Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 June 1909 — A BAD INFLUENCE [ARTICLE]

A BAD INFLUENCE

The Sugar Trust Leads and Controls the Beet Sugar Factories GETTING ALL THEY WANT A New “Joker” Found In the Aldrich Bill For the Sugar Trust—What the Beet Sugar Industry Amounts to and What It Demands Costly and Wasteful Business For Consumers. It Is reported from Washington that President Taft has asked for Information from the treasury department to help him to get an Idea of what sort of relief the consumers are likely to get out of the new tariff bill on the articles of common use In every household. The explanations of the hill by Payne and Aldrich and the whole debate in House and Senate have made It clear that such a thing as relief for the consumers was not contemplated by the framers of the bill. The consumers have all along been openly laughed at. Is President Taft beginning to see a new light as to the possible Influence of the consumers when aroused ? The President Needs Light. The president should receive all the light possible flfom every source. An open letter was recently sent to him which gave some light on the provisions of the senate tariff bill about sugar. This letter was sent by Mr. Frank C. Lowry, Secretary of the Committee of Wholesale Grocers formed to assist in obtaining cheaper sugar for consumers through reduction of duties on raw and refined sugar. A Universal Necessity. Sugar is an important necessity , in every household and also a material that must be used in large quantities In the great industries of canning, preserving and making confectionery,’ which would all. bo much greater industries In this country if they could get cheap sugar. The present Pingley duty ou refined sugar is 1.95 cents per pound. The tariff bill now pending in the senate reduces this rate to 1.90 cents per pound, but ns the ‘‘maximum and .minimum” proviso adding HO per cent to tlie rates is practically certain to be imposed in the case of sugar, the tariff on this article will be considerably higher than in the Pingley law. The Aldrich Bill “Jokers.” • The Aldrich tariff bill, like the Dingley and Payne bills. Is crowded with “jokers," which arc only gradually bediscovered. A “joker" Is a coneeajyd job, whereby the actual effect of Iho provisions of. the act" is otherwise than it appears on the surface to be. A new “joker" to the advantage of the Sugar Trust has just been made public by the New York Journal of Commerce.

A Trick by the Trust. It was known that t ho Sugar Trust mill tin* boot sujrs.tr. interests were opposed to the admission of sugar free of duty front the Philippines, which President Taft favored, and it lists been 6tated tbiit the Trust opposition was' disarmed by t lie provision in the Aldrieb bill that not more titan 300,000 gross tons of sugar could he imported duty free from the Philippines In any fiscal year. It now appears that this provision contains another provision that preference in this right of free entry is to lie given to producers of less than 500 tons in each fiscal year. Ostensibly tills Is to encourage the small producer, but practically it makes the provision for free eutry*of Philippine sugar Ineffective, itecause it discourages the investment of money In any large way in sugar cultivation in the Philippines, and sugar cannot be produced to advantage for export In the Philippines or anywhere else on any sdcb small scale. This matter is nnother indication that the same old evil Influence of the Bugrfr Trust, which. has been in evidence in the framing of all previous tariff bills. Is also busy In the Aldrich bill. The beet sugar interests and the Louisiana sugar interests are in alliance with the Trust