Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-11-28
BEET SUGAR MEN
PROTEST AGAINST
REDUCED TARIFF
Meeting in San Francisco Gives
Opinion That Reduced Tax
Will AnnihiFate Industry
IBy Latest MALL

by Latest MALL
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 17.-Ofi-
GERS and members of the executive
board of the United States Sugar Man
ufacturerS' Association are gathered
in San Francisco from all the beet
sugar states in, the West, and in a
special meeting today will enter into
a discussion Of means whereby the
sugar industry in the United States
may be saved.
The keynote of the meeting, as ex-
pressed by the secretary and treas
urer of the association, Truman G..
Palmer of Chicago. will be that the
present tariff schedule, as enacted in
the passage by Congress Of the Under
wood tariff bill, will mean the COM
plete humiliation of the sugar indus
try in the United States. unless it is
shortly modified as regards sugar.
The sugar manufacturers who ar
rived at the Palace hotel yesterday to
attend the meeting are Judge Henry
II. Rolapp" Of Ogden, Utah, president
of the association; Truman G. Palm
er of Chicago, secretary and treas
urer; Chester S. Morey of Denver.
Col; Thomas r. Cutler of Salt Lake
City, +. B. Case of Santa Ana and A.
r. Peck and J. Ross Clark Of Los An
geles, members of the executive COM
mittee. w. H. Hannah of San Fran
cisco, also a member of the executive
committee, will be in attendance at
the meeting.
Object of the Association.
The association was formed with
the purpose of collecting and dissem'
mating information about the sugar
industry and at todays session the
first data regarding the effect of free
sugar" will be made public. A pre-
Hminary conference was . held in
Palmer's suite of rooms at the palace
yesterday afternoon and last night,
with all the members except the three
from Southern California. These in
formal sessions enabled Palmer to in
sdicate some of the data that will be
put before today's meeting.
AS the direct result of the free
sugar act" he said, there are now
Is sugar refneries closed down. In
1913 the output of beet sugar in this
country was $4,000 tons, valued. at
about $60,0Qa, 900. The output this
year will show at least 20 per cent
decrease, or a loss of $12,000,O00.
These figures refer to the beet sugar
business alone-the only branch of the
Industry we are interested in directly.
Free sugar. if persisted in, will
mean the absolute humiliation of the
sugar industry in the United States.
Temporarily it may bring a reduction
in the price of sugar, but as soon as
business is wiped out in America the
old law of supply and demand will en-
able the foreign refiners to put the
price of the imported product higher
than it would ever nave gone under
the protective tariff.
Many States Represented.
The delegates represent California,
Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Arizona. Kan
sas, Montana, Idaho, Wisconsin and
Iowa, which annually produce 25O,OO0,-
900 bags of granulated sugar, worth
about $1,125, 100000.
J. Ross Clark of Los Angeles said
last night:
THE Democrats couldn't have hit
the beet sugar industry any harder
than they did if they had tried a
thousand years. There is but one al
Tentative, and that is the closing Of
our II factories in 1916, when the
Democratic rates go into effect, war
or no war. This will make practically
worthless a total investment of some
thing over $500, 000,0 900, and will be a
serious blow to each of the states in
our association.
1--WE, of California, have decided it
Is absolutely impossible to operate
under the Democratic tariff. 1t is
essential that the consumers of this
country understand that free raw
sugar does not mean cheaper sugar
to them"
Sugar and the War.
'sThe war in Europe is bringing
home to the American people the i'm
portance of producing their sugar on
their own soil. There have been vio-
lent fluctuations since the war began,
which would have been eliminated to
large extent if we had not depend
ed for half of our supply on the for
eign sugar imported by the refners.
The same thing happened to US in
1911 when there was a drought in
Europe.
This is the statement, of Sidney
Ballou, attorney at Washington, D. c.,
during the last four years for the Ha-
waiian Sugar Planters Association,
who is now in this city. He contin-
ued:
while an advance in price must
be looked for next year, it will be to
some extent offset by the stimulus to
domestic production. This stimulus is
but temporary, however, as no new
capital can be invested under the
present policy of the government to-
ward sugar"