Evening star., 1929-06-28
OPPOSES SLIDING
DUTIES ON SUGAR
D. w. Pipes, Jr., of Louisiana
Among Nearly rs Senate
Witnesses.
BY the Associated Press.

by the AsSOcltte0 EreSS.
Opposition to the proposed sliding
scale duties on sugar was voiced today
by D. W. Pipes, jr, of Houma, La, be-
fore . Senate subcommittee considering
the highly controversial sugar schedules
in the House tariff bill.
Pipes was one of a list Of nearly
rs witnesses who appeared to plead for
higher or lower rates on sugar and in
connection with the proposed transfer
of hides. leather and shoes from the
free to the dutiable list
Pipes, who is president Of the Amer
ican Sugar Cane League, in answer to
a question by Senator Harrison, Demo-
crat, Mississippi, said he did not favor
the sliding scale proposal because I'VE
are in position where we do not want
to experiment"
FavOrs 2.40 Increase.
Pipes also urged the retention Of the
2.40 increase in the raw sugar duty.
He said that 2.40 cent rate as against
l.76 cents st present was the mini
mum required for survival of our sugar
cane farmers and the domestic sugar
industry"
The Louisianan asked for a duty of
cents gallon against the 10 of a
cent now on Blackstrap molasses and
declared that ito leave the door wide
open to free sugar imports from the
Philippines was dangerous in the
extreme"
Pipes said there were between four
and flve hundred thousand acres in
Louisiana. all open clear land, a large
part Of which was formerly planted in
sugar cane that was now in weeds.
because of low sugar prices.
Chairman Smoot of the Senate
finance committee. declared today he
would favor limiting the free impor-
tatton Of sugar from the Philippines
to 600.0 900 tons, approximately her pres
ent output.
Foreign Labor Helpful.
Answering criticisms of sugar beet
growers for employing Mexicans, James
M Mcbride of Lansing, State Senator
of Michigan, declared foreign labor
was God send to the beet farmers.
I'VE cannot get ordinary labor to
weed beets" he said.
He added that the Michigan growers
also employed about 100 convicts, who
were paid from tor8 cents an hour
getting the remainder. He urged a
tariff that would guarantee the beet
sugar producers cents pound.
H. H. Pike, jr., of New York, sales
agent for the Herschey Corporation, an
American sugar refining company In
Cuba, declared the House duty on re-
fined sugar was one-half cent pound
too high.
Pike disagreed with Smoot that the
Herschey interests went to Cuba to
produce refined sugar because 1t was
cheaper to manufacture there,
UNIFIED Process Aimed.
He said the Herschey people went
into refining in Cuba because they
wanted to have unified process
which would link up with their candy
business in this country.
Pike claimed the House tariff diff
ferential on refined sugar would cost
the American consumers between
$3.50 0,000, 900 and $S85 ,000, 900 yearly.
TeStifying before the sundries COM
mittee, w. r. Ogg, appearing for the
American Farm Bureau Federation,
suggested a specific duty on hides for
not less than As per cent ad valorem.
Ogg declared that one-third Of all
hides were imported, principally from
South America and the Argentine. The
House bill took hides of the free list
| and placed duty Of 10 per cent ad
valorem On them.
A. r. Vass of Laramie, Wyo., repre-
sentin9 the wyoming Live Stock Asso-
citation, asked for specific duty Of s
cents on dried hides.
Sliding Scale Debate Looms.
The proposal that sugar imports
duties be put on sliding scale basis.
increasing as the price of the domestic
product declines and vice versa, Is
likely to become one of the major sub
jects of debate during the Senate's
consideration next Fall OF the highly
controversial sugar schedule in the
tariff bill.
Revived in the hearing being con-
Quoted by the Senate finance sub
committee assigned to consider that
schedule after arousing considerable
discussion on the House side OF the
Capitol, while the tariff bill was under
consideration there. the proposal has
brought from President Hoover the first
formal statement he has made on any
specific part of the revision legislation.
THE President has had sliding scales
Of sugar duties submitted to him by
members of the committees" the state
ment said. 1.-THE object Of these was TO
protect the consumer as well as the
producers. He has not expressed him
self on them, but, Of course, would be
glad to see any arrangement which
would effect the dual purpose"
Democrats May Sponsor It.
Chairman Smoot disclosed yesterday
that he has the sliding scale idea under
consideration, and the interest shown In
it by Senator Harrison is interpreted
by many as indicating that, if Re
publican leaders do not sponsor 1t
before the Senate. Democrats will.
Under the present tariff law, duty
of 1.76 cents q pound is imposed upon
Cuban raw sugar imports, which pro-
vide most of the competition with the
domestic beet and cane product and
are admitted at q preferential rate OF
20 per cent lower than those from
other countries. The House bill now
before the finance committee would In
erase this rate to 2.40 cents and the
world rate to cents, while the OBJ
jective of most Of the sliding-scale pro-
posals is to maintain a price OF cents
a pound on sugar in the United States,
varying the tariff charges to stabilize
1t close to that level.
The Utah Senator says that what the
beet sugar interests in his constituency
desire is a rate which will allow them
to ''live and be able to give the farmer
SO a ton for his beets," as compared
with about $40 at present. He has
given the sliding scale only tentative
consideration, he says. but might be
willing to propose it If an agreement
should be reached Is to its feasibility.
AS he views the matter at present,
however, it has not been agreed upon
by anybody.
Brought Up by Harrison.
The subject was brought up by Sena-
tor Harrison during examination OF