The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1912-02-14
HEAVY BLOW TO GROWING
AMERICAN INDUSTRY
Democrats in Congress Aim to Grip
pie Domestic Sugar Production
in Interest of Refiners of
Raw Foreign Sugar


house is determined to have a tar
iff cut downward in sugar, not in
the interest of the consumer but in
the interest of the refiners. "Sugar
man Underwood of the house com
mittee, ''that goes right into the
home of the consumer. and any re-
duction will benefit the consumer
directly" The democratic theory
that the abolition or reduction of a
duty on an imported article is fol-
lowed by corresponding reduction
in the price to consumers is a fall
lacy so clearly proven by experience
that 1t is strange any politician
should continue to repeat 1t.
good many years ago congress de-
cided to admit coffee free, a step
taken in behalf OF what was called
free breakfast table. But coffee
is 1875 per cent higher now than
when it paid duty of cents a
pound. In fact Arbuckle ct al. the
very men who want competition
bars let down on sugar belong to
the coffee combine.
The last congress put hides on
the free list. Are shoes cheaper?
Recent talk about shoes is that
their price will be advanced. For a
time. following a great strike in
the mines. congress suspended the
duty of 81 cents a ton on coal. But
no coal came in because foreign
producers at once marked up their
price for export. The republican
policy on sugar has been to main
tain a small duty and encourage the
production within our own boun-
daries.
Under republican administration
our beet sugar Industry has been
rapidly developed and growers of
cane sugar also have been reason
ably protected. To raise our own
sugar would keep $1OO.0O0.0O0
year at home. Chairman Under
wood and any other member of con-
gress ought to know that the re-
moval of the duty on sugar would
not benefit consumers. If they
think otherwise let them explain
this experience with coffee. hides.
shoes and coal.
For $4,000 tons OF beet sugar
now produced. there is paid to the
American farmer. workman and
supply man, about $4,000. 900.
while the distribution for the three
million tons of raw sugar import
ed and refined in this country
amounts to approximately only
$3O.000.000. And but one-half of
the 1851 900 tons of sugar consum-
ed pays a tariff duty. Last year
of the quantity consumed only 2O3.-
600 tons paid the full tariff duty.
beet sugar produced in this coun-
try. there is distributed seven and
one-half times more money among
the American people than for each
pouHu oi susdT iHpoTteu anu Ouis
refined in this country.
This means that IL the total con-
sumption of sugar in this country
-3.350.0O0 tons-were all grown
and manufactured in the United
States the actual distribution among
the farmers and workingmen would
amount to $27O.0OO 900. while If 1t
were all imported and only refin-
ed. it would amount to only $780,
100000. There are now seventy
three beet sugar factories in the
United States. 1t would take over
400 factories to produce the total
sugar consumed. Would 1t not be
much better to have this vast sum
$27,0O0.00O distributed by So
many separate interests. widely
scattered over the United States.
than to have the entire sugar in
dustry controlled by half dozen
gentlemen in New York, who con-
troll the refining industry? The
history of our tariff legislation