raw sugar, declaring it to be a
wicked tax" for the benefit of the
beet sugar interests. In his state
ment Mr.. Arbuckle said:
II have not been we'll, and AIN
going abroad to rest and recuperate
in preparation for the fight to be
made in congress at it's next session
for free sugar. l propose to devote
all my time and all my ability and
all my strength to the abolition of
all import duties on raw sugar, a
most wicked tax on a food necessity
ci all our people. 1t taxes the man
who works for a wage of a dollar a
day as much as it taxes an Astor or
or Mr.. Morgan or Mr.. Rockefeller.
Each eats, or at least, needs, the
same amount of sugar, and they pay;
not according to their ability, but
according to their needs, reversing
an elemental rule of taxation.
"Just look at these figures show
ing how the prices of refined sugar
to the consumer Is made up. I dis
charged the abnormal price lately,
prevailing for the raw product and
take normal price.
price paid by New York refners
for raw sugar, "a cents.
DUTY per pound, 1855 cents.
with the raw sugar costing the
refiner 4,0S5 cents, his price to
wholesale grocers for granulated
sugar is about 4.90 cents per pound,
and the wholesale grocers net price
to New York retail grocers per pound
is about 4.95 cents, and this retail
grocers' prices to consumers was be-
tween SIS and 2.25 cents per pound
So that for every pound of sugar
going into a household in New York
City at 5.25 cents per pound the gov
ernment of the United States has eX-
acted 1856 cents or almost the
third of a total price. 1t means
that every household that row buys
three and half pounds Of sugar
could for the same money buy five
and one-quarter pounds IL this tax
were removed.
"If as someone has said, sugar is
the comfort of old age AMI the de-
light of youth, your Uncle Sam is en-.
gagged in taking candies from chill
dren, the height of meanness. The
duty on raw sugar is rs per cent OF
it's value
"You will be surprised to compare
this import duty with others:
Sugar, per cent go. ....'.. 1887
Champagne, per cent ........7O.0O 90
Automobiles, per cent 80. ..40.0O
Furs, per cent 49,. H.. $1,000
Diamonds, per cent .... 49,. 90
Pearls, per cent 49,. 1000
"The duty which the Unied
States exacts on the importation OF
raw sugar holds up the price of the
beet sugar, as we'll as the cane sugar
for the gentlemen who are manufact-
uring beet sugar exact from the pub!
lie every penny they can get.
"The beet companies have stated
as 1 am informed, that they can pro-
duce bet sugar at from 2 1-2 to 3
Gems per pound. They sell at from
5 to 7 cents. The beet sugar peo-
pie use the tariff to exact the utter
most penny for their product.
Everywhere the beet sugar man
ufacturer takes full advantage Of the
tariff tax and it results that the peo-
pie of the United States pay the tax
to the government on the cane SUI
gar and the beet sugar barons on the
beet sugar. The saving to the
American people on the sugar con-
sumed Tasty ear if the tax were re-,
moved would amount to almost $50
OOO O0O"