The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-04-18
NEW TARIFF WILL DESTROY
SUGAR INDUSTRY.

Opinion Of G. N. Smith and Othel
Michigan Manufacturers.
Bay City. Mich, April 15.-Fre'
sugar or the low tariff proposed II
pending legislation before congress will
work ruin on the beet sugar industry
according to statements made by man
ufacturers here
1.-THE tariff bill proposed by the Dem
ocratic congress would reduce the duty
on sugar from all foreign countries
except Cuba, to $1.25 per hundred
p FUNDS and on sugar from Cuba to 81
per hundred pounds. Inasmuch al
practically all sugar imported into this
country comes from Cuba, the effective
tariff would be 81 per hundred pounds, y
said Carmsn N. Smith, head of the
Owosso Sugar Co., which owns factories
at Owosso and Lansing. This would
be reduction of "a cents per hundred
pounds from the present tariff.
Assuming that this reduction would
lower the price of refined sugar in this
country "a cents a hundred, it would
seriously cripple the domestic sugar
industry of the United States. At pres
emit sugar is selling lower than for any
time for over 90 years. Beet sugar is
selling at "a. 10 per hundred pounds.
SEALS FATE OF FACTORIES.
"The provision of the proposed tariff
law placing sugar on the free list at the
end of three years seals the fate of
every sugar factory in the United
States. If this law should pass the
credit of the domestic sugar companies
would be seriously impaired; the sugar
companies would not make any extern.
sions or improvements; there would be
no development of the business at the
end of three years.
"The entire sugar business of the
country would be in the hands of the
eastern refners of raw sugar.
The price of refined sugar to the
consumer in the United States would
PROFESSIONALLY advance and in my
opinion the American people would be
paying, inside of two years after the
domestic sugar business had been ruin.
ed, anywhere from 10 to Is cents q
pound for sugar.
'In the management Of our sugar
factories" said E. Wilson Cressey, of
the German American Sugar company,
which owns q plant here and one at
Paulding. O., I'VE have tried to oper-
ate on basis of net profit of cents
per hundred pounds Of sugar msnufac.
tured. Some years this has been &C.
complished and others we have failed.
This year the sugar which we have
manufactured at our Bay City plant
has cost us considerably more than we
are getting for it. We have just man
aged to meet expenses by the income
from our pulp drying plant.
CAN'T COMPETE WITH EAST.
There is no question of what the
big sugar refineries of the east would
be able to do with the sugar tariff re-
moved. They can bny the raw sugar,
refine it and put it on the market 10 any
part f this country at a lower price
than the beet sugar factories can pos
sibly manufacture sugar"
THE 25 per cent tariff reduction
with the abolition of all tariff on sugar
in three years will mean destruction of
the beet sugar industry in Michigan
said James E. Davidson, who is inter.
ested in sugar companies at Mt. Glenn.
ems, Mich, and GAINESVILLE, Wis.
Beet sugar producers who buy the
beets to make into sugar cannot com.
pete with the eastern and especially the
New York city refineries which buy the
raw sugar.
"The reduction in tariff as proposed
Is complicated affair, but when it is
worked out the Michigan industry will
be destroyed. The average family
spends about IS per year for sugar while
the United States gets about $50, 0OO, 900
revenue per year from the sugar tariff
Who will be the losers by the reduction