Carbon County news., 1937-06-04

>
mentioned in; these columns. tn
p...... u. :. problems tina.
Business have confronted
Problems and continue t.
confront the com
merce and industry of the United
States. However one may regard
the ethics of the business interest.
OF the nation, I think everyone mus
admit that business has its prob
lens that are just as serious as the
job OF earning living is to you OF
me. This has been especially true
during the period of the depression
and it is equally true at this stage
of economic recovery.
Business, moreover, is affected to
a greater extent than you or me by
any governmental policy that is pur-
sued or any legislation that is en-
acted by congress or by state
legislative bodies. In consequence,
it seems to be a fair statement to
say that business lives by the will
and the whim of the elected rep
resentativeS whether those repre-
sentatives be local, state or ma
tional.
Those observations should dem
onstrate fully the importance of one
piece of legislation now pending in
congress. I refer to the so called
permanent sugar bill. Seldom in
history, believe, has a single unit
Of industry found itself in a position
where it is so utterly dependent
upon federal policy for its existence
as is the case now with those eight
cen or twenty plants that refine
about seventy-five per cent of all
the sugar we use on our tables
and otherwise in this nation.
The situation, succinctly, is that
President Roosevelt has recon-
mended to congress that it adopt
legislation of permanent character
Ito protect the interest of each
group concerned" and assure
that the interest of the
consumer shall have due considera-
ton. Pursuant to the Presidents
proposal Of March l, last, the house
committee on agriculture is work.
ing out a piece of legislation which
seeks to reconcile the differences
OF all the various interests n d
make thereby permanent policy
which this country may follow as
regards sugar. :
It must be remembered that the
United States imports something
like seventy-eight per cent of all
the sugar it consumes. The other
twenty-five per cent is produced
by our sugar beet and sugar cane
farmers-a consequential industry
worthy Of protection from its gov
ernment but still quite unable to
satisfy demands for the commodity.
Some of the sugar we import comes
from Puerto Rico; some comes from
Hawaii; some from the Philippines,
but the bulk comes from Cuba.
Since Puerto Rico and Hawaii are
insular territories of our nation,
they must receive consideration as
an integral part of our nation. The
Philippines are no longer a pos
session and yet there is something
of fatherly interest, or should be,
on our part. With reference to Cuba,
the United States long has attempt
ed to help the islands economically
and politically in order to insure
the independence which our nation
helped them to establish.
So it is seen that we have in the
sugar problem questions involving
-, (1) home indus
There's try;. 20 an indus
Sugar try in an insular
possession; 90 an
industry in a nation newly born
and which we are trying to lead
into position of complete inde-
pendence and solvency, and (4)
The maintenance of our chief source
Of sugar supply in a nation for
which our government yet feels
somewhat responsible.
That summary indicates the COM
olexity of the general problem to
De dealt with in the current legisla-
ion but the picture omits a most
unit in the industry. re-
er again to those: plants who must
'efine the sugar and must make
t ready for home use or other
consumption.
To make the picture complete, it
,ught to be recalled that for sew
.ral years we have had a tempo
AIRY law which fixed the amount |
# sugar that could be imported. It |
vas managed through what is called
quota system; that is, the law
provided authority for the secretary
# agriculture to prescribe how
much sugar could come in from
ZACH of the regions that / have
This had the effect of
sugar prices and guar
to the cane and beet grow
.rs of the United States a depend
able market. But it had another ef.
.ect which was shown by the opera
ion of the law, an effect not so
painfully evident when the law was
Enacted. This effect was to encour-