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Show I Utah-Idaho Manager I Issues Statement on Company's Position IC. W Nlblcy, general manager of the l tah-ldaho Sugur company, li i u A . statement defining the compai position In the existing sugar situation. S l The statement follows. I Bali Lake City, Utah, .luh 24 l20. Tt) the .Stockholders of the Utah-Idaho Sugar company ! To bettor acquaint you with tho .rntus and of the alleged causes of tho pi oceedings between i he government and our company. I deem it proper to submit to you the following report i statement. In June, isii', a complaint was i t Washington before ibe federal trades commission In Inch It is i i ngcd Hint the Utah-Idaho Sugar (unpany and Amalgamated Sugar pmpany had entered into a conspiracy is stifle and suppress competition and , , o prevent smaller sugar companies In C,tah and Idaho from building and operating op-erating sugar fai lories and had induced induc-ed railroad companies not to serve i hem and banks and other moneyed corporations not to make loans or advances ad-vances of money to them, and especially espec-ially through a conspiracy had engager! engag-er! in unfair practiced i Interstate commerce. "Upon these charges the go eminent em-inent from April l in July 10 of this Ada engaged in putting in Its evidence. The defendants will begin putting In their defense August 2'j. e du not care at this time to com-i com-i . 1 1 n t on the testimony so l ii add. iced, a There always are in sidei to liti- m tlon aii e ash you "i this time is to withhold your judgment on the m. merits until both sides have been fully mW sard When that la done we lis 1 1 fear as to the ultimate nutconi In May, 1920. another complaint was filed against the) company at Sail Lakt Clt and one in Idaho, in which It is chaiged that the company had sold sugar at these plat es at an un-i un-i 'asonable and excessive rats or charge, when admittedly such alleged sales were made only. at the general ,'i.irket price of sugar. H "During the war the government, took over the Mugai products of this' H countn and aai i with the I sugar producers and manufacturers, established the price of sugar of both hue and beet producers. This company, com-pany, as well as all other best Sugar i ioducors. willingly entered imu 1 1. m-contracts m-contracts with tile government and( compiled with them In every particular particu-lar To better Insure nupply ol sugar for its people, the government for two years purchased the ' uban crop of sugar, and resold about one-thtrd one-thtrd of it to the allies, nun distributed the rest of it In the I'm ted States, in, July, IMS. the beei sugar I'roducers if this country, including the I'lah-Idaho I'lah-Idaho Sugar company, recommendi d the continuation by the government j of the sugar equalization bo.,rd and of the beet sugar distributing commute.-and commute.-and the purchase by the government of the 120 Cuba crop and again uttered ut-tered to contract with the government for the sale of their su;u on a parltj with cane sugar for a not he: yeai SS the only practical plan wherebj h. people of this country could be insured in-sured a supply of sugar at ; reasi able price. The board and i.onirn a '.rongly urged this and did all the: litA to, Induce the picbuj' at to again purchase the Cuban croii The re ohnmendation was not followed an i the Cuban crop was not purchased I At that urns It could have been pursued pur-sued &t 6 cents a pound for ra II sugar. ! MUCH CAXE SUGAR. "About SS per cent of the Fjg.u ij consumed in the United Sta; - U sugar largely produced and obtained from ' 'uba, Hawaii and Porto RiCO. : ! e Utah-Idaho Sugar company produces pro-duces approximately l'i per cent of j i he sugar consumed In the 1 I States. Since the war. the produc j of sugar In Cuba fixed and controlled I the general market price of sugar In , j this country. 1 "Th Cuban cane sugar not having been purchased by our government, I j the Cuban producers steadily advanc- j ed the price of the 1S20 crop of iau sugar until It reached 23 cents, the; I highest mark which with the cost of i transportation, duty and refining, of! 1 necessity, made 25-cent to 30-eent' sugar to the consumer. It is common 1 knowledge that the general market ; price of sugar is fixed at New York,' WLl New Orleans and San Francisco, baaed j entirely upon the world 's demand and! I supply of sugar. No ono cognizant of! the facts, disputes this or asserts the I contrary. And It also Is common J J knowledge that last winter and apring. H ;md even up to the present time, sugar j generally over the country has been 1 elllng at ihe general market price of J from 26 cents to Jo cents per pound "No one has charged nor can the I charge be successfully made that the Utah-Idaho Sugar company In any I manner had anything to do with fix-' 1 Ing, Influencing or controlling the gen- 1 eral market price of sugar. 1'roduc- 4' ing less than 1 per cent of the sugar i consumed In the United Stale, this 1 rompany could no more fis or lnflu- j ence the general market price of J sugar, than could the production of H wool in Utah fK or Influence the gen j eral market price of wool. 1 "This company last year produced ft nne million tnree hundred and thirty- H ii, ne thousand bags of sugar. Of that 4 i mount It sold lost fall, lost winter J and laBt spring, up to about Ma l. IV 20. something over one million bags MM at an acragc price of ten dollars and I ighty-sevsn cents per b-g, notlth- l landing il general market prloe of 1 sugar was greatly In cxees-s of that 1 price. Other sugar producers in Utah A and Idaho sold substantially all their J sugar last fall and winter on the eaat- 4 crn market, and at the general market j price. The cane producer of the A .outh, when his sugar came on the i market, sold and was permitted to sell I I. from seventeen dollars to eighteen dollars per 100-pound bog 1 "Heretofore only about 250,000 bags j of sugar of the Utah-Idaho Sugar I, ;ompany were required to supply the! j local market In Utah, Idaho and con-J 4 tiguous tsrrltor The reBt of It I sugar was required to be sold and was m heretofore sold on the eastern market. II This last fiscal year, however, the 1 I'tah-Idaho Sugar company sold and 4 distributed in this local territory over V f.nO.fiOO bags at an average- price of J 110 87 a bng Of that amount ev-j ev-j dently about 350.000 bags were picked up hy speculators at the low prlcp and 1 sold In the eastern markets at a profit J of from J2 to $10 a bag. on May 1, j 1320. the L'tah-Idaho Slgar company bad on hand only a limited amount of j sugar. 1 SUG.VR PICKED UP. gl The local Jobbers who understand i market conditions better than anyons, J and seeing that the sugar of this rmn- pany was thus being picked up by apec- 1 uators nt the low price, and shipped H and sold elsewhere at the market 3 price, and i eallzlng that sugar manu- Jl ' aeiurc-ra and r0f mora elsew ncrc woull dM not ship and aeli sugar In the cheaper M "k at but would continue to ship and sell it elsowhere at the higher Jf niarket, and perceiving that with SUi U .M conditions the local territory would H soon be without sugar and the Jobbera H w'.ihout a supply for their customers. H Petitioned .this company that it itself I igo to the general market price and b I SO doing the shipping of sugar from the local market would be ivuidcd, orj cl6e other manufacturers and refiners of sug.ii be induced to ship and Mil sugar In this market and thereby the, requisite amount of sugar for leal con-, sumption would be preserved and sup-j plica. It is evident that had this com- , pnn Inst fall and winter, sold lis sugar on the eastern market as did i lOlllor sugar companies of Utah and' Idaho, consumers of the local terrl-j ;iory would have been obliged to pay 25c to 30c for sugar at the same prlt a that sugar elsewhere generally sold on the market. And it is just as evident I that If thlfi company had continued to, sell its sugar at the low price the, greater jiarl of Its SUgat m hand,, i would have been picked up b specu-' ' lators at the low price and shipped east and sold on the general market. i "Because of this rind utter going over the situation with our attorneys.' who advised us that the department ot justice had nut the right to fix the price of sugar and tin- dep. trim, m Itself It-self having dl.sclnimeu an such power, j 'and since we were In no sense responsible respon-sible for the general market price of' SLgur. and had nothing whatever to I do with fixing or determining such1 price, and had not entered and wciel 'not entering into any combination to! 'advance or control the price, and idnce the general maiket price of sugar was' loot the result solely of the universal and natural law of supply and demand land being advised by our attorneys; that In their opinion, a sugar produce selling at such u price was not seliu.r a I an unreasonable or excessive charge or rate within the meaning of tin l ever uct, we accordingly, cm oi abum 'lay 1, after notice to our customers, listed our price locally on the baslw of the general market price ua fixed and prevailed at San f-Yanclsco. It has always been- the custom of the company as WOi as eI other com-panh com-panh s to sell Its product at the general gen-eral niarlMt price. We believe we have a tight to do that It Is obvious that we must follow the market Whichever way It goes, up or down. sn long as that market Is the natural1 market pnee based on the law of sup-pi) sup-pi) and demand and Influenced by an) combination or artificial or unlawful Ii.ierfcrence. It is difficult to s e how this coinpanv or air. nthe, in pan.. oi person can carry on a business in any other way li certainly would bis n ther Just nor t ,n to require, for Instance, In-stance, the wool grower or miner oi i tah or of the West to sell his product " iov the geueral market price, ll t.b per cent of that product consumed in mis country were permitted to be solei ! at the general maiket price. And It la Obvious and unjust discrimination made by certain agents and officials or the government ,j:.nnsi the heim-productlon heim-productlon of bt-et sugar and In favor, of the foreign production of cane sugar) ot which tve complain and contend and shall . jut. md to the last ditch. ! il WHI1 li L&BOII "Heet sugar Ip the United Slates la j produced Irj white labor and by Am- eiicun citizens and builders of homes Cfthl sugar is produced largely by negro ne-gro and Japanese labor; yet the cam-sugar, cam-sugar, which Is .i.iout 8S per cent of in sugar consumed in this country, i- permitted to come into our marki t.s and sold to our people at the general n.arket price Without complaint or even without any attempt to restrict or curtail the price. And the contention conten-tion Is that producers and vendors of cane sugar may avail themselves of our market and sell with Impunity and without molestation at the gcneial market price, but that the beet sugar pioducer of this country and especially especial-ly the Utah-Idaho Sugar company and beet sugar producers of the west may i ot avail themselves or Itself of that market price, but is asked to sell Its sugar at e price- one-third or one-Balf less, and If It shall not do so, and If It ahall. as dos the enne producer, sell ni the general market price, It la to be branded a criminal and punished We do not believe that it was the Intention of congress to so discriminate discrimi-nate against white labor and producers produc-ers or beet sugar in this country and In favor of negro and Japanese labor producers of Cuba. Porto Rico, Hawaii or the south, or at all to discriminate against beet producer and in favor of cane producers In this country or elsewhere Nor do w beiiec that the courts will so ln;orprel the law as to permit such results, it cortainl) would be strange if the woolgrowers of Australia and Argentina, the wheat-grower.s wheat-grower.s of Canada, and the copper miner of Peru were permitted to aall th.maeHes of our market and sell their products to our people at the general market price, but that th w col and wheatgrower and copper miner of Utah and Idaho and of th" west, were denied the right to sell thrlr product at tho same general n-aiket prire, and obliged to sell it at one-third to one-half S3. It has been said that the government may not control the general market price of the 88 per cent of the sugar shipped ship-ped Into the United States nnd con-numed con-numed by our people, but that It can by certain threatened prosecutions arbitrarily ar-bitrarily control and fix the price of beet sugar produced in this country-Such country-Such statement or rlalm Is self-destructive and Is an unjustifiable discrimination dis-crimination against the producers of our own country and in no manner accomplishes cheaper sugar for our countrj For. attempting to fix a low price on the home product of vugur produced and consumed In this country coun-try when confessedly no power exists, to regniinte or control the price of the large foreign product shipped and consumed In the I nited States, but creates a harvest for speculators with no corresponding benefit to the consumer. con-sumer. "Moreover contracts with beetgrow-ers beetgrow-ers this year are based on i scaling price of sugar If, for cx.-xinple, the briee of beet sugar should be held ; down to Bay il2 per 100-pound bag. , the farmer win receive U0 a ton Cor beets. If on the other hand the Oocl augur produced b whits lanor is 'iteuted in me same innniier thut car.t aujjar produced hy neyro and Japanese Japa-nese labor is treated, and the price of Hugur placed on u parity with cano I sugar watch, according to present Iri-Idicatlons, Iri-Idicatlons, will be approximately irom , $li to JJ0 u 10u-pound hag. then the Ibeetsrower will receive hum 16 to ;21 a ion for hln bee IS, It is eitljnat- ed thut there will bo raised In Utah and southern Iuuho about two million loim of beets this season. If tho beet :i ii;ar be tieated and placed on a par-Ity par-Ity with cane sugar, men according 10 present Indications It would mean on 'increase to the beelgrov.er of from twelve million to twenty million dollars. dol-lars. Not a cent of this will go to the laugnr companies, but will go direct to (the farmers Thut addhlon.il money j distributed through Uteh and Idaho i would mean a great deal to tho prosperity pros-perity of these states. Every fanner. every merchant, every banker apd sv-I sv-I ery worker Is 'ntercsrod in such a ' proposition and ought to be willing to I demand for tho heetgrowers of L'tah rind Idaho and of the west the same right and privileges granted to tho canegrowers. Anything less than this i. an unjust discrimination against the homo product of sugar, which bring d rlistilbutes more real money to the people oi Llah and Idaho than tlie prouuctlon of any other one pi oduci Respectfully submitted, I W. MBLEY, General Manager Utah-Idaho Sugar Co. |
