The Hawaiian gazette., 1914-05-26
SUGAR
. PLANTS ARE .
CLOSING
Removal Of Tariff, Low Prices ane
Increased Cost Of Production
Are Dealing Body Blows ID
Beet Sugar Industry on Main
land, Says visitor.
e***A**4**.A*s&A

90 = 4 + **x1* *&&*&
x "we have information from
< washington that President Wilson
y IL openninded on the question Of
y the removal Of all protection on u
= sugar and desircs to do what is
\ right; that he has asserted HIS \
4 willingness to appoint another
4 commission 70 Investigate sugar II
n conditions, but that he win de. II
4 mand that the sugar men lay all H
y their cards on the table 50 that A
= he knows what he is DOING H
y Edgar Barueh, of Los Angeles.
o*** 80 + 4 ~ &*&* $3.50
That the removal Of tariff on sugar.
added to the prevailing low prices and
tho increased cost Of production is rap|
idly putting the beet sugar industry OF
tho mainland ont OF business, is tho
declaration Of Edgar Barueh Of Los
Angeles, whd is heavily interested
financially in the beet sugar business
in California and "a also consulting
chemist for practically all the Cali
fornia beet sugar concerns.
Mr.. Barueh, who is guest at thd
Moana Hotel with Mrs. Baruch, thd
couple being on their honeymoon tripI
stopping Off in Honolulu on their waJ
home from ,the Orient, states that dur|
ing this year twenty-five per cent Of
the plants in California will be conf
PEELED TO shut down and that if present
conditions continue until 1915 that the
shutdowns will reach seventy-five ped
cent.
lie also points out that none of thd
beet sugar plants in Wisconsin are runI
ming; that more than fifty per cent
Of the Michigan plants are shut down
that in Colorado the American Beet
Sugar Company has shut down two of
its three mills and the Holly Sugar
Company has shut down one of its two
monster mills. Discussing the eondil
tions on the mainland Mr.. Barueh said
yesterday: yea. -,.. g.. g.. ....@
49,. No Alternative. 49,
"Unless conditions change, the beet
sugar companies have no alternative
but TO 90 out Of business. In Cali
fornia at the present time none of the
plants are operating at a profit and
some are actually Keeping the plants
moving at loss. Others, rather than
face the loss, will not operate their
plants this season. If similar condi-
tions prevail in 1915 not more than
twenty-five per cent Of the plants will
be found running when the slicing sea
sOn opens. ...a.. H..
'fThe principal cause of this, of
course, is the. low price Of sugar 1t
costs approximately $500 to produce
beet sugar aud the market price has
been ranging from $500 to 1925 so
you can see where there is nothing in it
for the producer. s-s .as
h.. Production Cost Rising.
"The present low prices are due to
many causes, the principal one OF
which is the present visible worll
over.supply, Added TO this now comes
the removal of the tariff which per-
mits of the entry Of the cheaper sugars
from Cuba and Europe. We on the
mainland cannot hope to compete with
the tropics with their cheaper labor
and rank growths. 1t may sound
strange that despite improved methods
and machinery in our plants that the
cost of production is increasing. As
far as the mechanical part of the pro-
ductiOn is concerned we dre now doing
il ehcaper but on the other hand the
price of the bOots is continually in
crcasing. Every year the farmers are
getting more for their beets. 1t is also
necessary to invest immense sums in
irrigation systems. g.. r@H
/" For instance the Sacramento Valley
Sugar Company by the use of $40, 000,-
coo in building irrigation systems would
have been able to run at profit except
for the removal of the tariff and the
plant will not run this year.
Small Plants No Chance.
s'Many of the oldest plants in Cali
forna are face to face with the same
The American Company plant
at Oxnard, which is the largest and has
been the most successful in the State,
has the only chance to survive through
next year with any profit. The smaller
plants have no chance.
'The removal of tariff allows Of the
flooding of this country with foreign
sugars from countries in Europe which
have the great world over supplies. Fol.
lowing the failures of 1911 and 1912
everybody thought the high prices
would continue and everybody went
into raising sugar. Accordingly the
1913 crop was bumper and the over-
supply Is the result with its attendant
low prices. ~e
"6reat inroads are now being made
into this oyersupply but the general
consensus of opinion among sugar men