402 THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 



the country. When this was accomplished, the overproduc- 

 tion, which had been excessive, was stopped, the refineries 

 least favorably situated were closed, and the business of 

 refining concentrated where it could be carried on most 

 economically. The competing salesmen were called in, and 

 prices raised to a profitable rate, all of which tended to 

 economy. Under the law, and the habit which the public 

 liad acquired, of consuming mainly refined sugar, the Trust 

 had the monopoly of the sugar trade, and the cost of selling 

 was reduced to a trifle. 



There was, however, a chance for abuse. If any one 

 started a new refinery, and began to seek for his share of the 

 trade, it was possible for the Trust to put down the price of 

 sugar within the territory which the new factory could reach, 

 entirely below cost, while keeping the rate at full figures in 

 the greater part of the country, which freight rates would 

 prevent the new factory from reaching. Previous to the 

 passage of the inter-state commerce law, it was also possible 

 for the Trust to get such special freight rates as to give it an 

 advantage. Since the passage of that law this has been pos- 

 sible only at the risk of exposure and punishment — a risk, 

 however, which is supposed to have been frequently taken 

 without serious results. If these measures did not prove 

 effective to ruin the new factory, there were still others pos- 

 sible. The Trust could refuse to sell any sugar to a wholesale 

 merchant, except upon an agreement to purchase his entire 

 supply of the Trust. There are differences in refined sugars, 

 and when a community has become accustomed to sugars of a 

 certain factory the people dislike to change. If a retailer 

 orders a certain brand, he wants that brand and no other. 

 As a rule, the Trust has usually controlled the only certain 

 and abundant sources of supply, and this fact, in connection 

 with the confirmed habits of the public, has usually made it 

 master of the situation. It is true that the wholesale mer- 

 chants could import refined sugar, but it would cost them more, 

 besides the trouble and expense of buying in foreign countries, 

 the uncertainty of regular supj)lies of uniform quality, satis- 

 factory to their trade, and generally a great deal of trouble 



