The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-07-29
Deeeiving the Consumers.

Oncc InOlc the htpuplCanS nave
proved their ability to "get-together'
in their hour of adversely, by passing
their bill for revising the sugar sched-
ule in the Senate by the overwhelming
vote of 81 to s. A Democratic measure,
one quite different from the one passed
in the House, and which had been Of
fered by Senator Simmons, after it had
passed the House, had been defeated,
with the aid of two Democrats from
Louisiana, by solid Republican vote
The sugar bill that passed Saturday,
like the Penrose wool substitute that
failed to pass last Thursday, is a sort of
affirmative legislation, which it is ex-
pected the President will sign. To make
it possible for the Democratic House
to accept the substitute thrust upon il,
just as the Democrats in the Senate ac-
cepted it Saturday, the regulars voted
against the amendment repeating Cana
dian reciprocity, which already had
been used to kill the steel bill in con-
ference. One thing must be said which
will find favor in the eyes of the House
Democrats, namely, that the Senate bill
appears" to be a revision downward.
Instead of putting sugar on the free
list, the bill passed reduces the duty on
ordinary grade of refined sugar from
SI.oo to SI.6o per hundredweight The
tai h.,
ators had been SI.33 In addition, the
Senate measure abolishes the Dutch
Standard" of graduation and the differ
entails against which Senator Bristow
of Kansas had been fighting three
years. In fact, it was an amendment
by this Senator, making the Republicans
reduce rates, which led the insurgents
to support it.
1t does not seem, however, that the
Senate bill, if accepted by the House,
will work a saving to the average con-
sumner, though sugar factories and per-
haps pastry shops will not fail to notice
difference in the law. The bill re-
duces the import duty on refined sugar
80 cents hundred pounds. The con-
sumption of sugar in this country is
less than 100 pounds per head. That
means that each person should actually
save in coin 80 cents a year, if he
gets the full benefit of the planned re-
duction. But whoever has maintained
so far that the ultimate consumer gets
more than one-half of the benefit of a
reduced tariff.
The technical provisions enacted by
the Senate bill fixed for sugar show
a so-called polariscope test of not more
than IS degrees, rate of os cents
hundredweight (Which is the identical
rate for this grade of sugar in the
present law. Above that grade the
original Lodge bill added IS cents a
hundredweight for each additional de-
gree in the polariscopic test. The Bris-
tow amendment reduced that increase
to 26 cents hundredweight.
But there was clause added to that
bill which nullihes even the small bene-
fits that may accrue to the consumer.
and this clause amounts to nothing less
than an exchange of the Dutch Stand
ard joker for the branding" Joker.
We add the salient points of that clause
which we had occasion once before to
quote in the interest of the consumer,
and which was engineered by Senator
Lodge, supported by Senators Bristow
and Smoot against the protest of Sen
ator Williams, calling particular dtten-
tion TO he last sentence:
Provided. That every bag, barrel, or
parcel in which sugar testing by the
polarlscope less than ninety-Iline de-
grees is packed shall be plainly branded
by the: manufacturer or rehner thereof
with the name of such manufacturer
or retner, and the polariscope test of
the sugar therein contained, accurately
within one-half of one degree, and a
failure to brand any such bag, barrel.
or parcel as herein required shall be
deemed and taken to be a misbranding
of food within the meaning of the Act
of June 80, 1906, entitled, An Act for
preventing the manufacture, sale. or
transportation of adultersted or mis-
branded or poisonous or deleterious
foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors.
and for regulating traffic therein, and
for other purposes And the require
ments of this proviso shall not apply
to any sugar shipped or delivered to a
rehner to be refined before entering into
consumption"
This last sentence tells the tale. The
proviso is mot to apply to any sugar
shipped or delivered to rehner to be
refined before entering into oonsump-
ton"
By the stipulation of this proviso it
is made possible for the cane. sugar
men to offer opposition to the re6ners
and the beet sugar manufacturers. OF
the nations consumption, 100000 tons