The daily sentinel., 1914-01-15
HEATING SHOWS WHERE TARIFF HAS
GUT PRICE OF SUGAR To CONSUMER
No Necessity For Reduction In
Beet Prices, Says Co..
orado Congressman.
(By EDWARD HEATING. }

"
CONGRESSMAN at Large from Colorado
washington, ID. C., Jan. 15.| see
" the Colorado papers that the su-
gar companies are endeavoring to cut
.he price paid the farmers for their
oeets. Ihe average reduction pro-
posed is 90 cents per ton, and the
argument advanced in support of the
onange is that the Underwood tariff
Dill has forced down the price of
sugar to the consumers.
1t is true that the consumers have
already benefited tremendously from
TINS splendid piece of democratic leg
islation. When / was campaieninp
in Colorado in the fall of 1912, i took
occasion to ascertain the retail price
OF sugar in the various towns | Wis
tied. found that the housewives
were getting from IL to II pounds
OF beet sugar for a dollar and | told
them il they would elect a democratic
president and congress, we would see
that they received at least 20 pounds
for a dollar.
Every corner grocery in the United
states is today a standing advertise
u'eht OF the complete redemption of
the pledge. Three years hence, when
the last vestige of the sugar tariff
has been removed from our statute
books, the housewife will get 25
hounds OF sugar for a dollar and the
party which attempts to force a re-
turn to the old conditions will ex-
perlence mighty rough shedding, es-
pecially in those states where the
women have the ballot.
But this reduction to the consumer
does not Justify a cut In the price
paid the farmer for his beets and
hope the beet growers of Colorado
Will call the bluff of the sugar in
terests and insist on The old price
or no beets.' -
| want to reiterate what | have
frequently said in these letters: An
up-to-date sugar factory. properly To-
Gated in Colorado. can compete with
the world on free trade basis and
pay handsome return on the capt.
tai actually invested.
Hits Watered Stock.
There are some antiquated plants
in Colorado, heavily er-capitalized
and in some instances located far
from their beet supply which must
he modernized mechanically and re-
lieved of the need of paying divi-
dends on watered stock or they will
be forced out of business. These are
the concerns the sugar interests al
ways point to when they are seeking
tariff favors or when they are plead
ing with the farmers for a reduc-
tion in the price of beets. In order
that these junk heaps may continue
to operate the farmers are asked to
grow beets for less than the cost of
production.
OXnaiyl's Testimony.
Durinp tho raranf .oriff diccnccinp
in the senate, Senator Charles S.
Thomas read into the Congressional
Record extracts from circular to
investors prepared by Oxnard and
Cutting and printed in the New York
Evening Post, December 12, 1901.
The Oxnard referred to is Henry T
Dxnard, president of the American
Beet Sugar company, and the first
man to successfully conduct a sugar
factory in this country. He made
great fortune out of the indstry, and
probably knows as much about the
cost of making sugar as any man in
the world In the circular quoted
by Senator Thomas. Mr.. Oxnard said:
Greater than ell of the other as
surances of the permanency of the
sugar industry in this country. is
the fact that sugar can be produced
cheaper here than it can in Europe"
He then proceeds to argue that the
world price of sugar will never fall
much below 4 cents a pound | have
frequently called attention to this
economic fact, and in support of the
statement, showed that in free trade
England, and at the German port of
Hamburg, where the world price"
is fixed, sugar sells for from $50 to
4 cents per pound.
Taking cents per pound as the
price received By the factory owner
Mr.. OXnard figures out the vast pro-
fit which may be made in the sugar
business.
A ton OF 5 per cent beets should
produce 2S0 pounds of refined sugar
and at cents this sugar would have
value at the factory of $ll.20.
Mr.. Oxnard declares that $500 a
ton will cover every expense of man.
ufacture," and he assures his read
crs that he has reason to believe that
this item can be reduced to s2.00.
But accepting the more liberal figure
of $500 per ton, 1t is apparent that
after paying all expenses incident to
the operation of the factory, the own
or still has $500 per ton left. out of
which he must compensate the farm
tl lOl LIS btCt5s ho pdyo SosOo
ton for the beets, his net profit will
be $2.20 ton.
What is Fair Profit?
Would that be fair profit? Let's
see.
A modern sugar factory with
daily slicing capacity of a thousand
tens represents an Investment of
about one million dollars. II the
factory is properly located it should
be able to secure sufficient beets for
at least hundred day campaign. or
one hundred thousand tons. A pro-
fit of $2.20 per ton would mean a
total net return of two hundred and
twenty thousand dollars. After
charging off 10 per cent for depreci-
alton, this would leave sufficient to
pay a dividend of IL per cent on the
capital invested-one million dol
lars. ft'
In all these estimates have given
the cOmDanieS decidedly the best of