The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-07-14

history OF the world, upon the outcome
Of which depends the prosperity Of mil
| lions which is now being waged In this
country.
A market that is fast approaching a
yearly value of half a billion dollars is
the stupendous prize for which the lat
est and greatest of the long succession
OF sugar wars Is being waged. 1t Is a
tremendous stake. Nations have waged
bloody conflicts for less. Half the wars
in history. from the expedition Of Xerxes
against the Greeks to the present con-
fiict between the Italians and the Turks.
have been started for the control OF ter
ritor.es far less valuable in their posi-
bilities OF monetary return than Is the
control Of the American sugar market.
the greatest in the world Although the
present struggle is between commercial
forces. and no bloodshed 10 likely to
mark its course, II IL being waged with
all the skill and resources Of the many
interests involved, and 1t is certain to
grow in intensity until II becomes a
veritable life and death grapple. ending
in the overthrow and destruction Of one
contestant or the other. One battle line
consists OF a small. compact group of
capitalists, backed by tremendous wealth
and influence and skilled in the art OF
getting what they want from the public.
whether the public wills or not. The
other is numerically stronger. but is
made up OF men of far smaller resources
farmers and manufacturers scattered
over a wide territory. 1t is an unframed
force. and therein lies its weakness.
Sugar Wars Dramatic.
To go back a bit in order to under
stand the causes leading up to the pres
ent struggle. a curious fact presents it
self II is that sugar has been
the subject of almost continual struggles
throughout its history. There have been
contests over It, not only between rival
trade interests, but also between COM
peting nations, and these have been
among the bitterest struggles in indus
trial history. In the United States the
progress of the sugar industry has been
as marked by conflict as IL has abroad.
The sugar wars have been among the
most dramatic and vengeful of our in
dustrial vendettas, and the methods en-
ployed to destroy competition have not
baked at the barriers of either the
civil or criminal law.
Out Of this confusion and conflict arose
in 1887 the figure OF the man who for
the next twenty years was to dominate
the sugar industry with czar-like au-
thority: to crush out competition relent-
lessly. to sway Congress. defy the
courts. and thereby build up one of the
greatest and most profitable Of indus
trial combinations. The mans name
was Henry o. Hayemeyer. He had been
brought up in the sugar business from
a boy. and was then at the head Of one
Of the big. strong New York refneries.
Henry o. Havemeyer brought together
seventeen OF the strongest refineries into
no the fpTarunner
OF the present Sugar Trust By 1891
the comb. nation had developed enough
strength TO force four OF the Philadel-
phla refineries that previously had held
out to come in. il was then that the
American Sugar Refining Company was
formed. with a capital OF Sp,eAVo and
with Haveme. er as its president. he
was much more than an ordinary presi-
dent. for he ran the business as cap
rain does his ship. He committed the
company to big undertakings without
consulting the directors. They were per-
mitted TO ratifv what had been done
after the accomplishment was COM
Melted. stockholders VINO sought infor-
nation as to the affairs of the trust got
small satisfaction and the inquisitive
nuhlIc go, none The company paid good
diyfdends and paid them regularly That
was enough from the Havemeyer point
OF view The next ten years was a
highly profitable period for the trust
The men who put their properties in II
oil emerged with fortunes. Competition
never was entirely crushed out. but II
was reduced to inffnitesimal proportions.
Sugar Rect New Factor.
In the heyday OF his power. following
the establishment of the trust. the
Hayemeyer influence was always felt at
Washington when the tariff was being
recast. The differential, that is. the sur
pIus added to the duty on refined sugar
above the amount which would be ne
cessary to equaliZe 1t with the duty on
the raw product. was the especial care
of the trusts representatives. AS long
as II was maintained no foreign ret1ned
sugar could get into the American mar
ket and their position was secure since
then the refiners have changed their at
titude. They are willing to sacrifice the
ADVANTAGES of the diTerential II they
can get free sugar. The reason Is that
a new factor has made its appearance
in the situation that threatens them all
alike and 1t is this new factor whlch
has brought on the present sugar war
beside which all these earlier CONNECTS
pale into insignficance.
This new factor is the sugar beet.
While the beet sugar industry was ad-
vancing by leaps and bounds in Europe
during the SOS and early |Ts 1t made
small Roadway in the United states.
Following the passage of the Dingiey
tariff bill in 1897 however, the industry
began to take hold in earnest. trained
men were brought from Europe to d.
rect it. New methods and machinery
were introduced. In 1899 the production
of beet sugar in the United states was
- ocO.O cO pounds. In the following year ,
IL was 163, 600 600. more than double the
OUTPUT of the previous season. BY 1902
IT had more than doubled again and
amounted to Ss9,O0OOO0 pounds. This
rapid growth attracted the attention of
Henry o. Havemeyer. who, with his
thorough knowledge Of sugar conditions
throughout the world. did not fail to
grasp its significance.
Havemeyer followed his regular prac-
tice in dealing with this competition. II
was not feasible to destroy 1t, so he
sought to control II. He invested trust
millions and Havemeyer millions in the
stocks of the struggling beet sugar fac
tories that were springing up through
out the West. all of which had need OF
capital and could not get it through the
ordinary channels. Apparently it was
his idea TO let these companies occupy
the distant field OF the far Western
States or so much of II as they could
master. but to control them in the in
terest of the trust with the balance OF
power in his own hands.
Warmed by Associates.
He was warned by one of his associ-
ates now the directing mind of the