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Show THOS. R. CUTLER 111 DEFENSE OF SUGAR INDUSTRY An effort to nnd the controversy regarding one ol the big Industries of the Ihtermountaln states is made Id a letter written by Thomas R Cutler, Cut-ler, general manager of the Utah-Idaho Utah-Idaho Sugar Company It is in an BWer to a communication written by Simon Bamberger, In support, of Mr Bamberger's speech at a Democratic rally and in which Mr Bamberger states that he got his figures and information from the congressional records. Mr Cutler first answers the arguments argu-ments advanced by Mr. Bamberger with statistical information received from German authorities, and then he gives some figures as to what the sugar su-gar companies bae done for the western west-ern states and asks that they be given giv-en an occasional word of praise in-ster.d in-ster.d of being decried by the persons who arc benefited The letter written by Mr. Cutler Is as follows Hon Simon Bamberger. City Dear Sir lu your answer to my criticism of your remarks relating to prices paid lor sugar beets In Utah and German you quote Senator James of Kentucky. I find that even senators are not Infallible. Just previous to the presentation of the balance sheet and trade report of the Dirschau (Germany) sugar factory, for the season sea-son of 1911-12. he makes use of this language: 'Take the Great Western Sugar company of Michigan.' I beg to say there Is no such company In the state of Michigan He then goes on with these words 'I hold in m hand here a statement issued by one of the trade reports of German) and one of her sugar factories, which is as follows, and then gives the balance bal-ance sheet and trade report of the factory above mentioned for the season sea-son of 19H L2. From German Paper. " now quote an excerpt from Blatter Blat-ter Fur Zuckerrubenbau, November 15 1913: 'The beet grower of Germa-nv Germa-nv has no permanent guarantee for a steady price for his beets, part of I which is due to the fact that a heavy tax is put upon sugar consumption.' consump-tion.' I quote again excerpt from Die Deutsche Zuckerindustne. January Janu-ary 10, 1913 'Beets acquired by various vari-ous factories in Germany in 1911-12. The factories planted beets partly on their own land and partly on rented rent-ed land; some beets were furnished by agricultural associations. They are called contract beets. Of all the beets used in German factories the larg'-st part were such as vfere delivered by individuals and associations associa-tions in excess of what their con -tracts 'ailed for. In 1911-12 somewhat some-what higher prices were paid for purchase pur-chase beets than in the previous year (1910-11); but we must bear in mind thai statistics regarding prices for purchase beets cannot be absolutely relied on, as the outlay for transportation transpor-tation to the factory, storage and other incidental costs are in some cases ca-ses Included in the purchase price ' in some cases not. Furthermore, beets are not paid for everywhere ac-cordlng ac-cordlng to weight Some factories pay a fixed sum plus a percentage In conformity with the proved sugar content. con-tent. In man cases the fixing of prices occurs during the progress of the campaign at certatn intervals elder el-der Increasing or lowering them according ac-cording to anticipated profits to be 1 earned by the factories, or according to the fluctuation of prices on sugar ' Chose Particular Year. "Now, Mr Bamberger, you have chosen a year 1911-13 when the conditions con-ditions In Germans were verj peculiar pecu-liar There had been during the year of 1911 a shortage in the European i sircar ' pri'dnetion of narh -. OOii.OOO tons, caused by drought, which enhanced the price of sugar very ma-terially, ma-terially, especially In foreign coun-triei coun-triei The high prices lasted there nearly the whole of 1911. These prices were reflected to some extent in the i oited States, but the fluctuation was more violent.' For Instance, the New York wholesale invoice price of cane sugar June 29, 1911. was 5 cents per pound, aria on September 28 of the same year it had risen to 7 1 2 cents a pound, at which time the beet sugar produced in the United States began to go into the market The consequence conse-quence was that the price of sugar immediately began to drop, until It had receded to 5 1-2 cents on January 1, 1912. "The factory to which Senatoi James refers, and which ou quote, was one of those to which I allude, where the price of beets was regulated bj the price of sugar. It would tre I Interesting, however, to discover (I i could give you that Information by I the bv, if you do not have it by you) as to what price the farmers received ; for their beets' in this same factory the previous years say 1909 and 1910 and also that they received in the yeai 1913-14, the year 1 quoted in my first article. "I now quote excerpt from the Jour nal des Fabrlcants dn Sucre, February! 12, 1913 'Province of Saxony. In con-1 sequence of better offers having been I made for beets by the factories, It Is not likely that a diminution of acreage of beets will occur in Germany Ger-many (Province of Snxonv). therefore there-fore M 1 and Ml. 10 for 50 kg, of beets will be paid, equal to ?4-31 per short ton.' Aiain I quote excerpt from Prager Zuckermarkt. February 26, 1913, page I 1G8 : The Association of the Prague flaw Sugar lactones has perfected In harmony with the organisation ol Sugar Beetgrowers their agreement for delivery of beets during campaign 1911-14 on the basis 0f 2 10 kronen per double -.entner (220 pounds i delivered de-livered at factory ($3.88 per short ton) . and on the basis of 2. on kronen per double zentner ($3.KS per short ton), delivered at the field receiving station.' sta-tion.' "I again quote excerpt from Die Deutsche Zuckerindustrie, March 14. 1913, page 239 Contract Prices " Price of Beets in Germany The beet prices are dependent usually on the current market price of sugar At the end of 191 the price of raw sugar was rery Inch, and this the reason why the German beet sugar factories wen able to pay higher prices for their beets, but recently the price of sugar has reached a low level, wherefore the sugar factories of Germany, Ger-many, espeeiallv those 0f South Germany, Ger-many, are determined to secure their beets at a lower price than thev have been paying up to the present time. " 'Contracts lor beets are being signed up In different districts. Fixed prices for beets have been determined upon as follows for the campaign of 1913-14 "'Districts 1 and 2. 12 florens per metric ton (equals $4.38 per short ton) "'District 3 11 florens per metric ton (equals $4.01 per short ton). " 'District 4. 12 70 florens per metric ton (equals $4.63 per short ton). Average, Av-erage, $4 34. " 'These prices are paid for beets delivered at the factory gates. The "bound" of sugar manufacturers made un agreement with the German sugar factory association to the effect that these organizations will co-operate with each other In keeping the price the same in both countries ' 'Excerpt from Die Deutsche Zuck-erlndustrle, Zuck-erlndustrle, April 5, 1913, entitled Beet Growers vs. Factories in Southern South-ern Germany': " All the agitation In the world will rot remedy this state of affairs, even experts win tell ou that very little profit can be made by manufacturers paying 1 mark per centner ($4.82 1-2 per short ton) if sugar Is not going to be higher in the world's markets.' For the Metric Ton. "In all your quotations they are for metric tons 2200 pounds as against the basis of 2000 pounds which we use in this country Now, a little in regard to the retail re-tail price of sugar In foreign countries. Taking as a basis the I nlted Kingdom, King-dom, and providing granulated sugar is retailed there at 5 cents per pound, sugar is retailed at the following prices United States. 5.7 cents; Germany, Ger-many, 5.9 cents; Russia, 7.2 cents; Netherlands. 8 7 cents, and In Italy as high as 14 cents, because in European Euro-pean states the lower cost of production produc-tion is not reflected in the price of suxar for the reason that an excise or internal revenue tax from 1 to S cents per pound is levied on domestic sugar, and on Imported sugar there is collected not only the amount of the internal revenue tax, but an additional amount sufficiently large to protect the domestic sugar from competition with tropical sugar. "But aside from all these explana lions, the thought comes to me Whj all this controversy in regard to an Industry that has been so beneficial to the states of Utah and Idaho We can make no comparisons between Germany and even the United States, because of the more excessive cost of both material for constructing factories facto-ries and material required to worf. the beets into sugar, as well as the labor that we have to employ. "This industry will bring Into the states of Utah and Idaho this present year approximately $9,000,000, of which fully $7,000,000 is new money that is recened from the sale of sugar In eastern states, as we do not Bell more than 18 per cent of our product fn the Rocky mountain states. Neither Nei-ther do we sell all of the kind of sugar su-gar that we manufacture in the said states. "There Is still a large percental-of percental-of people who will use nothing but cane sugar notwithstanding that it Is bold at 20 cents per hundred weight more than beet Then there are kinds of sugar sold here that we do not manufacture such as powdered soft sugars, and particularly lump Our hotels and homes must have on their tables sugar that is manufactured manufac-tured in Brooklyn which costs, laid In here, nearly double the price of the sugar we manufacture. Instead of the efforts of the beet sugar people peo-ple being decried, it seems to me it would be better policy to, at least once in a while give them a word of p: aise ery truly vours, "THOMAS R. CUTLER. "General Manager " |
