Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 March 1893 — Our Tribute to Sugar-Refiners. [ARTICLE]

Our Tribute to Sugar-Refiners.

It seems an easy and small thing to have protected the sugar-refiners to the extent of a duty of from threefifths to-one-half cent per pound on refined sugar while admitting the raw sugar free—something no one but a refiner buys. In a short space of time the system enabled the refineries to pay enormous dividends on stock four times watered, and to concentrate seven-eighths of all the refineries in the United States under one head, the American Sugar-Refin-ing Company. The company mentioned could not pay over 10 per cent, on its plant, intrinsically worth 818,000,000, for sugar-refining only were it not for this McKinley hill. As it is it pays 7 per cent, on $37,500,000 preferred stock, same on $10,000,000 bonds and 10 per cent, on about $30,000,000 ’of common 6tock, which stock is now selling at between 130 and.l4o. In short, stock that is selling at a value of $110,000,000 would be worth only $18,000,000 if Congress would at once take this half a cent off rpflned sugar. Granulated sugar, which is the sugarmostly used, would sell then for4| cents per pound, same as in Canada, instead of 4J as in New York. Allow £hat they make three-eighths of one cent per pound only. They refine an average of 30,000 tons per week, or call it 1,500,000 tons per annum, which is at least 3,000,000,000 pounds. Now, what is.three-eights cent per pound protection but $11,250,000? Therefore you can see why they can pay enormous dividends on fourfoldwatered stock and have a handsome surplus left. The American people are contributing to this mammoth refinery and do not appreciate it, simply because sugar is cheap anyway. But if we are to contribute a premium of $11,000,000 annually it ought to go to the Government and not to the sugar refineries. Reason, in New York World.