The Washington times., 1924-09-11
but SUGAR
IS REAL
CRlJX
Adherents and Opponents
Both Split on Most Per-
picking Of Schedules
By WILLIAM HARD.

VAC OHhtCu o0a6S0 4&Il41 NOUAIu4S~
sion.
The President sends you an or
der to investigate the cost of pro-
duction of Swiss cheese in this
country and in the principal COM
peting country.
The President did precisely that
thing the other day.
His enemies suspect that he is
going to raise the duty on Swiss
cheese and thus get votes for him
self in La Follette's State Of Wis
consin, which is the great Amer
lean State for producing Swiss
cheese.
Every question which comes be-
fore the Tariff Commission is
loaded with political dynamite.
Leaders Involved.
The thing is supposed to be
statistical, scientific, exact.
1t is in fact bound to be human,
emotional, personal.
One meets people. One knows
people. One likes or dislikes
people.
The tariff on sugar is not merely
. tariff. 1t is also personalities.
Here is Charles B. Warren. He
was Ambassador to Mexico. He
was chairman of the resolutions
committee in the Cleveland Re-
publican convention. He also has
been attorney and officer Of
Michigan beet-sugar companies Of
large Importance. From the bust
ness standpoint he is a beet-sugar
man; and beet sugar conscientious
ly believes that it has to have a
high tariff.
Here is Porter J. McCumber.
He was United States Senator from
North Dakota. He helped to make
the present tariff law. 1t is
called the Fordney.McCumber law.
He helped to pass It with it's high
duty on sugar. He now represents,
in hearings before the Tariff Com
mission, the cane-sugar growers Of
Louisiana.
Here is Claude C. Hamlin, beet
sugar spokesman in Washington.
He becomes Republican National
Committee this year from Colorado.
Here is william v. Hodges. He
argues before the Tariff Commission
In favor of the beet-sugar growers
Of Colorado. He becomes this year
Treasurer of the Republican Ma
uonal Committee.
More Personalities
Here is Henry H. Classic. He is
q lawyer in Washington. He is a
Democrat. Democrats are against
high tariff. Mr.. Classic marries a
Louisiana Democratic woman. Her
father was a Senator. He also was
interested in sugar. He operated
sugar. He worked for sugar: He
was the leader of the Louisiana
sugar interests. Those interests
remained Democratic They became
protectionist. Mr.. Classics father
in-law, Senator Caffrey, worked for
tariff protection for sugar. Mr..
Classics brother-in-law, Donaldson
Caffery, till recently was president
OF the largest association of Louis
lana sugar-growers.
Mr.. Classic gets appointed by
President Harding to the Tariff
Commission. A Democrat had to
be appointed. President Harding
chooses sugar protection Demo
crat.
All these personalities-and many
others-fill the Washington air
and give 1t a sugar protection drift.
They do not, however, disturb the
serenity of the Tariff Commission's
techinal investigators.
Those investigators truly investi-
gate and truly find
But what do they find?
They have studied the years 1921
and 1922.
They have studied the relative
costs of Cuban production und of
American home production in those
two years.
Commissions Findings.
Their findings are as follows:
In the year 1921 the cost Of pro-
ducing a pound of refined Cuban
sugar was actually higher than the
cost of producing pound Of re-
fined sugar from the Louisiana cane.
sugar fields or from the Michigan
or Utah or other American beet
sugar fields.
AHeTeIOTe, III Inat year no tariff
at all was needed by the American
production against the Cuban pro-
duction.
However, let US proceed 10 the
year 1922.
In that year the cost of producing
. pound of refined Cuban sugar
was emphatically lower than the
cost of producing a pound of refined
American home sugar.
Therefore. in thu, year we needed
an emphatic and drastic tariff
against Cuban sugar.
Which year shall we take in de.
termining the tariff against Cuban
sugar? Or what combination OF
years shall we take?
1t Is not a simple problem. Sta
tistics seem simple only to those
who do not deal with them. Seldom
are any statistics so definite that a
decision on the question which they
involve cannot involve also theory.
conviction. prejudice, conscience and
politics.
That Is tho state If he greet
sugar controversy at this moment:
and thereupon the organized Ameri-
can farmer enters into Ii to puzzle
and BATTLE still more the mind of
che President Of the United States.
Copyright. 1924. by current News
Fe lures In
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