Now That The Democratic Orators

and editora have been reduced to the tingle subject for an attack upon the tariff bill, of lts relation to the eugar trust, it is ■veil enough to state some plain facts bearing upon this subject. The bilí, as a whole, is probably more satisfactory to the peoplc than any tariff measure wbich has passed Congress in tbe recollection of the present generation, and the features of it relating to the sugar schedule will be found, when thoroughly underatood, as satlsfactory as its most commended features. It was generally conceded when the bill passed the House that it was not in ny way adrantageous to the trust, but that, on the contrary, it took away from the trust much of the advantage which It had unaer the Wilson law. Stripped of all technicalities, the nold facts are that as the bill left the House tbe ratos on refined sugar were 12 cents per hundred pjunds greater than the ratea on raw sugar. Of course the rates on different grades of raw ugar were different, but taking1 the number of pounds of any grade which were required to make a hundred pounds ol refined sugar it was founc that the rates were on an average o: 121 cents per hundred pounds lcss than thoae on refined sugar. This means tbat the sugar renners of the country, whether in the trust or out of it, were allowed a difference of 12i cents per hundred pounds, or i of a cent a pound, difference between raw sugar when imported and refined sugar when imported, thus giving them an opportunity to import raw sugar at i of a cent a pound less than tbe rates at which refined sueyr can be imported. lt is generalij conceded that the cost of refining sug-ar is not less than about i of a cent a puund, so that the rates really given to the Bugar renners are simply the bare differeuee between refiaed and unrefintd aunar of the cost of refining. It i rell known that the rates adopted by thé Senate were more advantageousto thugar renners, but it is a fct tbtt the rales agroed upon by the couie rees made precisely the same differenco between raw and refined sugars that thè House bill made when it was passed by that body. The conference report did increase the rates on refined ugar slightly, but it also increasad the ratea on raw sugar, thus making the difference in the rate of duty betweea raw and refined, or the "differential," as lt ia callad, preclsely what the House bill made it originally, 12i cents per bundred pounds, or i of a cent a pound But, saya the objector, if the conference report gave lo the sugar trust tio advantage, why was it that sug-ar-trust stock advanced duriug the time that the blli waa ia considerativo by the cünferees and after it was presented to the public? The anawer to this is simple enoughthe ugar trust, knowing that the new bill would certttinly ad vanee the rate of duty on eugars as a protection to American producers, has been bringinginto the country as rapidlyas possible sugar in enormous quantitiea, getting itin, of course, under the comparati yely low rates of the Wilson law. It has seoured the world for sugar, and had In rtockby the time the conference report wns presented to the public over 700 thousand tong of raw sugar, or, In round numbers, 1,500,000,000 pounds. Thlnlt of it! Enough sugar to load aeventy thousand cars, or to load three thousand flve hundred freight trains of. twenty cars each or to make one continuoue train over fifty miles in length. On every pound of thta suar which it had in stock it tru perfectly apparent thatiVwould nke whatever prolit there w feetweea the tariff rates of the Wilsoo law and the increased tariff rte nmed by the Dingrley law, or an ggregate profitcaloulated at 12 million dollars. I It surpriaing that sugar stock went up In view of the f act that this organizatlon would make upon the sugar wuich it had brought into tho country 12 mlllion dollars by the mere advnnee whlch the framors of this bill havo fouod it nccessary to mako in tari 1T rates In order to protect the sugar producers of the United States and bring a revenue to the Government. But, the objeetor wil! say, everybody familiar with this subject know that the sugnr trust had all this sugar in stock, and since this fact was well known this doe! not account for the sudden riso in sugar-trust stock which followed the announecment of the agreement of tlie conference committee. This is true, but the explanalion of the sudden ad vanee, which was cuused by the profit thus assured to the sugar trust through the enormous stock on hand, is found in the fact that Secretary Gage had recommended to Congress the placing of an internal revenue tax of One cent per pound on all unrefined sugar in the United States when the new tariff law.should go into effect, the object being to compel the trust to pay to the Government a tax of one cent per pound on all this l,t;03,000,000 pounds of sugar which it had accumulated waiting the advance wliich it could make by the new tariff. Had Secretary Gage 's recommendation been accepted by the con f erees and by Congress it would have compelled the trust to pay in internal revenue taxes probably lö million dollars upon the sugar whieh it had piled up in its warehouses. The conferecs and Congress, however, did not adopt Secretary Gage's recommendation, for reasons which they looked upon as entirely sufficient, and the moment this fact became known - first, that the sugar trust would make this large profit by reason of the increased duty on sugar, and, second, that it would not bs compelled to pay out any of that profit in the propoed nternal revenue tax upon its sugar in stock - those who calculated the profits whieh it would make during the coming year on this enormous mass of sugar which it holds, saw readily that the profits wouid be great and the dividends large. The result was the ad vanee in sugar-trust stock about which there was so tnuch talk and denunciation. Tbis advafice was not due to any permanent advantage which the new tariff bilí gives the trust over the oíd law, but, on the contrary, the difference between raw and refined sugars undei the new bilí is, as already indicated, 12J cente per hundred, while under the Wilson law it is 22J cents per hundred poutids, thus making it apparent at once that the permanent 'differential' or diíference in tariff rates whieh the sugar reflners get under the new law is far less than that under the Wilson a,v. The sudden jump in sugar stock was due entirely to the knowledge of the rejection of the proposition of Secretary Gage to tax the raw sugar in the country, and if his recommendation had been accepted by Congress this sudden rise would never have oceurred. At 4:06 o'clock Saturday afternoon President Mokinley signed the bill tliat is to regúlate the tariff duties of this country for somc years to cotre. Forty Senators voted in favor of accept.tnce of the measuro as approved by the conference committee; thirty voted igainst it. Never before were the promises of the platform of a national convention o quickly fulfllled. It is not yet flve nonths since Major MeKinley undervent the ceremony that endowed hira with the title aad functions of President of the United States, and today ho measure to the accomplishment of which he was pledged is law. By the olid vote of the Republicana in Congress, aided by the voies of some who are of the Democratie faith, the whole inancial policy of the country has been econformed to that of Washington and Jelïerson, of Monroc and Jackson, of Clay and Lineóla. The Glevelandite revival of Calhounism is repudiated and tha country now collects tariffs upon importa under the provisiona of a law the title of whieh is "A bill to provide revcnuo for the government-and to encourage the industries of the United States." The last previousRepublican uoeasure of finance was entiiled "An act to reduce revenue and to regúlate tariff duties;" it is known as the "McKinley aot." In 1890 more than thirty years of protective policy had insuro-l largo yearly surplases that made reduction of revenue ueccs6ary. In 1897 four jcars of Democratie mismanageraent have rosulted in yearly déficits that make an increase of revenue a necessity. The ncrease, however, thanks to the Republican majority and to the survivors of the Randallite Democracy, U "to encourage American Industries," as well as to add to the revenue of governtnent. It is not to be expected that the great rosperity of the McKinley tariff years will return instantly. The large im ports of the past few months, estimatec by experts as equivalent to a year' supply, must be disposed of before a fuü renewal of commercial acüvity; i observable. But Uie dawn of prosperit, already Í9 visible, and its brightnes will continue toincrease. - ínter Ocean Now that the tariff matter is settled we niay expoct our Democratie friend will begin to lind fault unless we have flush times at once. They will forge that while the tariff bilí has been de layed by democratie wind, iinporter have laid in an immense stock of for eign goods at free trade prices, anc that as a result it will be many long months before there will be a demanc for American made goods. Just have patience for, this tariff question ha been settled and settled right and it will be four years before it will be possi ble to change it. By that time peo pie will have derived enough benefi from it to in9ure the election of a con eress and president favorable to a con tinuance of the present policy.