Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 April 1891 — THE SUGAR TRUST, [ARTICLE]

THE SUGAR TRUST,

IT WILL. NOT REVEAL ITS SECRETS. A Fruitless Investigation The Trust and Its Proflis-How It Will Flourish Und r McKinleyism—M.lllons for Monopoly. A committoe of the New YorK legislature has been trying to investigate the sugar trust, but tho president of that great monopoly, as well as others connected with it, was as dumb as an oyster to the most important quest.ons put to him. In the meantime, some facts are known about the trust which will show the people what this tariff monopoly has been costing them. The trust was organized in November, 1887, and there are about ten refineries in it, besides six independent companies. How.the trust put up prices in granulated sugar may be seen from the fact that while it so'd granulated sugar in at an average of 69 cents per 100 ■ pounds higher than tho best raw ■sugar, the average in 1888-89 was 81.24% higher. The weU-recognized cost of refining sugar, including all expenses per ton above the cost of the raw sugar, is Sl4, or % of a cent per pound. McKinley put a duty of % cent per pound on refined sugar to protect the trust against the lower wages of foreign countries, the protection being thus almost equal to the entire cost of refining. The difference between 90 centrifugals and in 1883 and 1887 was 815.635 And 815.344, respectively, so that the profits o’ refining sugar in those two years were 81.635 and 81.344 per ton. But in 1888 and 1889 tho differences •amounted to 827.82 and 828.044, and the profits of refining per ton were 813.82 and 814.044, respectively. In 1888 the “sugar trust” produced 72.7 per cent, of the refined, and the independent refineries 27.3 per cent., while in 1889 the “sugar trust” produced 65.7 per cent, and the other refineries 34.3 per cent. Tho total United States production of refined sugar in 1888 was 1,457,264 tons, of which the “trust” produced 987,570, on which it made a profit of 813,648,217.40. The independent refineries produced 371,886 tons at a profit of 85,139,465.52. So that the.tct il profit of tho sugar refineries in 1888 amounted to 818,787,682.92. In 1889 the sugar trust refined 963,305 tons at a profit of 812,126,255.42, and the independent refiners produced 450,395 tons at a profit of 86,325,347.38, thus making tho total profit of sugar refining in the United States in 1889 818,449,602.80. Such were the operations of the sugar trust during its first two years. It earned 27% per cent, in 1888 and 24.1 per cent, in 1889 on its nominal capitalization of 850,000,000, over two-thirds of ■which is water. (At the recent investigation in New York it was testified by the trust's .lawyer that one factory worth 8300,000 went into tho trust and got 83,500,000 as its share of stock.) On its •real valuation the profits for 1888 were over 92 per cent., and for 1889 80 per cent. Every cent of the profits of sugar refining in the United States in 1888 and 1889 above a fair profit was taken from the consumers of sugar in this country in the form of an indirect bounty that could never have been squeezed from the people of this country had sugar been upon the free list. Now that raw sugar is on the free list, refined sugar has fallen about 2 cents a pound; but the trust still has its half a cent per pound protection. Even a half a cent per pound on a million tons, which the trust can turn out in a year, amounts to 810,000,000. The trust still has a good thing.

What Jerry Simpson Saw in Florida.

In a recent speech in New York City, Hon. Jerry Simpson, member of Congress, told what ho saw in Pensacola, Florida, as an illustration of the way in which our tariff prevents the importation of lorein goods needed by our people “When I was down in Florida last summer, ” said Mr. Simpson, “I spent a day or two at Pensacola. Being a sailor, I went along the water front to take a look at the shipping. There were sixtyfive vessels there of all classes at the wharves and in the roadway. Out of the lot, two little schooners flew the American flag. The rest of the vessels flew the flags of many nations, but the largest and best of them displayed the British union jack at Iheir peaks. I talked with a number of the skippers, and asked them what they • brought to Pensacola. All the vessels then in that port had come in ballast. They brought us dirt and rocks, some of it so foul that it had to be unloaded at quarantine, and in many eases had to remain there for thirty days or so before they could he sufficiently purified to be fit to come into Pensacola harbor. But they ■didn’t go away in ballast. They went loaned with things produced in this country that were wanted in other countries, and we had got, in exchange, dirt, rocks and filth. Now, there were many things produced in the countries from which these vessels came that we wanted, and those vessels would rather have loaded with them than with the dirt, rocks and filth, and the people of those countries would have been glad to have exchanged their goods for our goods. But our protective laws staud in the way; we cannot trade, and we in Kansas know the reason why, and we intend one of these days to sweep that reason out -of existence. ”

Meat in England.

Our silly protectionists sometimes venture the statement that free trade Shas worked disastrously in England for the laboring people. While they can point to many occupations in England in which wages are lower than with us, they persistently ignore the steady improvement in the condition of the British workman. The following fact is but one of hundreds showing that improvement: The meat imported into Great Britain in 1876 represented a ratio of only one pound to every family of five persons. The re<cent returns of the British Board of Trade show that the annual Imports, chiefly from America and Australia, now amount to forty pounds of “dead meat” for every such average family of five persons.

Higher Glass Prices.

It is reported from St. Louis that a combination has been agreed upon to raise the prices o* window glass and plate, glass. Under the present tariff the manufacturers of these articles have Jhigher protection than they had under the old law, and now they are resolved to “get rid of unreasonable competition, ” •as the phrase runs, and pocket as much •as they can of the McKinley tariff spoils. ‘Up go prices, and the consumer must

’ reach deeper into his pocket. Meanwhile let- him refect that his Ices is the monopolist's gain; and let him reflect upon the beauty of the protective system which takes money out of his pocket to protect labor, to “insure labor good wages and steady onjp'oyment”—both of which labor does not get

NEW SUGAR INDUSTRIES.

What Free Sugar Will Do—The Jam Industry and Condens’d Milk Business Will Grow—The Farmers and McKinley’s Free Trade. When sugar went on the free list, the President of the Sugar Trust said in an interview he thought that ultimately cheap sugar would cause tho introduction of several now industries In this country, notably the manufacture of fruit jams and preserves' about 100,000 tons of which are made in England every year, while the manufacture is almost unknown here. He also believed that our brewers would use sugar instead of glucose, following the example of English brewers'. The consumption of sugar would increase among the people, too. In Great Britain, for instance, with free sugar, the consumption is seventy pound's per capita per year, and in this country, where there is more general prosperity, it has only been only about fifty-five pounds, while of this over 40 per cent, is brown sugars. The manufacture of candy, he thought, would probably increase, and candy be cheaper. The manufacture of fruit jams and preserves is even more extensive in Eng and than as stated here. England uses 180,000 tons of sugar in these industries and employs thus 75,000 hands. The benefit which free sugar has been to tho people of England may be seen from the fact that strawberry jam is sold in London at wholesale at 81.35 per dozen one pound jars, black currant and raspberryjam at 81-28, and so on down to plum jam at 94 cents. There can bo no doubt that free sugar will give an excellent opportunity for the development of a vast jam industry in this country and thus give a large and steady market to the growers of small fruits.. At present our small fruit crop is very valuable. Conservative estimates by well-informed dealers place the value of the strawberry crop at 810,000,000; the raspberry, blackcap, and blackberry crop at 84,000,000; the cranberry crop at 82,000,000; the currant crop at 81,000,000; and the remaining varieties at 81,000,000—a total of at least 818,000,000. These figures can be enormously increased under free sugar. By reason of the higher tariff cost of sugar, and jars, and tumblers with us, we have been making only about one-sixth of our small-fruit crop into jam and preserves. England, on the other "hand, has been using twothirds of her crop in this way, turning out about 812,000,000 worth of jam a year. Thus the English have been supplying not merely all tho jams used in Great Britain but tho greater part of those used in all parts of the world, from which there comes a constantly increasing demand. Another industry which can be built up to large proportions under free sugar is that of making condensed milk. To make 1,000 pounds of condensed milk 475 pounds of sugar are used with 1,460 quarts of milk. The saving here of 89.50 per thousand pounds by free sugar will give this industry tho promise of large profits and will cause it to develop rapidly. In this the farmer will see a market for an enlarged sale of milk. But condensed milk must bo packed in tin cans and these are taxed higher than ever under the McKinley law. Free sugar is the one bright spot in the McKinley law—tho one place where it gives free trade to any important extent. The great effect of free sugar in cheapening the expenses of the household and in enlarging our industries will teach the people the nature of the McKinley law where it does not give free trade. If the abolition of the duty on sugar does so much good, would not the same result follow in other cases?

American and European Labor.

Ex-Consul Schoenhof, who has studied European and American labor very carefully, points out that our labor being machine labor is generally cheaper than European labor, which is to a large extent hand labor or inferior machine labor or unproductive underfed labor, as compared with higher productive American labor. What our labor suffers from is the high cost of taxed materials. Free raw materials and a higher technical and artistic development would result in lasting benefits to our manufacturing industries, which periodic additions to already extreme tariff rates can never do. They increase the cost of production In spite of our cheap labor, and continue the congested condition so frequently complained of by our manufacturers. Mr. Schoenhof further says that if the framers of the McKinley Jaw had inquired into the productive methods of Europe they would have found that those methods are vitally different from our own. They would then have seen that our importations are due to only a limited extent to cheaper labor cost in Europe. They, as well as the recipients of legislative favors, should know that technical and artistic skill are elements of very great importance In manufacture. If wo are deficient in the one or the other, it is only natural that our people import what they cannot find equally satisfactory at’homo.

Why Europe Blamed Us.

The recent sensation in regard to the New Orleans lynching and Italy’s recall of Baron Fava was widely commented upon in the newspapers of Europe. The haste with which those papers took sides aiainst us and the cause of their hostility are thus explained by Harold Frederic, the London correspondent of the New York Times: “Nothing could more clearly have Indicated the truth of what I have frequently pointed out heretofore, that the passage of the McKinley bill has temporarily put us outside the pale of international good-will and amiable feelings. There is in this attitude toward America and things American both anger and contempt, and it is shared unconsciously by people of all classes and tendencies of thought in all the capitals and centers es population in Europe. Hence instinctively everybody, from the Dardanelles to the North Cape, took Italy’s side agaihst us, and would have done so had our case been ten times as strong. This may flatter voters in the First Maine District, but I do not fancy that the rest of the American people will get much solid comfort out of it.”

California Oranges.

A year ago the orange growers of California were begging Congress to raise the duty on oranges to 81 a box, pleading that labor in Italy was only 20 cents a day. They pretended that the old

duty of 35 cents a oox was equivalent to only 8 per cent., while tho official figures used in the United States Senate showed that the duty was nearly 22 per cent McKinley tried to double the duty on oranges, but the Senate insisted upon the old rates and these were retained. Now, what has happened? Are the California growers being driven out of the Eastern markets by the cheap pau-per-grown oranges of Italy? Not at all. On the contrary, tho President of the California Fruit Union says that California oranges are now taking possession of tho United States to a greater extent than it was deemed possible earlier in tho season. Large shipments are made daily to all parts of the Union, even as far east as New York and Boston. Several weeks ago ten trains, comprising sixty Cars, started eastward from the southern part of the State. Only another case where protected interests go to Congress with lies upon their lips to beg for higher protection when they really need none at all.

Cheap Candr.

The London Grocer points out what will be one of the effects of tho removal of the sugar duty in the United States. It says: “Judging from the precedent that was formed here after sugar was admitted 'duty free’ in 186’2, one branch of the American native sugar industry is pretty certain to receive from the latest legislative acts a strong impetus to expand and augment almost beyond belief, and that is the section devoted to confectioneries and the business in sweetmeats. In tho United Kingdom the trade in confections has progressed at an astonishing rate, both as regards the home and export branches, and soon we may have American productions actively competing in the markets of the world for a portion of the custom which has hitherto been given exclusively to our manufacturers. ” While candy is one of the luxuries rather than necessaries of life, still the reduction of the price will be very popular with the children and with candyeating misses. Cheap candy will be a potent object lesson to teach that the sugar duty was a tax.

A Free Trade Manufacturer.

A. B. Farquhar, of York, Pa., who is one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural implements in the United States, is a believer in absolute free trade. A meeting of free traders was held In New York City to celebrate the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, and to this meeting Mr. Farquhar sent a letter in which he said; “When I see the distress thrown upon agricultural and other producers of exportable goods by legislation which presents them profiting in their necessary purchases by the same world-free competition to which they are exposed in all their sales; when I reflect that the protective system throws the burden of taxation upon the poor; when I mark the sufferings of workingmen under the shutting off of factories and pruning of wages, towhlchthe necessity of laboring for State-assisted combinations and monopolies has subjected them; and, then, when I have to confess the success of so many purveyors of quack treatment for these evils, in closing the eyes of those afflicted by them to the one genuine remedy, I believe the work to be done at your meeting the most important which can enlist American patriots, and that the memory of Jefferson could receive no more fitting tribute.”

Music oF the Man-Eaters.

The natives of the New Hebrides, who are still addicted to the practice of anthropophagy, form a curious study. Nothing is more curious than their musical instruments. These consist of hollow tree trunks, containing apertures connected by a vertical slit, says the New York Ledger. These trunks are ornamented at the upper part with sculptures representing heads, feet, war clubs and ships. By striking each of them with a stick; the natives produce sounds resembling those of the tomtom. They perform their dances to the sound of these instruments, after having besmeared their faces with red and black. They have also three other musical instruments —a sort of trumpet made of shell perforated at the side or extremity; a syrinx with six or seven or eight pipes, from which they sometimes obtain harmonious sounds; and a long flute perforated at the lower extremity and consisting of a single piece of bamboo with three holes and a mouthpiece. These Instruments are used only within doors to amuse children.

Wanted Golden Mioes.

Ex-Congressman William Scott, the millionaire of Erie, Pa., has a great number of fine horses, and anything that pertains to the equine race he appreciates, evert when it is more or less of a facetious nature. Ho occasionally tells the following: “A gentleman wanted to borrow some money from Mr. Isaacs. The latter said, rather Indignantly, that he did not lend money unless he had good security. Finally the gentleman said he thought he could give security. “ ‘What?’ asked Isaacs. “ ‘A horse. ’ “ ‘Bosh! the horse is worth nothing.’ “ ‘Yes, it is. Why, my horse is 17 hands high, has diamond eyes, ruby ears, and silver mane.’ “A horse of this great value, the gentleman thought, would be taken as security, when Isaacs put an end to tho dicker by asking: Well, mine frient, has dot horse got golden shoes, too?’ ” Republican organs have greeted the repeal of the sugar duty with the utmost satisfaction. The New York Tribune told Its readers that they could now “revel in sugar” and that “prices take a big drop.” The New York Press said; “Well, we do feel like doing a little shouting.” This protectionist organ assures us that “There was no April fool about the decline in sugar yesterday. It was a gift to every family in the land.” Then these families have been paying the tax. and not the foreigner after all. The protectionists in France have been trying to “protect labor” for ten years; but labor In France is meeting with precisely the same experience as labor in America. A French writer points out that Belgian, Swiss, Italian, and even German laborers come into France and compete with French labor at lower wages. The attempt.to protect labor by putting a duty on commodities fails everywhere; for commodities do not compete with labor. Labor alone competes with labor. For as 'Us mete to soak ye feet, Ye ailing head to mend. Ye younker’e pate to stimulate He beats ye other ends.