Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1914-02-13
Nayerly's Beet Sugar.

s. xSeUcA vi CIlu0y VI GoSu "SSh'
Nayerly's Beet Sugar.
Mr.. Republican Politician, living in
hope that the voters of Iowa will de.
nounce the Underwood tariff law be-
cause the beet sugar factory at Waver-
ley has been closed, lay not that flatter.
ing JUNCTION to your soul!
In the first place, we Dc not get free
fugar until 1916. Therefore free sugar
can not with any appearance of
justice be held responsible for the clos
ing of an established beet sugar factory
at the close of the campaign of 1918.
It is apparent the institution, if prof.
table under the old law, would be con.
tinued in operation until the taking
effect of the new rate. The Waverly
institution was in operation six years
under the old law and s.the representa-
tion Of it's owners is that it made a
profit in only one year out Of the six.
Next, the Waverly institution was
not entitled to protection, even under
Republican principles. The Republi-
can party processes to favor protection
limited to the necessities of industries
adapted to the natural resources of the
country. The Republican theory of
protection is that it should be used to
overcome the artificial and accidental
advantages of other countries with re-
spect to industries in which we are at
no disadvantage so far as concerns
natural conditions, such as soil and eli
mate. If Wales has no advantage in
abe production of tin plate, except such
as arises from her greater experience
and lower wage scale, then the Repub.
lican principles would require US to
give our tin plate producers such pro-
lection as might be found necessary to
to enable them to overcome these arti.
fetal and accidental advantages ana
employ American labor at the Ameri-
can standard Of wages in the develop
o..
nent of domestic tin plate industry
which must eventually pass beyond
need Of protection if the natural ad-
vantage is in fact on our side land not
on the side of the foreign producer
originally commanding our market by
virtue of the artificial advantages pre-
viously Indicated.
In the case of the sugar industry, as
established by its history,:.we find a
condition which does not meet the re-
Quirements of the protective policy as
proclaimed by the republican or any
other party. This history does not
show that the sugar,.industry is adapted
to the resources of this country, that
1t is an industry in which we are at no
disadvantage except in artificial con-
ditions.
Last year the boast was made that
the production of beet sugar in the
United States had increased from 1884,,
1927 tons in the year 1912. Standing
alone this seems creditable, but when
we examine the record further we find
that the worlds production of sugar
increased from 8, 647,286 tons in 1900
to 1901, 529 in 1911. The increase in
this period was 8, 1854, 243 tons, of which
domestic beet sugar producers contri-
buted only 290,17 tons, or less than
three per cent of the worlds increase
in the production of sugar during an
extensive period of liberal protection
of the domestic industry.
What is even more significant re-
specting the adaptability, or rather,
the inadaptabil;ty of the sugar indus
try to our natural resources by COM
parison with other American industries,
in the fact that, in the years from 1901
to 1911, the production of cane sugar
in the United States declined from
1926, 29O to 3l1,000 tons. In period of
ten years, during which the worlds
production of sugar substantially doub-
led, American production declined 4. 3
per cent.
These figures are conclusive as to
the merits Of the question because they
leave no rational hope that the contin.
uation of p. elective tariff on sugar
would serve the proclaimed and legiti.
mate purpose of protective tariff,
that of developing a domestic industry
which will ultimately become independ-
ent of protection, supply the. home
market and possibly an export trade.
When the industry under many years
Of protection developed no such prom.
i'", tariff from which it derives bene.
fit can be maintained for revenue only,
and the Democratic faith respecting
revenue duty is that it should be i'm
posed only on the Injuries and not on
necessities of the people. In the Dem
ocratic view, an income in excess of
50, 900 year is a luxury more worthy
to be taxed than the necessities of the