THE CUBA REVIEW 33 



THE SUGAR REVIEW 



Specially written for The Cuba Review by Willett & Gray, New York 



Our last review for this magazine was dated March 9, 1916. 



At that date Cuba Centrifugal sugar was quoted at 4^c. cost and freight to Xew York, 

 and the market continued active and advancing, sales of moderate quantities being registered 

 at 43^c, 45^c. and 4%c. until 4%c. cost and freight was reached on the 16th of March, when 

 the market took a breathing speU and a slight reaction took place, carrying prices down by 

 successive stages of 4 13-16c. and 4%c. until 4 ll-16c. was reached on March 22d. It was 

 during this time that we received an interesting cable from London that read as foUows. 



"English Commission has purchased 25,000 to7is April shipment Java sugars," 



showing that Java is now on a basis to compete with Cuban values for Government purposes, 

 although freights are stiU prohibitive as regards private purchases. Heretofore the Java prices 

 have been so much above Cuban parity because of the very high freight on sugars from Java 

 to Western markets, say about 3J/^c. per pound, but this cable of ours would indicate that the 

 extraordinary advance in Cuban values had brought Java in as a competing factor, as far as 

 England was concerned, and was part of the cause of the easier tendency which ruled for a 

 while. 



On the 28th of March, the advance was resumed, and sales were made at 5.00c. cost and 

 freight, but this price was later followed by considerable business at 4 15-16c. cost and freight. 



As regards the United States Tariff, the House of Representatives began consideration 

 on March 15th, of the Ways and Means Committee bill repealing the free-sugar clause of xhe 

 present law, which clause provides that aU sugars shall be admitted into the United States on 

 and after May 1, 1916, free of duty. The House passed this biU on March 16th, and the bUl 

 was then forwarded to the Senate for consideration and referred by that body to the Finance 

 Committee, which Committee on March 18th reported the bill back to the Senate with the 

 recommendation that instead of repealing the free-sugar clause, the date of its taking effect 

 shoiild be moved forward four (4) years, so that all sugars would be admitted free of duty on 

 and after May 1, 1920, and continuing the present rate of duty (1.0048c) on Cuba sugars of 98° 

 test in the interim. The biU has not as yet been taken up by the Senate, for considerable legis- 

 lation such as the Army Increase BiU being under consideration, is blocking any action on the 

 sugar bin. Some people think it is doubtful whether the Senate wiU get to the sugar bill until 

 after May 1st, and if this proves the case, there waU be a short period when there wiH be free 

 sugar condicions actually existing in the United States. Senator Hardwick of Georgia intro- 

 duced an amendment to the bill on March 17th in which he provided for sugar to be admitted 

 free of duty, but that aU sugars should be assessed consumption taxes of 1.00c. per pound, 

 but no action has as yet been taken in this matter. 



It may be interesting to the readers of The Cuiba Review, especially those located in 

 Cuba who are not very familiar with the process of tariff legislation in the United States, for 

 us to explain in a concise way, what action has to be taken before the tariff biU becomes a law. 

 Providing the Senate passes the amendment to the House sugar biU, which amendment pro- 

 vides for the moving forward of the date when free-sugar is to go into effect, say May 1, 1920, 

 on account of the action of the Senate being different from that of the House of Representatives, 

 the bUl then goes to a conference committee composed of members of each body, and these 

 members endeavor to adjust the differences between the two Houses, and if they reach an agree- 

 ment, the proposition as thus agreed upon is then presented to the House of Rrepresentatives 

 and the Senate, and if these Lwo bodies agree upon the action of the conference committee and 

 pass such a compromise measure, the act then goes to the President for his signature, and if he 

 approves of same and affixes his signature, the act then becomes a law effective at once. Al- 

 though this is described in a few words, the process sometimes is a lengthy one on account of the 

 differences of opinion, etc., existing between the two branches of Congress and the different 

 sections of this country. 



We published dm-ing the monch our figures of the American Beet Crop outturn for the 

 1915-16 campaign as 779,756 tons, being practically the same as our previous estimate of 



