Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-09-02
Europe as she was in fear of the cane sugar Of

| MIR. Plumb said that he had been told that
| the production of sugar in Brazil was declin-
| tion of
| BEET sCoAR IN GERMANY
last year had been greater than the total prod
| uct OF sugar in the Island Of Cuba and il
seemed to him that, In the natural course Of
things the product OF sugar in Brazil would
not largely increase; and if that production
were stimulated by the United States 1t would
De AT tho expense OF the sugar-growing indus
| try OF the United States, which would be one
| OF the leading industries of the country
Mr.. Aldrich remarked that the falling off in
| the product of sugar in Brazil was not owing
to the beet sugar of Europe, but to the demor-
| alzaton i'll labor which followed the emanci-
patton of the slaves He had no doubt that
| the production of sugar would increase when
| there was recovery from that condition of
| things
Mr.. HALE AGREED FULLY
with Mr.. Aldrich He assured Senators who
represented the sorghum and beet sugar dis
trcts that he was not in antag with them
II those Senators objected to the policy which he
| had so family outlined and supportcd-oftr trying
| to secure some benefits from those countries
for the repeal of duties on their sugar-he
asked them how much more they ought to OBJ
Ject to ar unreserved repeal of those duties. 1t
would be, he declared. policy not much short
| OF lunacy to repeal the sugar duties, unless the
1
| the products of American labor
| Mr. Plumb suggested that giving bounty to
American sugar producers might appear to
Brazil rs something lacking in the idea Of
| reciprocity.
| Mr. Hale replied that if America should be-
| come Cthrough the bounty given) great sugar
producing country no Senator need have any
| apprehension as to what would follow All
those questions would be disposed of then and
| in q pleasant fashion.
VERY PREGNANT POINT"
Mr.. Evarts asked attention to what he called
| very pregnant point" That was to sem
tence in the letter from a Brazilian merchant
| which Mr.. Hale had read, that sentence being:
I'VE cannot admit your products and manu-
factures free; but We will make little differ
ence between the tariff on your importations
and the tariff Of other nations" What practi-
Cal results. Mr.. Evarts asked, would come to
the United States from only little difference
| IN favor OF American products?
Mr.. Hale replied that that was a matter
| which time alone could tell 1t was evident
that the feeling not only Of Brazil. but Of the
other South American countries, was strongly
bent toward reciprocal arrangements.
II WAS EASY,
he said, to find fault with any plan or scheme
and to suggest difficulties. But to him one
thing was as sure as the tides and the sunrise.
and that was that the policy suggested by the
President and the Secretary of State. and which
had secured the attention and approval of the
wisest statesmen in the last thirty years,
was policy that had come to stay
with the American people. Whatever
might be dono now, whatever might be incor-
porated in the pending bill, every enlightened
man could see that that policy was going
sooner or later. to be adopted by the American
people. There never, he said was a time more
htted to try the plan, or experiment. than
now, and: to his mind, the amendment which
he had offered Ito be corrected III its phrase
oiogy so as to remove all doubt about its con-
| struction) was the most fitting solution of the
question.
HIS AMENDMENT
did not contemplate the repeal of the sugar
duties until it could be seen where the country
would be in regard to its finances and whether
or not S55,000,000 of revenue could be dis
pensed with. He did not envy the future
OF any party that took off taxes this
year and (being confronted with defcit)
was obliged TO reimpose them next
year. He did not, hero and now. says that that
necessity would be met with, but. as a general
proposition. 1t was true that no party could af-
ford to stand before the people on n financial
policy that covered these two features-first
reduction OF taxes, and then, in face Of de-
fcit re-imposltion of taxes.
MIR. Hoar inquired whether the reciprocity
was to be effected under treaties or under the
tariff bill.
WITHOUT
Mr.. Hale thought that 1t could be done with
out treaties. The principle, he said was so
vast, 1t carried SO many things of
importance to American industries in the
future. 1t was so pregnant with
importance, that all questions of the method of
Its application we're Insignificant in COMPARE
son with the great general question which all
the amendments (his own. the one reported by
Mr. Aldrich and others) recognized with
unerrlng vision. He was willing to trust the
President in the matter. Everybody who knew
the Presidents attitude Oh the great question
OF protection to American labor might be sure
that he would make no application of the pro-
vision that would not in Its results tend to the
UNFOLDING AND ADVANCING OF AMERICAN LABOR.
Looking at the whole thing as matter of the
future he was desirous and anxious
that the principle of his amendment.
taken in connection with the postal and
steamship subsidy bills. should be adopted.
And when these bills became law and the re-
ciprocity amendment was adopted thew
would stand together as a leading and
enduring monument OF the wisdom and patriot
ism OF the great party which had now for tho
iirst time in years control Of all branches OF
the government.
MIR. Kenna spoke at length on the general
subject of the tariff. Protection 10 American
industries, he said. had been favored by the
beneticiarics of that principle in
one form or another since the foundation of
the government. But the power has been gen.
orally derived indirectly from
THE GENERAL POWER OF TAXATION
Parties have been slow 70 assert, as their rep
resentatives have been slow to execute, a lew
upon the earnings of the masses for the
direct and ayowed purpose of enriching a
selected and favored class No tariff bill was
ever passed upon that ground. Every tariff
enactment to the beginning of the civil war was
limited by the purpose to collect only enough
duties to support the government. No politi-
cal platform ever ventured beyond this depth
until IN 1883 the republican party, confronted
by the surplus accumulated under Cleveland's
administration, coupled the idea of revision
with reduction OF the revenue by the ex-
clusion OF foreign competition. While polIti-
cal platforms have not demanded the imposi-
tion OF a tax upon the people for protection
only the history OF tariff enactments in the United
States is instructive AS far back as 1868 the re-
publican party declared that it was due Ito the
labor OF the nation that taxation should be equal
lied and reduced as rapidly as the national faIth
would permit" 1t has redeemed that pledge.
said MIR. Kenna by increasing the burdens of
labor and production from that day to this.
DY THE CENSUS OF 1850
tho New England states, New York, Pennsylva-
mia and New Jersey owned "a per cent of the
wealth of the country; in 1870 they owned
more than 60 per cent How long will it
be. he asked, before those nine states under
this system, shall own the Union. This in
crease OF wealth goes to the favored few.
From 1870 to 1880 the value of
in these nine states fell off S5l7, 100000 The
rates Ofd dutv demand lad hv <ho