Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1912-05-18
REF|NERS aim TO
KILL BEET SUGAR
INDUSTRY

nronle claim that the tarih protec
ton OF the home beet sugar operate
TO keep the prices down. In support
Of this theory we are referred to Inc
recent remarkable rise III the price OF
sugar when it went from an average
retail price around five cents to eiSht
and nine cents. Advocates OF con
tinnauce of Ale tariff claim that TINS
advance was possible because the 40
nestle beet suga- supply Tor the year
/ had been consumed. The following,
] which is from a liter that Is beng
/ sent 70 growers OF sugar beets over
/ the country, is an argument ior the
retention OF the tariff We submit
/ it as graphic illustration OF the value
Of the domestic sugar interests to
/ limited number OF farmers and labor
crs. But the chief interest the subject
/ holds to the American people Is the
claim that it the home sugar indus
try is killed. that the rcllners can, OF
will advance the price to all the con
sumcrs. The letter follows:
The American Sugar Refining
Company. the Federal Sugar Refining
Company. Arbuckle Brothers and
other refining interests. all located on
the seaboard, who have absolute con
troll OF the sugar refining industry III
this country. and also some OF the
large sugar cane planters III Cuba. are
now endeavoring to influence public
opinion and are making An effort IN
Congress To bring about further re
duction OF this tariff in order to pre-
vent further development Of the beet
sugar industry. These refining inter
ests import raw sugar from tropical
countries and refine IT.
The refining interests realize that
beet sugar i, their only competitor.
and they. therefore. wish to throttle
the industry Circular, have been sent
out by some OF the refining interests
I containing the misleading statements.
I that the duty j. , cents a pound and
equivalent 10 eighty per cent ad
/ valorcm about % per cent OF orr
foreign sugar comes from Cuba and
pays 34S cents per pound. which i
the effective duty a. far a. the price
I of sugar To the consumer Is con
cerncd. The average price in the Uni
ted States paid by the consumer Tor
sugar Is 81 cents per pound So 1t
i, only simple matter OF arithmetic
to show that this duty is equivalent
to less than thirty-thrce per cent al
Ialorem
The refining process j, very simple
and distributes very little wealth
among tie American people As com
pared with the production OF beet
sugar. For the 100000 tons OF beet
sugar now produced there is paid Ia
the American farmer. workmen and
supplymen about $45,W0OOO, II the
total consumption OF sugar in thi,
couutry-3.6O0.O00 tons-wcre all
grown and manufactured in the Uni
ted States. the actual distribution
among the farmers and workmcu
would amount to $2700OOOO. while
II 1t were all imported and only re
lined. it would amount only to $50.
100000. There are now seventy beet
sugar factories in the. United States.
1t would take over 4OO factories To
produce the total sugar consumed.
Would i not be much better to have
this vast sum-S270.0OOOO O-tlistrib-
uted by so many separate interests,
widely scattered over the United
States, than to have the entire sugar
industry controlled by half a dozen
gentlemen in New York. who control
the refining industry,
In addition to this, the production
of all our sugar from sugar bccts.
would aid materially TO the produc-
ton OF other crops from the we'll
known fact that root crop rotated
with cereals improves the soil and
very materially adds to the yield Of
/ other crops
Sugar is distinctly an agricultural
/ product, and the farmer who grows
the bectS is the largest beneficiary
of the duty The American farmer
pays three or four times more for
labor than the former in the tropical
1 countries, where cane sugar i nro-
duced' and. therefore, needs protcc
ton
It would. therefore, appear that it
Is to the interest Of the farmer and
the public, no less than to the mann
lacturer OF beet sugar, to prevent the
cutting off the tariff.
Cp-to-Da,e Farming is as much on
posed to anything that will cripple the
industry OF sugar beet raising and
pee' sugar manufacture in this conn.