New-York tribune., 1884-12-09
TIE TREATY WITn SPIN.

| the United states anu the Spnnisn hn'i''S WIZ
bc of necessity n one sided measure oi recipr"c-
! ity. Cuba mud Porto Rico. while comprising m
area of jG.770 square micaand population "
about 100000, have sugar. tobacco anu "'ho'
! products. Tor which tho United states can pro-
vide over 80. OOO. 900 consumers. Everything
which the 1000. 900 can supply N evn''abr Tor
| the 10000, ,0OO whereas comparatively It''o
that the 6OO00.OO0 can furnish IL re-
0mirod by tho 100000. There IL an cho'-
nous market here for everything uat
| Cuba has TO sell and only Il small
market there for the few things raised or
manufactured here for which there is u natural
demand there. Any commercial convention
that may be concluded between the two couh-
| tries must have, therefore, Onc-slded aspect
as offering much greater advantages to the an
TILES than to the United States There cannot
| from the nature of the case, be an equal distrl-
button of the benefits of reciprocity. 1he
American people, however, have the right 10 ue-
| mand that the disprOpOriOn of advantages de-
rived on one side and the other shall not be un-
reasonable.
| Now this is the first point to be considered III
the convention recently concluded at Madrid.
| the text of which is furnished elsewhere from
| unofficial sources Sugar, mOlasscs and other
products of Cuba and Porto Rico are to be adj
mitted into the United States free from duty ana
the rates on cigars, cigarettes and tobacco,
manufactured and in the leaf, are TO be reduced
about one half These are enormous conces-
| sions to the islands. Cuba to-day is commercials
| Iy ruined. Compctltion from beet-rOot sugar
abroad and ut home the increasing burdens of
misgovcrnmcnt, taxation and Indebtedness re-
| 4, bo Of ri vil
| cipation have combined TO impOverish what was
| once the most precious jewel of the Spanish
empire The ratification of this treaty GER
tainly will contribute largely to the indus
trial revival of the island. and possibly it is
the only thing that will save it from ruin.
Those are the advantages to be derived by
Cuba and Porto Rico. What Is offered in re-
turn 2 II the length of the schedules be a fair
test, the United States will have an ample OIL
set but, unfortunately, the value of treaty
concessions is not to be estimated by cata-
logues of this sort. There is long list OF arti-
cles and products to be admitted from the
United States either cxemp. from duty or with
reduced rates. but the bulk of them are OF little
Importance as affecting the aggregate cx-
changes of the two countries. The duties on
flour and other cereals are materially reduced
but are not abolished and as a rule the free
schedules include articles which are not sup
piled by European traders. That the treaty, If
ratified, would open a market for some i'm
portant American manufactures is quite PLAN.
1t would also increase the export trade in
brcadstuils, food supplies, and other articles,
which are now largely obtained from the
United States. The question to be decided is
whether these advantages are either as
numerous or IA great IA may reason
ably be demanded in return for the
concessions made to Cuba and Porto Rico. |
win the increased trade, which it seems TO M
cannot exceed 81 100000 annually, be worth |
what IL will costf
And what will be the cost In direct rcluc-
ton of the revenue $4,000, 900 al the least
probably H3O,OOOOOO and possibly f35.- |
600 900 Tho sutrlns estimated Tor the next
fiscal year ma, be ncatl, wiped out, AT the
same time The Louisiana sugar industry may
bt dtHltoyeh, and n staggering blow hr given
~ the cultivation ol sorghum ~ this country,
The reduction oi The dNtes oh cigars, oishi=
ettes aud tobacco may aso eanse widespread
loss and ruin, especially IN this city, which IN u
great manufacturing centre III The trade We
do not mean to he underslood Ms IMPLY INK that
all these results are to be taken Tor granted. |
The tobacco manufacturing trade may he SUI
fciently protected by the proposed duties to
survive serious disaster, and the LOSSES may !
fall principally upon the cutivators. The con-
sumption of sugar being so large. and
more than onc-half of the amount taken
by the United States already coming
from Cuba, the effect of the treaty |
uuon cane and sorghum cultivation may not
be so overwhelming as we have indicated. But |
q great reduction of revenue will be inevitablc
and until the results of the treaty can be calcu
lated with certainty. the sugar and tobacco in |
dustrcs will be thrown into extreme disorder |
and confusion This last circumstance alone is |
a::serOus misfortune, since the causes OF deprcs-
sion are already widespread and there is need |
of confidence in every quarter
We bcspeak forthis commercial treaty very |
careful consideration and deliberate action on |
tine part of the Senate. There are some things |
in il of which we can heartily approve, cspc
cially the clauses relating to American bottoms, |
the effect of which will be to build up the COM
merca marine of the country. There are other |
and very grave considerations which tend
strongly in the other direction. Without desir-
ing to commit ourselves prematurely, we shall
aim first, through full and free discussion OF
the subject, to bring out the essential facts on
which the decision must turn. The Senate will
have need to examine every clause critically.
and to proceed with caution thoroughncss and
1t is one of the most serious
conventions the American upper house has
ever been called upon to sanction.
LOOK TO THE SENATE
This town is going to be ruined by the clec-
ton of Cleveland and Hendricks not single
shop now remains at work" So runs a letter