Imperial Valley press., 1942-07-07
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison

Sugar bag instead of sandbas
Notifications are now being erect
ed for an all-out postwar war be
tween beet sugar interests on the
one hand and cane sugar interests
on the other, and the opposing
lobbyists are stalking out their al
liances and battle lines in Wash
ington. Conflict apparently will
stem from the increasing wartime
reliance the country is having to
place on beet sugar. Cane sugar
interests are afraid that when the
war is over the beet sugar lobby
lists will be able to sell Congress a
bill of goods with an argument to
run about like this:
Before the war. domestic
beet sugar production was re-
stricted to protect the cane su-
gar interests of Hawaii, the
Philippines. Puerto Rico, Cuba
and the West Indies, and Lat
in America generally. All right.
look what il got you. As soon
as the war came along, ship
ping was shot and YOU had to
ration supplies. Also, you had
to step up beet sugar prOduc-
ton. Why not get smart and
prevent a crisis of that kind
developing again? Why not
shut out all this imported sugar
develop the home industry, put
idle lands to work, or reduce
tbs acreage now producing too
much cotton, corn and wheat,
develop the domestic beet sugar
industry as an outlet for post
war employment? In short, why
not write yourself insurance
against any possible sugar
shortagcS?"
This is an old line. but it is not
without its Saccharine political SEX
appeal. The cane sugar lobby reco-
nizes the potency of the argument
and is scared. And when the So
called sugar rust lobby in Wash
ington is scared, that's something
1t has been damned and branded
from the White House and De-
partment of Agriculture on down
as the most vicious and pernicious
of all lobbies, SO the coming strug-
gle between the beet and the cane
should be intra- industrial strife al
its competitive tops.
FUEL FOR FEUD
One factor that will lend supper,
to the cause of the cane sugar peo-
pie is the theory of the interna-
tional new dealers and free traders
that in this perfectly planned post
war world, there must be no inter
national trade barriers and the
worlds goods must be equitably
divided and supplied so that every
producer country and every con-
sumer country can do business
Applying those broad principles tC
the sugar industry means that the
Philippines, Hawaii and Cuba, bull
largely on sugar cane producing
economy, should be given every
opportunity to develop their Num-
ber One industry to the fullest eX-
tent. And the selfish interests OF
the beet sugar people may have
to take a back seat to that. AL
this will add political fuel to the
coming feud
Just how much more import
ant is the role of beet sugar
can be gagged by u. S. con-
sumption and production fig
ures. In 1871, beet sugar pro-
duction was approximately IL
million tons, or 25 per cent of
the 81 million ton total. For
1912. the estimates are that beet
sugar will furnish million tons,
or as per cent of the 4.3 mil
lion ton total.
This 4.3 million tons estimated
u. S. consumption is a little more
than half of the production thai
would be available for U. S. con-
sumption if there were no war, i
there were no shipping problem
if there were no stocks to be ship
ped abroad by Lend-Lease.
West Indies ports are bulgint
with raw sugar waiting for boat
and sugar people all over the
western hemisphere are sitting III
nights, trying to figure out ways
TO increase shipments. Ships arr
not running to the usual refiner.
ports of Baltimore, Boston, New
York and Philadelphia Instead
there are quick trips from the Yves
Indies to Florida ports. But ever,
shipload of raw sugar dumped a
a southern port means approx
mately one 60-car fRight train
load TO be hauled north, and that
a strain on the country's alread
straining transportation system
Also. rehandling twice and costl
rail transportation, has to be adde'
to the price of sugar per pound.
SUGAR BY BARGE
U. S. Maritime Commission ha
come forward with one expert
mental effort which may help II
shipping sugar. This is the aware
of contract for 30 wooden barges
30 feet long. capable Of carryinl
1000 tons of sugar from Cuba h
U. s. ports. Towed by ocean-goinl
tugs, these barges can make on
turnaround trip a week The who'll
fleet might thus carry 10000 ton
Of sugar a week or up 10 j.