Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-09-10
ARE CALIFORNIA
REFINERSUSING
PERU AS BLUFF?
May Be Scheme to Stand Off
Concessions Hawaiian
Planters Want

That the western part Of the United
States should require the importation
of raw sugar from Peru to supply the
warts of that region. as intimated TO
be the case in a telegram to the Star
Bulletin on Monday, sounds rather
strange to some people here CONVEX
SAINT with the sugar situation. In the
same issue a Washington letter ampli-
fed the information previously given
in this paper. relative to the victory
for the western refineries and carriers
over eastern ref1neries and carriers"
won in the recent decision of the Inter
state Commerce Commission on rates
to Missouri river points from the
Pacific coast
In the letter of the Star-Buletin's
Washington correspondent il is stated
that the report of the commission
freely discusses the desire of the Cali
fornia refiners to attract Hawaiian raw
sugar, which now goes to New York
and Philadelphia via the isthmus, to
their melting pots. They told the
commission that $50, 200 tons Of sugar
are produced or refined in the western
states which will be affected by the
order. This is enough to supply 90
10000 persons, while In the eleven
western states Immediately concerned
there were in 1910 only 6,S25,000 per-
sons. Therefore they must find a
market east of Colorado and the only
way they could think of was to have
the railroads meet the competition via
the isthmus."
One Honolulu businessman who is
familiar with the facts just related,
which had been previously reproduced
from the proceedings of the commits
sion at San Francisco in this paper
along with the special cablegram an
the ruling, yesterday ex-
pressed his surprise at the news re-
garding the proposal to import sugar
from Peru, saying:
ut is a mystery to me how San
Francisco refners can say that, with
the lowering of transcontinental
freight rates on refined sugar, more
sugar will be required by them than
California and Hawaii can produce,
when last year 275,000 tons of Ha-
vivian sugar was shipped to New York.
Besides the sugar shipped last year
to its own refinery at Crockett Calf,
the Sugar Factors Company sold So
0O0 tons to the Western refinery. From
what hear the Factors are trying to
make better terms for their sugar with
the coast refners, and to stand them
off the latter are making 1t appear
that they can go elsewhere for their
supplies.
"Under the old railroad rates the re-
finers deducted IS a ton from the Gu
han basis to Offset the disadvantage of
freight charges to Missouri river
points. Now, { am informed, since the
transcontinentaI rates decision, the
Sugar Factors Company is. trying to
have that discount reduced to $3.50
ton, while the frefners are holding out
against the concession.
in these circumstances, it may not
be unfair to suspect that the talk OF
looking to Peru for raw sugar is only
a bluff. don't know how much sugar
Peru produces, or where it is exported.
Possibly 1t goes to Europe and the ex-
port in that case would be stopped by
the war" Ia ....... , -.
Reference to U. S. government sta
tistics shows that Peru produced 49,
440 short tons of sugar in 1911, and
there was no data for 1912. Peru is
given per cent of the world sugar
crop. for 1912. OF it's 1912 crop the
United States took only 6579 tons,
therefore, allowing that the crop has
not diminished since 1911, Peru, If cir
MAKE it desirable, can in
crease its shipments to the United
States by about $4,000 tons. less what
ever may be it's home consumption.
This fact would make the Peru bluff
of coast refiners a serious matter.