The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-06-17
WHY SUGAR IS HIGH.

The plain truth of the matter
bluntly put, says Facts About Sugar"
is that there is not enough sugar to
as much as he may want, or even as
much as he was accustomed to use
before the war. Either we must stint
ourselves until production catches up
with demand or we must pay prices
which will draw sugar from other
markets and force other consuming
nations to get along with less even
than their wartime supply. High
prices or universal rationing is the
only alternative.
One factor in the present sugar sit
uation that has received little or no
discussion, but that operates very ma
terially to modify producers returns,
says the same authority, is the vastly
increased cost of production. Sugar
producers declare that the cost of pro-
ducing sugar has grown with other
costs, till today prices that would have
been out of the way some years ago
are in reality reasonable.
In 1913 and 1914, it is pointed out
many sugar producers were, so reduced
financially that they were considering
cropping their lands and abandoning
them. Today prices that are admitted
ly advantageous to them prevail, but
as compared with prices of other foods
and taking into consideration the sim
pie methods used to produce these as
against the expensive machinery nee
essary to sugar production, these
prices, the sugar producers argue, are
not at all out of keeping.
Most of the sugar lands, It is said
are old lands that must be fertilized
before cane can be grown on them.
Fertilizer containing potash was avail
able before the war at $50 to $50 a
ton; the same fertilizer, minus the pot
I ash, today costs from $40 to 1920 a
ton, which is about enough to fertilize
five acres of land, yielding on an aver
age of 20 tons of cane, or around 2k
tons of sugar
Labor costs fully three times as
much as it did before the war, so that
fore could be reckoned at $25 to $50,
now costs as high as 800. Cutting of
the cane, which before the war cost
SO to so cents a ton now costs s1s30
to $40.
Transport to the mill is figured at
treble the old amount in view of in
creases in labor and fuel prices. La
Dor and maintenance of mills has
more than trebled. The cost of pro-
! l.
so far as milling alone went, exclusive
OF the purchase of the cane, ran
around SIS. Today the milling of a
ton OF sugar costs from $50 to $40.
Another item that Increases the cost
of putting sugar on the market is the
cost of freight. From Porto Rico. for
example. freight to New York was for
merly Il cents per 100 pounds; today
it is 40 cents. Insurance and weigh
ing charges increase with the cost of
the sugars in proportion.
In addition to all of these charges
the sugar producer is put to further
burden. owing to the lack of steamers
to move his crop at the proper time.
4 Since the shipping board took charge
of allotting ships. 1t has been impos-
sible' to move all of the sugar crop
out of the tropical producing coun-
tries before the hurricane season, the
result of which is the imposition on
the producers of the burden of storage
in warehouses and of insurance, both
of which items are expensive. re-
cent contract on hurricane insurance
ranged between $4,000 and $4,000
on lot of from $4,000 to $4,000 bags
of sugar.