| OCR Text |
Show TAFT ON SUGAR. Secretary Taft Is emphatic in Ills argument on the sugar question before the Philippine committee of the Senate. He does not believe that the beet sugar Interests of this country would be injured in-jured by the proposed reduction of the tariff on sugar from the Philippines, and he made an extended argument to fortify his opinion on the question. We have not seen the argument, but can well believe it to be conclusive, for when Mr. Taft gets through with a presentation on any subject upon which he has taken pains to Inform himself, there is usually very little left to say, on either side of It. The fact Is, that all the sugar made In this country cuts but little figure In the total of sugar consumed. Great as is the growth of the beet sugar industry, indus-try, it does not keep even within hailing hail-ing distance of tho Increase in the sugar consumption of the country. The annual average increase in the sugar Imports for the tlvc-ycar period ending with lUOr. was a million tons, compared with the annual imports In the flve-yonr flve-yonr period ended twenty years before. In the same periods, the increase of the home production Jiad grown only from 176,033 tpns to 600,000 tons, or less than half as much as tho Increase In imports. im-ports. And the whole product of the Philippines would not make up the difference. The whole Question Is simply one that the sugar trust raises. The great sugar trust of the Knst feaiH thai if Philippine sugar Is Imported It will force It into a losing war with Spreck-els. Spreck-els. The Imports would naturally come to the west coast, nnd Spreckels would have to enlarge his territory In order to take care of It. That would mean a readjustment of market control, wilh loss to the ITavemeyer trust. Tt Is a trust fight exclusively, lis TIip Tribune has repeatedly pointed out, and the sugar trust arrays Itself against the administration for its own sordid interests. It will be in vain thnt the trust mouthpieces will plead that the Interests of the best sugar Industry, are at stake, for the public Is fully "on" to the game, and Is not in the least likely to sutTer Itself to be misled. Cuban sugnr concessions did no harm to the beet sugar industry, and neither will the concessions asked for in behalf of the Philippines harm It |
