The Oskaloosa herald., 1917-03-29
SUGAR.

BpfOr ethe war Europe pIouuScol
one.half of the worlds output OF sugar
and two thirds this half or one-thlrd
of the whole was produced IN Ger
many and Austria Hungary now with
in the battle lines and practically cut
off from the rest of the world. Inc
European output is all beet sugar
bounty-fed to enable the farmers ana
refiners to compete with the cane
sugar of the tropics. AS far as sugar
countries which do not pro
duce that article are concerned the
war cut the open market supply IN
two and the tropical cane fields nave
been unable to make up the deficiency
Political disturbances in Cuba have
been accompanied by considerable de-
struction of sugar mills and planta'
lions, and the loss will be felt no mat
ter how small 1t may be because the
available supply falls short of the de-
mand. ...- g. ..'Jf
THE prosperity of a country and
the standard of rlivingyof its people are
measured by the consumption of
sugar" says the New York CONNER
cial, and only in recent years have
the great food value of sugar and its
comparative cheapness been fully
recognized. Sugar forms an indispen-
sable part of the nourishment of child
rem. A body can digest and assimilate
it in the first months of it's exist
ence when all other forms of food, eX-
cept milk, are rank poison to it. It
is the most concentrated food avail
able and it is the chief element in the
emergency rations for soldiers on the
battle front. Only pure edible fats
and oils compare with it in caloric val
ue and easy assimilation and they are
not substitutes for sugar.
Sugar is bought for and distributed
among the people and soldiers Of
Great Britain, France and Italy by the
English Royal Commission, which
thus practically controls the interna-
tional trade. This commission buys
enormous quantities of 1t from Amer
lean refiners and exports of sugar are
now one of the important items in our
foreign trade. In 1912 our exports
amounted to $4,000 tons; in 1913, g..
900 tons; in 1914 10000 tons; in
1915, 100000 tons and in 1916 they
reached total of 7O3,S55 tons.
Luckily for domestic consumers and
for our foreign trade the sugar re-
filming business of the United States
VINO wall pi1ad IN lor1a units ha
fore the war began. The price of re-
fined sugar in the country has re-
manned lower than in other open
markets because the refners have
ben able and willing to hold out
enough to meet the local demand no
Commission bid for the total supply.
AS Eearl d. Babst, president Of one
of the largest sugar refining compan-
les, says: This export business has
been a welcome addition to the
domestic business and by increasing
the volume of the refiners there has
been one of the elements contributing
to lower price of sugar in this coun-
try than abroad. No better illustra,
ton could be given of the excess OF
sugar refining capacity in the United
States than the case with which this
large foreign demand has been met.
In fact so large Is this excess capa
city in the United States than the ease
with which this large foreign demand
has been met. In fact so large is
this excess capacity that the United
States could refine annually with
profit at least million tons of sugar
for export" This proves the advant-
age of organization and ample capitai
and the benefits consumers and the
country derive from such coalition.