The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-08-18
Beets, Politics and Progress
Bv Byrd Trepo
CHAPTER XVI.

By Byl
| .. CHAP,
George E. Hill, the man who
pinched his thumb, read what Will
r. Holmes and the rest of us have
said about Mr.. Nibley's letter that is
appearing in the press of the coun-
try, and sends in the following COM
ment:
George e. Hill Talks
One Of Mr.. Nibley's chief argu-
ments used to justify his company
in raising the price Of sugar, for
which he and his associates have
been INDEBTED. ID to the effect that
II his company ID forced TO sell ,its
sugar At q low price that they can
not pay, the farmer, the shish, price
for beets contracted fcr. when the
facts Of the ease are that this years
beets are based d the selling price
Of sugar 10 10 manafactured from
those very sams bsSts. Al xhen II II
sold during tho monkhs ols october,
November. Dscshber MA January
Aezt. II the pfiSs II susar during
those months y ~ "a the COM
pany win pay \ Low pfiee fcr the
hests. II 1t Ii high Ana thsy gst =
high profit, they CIV 81 prcDprtioh
70 the farmers for their bsets srcHan
this year. This prevent difhcuity
the company is in with TIE govern
nent has nothing whatever to do
with future prices Of beets. The
sugar the company IL now selling at
such = high price was made out Of
80 beets, and according to the aud
itors' report. who examined the COM
Dany's books to ascertain the exact
cost Of sugar manufactured last fall
By the Utah-1daho Sugar company,
1t cost the company exactly ss.444
to make bag Of sugar Of 100 lbs.
each, and they violated the law by
selling at $22.75, which made them
a profit Of over 1873 per cent.
What Others Did
The company officials claim the
Utah-ldaho Sugar company has been
singled out and is being prosecuted.
The facts are as follows: The Peo-
ple's Sugar company, which operates
q factory at Moroni, Utah, sold it's
sugar last December for 20 cents per
pound, and its officials we're
promptly arrested and the case
against them is still pending. The
Peoples company claim they had
operated four years without profit
and had not paid any dividends to
its stockholders, and that they were
justified in this case in selling at the
price named. There appears to be
grounds for the position taken by
them.
What Rigby Sold At
The Beet Growers Sugar company
at Rigby sold its sugar last Novem-
Der for an average price of about
17& cents per pound, and its Off
Gals rendered complete cost state
ment to the United States district
attorney for Idaho, which showed
it was justified in selling at this
price, and that it did not profiteer.
This conditin was brought about be-
cause the company planted 500, 900
acres and operated on the basis of
$4,000 tons, when it only received
about 1000 tons, due to the extreme
drought in this valley last fall. In
der such conditions it, of course,
could not make sugar cheap. Prof
iteering, which the Lever act pro-
hibits, is selling product at an un-
reasonable profit above cost, and one
company may operate under unusual
conditions making its cost high, and
therefore justifies it in selling it's
product at higher price than an
other company more fortunate for
that particular year and locality.
The only other independent sugar
company in this intermountain ter
ritory is the West Cache Sugar COM
pany at Cornish, Cache valley, Utah.
This company claims to have sold it's
0ntput last year around II cents,
so it did not profiteer if this state
ment is true. We have heard moth
ing to the contrary.
Amalgamated Sold Right
The Amalgamated Sugar company,
which is controlled and operated by
the same interests or parties who
control the Great Western Sugar
company Of Denver, is the only 9TH
or company operating in the inter-
country in addition to the
companies above mentioned and the
Utah Idaho Sugar company. The \