Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1913-07-10
Washington Correspondence.


BY CONGRESSMAN CLYDE H. TAvENNER.
WASHINGTON, June 2s.-If the sugar
lobbyists should succeed in having the
tariff restored to sugar, the sugar
trust, and the men back of the sugar
lobbies, would each year draw down
dividends amounting to millions of
dollars.
But where would this money come
from? The answer to this question is
the milk in the lobby controversy
cocoanut. The millions that would go
annually to the sugar magnates would
not drop from the blue sky, but
would come from the consumers-the
men, women and children of the
United States who use sugar.
The lobby issue is plain. If the lob
byists win out in their fight to per-
suade members of Congress to forget
their promises to the people and slap
the tax back on sugar, the consumers
must go on contributing to the Golfers
of the sugar trust by paying artificial
ly high prices for sugar. And if the
sugar lobbyists do not succeed, these
millions will be saved to American con-
sumers.
Thus it will be seen that the consum-
ers have something at stake in the
framing of tariff bill, as we'll as the
sugar barons.
If the sugar lobbyists should sue
ceed, one of the principal beneficiaries
would be the same old sugar trust
which not so very long ago stole $2,-
100000 from the government in GUS
toms duties by deliberately placing
steel springs in fourteen pairs of
scales, SO that their Importation of
sugar would be under weighed and
the government cheated. Caught red
handed, the trust was forced to dis
gorge most of the plunder, and a few
underlings were sent to Jail, and re-
leased after serving a small portion of
their sentence. But none of the
millionaire sugar magnates into whose
pockets the stolen millions would
have gone had the crime been undis-
covered, were even called to the bar
of justice, let alone prosecuted.
Conducting lobby in Washington
by the sugar interests is business
proposition strictly. The multi-mil-
lionaire sugar magnates who are every
year adding to their colossal fortunes
by millions through the kindness of
Uncle Sam in giving them protective
tariff which guarantees them mono
poly of American markets with power
to charge consumers what they please,
can we'll afford to spend few hun
dreds of thousands in the form Of
81 900 a month salaries to slick
tongued lobbyists, if by doing so they
can prevent their monopolies and
profits from being interfered with.
To hear the wall now going up from
the 81 900 a month men, one would inn
agine Congress had not given the sugar
people any portunity whatever to
be heard. The fact is a committee of
twenty one members of the House of
Representatives-the Ways and Means
Committee-sat in session for weeks
listening to the argument of those de-
string protection. The sugar people
were permitted to say any and every
thing they desired. The members of
the Ways and Means Committee sal
somewhat as a court. They consider
ed all the testimony, and then brought
in their verdict in the form of the
Underwood Bill After having had
a fair deal in open court, the sugar
trust is now trying to win as usual by
the underhanded method of approach
ing members of Congress in private
and working in the dark.
The people are at disadvantage il
the face of this kind of warfare be-
cause they have no knowledge of the
pressure and kind of arguments
brought to bear on Congressman by
special privilege, nor lobbyists tt
present the viewpoint of the consum
ers or to disprove the false statements
which may be poured into the Con
gressmen's ears by the able and re
sourceful representatives of the suga