Speech #750097922

The main argument advanced by those who insist upon the removal of refinedsugar quotas for Hawaii and Puerto Rico is that they demand equality of treatment under the flag. They argue that. inasmuch as there are no trade barriers between individual States on the processing of their respective products for marketing elsewhere. that there should be none for the refining of sugar in Hawaii and Puerto Rico for marketing in continental United States. I resist the theoretical phase of such an argument which wholly ignores the objective of the quota system or what. in fact. the quota system is. This quota legislation does not seek the establishment of a political status. nor does it raise racial or citizenship questions. but deals wholly and solely with an economical problem in an effort to solve it on an economically fair basis. Its very essence is the stabilization of the industry. together with those markets through limitations of both production and processing. It makes allocations by production limitation to each area which supplies the continental market. As a starting point. it must inevitably take the entire industry as it existed in 1934 as a basis for a beginning. So the establishment of the quota system and perforce limitation of expansion of groups or elements therein would conform to economic law and fair dealing. The limitation of expansion Is applied In the case of Puerto Rico and Hawaii on the fairest possible basis. that of taking the highest peak of the refined sugar processed in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. both prior to the enactment of the law of 1934 as the limit set up in this bill. Regarding conditions extant in 1934. the restrictions on Hawaii and Puerto Rico will bear honest comparison with those levied on the States of the Union. and I submit.