Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-03-15
SUGAR PRICES AND SUPPLY


delphia and Reading Railway
of the arrival at Port Richmond
of the first trainload of sugar over it's
lines from the Pacific coast is new
departure for that system and should
add considerable traffic to its lines and
the lines of other companies handling
these sugar shipments. That the rail-
roads are to get a chance TO add this
welcome revenue TO their gross earn
ings for the year 1916, is due to the
fact that ocean freight rates, because
of the scarcity of ships, have risen
to a higher level than the combined
water and rail rates from Hawaii to
New York. Time is also a factor
which has operated favorably in in
fiuencing the Hawaiian sugar planters
to use the railroads of the United
States in transporting their sugar on
part of it's freight journey to eastern
markets. Via the all-water route
from Honolulu to Philadelphia. a
cargo. of sugar would take 56 days
Via the rail and water route, the sugar
can be moved in 90 days, a saving of
SO days or over one month.
This sugar in the eastern market, at
this time, will exert a favorable infu-
ence on prices in the raw sugar mar
ket. The 25OOOO tons of Hawaiian
sugar that is coming into the New
York and Philadelphia market will
serve to keep the prices of raw sugar
at a far lower level than would be the
case II there had been no home
grown sugar available. The lower the
cost of raw sugar to the refiner, the
less the domestic consumer or house
wife pays for sugar at the corner
grocery.
The growth Of the domestic sugar
industry in Hawaii has been Of large
proportion. 1t was in 1876 that the
sugar of Hawaii, the islands then be-
ing an independent kingdom, was ad-
mitted to the United States, free of
duty. At that time the need of in
creased sugar supplies for this country
made it necessary for legislation to be
so framed as to give the Hawaiian
lproduct preferential entry into this
country. Under these advantageous
conditions, Hawaiian sugar produc-
ton developed rapidly; the exports
| to the United States increasing from
IL. 400 long tons of sugar in 1877 to
! $4,000 tons five years later, and to
200 tons at the end of the first de-
cade
BY 1898, when Hawaii came under
the United States flag. the sugar crop
was over 100000 long tons. In 1911
it passed the 100000 ton mark. In
1916 it exceeded 1000 tons. At the
present time Hawaii furnishes approx
imately one-seventh of the sugar con-
sumed in the United States. This
production exerts a well recognized in
huence on the price of sugar to Am
erican consumers. Such a consider
able tonnage OF sugar, competing with
foreign grown imported sugar, results
in lowering the cost of sugar to every
householder.
Sugar. is cheaper in the United
States than in any other large country
in the world. The fact that one-half
OF the S,uOo,UOO,uOO pounds of sugar
consumed in the continent of United
States last year was grown on Ameri-
can soil, made this possible. Without
this homegrown sugar, we would be
paying the worlds price for this pro-
duct, which is much higher than the
ruling prices in the United States since
the beginning of the European war
And yet our Democratic friends al
Washington well nigh ruined our
American industry. which, but for the
war would now be down and out en-
tirely.