The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-03-21
MIXED VIEWS
ON SUGAR BILL


ing in Congress Is rife these days on
the local wall Street" Opinions
range from absolute disbelief that
any change will be made in the sugar
schedule by the present Congress, to
the pessimistic belief that the entire
duty is to be wiped out by the final
passage of the Underwood bill, as
carried in the House last week.
There is no doubt that this uncer-
tainty is acting as a wet blanket on
the stock market Convictions are
not strong enough either way %
cause much change, but it would
probably take little just now to pre-
cipitate either a boom or a panic con-
dition.
What Will Senate Do?
What the Senate will do with the
Underwood bill is a problem. It is
understood that the Senate finance
committee will begin its hearing on
the measure next Wednesday, March
q. This committee has it in it's
power to do number of things with
the measure. It may kill it by a
number of methods, if such should
be the policy of the Senate or the
leaders of the committee, such as in
definite postponement or by tabling
the bill.
Men Who Will Decide.
Many persons who have studied the
matter are inclined to believe that
some such action will be taken, bank
ing their prophecy on their opinion of
the members who make up the Sen
ate's finance committee. These, by
the way, are as follows: Senators
Penrose of Pennsylvania, chairman;
Cullom of Illinois, Lodge of Massa-
chusetts, McCumber of North Da-
kota, Smoot of Utah, Gallinger of
New Hampshire, Clark of Wyoming,
Hepburn of Idaho, La Toilette of Wis
consin, Bailey of Texas, Simmons of
North Carolina, Stone of Missouri,
Williams of Mississippi, Kern of In
diana and Johnson of Maine.
Where Politics Comes In.
But will the Senate dare not to pass
some kind of a sugar bill? This is
national election year. The Demo
Gratis are no doubt making a grand
stand play to political ends by this
bill. The Republican party must bear
the onus if the bill is killed in the
Senate, and the Democratic leaders nc
doubt hope for much political capital
in just such an event. Would it moi
be better to amend the bill, reducing
the present duty, in an attempt tt
harmonic the various opinions? This
seems the more likely course. The
conservative Democrats would doubt
less approve, and the sugar interests
would probably accept, say, 1 cent
a pound fiat rate instead of the pres
ent 1855 cents now, collected on sc
degree raws, and the 100 cents or
100 refined. Still it holds out no as
surance that the Democratic leaders
in the House would accept any such
compromise, having in mind the same
political reasons. The scarcity of su
gar and consequent high prices las
year, and the likelihood of even higher
prices before long, are believed in the
popular mind to be due to the manipu
lations of the sugar trust, and made
possible by the tariff. 1t is a SLOW
> process to break down such a fallacy
and for political purposes nothing
could be more opportune.
If the House should refuse to &C
. cept Senate modifying amendments, i
it not possible that political eXpedi
enoy might result in the Houses or
= ginal bill going through?
What Will the President Do?
Most everybody believes that tn
= President would veto such measure
a should this contingency occur, bu
S the responsibility of no sugar legisl5
2 ton would then be piled upon hi
. shoulders. This in a campaign yea
with the public clamoring for lowe
duties and against the high cost {
living, might not be easy for even tn
President to do, Notwithstanding tn
fact that he has in the past decline
to act on tariff measures that hav
not first been passed upon by his sp'
cial tariff board.
Should, however, compromise bi
be accepted by the House, reducin
but not destroying the duty on suga
it seems very reasonable to believ
that Mr.. Taft would sign it. Accor'
ing to most prominent Hawaiian 81
gar men, a reduction to / cent pc
pound fiat, as has been proposed
would not kill the local industry BIZ
1t would certainly affect it, and poss
bly, put some of the weaker plants
lions out of business. How woul
euch a reduction affect sugar stocks