AMERICAN SUGAR TRUST METHODS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81855, 2 October 1906, Page 4

AMERICAN SUGAR TRUST METHODS.

Sensation succeeds sensation in the American press. A recent issue of the Xew \ ork "World" lias fur iis main "feature" a virulent attack on ilu' Suga) 1 and its methods quite upon the lines of the exposure of the tine. 'k.i lief Trust contained in Mr Upton Sine air's book, "Tile Junjj'e." It is based primarily upon investigations made at the vast refin eries at Williamsburg, which are owned and operated by the Messrs Have.neyer, known throughout the world as the sugar kings. Some idea of the character of the revelations made by the "World" and the language and sty'o in which they are given to the country may be gained from the following extracts from which is described as the summary of the indict ment: "One ounce of sugar cane, one dash of dirt, one pound of human flesh, one quart of human weal, 12 hour of slave-driven labor, one half starved family, one corrupted United States Senate, and too per cent of Trust profit." The "Wor d'' declares that the Lithuanians and Poles, who form the large majority of the workpeople, commence their engagement at the Williamsburg refineries by working 12 hours daily for 14J cents an hour. After two years' service iheir wages are increased to 15 cets an hour, but thereafter they are nt paid anything for overtime, even when compelled to work iS hours a day. The boiling cauldrons of sugar keep the inside of the refineries at a temperature of from 100 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. When as happens at times, the men drop to the ground unconscious from their exertions and heat, the foreman takes note of the time which elapses before 'work is resumed by the poor wretches and stops pay for it. It is futile for the men to protest, because dismissal follows complaint. The men are too ignorant for other employment, and they are incapable of organising against their task masters. They told the reporters of the "World" engaged in the investigation tales of the brutality and tyranny of the foremen. Owing to the great heat in which the work is carried on, the drinking of the icc water is dangerous, and the men are supplied with beer, for which the trust charges each man seven dollars a month. "Your Mttle lamp of sugar from Cuba," continues the "World." "is landed from dirty wharves and is dragged into refin eries over floors reeking with tobacco spittle and trodden by bare feet or muddy boots. At the end of each week the floors are cleaned up, and the refuse sugar, which by now is a sticky brown mess and as solid as the street pavement, is put through a clarifying process until it comes out white lump sugar, which you so daintily handle with silver tongs.-' The reply of the Sugar Trust to this vehement and unexpected onslaught : s waited with considerable interest.