Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 199, 22 Mei 1891 — OUR SACCHARINE RELATION TO THE UNITED STATES. [ARTICLE]

OUR SACCHARINE RELATION TO THE UNITED STATES.

We have never exercised our intellect in dr*wing dividends on sugar Btock, yet we wish to eall attention to a phase of the queetion in regard to United Btates revenues that eeeme to escape the notice of our planters. They are ciinging to the reciprocity treaty that the American governmen t will again irapose duties on foreign sugars. Th« whole value of the treaty to us depended on the excluBion or taxation of other sugarg, so raising the price in the market to whieh we were admitted free. The first and principal eompetitor, as a sugar-producing eountry is Cuba. Our planters have declared that they cannot eompete with Cuba. But now, Cuba has obtained the permission of the Bpanish government, to enter reciprocity treatv; and it is likely that others of the \Vegt Indies and the South American States will also make treaties for the free mtroduction of sugar. The U. S. us a conSession for a valuabk consideration. Then she deliberately destroys the value of the c©nsession by admitting free sugar, thus making hers an op?n market such as we could have for nothing. Or, iftheCuba product is admitted, it amounts to the same thing since the sugar of that island with liOme-produciion, stimulated by a bounty, will f@lly supp]y th«-' market. It will be seen that the United States is conducting as extremely profitable business in reciprocity treaties quite worthy of the land of the wooden nutmeg. She ncgotiate» a treaty with first one and then an«ther ©f the si:gar and coffee producmg countries, and every treaty by inereasing tae amounts of free imports yenders the previons concessions of less value, until when she has finished her dickering, all the sugar and coftee producing cGuntries have free entry and her market is in the same eondition as if there were free trade. They find themselves competing with eaeh other in an open market, the very condition whieh they hoped to escape. The result is the sly Yankee has about forty reciprocity treaties with concessions and markets for his notions, and also free sugar and c©fFee. It almost amounts to this ae far as Hawaii is conceraed; reciprocity with Cuba on the same footing, ie not worth having.