The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-16
Declare Reduction or Re- moval of Duty Will De-
 stroy Their Industry
EVILS OF THE SUGAR
 TRUST ARE RELATED
Witnesses Before House Committee Say They Are Compelled to Ac- cept Prices Lower Than
 in New York

Washington, July 15.-The House sugar Investigating committee today heard the evils of the sugar trust" de- scribed by representatives of the Louisiana cane growers and manufac- turers of unrefined sugar The wit nesses discussed the tariff, declaring that elimination or material reduction in existing duties on sugar would de- stroy their industry.
 Theodore s. Wilkinson of Middle Grove, La, planter and manufacturer and former member of Congress, and J. E. Burguieres, a manufacturer, were among the witnesses, the latter being on the stand when the committee ad- journed and will be recalled Monday.
 MT. Wilkinson said two-thirds of Louisiana sugar was sold to refiners the remainder being further refined at small cost and sold direct to the con sumers. The planters could not refine all of their product and sell 1t directly to consumers, he said, because they did not have the capital.
 All of the witnesses agreed that they were compelled by the trust" to ac- cept a lower price for their product than that prevailing in New York and to have the cost of freight from New Orleans to New York, though none of the sugar actually reached New York.
 Mir Burguieres told at length of how he had been "boycotted'' several years ago by the American Sugar Refining company because he sold a large quan- tity of sugar to the federal. In 1909 and 1910 he said he and several of his friends arranged to sell their entire output to Arbuckle Brothers in New York at a higher price than they could obtain in the New Orleans market. They had delivered the sugar by ship at New York as the Arbuckles would not invade" the New Orleans market. He said the big refiners respected each others territory to avoid fights.
 Representative Madison said that an attempt had been made to make the committee believe that lot of ''benev- olent philanthropists now had charge of the American Sugar Refining com pany and that the practices of MT. Havemeyer's day had been abandoned" MT. Burguieres said no change in the methods of the trust had been noticed since MT. Havemeyer's death and the planters were being treated as arbi- trarily as ever.
 "Armed Truce" in Effect
 John Dymond, a sugar cane planter of Louisiana told the committee that the cane growers of Louisiana were abso- lutely at the mercy of the American Sugar Refining company, which bought raw sugar arbitrarily and paid It's own price. Mir. Dymond said there was now no com pettive buying in New York. Prac- tically all the buyers who had not been brought . into the combination by the trust he said, maintained an armed truce."
 Representative Jacoway said it had been suggested that the Louisiana Cane Crow ers' association was very closely asso- ciated with the American Sugar Refining company; that the growers were in com bination to sell to only the trust" MT Dymond said the reverse was true; that no member of the growers association owned dollars worth of stock in the trust He said, however, that the grow CTS could not afford to antagonize the trust"
 Afraid of Being Boycotted
 Why" asked MT. Jacoway.
 You have heard of the Buck Stove case?"
 /, Yes
 Then, we are afraid we might be boy cotted."
 MT. Dymond recited one case in which he said the trust" had disciplined large grower by refusing to buy his products He said there were now only two refining companies In Louisiana and that 1t had been a matter of curiosity why the trust had allowed any independent plant to continue in operation.
 MT. Dymond said he favored maintain ing the present tariff- on sugar and that elimination of protection would bring the Louisiana sugar men in competition with the cheapest peasant labor of Europe The witness said most of the laborers he em- ployed were negroes, whom he paid N day. and wouldn't work half the time at that"
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