The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-07
SUGAR PRICE Is CUT
TO II SAC. A POUND
Boston Refinery Offers Re-
duction for Payment
Within q Week.
CO.UNCHANGED
Official Says Dealers Must
Live Up to Contracts, in
Statement at Inquiry.

BosToN, Oct. 6-The revere sugar
Refinery to-day announced a price OF
11& cents a pound for refined sugar.
This price will be reduced per cent
for payment within week of purchase.
Two weeks ago the company quoted
nominal Price of 22M cents a pound,
with the statement that II was out OF
the market" but since that time 1t mas
made several reductions. The quota
ton Of to-day represents cut OF SIX
cents a pound from the previous price.
w. r. Foster vice-president of the
American Sugar Refining Company, In a
statement to Acknowledgement Allen In
connection with the latter's inquiry into
the sugar situation. said the company
would require wholesalers to live up TO
their contracts for sugar at ~ " cents
a pound Notwithstanding recent declines.
The company would not be JUSTIFIED IN
using it's surplus of s23.000,0O0 to offset
losses of its customers, he SAID, adulIlS
that If such policy were seriously
undertaken by the management any
stockholder would have a right to en)oin
the proceedings.
Vice-President Foster set at Slightly
over 1000, 900" the operating profits
made by the American company during
torney- General Allen then sought to OBJ
tain from the witness a statement as to
the extent to which this profit would
be impaired IL the company reduce It's
price on the 900 tons of sugar which
Foster said It had on hanA.
Mr. Foster estimated that II the COM
pany reduced its price ON the undeilv-
cred sugar to meet present market con-
ditions II would cause q loss or Slu,-
100000.
Well" the Attorney General asked.
"if you took a loss of five cents pound
you would lose only S4,500,o00, wouldn't
your"
80 1t appears" the witness replied
after discussion Of the calculations IN
volved, but. he added. there were many
incidental expenses In the business that
had to be considered.
Calling the witnesses attention to a
previous statement by him that the COM
rany conducted It's business or, the basis
Of the ultimate net profit in a year. he
continued: with a profit for eight
months Of s11, 900. a possible loss Of
s4,50O.00o to meet the market condi-
tons would stin leave the company a
ret profit for the year of S6.5OO,0O
would 1t not?''
Mr.. Foster said II would, but he said
there might be some loss to the company
IL It had to buy In new sugars at a
price higher than it had contracted to
sell for He said that the total stock of
sugar the company has on hand Is
i1S, 900 barrels and its undelivered out
standing contracts call for $4,000
barrels.
The amount OF refined sugar on hand
IN the port of Boston represents the full
storage capacity of its local plant, be-
tween 10000 and 1900 tons, he said.
In mis- prepared statement Mr. Foster
| said: sTe'e t-tt
Notwithstanding the severe decline IN
the price OF sugar. less than 5 per cent.
of our trade in the New England terri
tory has requested cancellation of their
contracts. Many have, however. asked
for postponement of delivery
1.-THE attitude of the company IL now
and has been that our company will as
sist It's customers who ask for extension
of time in which to receive shipments o.
to make payments. On its part II has
outstanding contracts for raw sugars
entered into months ago at higher prices
than those at which refined sugar can
now be purchased at retail. These II
must meet, and as a matter of fact the
refined sugar which the company has
delivered to it's New England trade was
manufactured from raw sugar which
cost the company as high as 23.62 cents
per pound landed in Boston.
Our company has not this year made
an abnormal sum OF money from It's op
erations in New England or elsewhere
For the first eight months of this year
the average cost of our raw sugars re-
fined in Boston was 153s cents per
pound. The average price of our refined
delivered to the trade was l7& cents
per pound. The difference is only two
cents.
"Out of this margin must come not
only any profit but the entire cost OF re
filming and distributing and the loss IN
cident to making refined sugar out o!