OCR Text |
Show FARMERS AM) SUGAR TARIFF The beet sugar industry of the U. S. has been a stabilizer of prices, as it furnishes a domestic supply independent in-dependent of foreign sources. For this reason alone it should be encouraged, encour-aged, and if need be protected by a suitablo tariff that will permit it to exist In competition with sugar produced pro-duced with the cheap labor of Cuba and Europe. Commenting on the situation and the necessity of a sugar tariff, Spencer Spen-cer Penrose, a director of the Holly Sugar company, says: "It must be remembered that the beet industry is different from the cane industry. The people of Cuba, when the price of sugar is very low, can vacate their cane fields as they have very little money involved in Ihe crop as the cane is only planted once in several years, but on the other oth-er Hand the beet growers must harvest har-vest their crop, as by the time the crop is ready to be harvested It has cost from $50 to $75 an acre for that season. Last fall the beet sugar companies had not had between $50 and $75 an acre In the crop, they would have deserted the fields. At the present time, no beet sugar is being be-ing sold at a profit. It should also be remembered that the interests of the sug.-.r refining companies in the east are entirely different than the interest of the sugar beet growers." |