The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1914-07-24
Retail Sugar Prices Remain as High
as During 1913 Under The Old Tariff
influential Magazine Takes Elk
ception to Statements Made
by Frank q. Lowry.

In letter sent ont TO the sugar trade
recently by Frank C. Lowry, sales
agent for the Federal Sugar Refining
CO., the refinery of G. A. sprcckels, the
statement is made that tho consumer rs
receiving the full benefit Of twenty.
five per cent cut in .hc duty.
Sugar magazine published IN
Chicago, in its July issue, analyses the
statement with the following results:
8 Ii is stated that the reiiners sell.
ing prices since the new tariff went into
effect have averaged 3.sl9 cents q
pound, or $3.50 a hundred pounds. a
better figure up to and including June
25 is an average Of $3.50 hundred.
These latter figures are based on Will.
lett & Gray's weekly reports and are
ipdisputahle. The average wholesale
price Of sugar during the same period
of 1913, viz, March 0 TO June IS, both
inclusive, was $4l2 hundred. The
simple operation Of subtraction will
show that $4,12 minus $3.50 leaves a
difference of % cents between the re
finers average prices for the two, pc
RODS in question. As the reduction in tho
duty was "a cents hundred 1t must
be acknowledged that even though the
full difference had been passed on to
the consumer, which Of course has not
been the case, he would not be reap.
ing the full benefit of the "a cent tar
i'll cut.
Attempts to Befuddle.
''However, it might be expIaine
that in getting at his result Mr.. Lowry
compared the average since the new
tariff went into effect the first OF
March with n ten>year average, which
he claims to be 1886 per hundred. This
is, of course, intended to befuddle tho
average reader and doesn Z mean any.
thing to the sugar man, except that It
proves the fact that sugar naturally has
been coming down in price while other
commodities have continued TO advance
But If he prefers to figure that way this
lis the way il should be done: Say the
l0-year average was $4,S5 and the aver.
age for the period Mareh,June, 1911,
was $3.50, the difference is 96 cents a
hundred pounds, but as the average for
the March-June period in 1913 was
$4.l2 only % cents of this 90 cents
could possibly be attributed to the tar,
tiff, as there is a difference between
the 10-year average and the 1913
average Of 73 cents. And this was be.
fore the tariff entered into it.
The Way TO Compare.
''The only fair way is TO compare
tho prices Of 1914 with those Of 1913,
month by month, to see how the tariff
reduction has worked out. For in
stance, on March 5, 1914, the wholesale
price of refined at New York was, 20
cents below the 1913 price, aud Kept
dropping, due TO the cut,throat eonpe.
tition on among the reiners, until it
reached the low level Of 1897 cents on
April g.. From then on IL began, 10
advance until on May 81 it reached
$4.0lS, which is just what sugar was
selling for in. New York at Wholesale
at the same time in 1918. Willett s.
Gray's weekly figures show il stood
at $4ll6 per hundred until June rs,
when il reached $4,2l4, or 9.S cents
higher per hundred than the 1913 price.
Table ] shows the course Of prices
since the 25 per cent cut went into Of.
feet, using February 26 [the last week.
ly quotation. prior to the tariff reduc.
tion) as basis of comparison.
Table III herewith gives the prices
week by week on 96 degree sugar and
the wholesale prices Of refined, from,
February 90 to and including June 20,
this year, with the prices for the cores.
pondilg dates last year.
s., Table IT ,'p'f p.